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.









Professional Racing and Driving Coach

Hey Norm the contigency changed a little this year. 6 or less cars in class yields one tire for 1st and one for 2nd. Seven cars or more gets you 2 for first and 2nd plus 3rd each get a tire. Pretty decent rewards when you realize you can replace any tire you want for the podium.

I have run through several sets by now. They are pretty good tires. For me, the Hoosiers fall off fairly badly after about 5 cycles. They still feel fine and are fine for practice but they are .5-1 second off the pace of stickers. If I start a race on tires with 4 or 5 cycles on them, about midway through the race they slow down a lot, whereas I can push hard for a full race on stickers without this issue.

a same price,you take Hoosier or Michelin?

Thanks

I have 3 Hoosiers 2 R80 (265) and 1 R100 (320) that I'm selling for $175 each plus shipping. All of them have only a moderate amount of DE laps on them because the car they were on kept cutting one side. Two weekends of DE on them with low numbers of laps per session (5-6).

If anyone is interested I'll sell them for $175 a piece. They are too big for my car, cannot use them.

But they're not the same price. The Hoosiers are about $400. less per set. Also, you can get bigger tires if you're allowed like in NASA or GTA. I run the 265 fronts and 305 rears which are almost an inch wider per wheel....

i bought five 265/645/18 R80s from Bob Chick for less than $500 shipped, and have five more coming.

these tires are fantastic compared to the Yokohamas and Hankook slicks I used before. Set personal records by nearly 1 second in practice, qualifying, and race with heat cycled tires. and no change in setup.

Hoosier recommends tire pressures of 29-30 psi on flat tracks. in my case, the car actually handled best with front pressures of 32psi using my gauge. this is for a front-engine 2500 lb BMW

Did Bob finally get some tires in? I've been after him for a while for some Hoosiers/Yokos and he didn't have much in stock.

great tires, fall off by 8 HCs, I'll keep buying them.

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but curious what kind of improvement did those switching from A6s see on their lap times? Just interested to see if there is really a point in upgrading.

Most of the comparisons are with R6 not the A6 which is a softer autocross tire. I know some guys run them for qualifying and on a light car for sprint races, but 911s are pretty hard on rear tires for them to last very long. I know one racer in NASA MA that runs them for qualifying and he reports they are .5secs faster than the R6 for a couple of laps. The slicks are similar if not a little faster and last much longer.

I've read several threads on here last night, looks like nobody really runs the A6s on 911s. I'm coming from a Corvette where I could get the As to run all day.

Well, I'm going to try a comparison and see how they stack up. Trying to see if the slicks are worth the $400 or so price difference. For the record, this is for time trials, not wheel to wheel, so overall longevity is not my prime objection, although extra heat cycles you can get from the slicks are certainly nice.

Hey , just saw this thread restarted.
I've been wondering the same thing...
...think the A6's are faster, but heard they fall off after 2-3 laps?
We're probably going to start off this season doing a TT, but should be racing too.
But, I cannot determine what the deal is with the R80's-R100's.
The Hoosier chart shows they are very firm, but are they a better choice that R6's or A6's?

Marc,

I'm by no means an expert, furthermore have 0 experience with rear engined cars until now. With that disclaimer, here is my take on this from a Corvette and BMW standpoint (which maybe more relevant to you in a 944/951 car).

A6 is about a 1-1.5 seconds faster than R6 on a same car and day (no changes to the car in terms of setup before anybody gets on me for that). However, As are only good for about 3-4 heat cycles before the begin to drop off pretty significantly. For racing most prefer Rs due to their longevity. Some folks with deep pockets run As in the race and even in a 3100 pound Corvette can run out a whole race with good results.

I don't know how much faster slicks would be over an A6 and that is the dilemma for me. I'm only doing Time Trial so lasting 30-45 minutes is not an issue. However slicks are about $400 a set more than A6s. I've already left two messages this morning trying to get a set of slicks in 265/645/18 and 305/645/18 to compare them against A6s in 255/35/18 and 315/30/18. So, hopefully I'll get some data at the next track event. If it's anything less than a second I'd have a very hard time justifying the extra price for the slick (again for time trial, in racing the slick will outlast the A6 by a VERY wide margin). As for compounds R80 I think is the softer one and R100 is harder.

Alex

This is pretty much based upon observation and having raced on Hoosier Rs, Pirelli & Michelin slicks, but no real back-to-back testing. The Michelins are the fastest, and I feel that they should be at least as much faster than the As as the As are over the Rs. YMMV.

I have run A's and The hoosier slicks before on a couple different 911s. The A's are a good bit faster than R's. The slicks, for one lap were good for about ~0.5 seconds on a short lap (~1 min lap) over the A6s.

Most of the benefit is from consistency throughout a race. I ran the tires on 2 different cars with similar chassis, but 1 with 350 rwhp, one with 250 rwhp. Both cars ~2500 lbs. On the 250 hp car the A6s were not an issue in a 40 min race. On the 350 hp car the A6s would fall off badly after a couple of hard laps. Slicks were much faster over a race distance, but as I said, not a huge amount faster on a single qualifying lap.

I ran hoosiers on the GTB car I had and won 4 sets that year. Awesome to deal with. Fax in your results and the form and a few days later you get brand new slicks delivered to your door. Pretty awesome. Just pay the shipping. They were always quick and very easy to deal with.

I think we should qualify not only the car, engine location, weight etc but also the length of track when people are speaking of time differences. +/- a second on a 1min track vs a 2 min track is worth knowing.
I've used Nitto Nt01, A6, R6, and the R80(front and rear) on a 2700lb 951 (approx 300whp). On a short 1 min track I was able to gain 2 seconds going from Nitto Nt01s to the R80s. On a 1.45 track the difference is probably greater but I don't have hard data just yet. Too many car changes inbetween.

Well, I got a set of both now and will be at 1:40 track that is very much tire demanding, so this will give me an idea of how these compare (Hoosier Slick vs A6).

Hey,

I just saw your post, I ran many many sets of the slicks and found them to be faster then the A6s ONCE HOT which can take a couple laps, keep that in mind in a TT environment. The slicks will hold out a 45 min session no problem without falling off while the A6s will fall off after like 5 laps. The A's will last you a full session without over heating but be as slow as an R6 after the initial 5 laps.

I'd like to know the results of this test.

Me too.

Thanks Victor (can't wait to see the car here).

I will share once I'm done. Although keep in mind this will be a brand new car to me, so I'm not sure how much of the improvement will be tire and how much familiarity/practice with the car. However, I plan on trying this more than once around the SE tracks to get some data (think CMP, VIR, RA, NCCAR, RRR).

Wanna911 and Mr Lisner - you gentlemen are pretty local so I expect some beers in return! :)