ryan325 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I am going to be racing this year (assuming I pass comp, school in Feb.!) and I need to purchase some tires. I have been running Toyo RA1's and have no real complaints. What i'd like to know is what do you guys recommend? I am looking at getting Hoosier wets for running in the rain and can't decide what to run in the dry - thoughts? Of course price/durability is a factor. Any contingency programs worth looking into? Thanks for the input. BTW anybody got any E36 M3 wheels for sale for my rain set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 1) are you planning on running dot's or slicks? 2) do you want a fast tire or a tire that lasts? (ie. do you want to compete with the front runners?) if you're looking for slicks, i have very little experience with them... if you want dot's and you want the fastest tire, your choices are hoosier (r6 or a6), bfg r1, hankook z214, and kuhmo (whatever model people run, lol) i (obviously) have no experience with kuhmos but some folks have been successful on them...the hoosiers, kooks, and bfg's are all pretty close in speed...i personally run hankook z214 (c51 compound) and love them...from my experience, they are every bit as fast or faster than the hoosiers and bfg's, are more consistent throughout a race, and stay fast for more heat cycles... for contigencies, hankook has a contingency program (i have heard that they might be increasing their payouts this year also)...i'm not aware of any contingencies from hoosier or bfg (and again, no idea about the kuhmos) if you want a longer lasting, more economical tire and are less concerned with grip levels, toyo's are a great choice (supposedly the new 888 is a little faster than the ra1)...toyo only offers contigencies where their tire is the spec tire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan325 Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 1. DOT's 2. Durability is more important than grip level at this point. When I get more race experience that will probably change but for now price and longevity are key. Assuming a typical race weekend - how many days/weekends do you get out of your tires. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzracer Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 kuhmo (whatever model people run, lol) We're talking about the Victoracer 710 - great tire, especially for the $$. AND, we have a GTS-specific contingency with Kumho again for 2008. I used to run Toyos, which are nice but give up a bit to the Hoosiers. I then switched to the R6 which is pretty good and a bit quicker. David's right, you'll need at least that to be/stay up front. Since Road Atlanta last year I swiched to the Kumhos and haven't looked back. In fact all my track records have been set on the Khumos. (That could be because I got my head out of my a-- a bit more!) In my opinion, they're more consistent throughout the race and last a bit longer overall than the Hoosiers. And the contingency is great; paid for a set and a half last year for me. Heard a lot of good things about the Hankooks as well, but no personal experience with them. But trust David on these. Speaking of, are we going to see you at VIR next month Dave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 1. DOT's 2. Durability is more important than grip level at this point. When I get more race experience that will probably change but for now price and longevity are key. Assuming a typical race weekend - how many days/weekends do you get out of your tires. Thanks. i'd stick with toyos then...either ra1's or the new 888's...from what i've heard about the new toyos, they are the same compound as the ra1's but have a stiffer construction...they are still super new so there isnt much data/info out there about them... as far as tire life, that really depends on how long you want to use them...if you want the most speed out of them (and are running the molded slicks), one maybe two weekends for a new set (quali and races only) before they become practice tires...some people will use them longer but they will drop off significantly after a bunch of heat cycles and will usually "cycle out" (become practically useless) before they cord... toyos will last a lot longer...they will fall off some throughout their life but not as drastically as dot slicks...a lot of people might disagree but toyos are fastest when they are brand new, then the fall off a little bit and stay like that for a long time... Speaking of, are we going to see you at VIR next month Dave? i'll be up there but probably won't be racing in gts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzracer Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Assuming a typical race weekend - how many days/weekends do you get out of your tires. Chiefly, that depends on how you manage your tires (overheat the rubber, flat-spotting, wheel spin, etc) and the track surface. Smooth tracks like VIR are kinder; tracks like CMP are much more abrasive. Generally speaking, figure 3 weekends before they start going off pretty badly. Other factor to consider is your car's weight & its setup (suspension, corner balance, camber, toe. etc) A bad set up will chew tires much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzracer Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 i'll be up there but probably won't be racing in gts... And why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcolangelo2005 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Anyone here running Nitto NT01s? That's what I'll be using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 i'll be up there but probably won't be racing in gts... And why not? getting a late start on the off season work so my car won't be ready by then...planning on co-driving a spec e30 in the enduro... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzracer Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 planning on co-driving a spec e30 in the enduro... Sounds like fun. We'll see you out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///mracer Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Dave, What pressures do you start with for the Kooks? What HOT pressures do they like? Thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDog Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Does anybody run Michelin Pilot Sport Cups? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Dave, What pressures do you start with for the Kooks? What HOT pressures do they like? Thanks, Matt depending on temp, track, etc. anywhere from ~28-32psi cold...they like 38-40 psi hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemming Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Dave, What pressures do you start with for the Kooks? What HOT pressures do they like? Thanks, Matt depending on temp, track, etc. anywhere from ~28-32psi cold...they like 38-40 psi hot 38 to 40 is what I started with and everyone recommended. On a tip, I tried 35-36 hot and the tires performed much better. I've only run them at the lower pressure at Barber in Oct, but will try that again this year. I like the Z214's but was just informed that my size 225/45-15 is on backorder and not expected for a few months. Since Kuhmo doesn't make that size, looks like I'm going to have to spend the money on some R6's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 38 to 40 is what I started with and everyone recommended. On a tip, I tried 35-36 hot and the tires performed much better. I've only run them at the lower pressure at Barber in Oct, but will try that again this year. how much does your car weigh? lighter cars usually need lower hot pressures... 38-40 psi hot works well for cars around 2900-3000 lbs with driver... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemming Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 38 to 40 is what I started with and everyone recommended. On a tip, I tried 35-36 hot and the tires performed much better. I've only run them at the lower pressure at Barber in Oct, but will try that again this year. how much does your car weigh? lighter cars usually need lower hot pressures... 38-40 psi hot works well for cars around 2900-3000 lbs with driver... 2,570 with driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 2,570 with driver. damn, i'm jealous!! it makes sense that lower pressures work better for your car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FandangoDrew Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 David- Have you ever run the "kooks" in a three hour enduro?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwhite Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 David- Have you ever run the "kooks" in a three hour enduro?? no but we've run them in a 13hr enduro i wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on with the tires so i'll have to check with the others....not sure how many sets we used but i don't recall there being any big tire wear issues...this was on an e36 m3 with an s54 in it (basically a bmwcca IP chassis with an s54) edit/update: we retired after ~11 hrs due to a rear suspension failure and another car hitting our stranded car...we used roughly 2 sets of tires and estimated that we would have used 10 tires total if we had finished the race...we were "cycling" tires on the car at stops (vs changing all 4) to keep pit stop times down... kooks should make it through a 3hr race without issue unless the track/car/drivers/etc are super hard on tires... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.