I know the tire size on stock rims issue has been beaten to death, but I'd like the opinion of some of the guys who do track days. I'm looking at tires for track days and autocross. Locally a guy has a set of 275/35R18 Hoosier A3S04s and a set of 245/35R18 V710's. Initially I was planning to go with the V710's but I'm a little concerned about how quickly they'll get eaten up during track days. Then he told me that the Hoosiers have a cantelevered bead design and they fit better on narrower rims than other tires. He's currently got them mounted on 18x8 wheels. I know the V710's would be much better for autocross, but I'm only running locally.

So a couple of questions:
Anybody have any experience with the A3S04's on the track?
Anybody have any experience with 275's on the track? Any adverse handling effects?
Suggestions?

Ideally I'd like to find some Toyo RA-1's, but he's only asking $100 for each set (hoosiers and v710's) and it's local, so I'm probably not going to find a better deal. The Hoosiers are about half worn and the V710's have 1 season on them.

 

I would go with the V710. The A3S04 is an autox compound and was the low point for Hoosier, short life and not as fast as the A3S03 or A3S05. If they are CHEAP pick them up just to trash them, but they are not a great tire. The V710 should be faster than the S04 and last as long or longer.

 

ditto, unless you've added serious camber settings you'll tear the outside corners off those Hoosiers in a blink of an eye

 

My suspension is completely stock. Camber is -1.0 in the front and -1.5 in the rear.

Sounds like the V710's are the way to go. Hopefully they'll hold up on the track. I may pick the others up as well just because they are cheap and would probably work for track days. You think they'll get torn up with the stock suspension and my camber settings? Do you mean they'll rub the inside of the fender or just get torn up because I'd need a lot more camber to keep the whole tire down mid corner?

 

They lasted me 4 autox events on another car, now they are just average tires. Heck, I didnt use them on the race track

 

+1 for the V710's.

however....I wonder what "one season old" means. Most people get about 90-100 runs on a set of V710's....this is for local stuff, so run them till they cord. If you want competitive V710's, buy new, or less than 20-30 runs.

 

Anybody have experience with Hoosier Grand Am Cup tires? There's a guy selling these in 245-45-18, but I can't find any info on them. He said they are a little harder than R6's. I'm sure they wouldn't really work for Autocross, but if they have a long life at the track I'd be interested.

 

yes, they are harder compound than the R6 and will last longer but with less raw grip unless they are very hot, still won't be as long as V710 especially if you don't add negative camber

as a general rule of thumb, Hoosier tires are for serious drivers with deep pockets and a well setup vehicle, even at a reduced price they aren't economical

 

I was going to go with the v710's, but I found out that they have 100 runs on them. I wouldn't expect to get too much more out of them, especially at the track. The Grand Am tires have a lot of life left. $200 for the set, but it looks like they would last me quite a few track days.

 

life on a Hoosier tire is not measured by tread depth in the usual sense, it's measure in either # of heat cycles or # of corner cord showing cycles

 

Good point. Thanks for all of the info.

 

I had decided not to buy the V710's that I was looking at because the owner told me they had about 100 runs on them. From what I've read here that pretty much means they are at their end of life. Then he sent me pictures of the tires and the grooves are still very visible. It looks like they are right about at the wear bars. I know they wouldn't be super competitive for autocross, but would you think these tires still have some life left in them? He wants $100 for the set. Mounting will probably cost another $80. Will these be toast after one track day?

Sorry to ask so many questions about this. I'm just trying to find some cheap tires that will last a few track days, and I haven't been able to find any RA-1's.

Thanks.