fbirch

I'd like to buy a set of tires for DE-only use. Previous tires were BFG R1 in 225 F/285 R sizes and I loved them. BFG no longer offers this size combo.

For those that have tried both or have some info from friends who have, which would provide better grip - Trofeo R in 235 F/295 R or Hoosier R7 in 225 F/285 R ?

lcrain

The hoosiers will provide better grip for sure. Not even in the same category, really.

blotto649

Agreed, better grip from the Hoosiers but more life from the Trofeos.

brad@tirerack.com

Hoosier way better dry cornering grip. NO wet grip.

Pirelli still good dry grip, better wet grip. Better life.

Martin S.

When you say better (tire) life, can you be more specific? Are you talking heat cycles? Road mileage? Or a combo of both?

On paper, the Trofeos look to be in interesting to me...maybe sacrifice a little grip for some incremental heat cycles. They get a great review from Randy Pobst in a video found on Tire Rack's web site, post Randy driving a new Camaro at speed around the 2.5 mile race track at Willow Springs, in CA. But they ain't cheap, roughly $1,650 a set in 6GT3 sizes, 235 and 295. However, if they in fact do provide incremental heat cycles, it only takes about two additional over the Hoosiers to make the Trofeos a better tire relative to tire life. And if you got three incremental? Wow, what a bargain.

Martin S.

Frisby Tire, Henderson, NV, is a Pirelli dealer. They sell Trofeo R off their web site...BUT, if the tire is on BO, they take your money anyway, then end you an email the tires are on BO. Don't ask me how I know this.

mistermct

I haven't driven either tire so i'm going out on a limb here... but maybe the different width ratios will play a factor in balance and feel? based on tirerack sizing, the 225 R7 is wider section+tread width than 235 Trefeo while the opposite is true for the rear tires. probably really depends on how close to the limit you drive.. but maybe more front-biased grip on R7 vs rear-biased grip on Trefeo. how do the widths compare to the old BFGs?

f/r diameters and potential ABS issues is something to think about too

Martin S.

The Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires are duplicates of the factory sizes that came on the 2004 GT3 cars, 235/40/18 front and 295/30/18 rear. It has an UTQC rating of 60, and the Hoosier has a rating of 40, the softest of the bunch.

The problem with Hoosiers, they don't make a 235 that I could find, the closest is a 225, or a wider 245, rather go wide than narrow. Nitto misses the cut for the rears, from 275 to 305, 315 as well. The 305 is very tall, and the 315 is monster wide, for me...I am sure others love it.

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup is available in the original sizes, it's an UTQC rating of 180...a little hard for an effective track tire. Probably great on the street.

All of the above IMHO...I am not an engineer.

mistermct

Martin - i was getting into the weeds and looking at measured tire dimensions- section width and tread width and diameter. see below stats from tirerack

Front:
Trofeo 235/40/18 -> 9.5 section on 8.5 rim, 8.5 tread width, 25.4 diameter
R7 225/40/18 -> 9.5 section on 8 rim, 8.8 tread width, 24.8 diameter
R7 245/40/18 -> 10.3 section on 8.5 rim, 9 tread width, 25.4 diameter

Rear:
Trofeo 295/30/18 -> 11.9 section on 10.5 rim, 11 tread width, 25 diameter
R7 285/30/18 -> 11.5 section on 10 rim, 10.6 tread width, 24.9 diameter
R7 295/30/18 -> 11.6 section on 10 rim, 10.7 tread width, 25.3 diameter

R7 has relatively more tread on the front when comparing the OP's match up: front tread is 83% of rear tread on R7 vs 77% of rear tread for Trofeo... would be interesting to see how that feels and if it actually affects balance. (obviously R7 should still be faster). For fun, same math on MPSC2 and A052 in stock sizes: 74% and 78.6%

regarding diameters.. I know ABS doesn't like incorrect ratio tires so it would be interesting if the 24.8F and 24.9R of R7 is okay.. obs the 25.3 of 295 R7 makes it much worse.. so use a 245 R7 at 25.4 instead? that looks like a better match up to stock diameters but again has even higher front tread at 84% of rear.

That was a fun (and potentially useless) armchair exercise... has anyone ever run a 245/295 Hoosier match up?

fbirch

FYI, I bought a set of R7's in 225F and 285R, to get close to the F/R balance of the MPSC tires that were OEM on the car. The 245F might have been nice to tame understeer in the really slow, high-G corners, but I was concerned they'd rub. Once before I ran some BFG R1's in 225F and 285R and the grip and balance were excellent with that combo. Unfortunately BFG no longer offers that combo. I just put one heat cycle on the R7's this past weekend, as per Hoosier's break in instructions, so I won't be able to comment on their performance until the next event in June.

One question for those that have run the R7's on the 996 GT3: Is it typical to smell a slight rubber burn odor during break in? I noticed a faint burning smell on the last couple hot laps and thought the tires might be rubbing somewhere, but a thorough check while dismounting the tires showed no evidence of that.

Martin S.

"....has anyone ever run a 245/295 Hoosier match up?" Why I have, they are on the car now. They worked just fine...got them from a pal, they had there (3) heat cycles on them when I got them mounted up...paid $500 for the set...cheap, BUT, you miss the best cycles, cycles 1 through 3. Keeping in mind that the tires are really only competitive through about 9 heat cycles, then they turn into practice tires for up to about 15, of you are lucky, or so they say. Doing the math, assuming $1,400 for a new set of 245 and 295 Hoosiers...let's be generous and assume 10 heat cycles, that's $140 per heat cycle...it is what it is.

mistermct

Excellent test subject! Given heat cycles, I presume you'll be on to new tires soon... Try the Trofeo and report back?

997rs4.0

Martin S.

"DRPM recommended temps of 31-21" DRPM, what is that? Sorry for my ignorance

I will be researching cold and hot tire temps for the Trofeo R tires, before a tread (No pun intended) out on them. I know on the Hoosiers, 27 Lbs cold, usually 1 lb lower on the rears, seemed to work well providing good grip and wear.

Thanks for the feedback. Tires arrive next week, and I will have them to the track toward the end of April.

997rs4.0