Brian A.

Should Hoosier rain tires be heat cycled?

Bob Rouleau

No! They should never get hot. They melt.

U4EEAH

+1

VERBOTN

besides melting any first-hand reviews during wet conditions?

Gary R.

Nothing better (except cut slicks). Problem is, if you use them properly they last a loooong time and I think the compound gets a little harder with age. Mine are a good 4 years old and are at least 1/2 tread.. I lent them out a month or so ago (The Rogue Paolo used them at Cups and Saucers) and was told they still were great in the rain.. Mount them on a cheap set of oem 16" wheels, go a little smaller than you would R6's (I use 255/50 and 225/50 16") vs 275 and 245..

U4EEAH

They are beyond belief in heavy rain, but cannot be used in varying conditions or on and off rain because they cannot be gotten hot. Like Gary said, you will very rarely use them. Spend you money on a good set of intermediates ( cut TP 888's?) first...unless you already have.

VERBOTN

Thanks guys, rain is not uncommon in FL during the summer. Appreciate the input.

Scootin159

FWIW, I've got a set of 10-year old (!) Hoosier wets that I still run. They're obviously no longer competitive with new tires, but they're worlds better than any street tire I've ever driven in the rain. Might have to retire them soon though.... they're actually starting to leak air THROUGH the sidewalls (you can see foam forming on the sidewalls when driving in the rain).

analogmike

I thought the compound was the same as the A6 autocross tires. Those work find on the dry track. maybe it's the extra tread depth that makes them melt, can anyone confirm ruining a set of the wet Hoosiers on a drying track?

Gary R.

Mike - I've run mine when the track dried and can't say they were really all that bad. They did get hot though, and because I don't start them cold very far off what I run hot (as opposed to being up to 10+ PSI of a variation with my R6's dry) they were waaay over the 35 PSI I normally run them at (max).

Greg Smith

Yes, they're amazing. I bought them in preparation for a wet weekend a month back. Unfortunately it only rained for the first practice and and qualifying. In mixed rain and drizzle my best lap was a 2:09.653(TWS CCW, 9 seconds ahead of 2nd fastest), but for the race it had stopped raining and it was just a damp track. I figured over the 25 minute race that the track would form a dry line so I went to my NT-01's since I really didn't want to destroy my new $1100 set of tires. On the NT-01's my best lap was a 2:14.718(1 second ahead of 2nd fastest), the track never really dried and the wets probably would have held up. Then the track fully dried and my best lap on the NT-01's in the dry was a 1:56.312. Hopefully that gives you a rough idea of what to expect. Just know that you'll now be praying for it to rain, and now that you've got wets that it'll never will rain again.

Here's a video of the wet race when I was on NT-01's.
http://vimeo.com/11800696

Larry Herman

Mike I ran my Hoosier Wets at Atlanta on a drying track and they finished just fine. I just made sure that I ran them through the damp sections to try and keep them cool.

I think that part of the problems is that for them to work properly on a wet track you have to run the pressure up around 33~35 lbs. Once the track dries and they start to heat up, the pressures will build up way over 40 lbs and they will be like greased pigs then.

VERBOTN

Greg thanks for the video and report.

analogmike

Right, they are fine at 40 but 45 would be pretty sketchy.

924RACR

I get the impression that these newer tires, the Wets, hold up a bit better in drying conditions.

I still have the old, 10-yr-old Dirt Stockers, and those are the ones that really gum up and die in the dry...

PS - and mine are dry-rotted to boot. But they've been getting LOTS of use recently, so might finally get worn out in the wet! LOL Most recently brought my wife a trophy of her own...