I have decided to drop the Hoosiers and switch to slicks.

Question is this. Since slicks start out much stickier will they be quicker for more heat cycles? My first set of slicks arrived today. Dunlops. $1,650. VS 1,200. for fresh Hoosiers. The Dunlop rep said the slicks would fall off after 90 minutes of racing. Maybe to a pro but for a club racing will they last for a PCA 3 day weekend like Watkins Glen practice/qualify/sprint & enduro?

Thanks!

 

Bill, I only run 30 minutes at a time, but I usually have two sets of slicks for a three day weekend. One set to practice with and the other to use in the time trail (in your case race). I am able to use my slicks over approximately 5 to 7 days for a set. With a day of driving being 1.5 to 2.5 hours. So I usually use one set over two events. In my case, my slicks start to loose a bit of time after about 2 days of driving, though not that much because I use them for another 3 or 4 days. By then they are definitely done, but got good use out of them. Nothing like fresh slicks though, wish I had some sort of tire sponsorship! BTW, I use Pirelli slicks as I find they are cheaper than the Dunlops or Yoko's. The Pirelli's, in my sizes (245/285) are within $75 of the hoosiers in price, but there is no comparison between the two in fun factor, slicks all the way!!!! Look me up on my website if you are interested in Pirelli's, if your sizes are not listed I can get them, just have not put them on the site.

 

Thanks Kary. Sounds like the slicks will last a few more sessions than the Hoosiers which helps justify the $. I will keep you in mind for Pirellis. At this point I am going with Dunlops & Yoko's mainly for the track support.

 

Um, before you buy those slicks, may I suggest one of these? Note the protective rubber strip all the way 'round the car...

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/bumper_car.jpg

Cuzzin' Lee
2004 GT3 RS +

 

 

Bill, my experiences and those of others are exactly the opposite. Slicks have much fewer heat cycles, and the fall off in performance is dramatic. I get about 8 to 10 heat cycles out of my Pirelli slicks, but they are definitely slower than the Dunlops. Guys like Norm Goldrich get 3 good heat cycles out of the Dunlops, but they are the fastest slick out there. Norm was telling me that he can pull 1.78 G's on the Dunlops, but only about 1.5 G's on the Pirellis. It is my understanding that Yok's and Michelins fall somewhere in the middle. R compound tires have many more heat cycles, and have longer tread life, but even my Pirellis are about 3 to 4 seconds faster than the Hoosiers at VIR.

 

Lee, Don't be concerned about crashing. Get out there and race! Better to have fought and lost than to have never faced battle little grasshopper.

Larry, So we are back to buying lap times huh? I am comfortable with that. 1.78 g's? Thats when your harness flips over the hans devise which causes your helmit to dip over your eyes.

 

If you drive the car right you won't have a problem going a whole weekend on one set, we do it with two drivers, but by the time we take them off the car they are completely worn out. I wouldn't start the weekend on new tires b/c by the time you get to race time they'll be a couple sec. slower, just slap an old set on for practice.

 

Bill,


My experience is pretty much what Larry said. I have run Dunlops for over a year now (14 races last year - PCA, SCCA, NASA). With the way I push the car - the following is what I experience :

Session #1 - Great - can you say smile :-)

Session #2 - .5 secs slower
Session #3 - 1.x secs slower
Session # 4 - depends on meachnical grip of the track. At MidoHio bad.
Session #5 - No fun to drive.

That being said, I do have a friend that runs DE's and gets a couple of weekends on them. So it depeneds on how much you push them...

It is about 1 1/2 sets per weekend unfortunately for me.

I tried Pirelli and hated them. With my car, they were much slower and felt no where near as good.

Hope that helps. Although the only way you will know is try them. Thats why I tried diffferent brands...

Norm

 

Bill, I'm with Norm and Larry - I usually run a practice day (5 X 30 min), then a 20 min practice, 20 min qual, 20 min race (day2) and a 20 min practice then 2 20 min races (day3). I'll run one session on the practice day on my new race tires (to heat cycle them), then run the other 4 on the tires from the previous weekend. I'll run day2 and day3 on the tires that had one heat cycle, and the last race is always the most exciting. That's using the Dunlops, which are my favourite tire, great stick and good longevity.

However, slicks are really mis-named. I can't recall the right term for them - oh yeah, crack. The grip is absolutely addictive.

The other thing you may hear is that slicks don't give the same progressive breakaway as streets or r-compounds. I had a number of people warn me about this. The reality is that they give your butt plenty of warning, they just don't scream it out loud so there is no aural warning.

Have fun
Bruce

 

I ran Goodyear slicks in DE all last year and they would last for a 3 day event (10-12 total runs). After that, the rears were corded, and the fronts were just too crunchy. But man are they sticky when new.

 

[QUOTE]However, slicks are really mis-named. I can't recall the right term for them - oh yeah, crack. The grip is absolutely addictive.[HTML]


You mean I will become MORE addicted on slicks? Great.... can't wait!

 

It's OK Bill, just try a little slick - trust me, it can't hurt you

You know the worst part? I started oh Yokohama, and learned how sticky slicks are. Then I ran Pirellis for a while, great tire, good stick, good life. Then I ran Dunlops - which cost me at least 50% more - and I had to have them. Oh what a slippery slope...

Bruce

 

I was told that slicks are to Hoosiers what Hoosiers are to street tires. Is that true? If so, I gotta have 'em.

 

How about three sets of slicks per day during practice?
R+C