Spec Tire Survey Results

[Matt King]

The RA-1s are all over in NASA. There are at least 10 classes that use them as the spec tire.

[brian]

There are other companies than the two majors. As you know, SF region has had good success, and lower prices, with the AR's and AVON built a tire a few years ago and probably still has the molds.

[craigs]

Hi Brian - I've never been out there so I don't know first hand. Does an AR dealer provide at track support for the regional events in the SF region? Did Avon when they made FV tires?

[Mystique Racing]

Roger Krause Racing is at every SFR event and stocks the AR FV tires.

As a side note I just recently drove my old FV that had 4 year old AR's and was still turning competitive lap times...... Amazing tires.

[P-2 Mark]

Scott,

I heard the AR's were about 1 second per lap slower than the comparable Hoosier's and GY's? Any truth to
this and how many heat cycles are you getting before the tires aren't competitive any longer?

Thanks!

Mark

[FV80]

- the toyo RA-1 ran its best laps on cord and so do the falken's the 1200's run, how is it that street DOT R compounds can do this and the current slick used in vee does not?
everyone knows how awful the toyo R888 were and look at what happened the RA-1 came back. people shave these things down to get to the sweet spot, which isnt much in terms of laptime. (1200 has an agreement not to shave falkens

The reason this happens is that it is a treaded tire. As the rubber wears, it becomes more and more like a SLICK and thusly gets better and better until (just before) it runs out of rubber. A slick starts out slick - so it generally gets worse and worse (can't get rid of the heat as well) as the rubber wears. It's physics - can't do much about that.

Steve, FV80

[tiagosantos]

Mark, the AR's are slower than the hoosier/GY by quite a bit. Depending on the track, it can be well over a second slower. They do last a long time and are pretty consistent. If we could get American Racer to fix the damn leaking, I'd totally be up for using those as a spec tire. To be perfectly honest, there are other things I don't like about them, and I'd much prefer Hoosier or Goodyear gave us a similar compound with their overall better tire construction.

I don't doubt that American Racers might be faster on their first session. But I don't believe the difference between their first session and their 2nd or 10th is as significant as the current Hoosiers. Is anyone on SFR running sticker AR's every race?

[Mystique Racing]

The AR's are more like 2 seconds a lap slower then the national tires, of course that will vary depending on the track. Yes, they leak air slowly, however, I have never had one loose significant pressure during a 30 minute race. They stay very consistent throughout there life. As I have said before I set my fastest lap time on a set that the cords were just starting to show on the front tires. Additionally, I know the sidewall construction is not as stout as the Hoosiers so they do have a very different feel to them. $450.00 for a set and they easily last 20+ heat cycles. In SFR we have 14 regional races this year, two sets should get you through the entire season.

What more can you ask for?????

[P-2 Mark]

Scott:

Is that two seconds slower than the R55's or R45's you mentioned as National tires etc?

Mark

[tiagosantos]

Like we said, it depends on the track, but they're significantly slower than either the R45's or R55's. At our local track, I'd say they're close to 2 seconds slower than the R55's. I don't think there's any track where given similar cars and equal talent, anyone could be remotely competitive with the AR's against a field of Hoosiers or Goodyears. Ain't gonna happen But if we want a harder tire that lasts longer, we have to accept that we will be slower. They can do some crazy stuff with tires, but I don't think they're holding back any miracles of tire development that would produce a faster, longer lasting tire. It's 100% a compromise.

[brian]

Like everything, your results may be different. Scott has great success with the AR's; others, not so much. The time differences quoted are close. I once out qualified my Hoosiers on new AR's but that was an anonomoly. Some regional folks buy more than two sets a year. Yes, the AR's do leak a lot. I have seen as much as 2 lbs. in a session.

The Avon tire came up a few years ago and looked very good. Problem was, the grip was so high that they scrubbed too much speed off.

I plan to chat up some SM and SRF folks this weekend and get feedback on their spec programs. You all should do the same. There's more to this than meets the eye.

[brian]

Had to work on the car a bit more than expected and didn't really get a chance to talk to a lot of folks, but a SM buddy told me that the Hoosier spec tire went up $30 when it became the spec. He chose to buy the non spec Hoosier, which is identical except for the SM embossing, on his STU Maita and saves the $30. IN STU configuration, more HP, he has to be very carefull not to burn down the rears. I think I mentioned that the SF region, SM class chose to break with the national Hoosier tire and stay with the TOYO they ran in prior years.