himself

How is your car setup? Are you running -3 (or more) camber? How is the wear?

-td

jrgordonsenior

Agreed. One thing I did notice is that they're significantly heavier than Yokes or Michelin Blues. Most likely the sidewall construction. It didn't seem to affect the results though....

AudiOn19s

Skipping the :36's and going straight for the :35's here in a few weeks

I'm still on the wait list for Friday next month. I think I may be screwed for getting in since I'm not currently an instructor.

va122

I'm running 3.5 and honestly its not enough. I cord the outsides after 8-10 hc's

yss

does anyone know if hoosier will make the R80 / 100 in 19" anytime soon?

jrgordonsenior

I'll be testing a set of 265/645 (R80) and 305/645's (R100) this weekend at Laguna Seca. I'll be comparing them back-to-back to similar sized Yokohama slciks. I'll let you all know what I think...

va122

The patron challenge slicks?

himself

How did they work out?

-td

jrgordonsenior

Mooty just reminded me of this thread. So.....

I qualified on brand new Hoosier's as listed above both Sat & Sunday at Laguna. I then raced on brand new Yokohama club sports (not Patrons). My biggest surprise was how long the Hoosiers took to get some grip in them as the Yokes are good-to-go on the first lap. After 3 laps they came in and I turned a 1:35:2 on Sat, a 1:35:0 on Sunday. My fastest race laps on the Yokes were almost identical both days at 1:35:7. So yes the Hoosiers were .7 faster but that was in qualifying although I was up in the middle of the 6 & 7 Cups in the races and wasn't held back until later when we hit lapped traffic. The comparable difference is therefore valid IMHO.

So my take on the R80/R100 Hoosiers is although significantly heavier than the Yokes, they really have some serious stick in them. I would have loved to raced them, but the Yoko contingency is just too generous and I won 6 tires that weekend. I've run the Patron cups several times and they're very similar to the Hoosiers in both grip and duration. Unfortunately you can't really buy new Patrons, and they only come in 240/650 and 280/680 which are really too narrow up front and too tall in the rear with OEM gearing. Both the Yoko club sports and Hoosier slicks come in 1-inch wider fronts/rears and 650 rears which really helps OEM gearing. Having that extra inch of tire up front and rear allows me to run the front bar full stiff which gives me more control over the rear of the car allowing me to enter corners faster and safer.

I'm off to Miller for NASA's Nationals next week. I'll be running the qualifying races on Yokes as I have several sets, but the finals on the Hoosiers I qualified on at Laguna (2 short HC's). The hot rod Corvettes I'm racing against are much heavier than me (3200 vs 2600) and all run R compound Hooisers, some R6 some A6. My ace-in-hole is these Hoosier slicks which I expect will out perform the R compound cars in the second half of the 45 minute Championship race. I just have to keep them close for that first half....

va122

JR the hoo hoos fall off after 4 HCs. Good for 8.

va122

How long do the Yoko's last? How does the price compare to the Hoosiers?

mooty

4 HC and falls off.
damn, i need one set each race weekend?!?!?
you got me hooked on this drug man!

va122

Dude! what do I keep telling you?

Nittos for practice, A6 for Qualifying or TT and R80/100 for race. Seriously.

Yea, using the hoosiers exclusively gets real costly fast.

jrgordonsenior

Yoko club sports are $1,500 per set. They're all good for 3-4 good cycles then fall off to varying degrees. The Yoko IMSA cups and the Hoosier slicks last longer than the club sports but I'm not sure how much longer. I'll tell ya after I race the Hoosier's in the championship race. Michelin Blues are also of the same caliber....

I disagree about wasting money for A6's for qualifying. Hoosier slicks are just a tad more expensive and last much, much longer. My 3-day events consist of practicing on whatever slicks I've left from the last race, qualify and race on stickers Sat and again on Sunday switching back to practice tires if you go out Sun morning. Your stickers will then have 4 cycles (2 qual, 2 races) on them and be good for practice at the next event. I also make a point of being early to grid for qual if it's open qual. That way I can get my hot laps done in 2-3 laps with little traffic and save the tires for racing. Nothing more frustrating than trying to get a fast lap in amongst slower traffic. Also, I don't think it helps the learning curve by switching back-n-forth between R compounds and slicks. Totally different characteristics and I'd suggest you choose one and stay with them....

va122

First off, thanks for your feedback and the comparison with the Yoko's.

I can appreciate your strategy as you're one who races exclusively. My strategy is for a different application.

I spend a lot of time at open track days where I use a hard compound that lasts a long time (NT-01). I get about 6-8 sessions per day per 3 day weekend, I can't afford to use slicks for that application. I get 30-40 HCs out of them.

I also time trial with a 3 lap format that is ideal for the A6s. They heat up instantly but fall off at 4 laps. However i get like 8-10 HCs out of them. Qualifying, like you I wait for little traffic (or get there early) get mine done in 2-3 laps too, but don't you find the slicks are just coming in?

The slicks, as great as they are, take a few laps to come in. Too long to wait for a TT but perfect for a race, so i save them for that application. Considering you get 4 HCs out of them only.

However, when I raced in BMWCCA my class did not allow for non dot tires and I really didn't have that large of a budget so I would use RA-1/A6/R6 strategy, and it worked for me. At least thats what I tell myself. Basically 2 sets of tires per season not a set per weekend.

I know Mooty's application is similar so i was just trying to help, maybe now that you understand me better you may see why I advocate that strategy.