Race Slick comparison

I'd love to see a race slick run down in the larger sizes. I've heard a lot of XXX slick is best, YYY slick is best. Put some Radial slicks on a BMW or some other FWD cars and rip them up. 285/35/18 would be a great size to test out.

-Trent

um, do you mean DOT R-compound, Bias ply, or non-DOT radial?

What race series and what class?

Avon vs Hoosier vs Goodyear (do they make them anymore?) vs American Racer?

How about drag tire vs autox tire for the sweet spot of awesome?

TrentO wrote: Put some Radial slicks on a BMW or some other FWD cars and rip them up. 285/35/18 would be a great size to test out. -Trent

Radial slicks are not usually measured this way. For example we run 280/680-18 on our 928 track car. The 680 is the diameter in MM. We score cheap/free takeoffs from the Porsche 911 cup cars.

If you're discrete about it and sign an agreement to not disclose the series sanctioning body that provided the information, then almost any sanctioning body with a spec tire has this information at their disposal as they test tires during the bid process for sponsors to become the spec tire for the series, with testing normally taking place at no fewer then 2 tracks. They're have lap times and cycle times of how long until the lap times fall off and at what percentage the times increase when the tire starts to lose it's ability. For what it's worth, the Pirelli DH slicks are good, really good and Hankook has a new slick compound that is also pretty spectacular.

In reply to 2002maniac :

I've seen both ways of sizing radial slicks. I personally run 280/650/18 Yokohama A005. 680 is just too tall for older cars. They hit the frame rails when you get low enough.

I've run Hoosier C3000 and Hankook F200 radial slicks (both medium compound). The F200 performed about the same as a Hoosier R7 but with better consistency from session-to-session. The C3000 was significantly better than the R7 in grip and about the same in longevity.

In my current class there is a big penalty for slicks vs. DOT-R compounds, so the Hankooks make no sense. The Hoosiers might make sense, but I'll need to test a bit.