You serious autocrossers who run Hoosiers, what is your annual expense for tires?

 

I did 3 Pro's, 3 Nt's, 1 divisional, the Finale and Nationals with a co-driver. I think we went through 6 sets of Hoosiers, but two sets only had about 6 runs on them when we were done. Only a couple of those tires corded before they were relegated to local event duty. We really liked fresh tires.

 

No local events and three runs (each driver) per event?

 

NT's are 6 runs each, and Pro's are 12 runs with a drag strip start.

Yes, it was expensive. And yes the tires were used for local events after their big event duty.

 

Did you reverse mount them to extend their use? What tire pressures did you use? Thanks.

 

Yes, 53F 48R

 

On the other extreme, as a single driver, you could get through 8 local events at 4 sixty second runs and 3 or 4 National events, including Pro Solos, on one set of R3S04's if the timing of tire rotation and flipping inside out worked ideally. It usually doesn't, so I'll say two sets of R3S04's for a single driver in a season.
Yes, you can win on R3S04's, I've done it many times and prefer them for the Pro Solos. The four runs in a row get plenty of heat in them. At a Tour, you'd probably want some covers to retain heat between runs.

Once you get real serious, it's a good idea to have TWO dedicated sets of wheels for dry R Compounds. That way you can swap between sets when necessary.

Brian

 

As the Atwater Pro demonstrated,

add a set of rain tires and wheels to the equation.

so if you are serious, or a National wannabe,

2 sets wheels with dry rubber (hoosier 04's 05's or Kumho 710's)
1 set wheels and rain rubber

Figure 5K for that combo, using stock or cheap wheels for the rains. ( 2 sets SSR's @ $1250, two sets tires @ $750, cheapo wheels, rains 600 - 1000)

Add $800 per additional set of race rubber. (tires plus heat cycle plus shipping)

And figure in the costs of changing tires on the rims every 20 or 30 runs. I get most of my changes free but still ended up out almost $400 for mounting and balancing last year.

Not something you really want to keep tabs on, it's scary. But it's also the price of admission on a National level.

 

That's exactly right. I've currently got a set of R3S04's on Enkei RPO-1's, A3S05's on Enkei RPO-1's, and Toyo RA-1's on X-lites.

But, I've collected this ensemble since 2002, when I started off selling my stock wheels and buying two sets of RPO-1's, using one set for R's and one set for street tires that would make a good rain tire. Now I've got four sets of wheels.

You have to keep in mind, for G Stock on the East Coast last year, it rained at the Atlanta Pro, D.C. Pro, Toledo Pro, and Solo II Nationals...

Brian

 

Brian,

I am already looking around for R tires for when my Azenis wear out. I was thinking about Toyo RA-1s mainly because of their longevity. I have a completely stock Mini Cooper (no camber) and the events I go to usually run 8 or so 60 second runs. Running 15x5.5 holeys.

How long do you think the Toyos will last if I am diligent about rotation? And how much slower are they going to be on a 60 second course compared to Victoracers? Do they really last much longer than the Victos?

Seems like not too many people have experience with the RA-1s here.

Thanks.

 

Boy, I forgot that you probably have a decent size RA-1 for a Cooper. For the Cooper S, you can only run a 205/55R16 which is way too tall, that's why I use it for a rain tire only.

However, for a Cooper, you could run a 205/50R15 or even a 225/45R15 if you wanted to cram it on.


The Toyo is a GREAT tire. It's technically not as fast as Hoosiers and V710's, but can sure do a good job running with the rest. The key to the Toyo is something people don't realize:
The Toyo almost never shows signs of heat cycling, they grip the same for a VERY long time. This is also a reason they're expensive, the quality of the tire is incredible.
We have a local tire dealer that's a Grand Am racer and swears by the Toyo brand. Because of that and the fact he sponsors the region, and gives away Toyo certificates at the banquets, more and more autocrossers run them around here. If you ask many in our region, they'll tell you how good the tire is.
The bad is simply that there aren't good sizes available for everyone, and they're not cheap. The good is they're reasonably fast, safe on the road (this would be my regular road tire for my MINI if there was a good size), and last FOREVER!
On a MINI with little camber, they will still burn up faster than normal, but will asuredly outlast any other R Compound.

In short, I HIGHLY recommend them, and wouldn't consider anything else until you're really fast and absolutely have to win. Even still, I'd run them locally.

Brian

 

Thanks for the input Brian.

I will definitely keep the RA-1s on the top of my list when the time comes. The other positive is that the 205/50/15 RA-1s are meant for a 6" wheel, unlike all the other tires in that size which are meant for a 6.5". Though I am seriously considering getting a wider wheel and this may become a non-issue either way.

Thanks again.