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Which road course slicks would you track with?

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Bill Pemberton

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Plenty of folks use Hoosier A7s or R7s, and another option is the BFG gforce R1S because they are even less, price wise , and last a bit longer. Both have pluses and minuses , but these two DOT Competition Tires are widely used.

For pure slicks, quite a few folks are buying used Pirellis or Michelins from IMSA or World Challenge races.
 

Apex Wheels

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19" wheels are a little difficult to find true slicks for, but there are a number of solid R comps/semi-slicks available. For a 19x10" wheel, I would go with the 295/30-19 Toyo RR. It's reasonably fast, yet also wears fairly well all things considered. We have had a few customers switch from the Toyo R888R (not a good track tire in our opinion/experience) to the RR and they have raved about the increased grip while not seeing much of a reduction in tire life. One guy knocked off 4 seconds from his PB without any other changes.

For a final added bonus, it's very affordable: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...idewall=Blackwall&partnum=93ZR9PXRR&tab=Sizes

- Cory
 

Bill Pemberton

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If just used for the track, Apex has given you one more option, and agree on the RR as another solid choice. The R888R , even with the minor tread revision, is a decade old design, that is noisy, and no surprise to me that drivers knocked off a bunch of seconds with the RR. It ( the RR ) is slower than the Hoosier or BFG, but not by much at all, and seems to have a track life similar to a BFG gforce R1S.

PS - you probably figured out I echo ApexRaceparts opinion of the R888Rs --- not a very good road course tire in my opinion , either ,ha. They are very polite too, as I would have suggested selling your Sportlines and getting a set of Apex 19x11s for even more choices ,hehe.
 
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Bill Pemberton

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Thor, assume you are talking about used Michelin slicks from some of the various Pro Racing Series? You are spot on that they are a step up from the Hoosiers , which we all know are quite quick!
 
Thor, assume you are talking about used Michelin slicks from some of the various Pro Racing Series? You are spot on that they are a step up from the Hoosiers , which we all know are quite quick!
Love the 18” used slick market. Got screwed on a set via e bay, so now stick to only well known forum members or imsa / challenge teams. I just picked up a set of continentals for my 18x10.5... will be curious how they stack up against my dh slicks. The dh slicks had 1-2 best cycles. These continentals were new for $124 each... shipped
If you want slicks I would recommend the 18’s... sorry I don’t have more info on the 19”
 

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Bill Pemberton

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You will find the Continentals to be slower, but for running HPDEs ,etc. the pricing is solid. Most of the leftovers are Daytona slicks , so they are not optimal for regular road courses, but getting seat time is important to all of us and as you noted ,they are cheap, ha.
 
I've run the BFG R1S on track and doing hillclimbs mainly and as Bill mentioned they are a nice track tire but I can't attest to endurance yet. Never ran Hoosiers. I have run lots of the take off Pirellis and Contis. I have a garage full of the Daytona leftover Contis and as Bill stated, some of the compounds I ran were for much lighter vehicles so I ate them up over a two day event. But for the price (less than $200/tire) they were great. They still have some leftover 305's that were used as the rear tire for GT4 Mustangs and they are cheap! Pirellis hold up longer and are pretty sticky so they have been a popular choice with folks here. Haven't used the Michelin's that I also got from a board member here....that's coming this summer.
 

Bill Pemberton

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I love Hoosiers, but I tend to go through super fast. I switched over to the gforce R1S because of some fast friends who were using them that mentioned they had two strong attributes -- price and longevity. This was based on their switch from Hoosiers, as the price can be significantly less, and they seem to last longer than both the R7 or A7 ( so far my experience it showing that, too )

Plus - they don't seem to get as greasy as the Hoosiers on a long race 30-50 minutes.
Con -they don't heat up as fast, initially as the Hoosier, hence you have to hustle even harder the first few laps of a race.

Plus - for Time Trials I would suspect the Hoosier would be the go to tire, as it warms up super quick ( especially the A7)
Con - as noted , if a longer race they do tend to get greasy towards the end, especially if a warm day.
 
I've run the BFG R1S on track and doing hillclimbs mainly and as Bill mentioned they are a nice track tire but I can't attest to endurance yet. Never ran Hoosiers. I have run lots of the take off Pirellis and Contis. I have a garage full of the Daytona leftover Contis and as Bill stated, some of the compounds I ran were for much lighter vehicles so I ate them up over a two day event. But for the price (less than $200/tire) they were great. They still have some leftover 305's that were used as the rear tire for GT4 Mustangs and they are cheap! Pirellis hold up longer and are pretty sticky so they have been a popular choice with folks here. Haven't used the Michelin's that I also got from a board member here....that's coming this summer.
I believe they had multiple compounds available. The prototype tires (lighter cars) were for $99... but this compound (6500 I believe) was used in the gt4 class. Still lighter than my 3500 lb Heffer... hoping to get 4 - 6 days (2 - 3 weekends out of them). Will be rotating constantly... I’ll report back.
 
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The Pirellis are like crack if you can get your hands on good sets. 4 seconds faster than my new Cup2s on the same day.

Hoosiers are really HPDE/TT friendly. They heat up very quickly and are predictable. Half lap and you're safe.

My Pirellis are slick as ice for 2ish laps by comparison. I managed completely flat spot one hitting the bump going into T1 at COTA on a 90* day on my first flyer
20191013_100011.jpg20191013_100726.jpg
 
The Pirellis are like crack if you can get your hands on good sets. 4 seconds faster than my new Cup2s on the same day.

Hoosiers are really HPDE/TT friendly. They heat up very quickly and are predictable. Half lap and you're safe.

My Pirellis are slick as ice for 2ish laps by comparison. I managed completely flat spot one hitting the bump going into T1 at COTA on a 90* day on my first flyer
View attachment 11819View attachment 11820
Dang! That makes me tear up...
I agree, pirelli for me are ridiculously scary for outlap... Lap 2 is 80%... lap 3 is flat out...
 

Bill Pemberton

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Are you guys starting with the Pirellis super low on air? Just wondering as that can sometimes be part of the issue of taking so long to warm up?

Honey Badger I think you win the award for Flatspot Professional, dang that had to be like riding in a Flintstone Ford, ha?"
 
Are you guys starting with the Pirellis super low on air?

Funny you ask Bill. With the Contis I was starting in the low 30's but when my Pirelli friends heard that they thought I was crazy. They are starting in the low/mid 20's which I thought was way too low. But I did start at 29 psi and noticed better grip and less warm-up. I would love to know what others are using.
 

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