hoosiers???
 

i'm getting ready to guy some hoosiers for my 81. i was curious if anyone had any thought on whether i should get the A3s03's or the A3s04's. i heard good and bad things about both so i could use some of your opinions to help me decide. let me know what you guys think

thanks alot

Are you buying used or did you find someone with some 03s left over?

Given the option I would get the 03s. They should last longer and are a little bit lighter also.

Is this for road race, or AX? I'd buy Kumho 710 before either Hoosier, followed by '03. If you are relatively new to AX(one or two seasons) I would stay away from Hoosiers, as they will not last unless you are very delicate with the brakes, and linear on the throttle. Given a choice between '04, and 710, it would be the 710 hands down IMHO. An expert AX'er could get a better time out of the '04 depending on driving style. Alot of guys stuck with Hoosier this year due to sponsorships, and habit. I'd say, look for a partial defection in '05 if the Hoosiers do not improve. Carl

While its been a few I started on the BFG...ok but get greasy when hot.RE71 R's were the best before that .I ran Khumo at several events and a 24 hour race. I dint care for them. I went to Hoosier and loved them. I would only change if I was able to test some one's tires.
This is not for auto X I think most guys run Hoosiers but I dont do those.I am partial to a brand by their performance with my setup and driving style.

last i knew tire rack still had the 03's left in my size (225-45-13) but i could be wrong. i am somewhat new to autox, as in just a couple of seasons, but i'm in need for some new tires. i've been using the v700's but they get to greasy after a couple of runs even if i spay them down with water. so i can't really decide what to order. i've done enough with the car to the point where a more consistant tire is required (not the v700) so i can resort the car this season with all the changes i've made. let me know what you think

I have never had a V700 get greasy unless it was very hot outside and I over drove the hell out of them.

I'm starting the season on Hoosier AS03 and when the Kumho V710 is released in my size (April) I'll run those.

Having never run the Hoosiers, I still like them better. I never had a pleasant experience with the Kumho's I've run (Spec and free tires), but my customers have been giddy with the Hoosiers, especially after we made the car handle.

The '03 is a good tire, but you will not get full season from them. Did you run the ecsta 700, or the Victoracer? The Ecsta is not as consistent, and prone to overheating IMHO.The Victoracer works well up to ~210 tread temp, so I cannot imagine those getting greasy at 125-150 degree temps typical of an AX. I say g with what your thinking ('03) when you wear those out do the 710 if available, or the victoracer.

is the 710 gonna be coming out in a autox version as well. to my knowledge they were just a road race only tire??

Ditto on all counts.

I've run the V700s at an extended auto-x, 4-5 min run times. They didn't get greasy.

The V710 is equally capable on track and at auto-x. It is currently the fastest tire for auto-x. Hoosier will be stepping up their tires however. Expect that an equally fast tire will be available from Hoosier this year.

If you are still new to the sport (IOW, not competitive with your local hotshoes), I highly recommend running the Kumho Victoracer. The tires last a long time and are fairly consistent. I would not jump into the V710 or the Hoosiers at this point ... you'd be wasting your money.

i'm not to worried about wasting money at this point. i did pretty well last season, i managed to pick up a couple of wins in my region actually. i just needed to get faster for the divisional races.

for those of you that said you ran the v700's what kind of aire pressures did you run in them? with the set i had i couldn't seem to get trackion with them until i took them down to the 20-25 psi ranges. i tried them everywhere for 50 down to 20 and didn't have luck until i went to the really low pressures.

I have no idea on an FB. On my FD with 245/45/16 I ran 38 front and 35 rear.

Hot pressures on my FC were best at around 30-32psi. At above 40 psi you'ld be skating, not driving ;). What sort of track temps are you running on generally? I find on an ~80 ambient/~100 track temp, that I have to let out as much as 4-6 lbs on a 1 minute course between runs. My tire temps are usually ~140+/- in these conditions, and ~130 when its cooler. If you are competitive regionally, then 710/'03 Hoosier as above. A good shoe can get the Victoracer within a couple tenths of the hoosier. depending on driving style some are faster, but not many. I'd estimate 2-3 sets of AX hoosiers to everyset of Victoracers. Good luck, and keep us posted on your observations. carl

On my FD I ran 32 ish psi all the way around. Tom Kotizan won SS on Kuhmos in a 93 R1 in 98 (?) with his tires in those pressure ranges or a little lower. Tom did mention that some people liked them higher for quicker response, he liked them lower for better grip. I found I liked them in the 32-33 psi range, could be a little set up dependent though. I ran GAB R shocks, Eibach springs and Eibach front bar.

most days that i ran were in the ambient temps in the 80's, not to sure about the tire temps though (don't own a pyrometer) i just noticed by about the third run the tires were definatly getting greasy with the V700's. rescently i have added a panhard bar and tri-link, and higher spring rates so i'm just looking for a better tire to go with the set up so i can get a more consistant bite out of the tires this year

Grip aside, what tires last the longest? I've heard good things in that respect about the BFGs...

which BFG's are you refering too?? i'm not overly concerned about tire longevity, as long as they don't wear out redicously fast anyways. if i could get at least 7 or 8 events out of a set i don't think i would be upset. i got a whole season on my v700's and they still have about half tread left on them suprisingly.

RA1, I get ~6000 miles on the street, Slicks at the track now. Carl

There are some BGF R compounds, that's what I was refering to and I ment life @ the track. :)

I guess another thing to consider is how fast do need the tire to be there(auto X).If the tires are greasy during a run then you got them too hot and your driving harder than they can accommodate.Sometimes after several races this stops cause of heat cycling. I recommend heat cycling ( tire rack offers), this will reduce some of the over heating and give consistant response. You say your tire now you drive does over heat. Get another brand.Buying the same tire doesnt chage it (unless its a new compound). Also take advantge over how new tires react...you can be amazed.Never sell youself short on money because of my car , my(our) setup and mostley my(our) driving style and I(we) say X brand is what is the best. Try another!Your own experience is evidence that I (we) cant dispute. But there are some good experiences noted here.

BFG does not make an R Compound AFAIK. RA1 tires do not require heat cycling. Many experienced AX drivers experiment with smaller tires if they cannot get their current tire up to temp on their average A course. More likely than too hot(greasy), your tires are too cold, unless you are talking a Hoosier AX compound, or the 710. The proper working temp on the other tires is around 180-210 degrees, and you will never see anything close to that at an AX. At a minimum get an IR Pyrometer, if your temps are less than 140, the problem is some combination of alignment, driving style, and tire/wheel size. Exactly what problems are you having? oversteer, understeer, power on, power off etc. Does the car take a set, and then oversteer, does it push, is turn in vague. These are the sort of questions you should be evaluting. All of these tires are competent, and people have one national championships on them. Hope this helps, Carl

They don't make a DOT R-compound anymore. They used to a few year ago.