Tires (Page 1 of 3)

We have 13" wheels, which basically confines us to the Sumitomo HTR-200s.  I was planning on 6 tires, 4 on the car and two extra for the port side (which ought to wear faster in a clockwise race, right?).............

I know a lot of teams have done well with Hankook Z212s. The Black Metal V8olvo has managed more than a race per set out of its Z212s, which is respectable for a 3,000-pound car that combines nose-heavy understeer with donuts-in-the-7/11-parking-lot throttle oversteer. You can get them in 205/50R15 and 225/50R15 sizes, which is good for older cars with funky offset requirements and/or limited junkyard wheel availability (e.g., Volvo 200).

We had this discussion (via the Yahoo Group e-mail) a few months back and a lot of the Newbs were going nutz about using ultra-low profile, ultra-sticky, 190 treadwear tires.  I tried to point out that most SCCA and NASA spec-series tires are far harder that 190, are shaved to get rid of the soft rubber on top, and one set will last a full season (10-12 SCCA-type sprint races).  In fact, most spec-series racers (be it FF, Miata, SR, RX7 or whatever) usually choose a race-day tire that's been used for 3 or 4 sessions, so it's already been heat-cycled.  That removes the uncertainty of the tire and makes it very predictable. 

Granted, 14-16 hours of track-time for a Lemons race is equal to about 6 or 7 SCCA events, but the point is a harder tire means that it will last more than 1 Lemons event.  It also means that you don't loose 15 minutes in the pits changing tires and you don't spend a $$wad-and-a-half$$ on tires.

Our World of Outlaws Miata has run 4 Lemons events over 2 years (3 at AMP and 1 at T-Hill) on one set of Fuzion HRi (195/60-14 with a 400 treadwear) and they're still good for another event or two.  $45 from Tire Rack.  Solid tire, sticks well, no sidewall roll, consistent durometer rating throughout and performs equally well in the wet --- wish we had more rain racing in CA.  I just bought a new set and put them on the Lemons Fire Department Miata for Reno.

You can spend $100 a tire and you may run a full-second faster lap time than the next guy... but unless you've got a pit crew that rivals NASCAR or IndyCar... and unless you've got a team who can change drivers like the ALMS... and unless you've got a fueling rig that can dump 10 gallons of gas in 8 seconds... well, you get my point.

Bottom line: For Lemons, I'll take consistency, great wear, predictability and reliability over something trick that will mean nothing after 16 hours.

John

We use the Azenis 615 on the 14 inch Cavalier wheels, and bring 2 sets. The Cav has 65% of its weight hanging over the front wheels, so we have lots of rear spring and bar to make it as tail-happy as possible. Barring damage, the rear tires last a couple races, while the fronts get replaced at the end of each racing day.

The great ratings debate::::

prelude: we are looking for tires for our 91 miata for No problem Raceway in June

Treadware # is softer to harder compund correct?  200 soft 400 hard ??

Traction -AA being the best, A Ok, B sucks?  but what does that really mean.  Is it simply traction when braking on a semi wet surface or cornering a circle seeing how many G's you can pull in your ferrarri?  Bottom line, Will a Lemons car know the diff between AA and A ?

Speed rating-Z and W being the fastest, H being middle of the road.  Will the Z tire help the Lemons car or is the H just as good considering it's hard to hit triple digits in a Lemons race anyway.  Does the Speed rating have anything to do with sidewall roll and stiffness of the sidewall or is it simply what it is.  The higher the speed rating the longer the tire will hold up at high speeds?

I sold tires several yeas ago but seem to have lost some of my knowledge and am really confused at this point as to which would be better for the Lemons race.

Unfortunately for I Wanna Roc the stock IROC rims are 16" which means that there's not a whole lot of options on tires out there. We have been debating on several models and I thought I'd get some input from the group. All prices are from TireRack.com and the tire size is a 245/45ZR16

Hankook Ventus R-S2 - 200 AA A - $113
Yokohama AVS ES100 - 280 AA A - $118

I am open to suggestions on a tire that either we have overlooked or TireRack doesn't carry. Thanks.

The tire debate continues.

I see a lot of Hankook and Azenias.  Most Yokohama's are a 180 treadwear and not within the rules.  The Dunlops look interesting too.

We run Toyo T1R's which have a 280 treadwear.  I found some in a 225/40r14.  They are short and fat and that's why we use them.  They seem to grip well and have decent wear.  They are a discontinued size so we will run out at some point.

In our first race, Houston 10/08, we wore the outer half of the tires pretty good but there is still a lot of tread left.  In our second race, Houston 2/09, we had more camber and wore the inside and outsides about the same amount.  So our wear is now more even and there's a bit more of it.  We also had a strut problem which increased our tire wear. 

Both sets of tires are good for at least another race.  If we keep the struts intact, we may see better tire life.  Race three will be New Orleans, 6/09.  Since we've never been there it's hard to say how things are going to work out.

Regarding tires and SCCA and NASA, I hear lots of Miata folks complaining about the new R888's wearing out about twice as fast as RA1's.  Either way, they only get a few weekends out of a set of RA1's.  I believe both those tires are like a 50 treadwear.  They shave the R888's, and probably most tires, to improve cooling which keeps the tires from becoming greasy and slippery.  The R888's seem to have more of an issue with becoming greasy and wearing fast mostly due to the softer compound.  These cars see way less track time in a weekend than our Lemons cars unless they race an enduro which is rare.

Another point, Runrummers raced Houston 10/08 on the same cheap ass radials from Walmart I run on my trailers.  They ain't fast, but they last.

We used the Hankook RS2s on the STS2 Audi at South and got a full day of racing on a set (then sold 2 to the eventual winning BMW--who used them on the rear for day 2). Even on the heavy, lumbering Audi they tire wear was good, and they stayed pretty darn sticky all day. If you drove a few aggressive laps you could feel them start to slip more, but after another couple sane laps they grip came back. We will probably get another day out of the second set we put on the car.

I'm not a fan of the RT615s--I would never suggest them to someone I want to stay friends with or win a race, so you should all by them and use them exclusively.

We ran the Azenis on our car and are going to something else. Possibly something harder....the RS2 looks like a good choice...but I am almost leaning toward something more suited to heat and abuse.

As long as you only need them to last through a 20 minute HPDE stint, then maybe....but only if you are only doing two or three stints.

For the Cavalier, 52psi was the secret to making the 615s last.