New Hoosier radial slicks & contigency plan
 

Hoosier now makes a new radial slick that is virtually identical in size to my Dunlops for my GT2.

While the prices are close, Hoosier has a great contingency plan for NASA.

For each win each day you get 2 free tires.

So if you win a race each day you get a free set of slicks for the weekend.

So I think I will try them.

I have emailed one of their engineers to confirm that my current camber setup will work fine.

Anyone tried these tires yet?

I will use 265 645 R18 & 315 690 R18

I rear is identical and front is only 15mm shorted so it will lower my front 7.5 mm which is fine...

Norm

Norm,
Are you getting them from Bob Woodward? I will check the web sight I am going to run 18" slicks this year in GT-2 I am going to have to test and set up for the new tire. I have always run Hoosier DOT A-6. on 17" wheels. I tubed the rear of the car and will run exclusively GT-2 . So I am curious to hear your feed back on the tires. NASA is not that big here in the East.

Regards
TSheehan

My father won NASA Nationals in GTS-5 on them this past year...first weekend out on them and very little setup time since he was running R-comps earlier in the weekend. I've only driven them once, but I like them a lot. We've run Dunlops, Pirelli's, and Yoko's in the past.

I think you're coming from too much of a NE point of view. It's pretty big in the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast...especially with regards to GTS class.

I just ordered a set of 265/645 and 320/650 for my NASA ST1 car (have been using R6s and A6s because of contingency. I will run them for the first time in 2 weeks and will report back.

My friend who has a BMW E46 PTG world challenge GT car has been using them and says they are very good. He reports about .5 sec faster than Yokohamas and they don't fall off as badly over a race distance. I don't think he changed his setup going from the Yoks.

Norm, Mike Levitas was running them on his turbo car at Sebring. From my testing of the Cup sizes, the alignment I was running with the Michelins was in the ballpark of where the Hoosiers needed to be. I would start with what you have and modify accordingly.

Guys,

Thanks for thne info.

I have been getting my Dunlops from Sasco and they sell Hoosiers so I will probably use them.

In order to be eligible for contingency you must buy them from one of the distributors at this link on Hoosier's website - Bob Woodman Tire does not appear to be on the list; however Sasco is...

https://www.hoosiertire.com/NASADIST.HTM

Norm

Hey Norm,

I ran the Hoosiers in the new CUP size in Atlanta. They were the 80 compound in front and 100 in the rear. We used the Michelin setup, but the car was oversteering a bit (bigger fronts on their cups) so we adjusted the sway bars and it was fine.

I had problems with a sticking throttle cable, so I was not up to max speed but they worked fine. They are great if you like to drift a bit. I don't, I like the car on rails so I was not so comfortable in the last fast downhill turn, but everywhere else the car was great. I think they are better than the Michelins at the top of the hill T3, the car stayed very stable there. They were better than the Michelins in the following long left turn, a little drifting there is fine. With my sticking throttle cable I had braking problems (blipping, engine pushing forward rather than adding braking) so I can't comment on the braking into 10a.

I think they are better than the Michelins when not yet up to temperature. The Michelins are NASTY when cold- they will snap you right into the wall. The Hoosiers seem to be much more predictable. I was able to pull steadily away from Chris Musante on the first several laps, but then when we both had warm tires he could catch me.

In our GT3 cup size, they are $1560 a set, a huge savings over the Michelins and even over the Yokos. The savings on them allowed me to rent a Hertz Corvette ZHZ for the weekend instead of a Subaru, well worth it!!

Good luck!!!!

Mike,

Thanks for the details.

Much appreciated.

Norm

We're considering the change from Yokes to these Hoosiers for a GT3 Class 911. Hope they turn out as good as we're reading they are...
Will appreciate any advice on what you all are finding to be optimum temps and pressures.

They do not appear to have them small enough for the front of 964 Cups.

250/650 x 18 won't fit?

I ran the same set from Atlanta again at the Lime Rock club race and broke the track record in my first warmup session. Here's what I wrote in the Cup Car area:

I ran the new 2009 Hoosier at Lime Rock again this weekend. They had 4 heat cycles including 90 minute enduro at Atlanta on them. All my sessions on these used Hoosiers, used Michelins blues with the same amount of use, and new Michelin blues were all about the same lap times. The car was set up better for the Hoosiers, I forgot to adjust the bars and the car plowed on the Michelins due to the smaller front tires. I think the car was FASTEST on Friday when it was cool on the used Michelins but I never got a really clean lap.

I ended up racing on the new Michelins and of course they held up well.

I've run them two weekends now, ran the Dunlop GT's the last two seasons...

1. Most important: Lap times. The Hoosiers (R100 compound) have been about 2-3 tenths quicker than the Dunlop GT thus far. I've broken my previous best lap time at two familiar tracks on the new Hoosiers. Nothing else changed on the car since prior rears. Similar heat cycles both times. I'm not convinced at this point that they REALLY are faster or perhaps I've gotten a little faster, but after 10 years at these tracks I can confidently say they aren't slower.

2. Price: I paid $1480 for the Hoosier slicks, $1668 for the Dunlops. Almost $200 per set cheaper.

3. Heat cycles: Not sure about the number of heat cycles the Hoosiers will take before really going off. I was only getting 8 good and 4 more okay heat cycles out of the Dunlops. After the next race weekend I'll have 14 on the Hoosiers and see if they fall off badly or not.

4. Availability: No issues either way but Hoosier is right next door, a real bonus.

5. Camber: They both seem to like the same camber on my car. About 2.5 deg neg. based on temp readings.

6. Weight: Subjectively the hoosiers feel a little heavier, but I haven't actually weighed them. Will do that this week.

R80's and R100's are very, very good tires. Not quite Michelin slicks good, but close and fantastic for the price.









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