chrisp

Assuming a properly heat cycled tire, what's the lifespan of a Hoosier R6? In my case it would be on a G-class car. I ask because for the Glen club race I'll be doing a DE day on the 31st and the full practice, double sprint and enduro schedule they have planned for the weekend. Again, assuming no flat-spotting or tire damage, could a Hoosier go the distance? If not, what issues will I run into - cording or just a degradation of lap times? I haven't used them before (usually run MPSC's or RA-1's) and at a minimum I want to use them at one DE day before a race weekend.

bobt993

Here is what I have experienced. Hoo's have a couple of magic laps and maybe 5 really fast heat cycles. They are faster and warm up faster than MPSC's, BUT only for the first few heat cycles. They also can get mightly greasy for a long race (enduro) and then you have to back off them to get the tire grip again. The greasy tire is not gradual it is an "oh sh*t moment". I ran a very old set of Hoo's at a DE this weekend with the intention of running them to cords. They never corded, so I leant them to another drover with a tire problem on his GT3 while I ran another old set of MPSC's. My lap times dropped by almost 2 secs using the old MPSC's.

So, my intentions are to run a fresh set Hoo's for qualifying and sprint race. Practice on the older Hoo's & MPSC's. I think which tire to run for the enduro is a game time decision. ie; temperature, length, how the tires feel after the sprint race. I am leaning towards the MPSC's for the enduro.

I am curious as to the opinion of the more experienced drovers out there and what they have found.

chrisp

Thanks.

Anyone else?

analogmike

So far my "old" set of R6s from last year have about 5 SCCA races and 3 PCA races and no sign of slowing down... they seem as fast as my "new" set which I used for qualifying and races (ATL and LRP so far).

forklift

On HC 14 I had my best lap ever at VIR. On HC 16 at Summit Point one of the rears kept on going out...very quickly. It was only 34-36F that day so I am going to give them another try at VIR at the end of the month. Plenty of tread left...hoping that I can get one more weekend for a total of three weekends.

That's about what I get out of RA-1s, 27-29 HCs before they give up....which happens before they cord for me...and that is shaved.

richard glickel.

Mike,

Interesting observation. I had a similar experience at Mid-Ohio with a used and newer set of R6's. Nearly identical times in practice (old set) and qualifying (newer set) - although I thought the new set felt "stickier". I do like the Hoosier; still, I intend on trying the new Goodrich R1 tire sometime this season.

P.S.: Great job in Saturday's sprint race at LRP!

Greg Fishman

R6's are very different from the older compounds. You should get a much longer "serviceable" life out of them. I know of some that are even running the A6 to get more sticktion.

Larry Herman

I agree about the extended longevity. I have a set that I ran last year for at least 15 cycles, and they sat in the trailer all winter. I warmed up with them at Road Atlanta, and I was about 1.2 seconds slower in the 3rd practice session than I was the next day for qualifying on new R6s. Since it was my first time there and I was improving with every session, I don't think that was too bad. Maybe cold cycling them helps!

chrisp

thanks guys. sounds like it's a pretty safe bet that they will cycle out before cording.

Gary R.

Just don't bet your life on it Chris, Examine the inside rears edges frequently when you start getting into the later stages of their life. I had one that felt fine one day, the next morning I felt like I was on old street tires. I figured I would just swap the rears around (LRP wears the left side out) and get a few more run groups out as I had new R6's waiting to be installed. I was a bit surprised when I saw a 1" strip on the inside edge missing and REALLY surprised when the tire guy slid a screwdriver in under the tread to the other side.. delamination. The contact "tread" was rolling around freely, good for lefthanders but the downhill was "iffy"..

bgiere

I have a 12 cycle set now that are as fast (at least for me) as they were when new. Many people at Mid-Ohio 2 weeks ago were reporting the R6 lasted much longer for them...As always, I'd be weary about thinking the tire walls are impervious however....

richard glickel.

Larry,

You'd be fast running on bicycle tires!