SanJoRX7

Ok, so I don't have any tires designated specifically for the track, but I may have the opportunity to pick some up for next to nothign soon, so I wanted to see what sizes people are running on their FD's at the road race tracks (i.e. NOT drag...I'm not into that).

Thanks!

SanJoRX7

Oh, I should note that the tires I'm looking at are specific track tires...slicks, and in this case, Hoosiers.

rynberg

Well, it pretty much depends on what size wheels you have....

Also, used Hoosiers probably won't be good for much more than one track day, depending on how many times they've been heat cycled.

Also, some Hoosiers are designed for auto-x and won't hold up to long road circuit sessions. What Hoosiers are you looking at?

redrotorR1

Need to know what wheel sizes these tires are going on. And what do you plan on doing more of ... auto-x or road racing?

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

Alot of serious track guys are running either 18x10 all around w/ 285/30/18s, or 17x10 all around w/ 275/40/17.

Depending on your budget/wheel choice, you may not be able to get 9.5-10" front wheels in the proper offsets, so you might come down to a 265 or 255 and tune the rest of your suspension accordingly.

If your not making a ton of horsepower, a 255/40/17 on 17x9" wheels is a popular combo as well.

SanJoRX7

I'm on stock FD wheels, and I would be wanting to use them on a road race circuit (like Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, etc.).

I don't expect the tires to last for multiple track days, but for what I'm anticipating the price to be, I'm ok with that I'll get the specific model number today when I get into work.

rynberg

You are going to have to run 225/50 16s, preferably the R3S03s. The 245/45s are spec'd for a minimum 8.5" wheel.

SanJoRX7

Found that the size on the tires is 225/50/16, still working on the specific model.

SHPNOUT

iTrader: (3)

Run 245/45-16 on the stock rim. Don't waste your money on 225's. Do a search and you'll be a believer.
Niles.

SanJoRX7

Well, here's the deal...I'm fairly sure that I can probably run the stock tire size with slicks and achieve at LEAST the same results as street tires @ 245's. The fact is that the tires that I may be able to get are only 225's, and that's actually what I'm running right now with street tires.

I'll figure out the model eventually

rynberg

That works for street tires, not Hoosier race tires.

And yes, 225 Hoosiers will grip a hell of a lot harder than 245 street tires...

SanJoRX7

BLAM! Vindicated

SleepR1

225/50-16, 245/45-16, and 245/40-17 Hoosiers are all wider than most manufucturer's spec for the same size, given the same width spec rim.

SleepR1

Depends on what your definition of "a ton of horsepower" is? I run 255/40-17 on 9 x 17 all around with umm...er...300+ rwhp (Mustang Dyno)

redrotorR1

I beg to differ. 245/45 16 Hoosiers fit just fine on the stock rims and don't rub at all (unless your springs are worn like mine). The amount of grip from the 245/45 is much better than the 225/50. Not to mention, I think the 50-series tire deflects a bit much and has a tendency to promote spins/gross oversteer .. at least on street tires. And as far as R-compounds go, just think how much more grip you'd have with a STICKY 245 vs a sticky 225. More grip = better.

SleepR1

I dunno. That 245/45-16 Hoosier is 9.5 inches wide unmounted (measured from bead to bead). The stock wheels are 8 inches wide (nominally from bead to bead), so you're going to compress that 245/45-16 Hoosier down to a similar width as the 225/50-16 Hoosier on an 8-in wide rim. Wheel width is what ultimately determines overall tire width. I'd argue that 245/45-16 Hoosier on 8 wide won't buy you much grip over 225/50-16 Hoosier on 8 wide. Now if you were mounting 245/45-16 Hoosier on 9 or 9.5 wide x 16, then I'd wholly agree that 245/45-16 IS better than 225/50-16 Ever look at Porsche 930 Turbo club racing tires? They run 225/50-16 and 245/45-16 Hoosiers. The 225s are on the front with stock 8 wide wheels, and the 245s are in back on stock 9 wide wheels. Stock Porsche 930 Turbo wheels are the "Fuchs" forged aluminum type. The Hoosier tire width difference between 225/50 on 8 wide and 245/45 on 9 wide is considerable.

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

Well, 255s aint enough for my car, and i'm not even running a single turbo yet.... major power-on oversteer!

SleepR1

and this is a problem ??

rynberg

Hoosier recommends a minimum 8.5" wide wheel for 245/45 16s, just going by what Hoosier says...

Rated R1

I run 245-45-16 hoosier A3SO3's they do not rub and they do grip better than the 225-50-16's that I had on the car before.

DamonB

245/45/16 Hoosiers fit just fine on the stock FD wheels and is what most of the SS competitors run (ran).

Sleep is right though, the Hoosier tends to be wider than most for a given tread width. I first noticed how much so when I had a stack of Kumhos and a stack of Hoosiers next to eachother. Even though they had the same sizes on the sidewalls, the Hoosier stack was a couple inches taller

redrotorR1

No doubt that the Hoosier is definitely wider than a Kumho, but the tire still mounts without much drama. And I know there's a lot of concern about the tire offsetting on the rim .... but for those of us running on stock rims, it's not that big of an issue. And as far as tire width goes, I'd bet dollars to donuts that the contact patch is virtually the same on the 8" wide wheel vs. the 9" wide wheel. The lateral grip gain from 225's to 245's is substantial ... and, IMO, far outweighs the tire sizing concerns of wheel widths.

SleepR1

Looks like we'll need to test this out to find out what's what...

redrotorR1

I'd like to .... too broke though. And I'm going bigger anyways (Maxcooper fitment).

DamonB

Does this mean the R1 is not for sale any longer?