Used Tires?

[blindsidefive0]

Saw this link on ebay for Hoosier R6's off of MX-5 Cup cars:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hoosier-Racing- ... 515wt_1185

Good idea or bad idea for $50/tire + shipping...are Hoosier R6's toast after 4-5 heat cycles (I assume these guys are balls out driving for probably minimum 20 minutes straight for each heat cycle)?

Also, anyone else know of any other guys selling used tires - I've seen mixed results from John Berget. He sold my cousin and shake+bake a nice set of R6's last year, and then Shake got some lousy ones this year...

BTW - if there's already a better thread open, feel free to link me and I'll post there...

[imgon]

I have had mixed luck buying used tires, but that price seems pretty good. Another problem is shipping can add up quickly so if you get a junk set you are out the money for the tires and shipping. I have decided that from no one when I buy used tires I am going to look at them first. It is such a hassle to get them shipped and mounted only to discover that you only get one session out of them. Good luck. Hope you had an uneventful trip home.

[StephanAlfa]

I agree with Chuck. Adding mounting costs and suddenly a cheap proposition becomes as expensive that may be repetitive.
I can notice one tire "flat-spotted" so need to be careful when getting these "deals".
ALso there was an outfit from OHIO that "collected" cycled tires that were in great shape. I lost that link but I hopefully someone at COM that may have it, seem that one is a better proposition...
Good luck!

[blindsidefive0]

Stephan, it wasn't this guy was it?

http://www.racingjunk.com/Road-Racing-T ... ssios.html

[blindsidefive0]

Any autox'ers care to comment on how r-comps hold up while autox-ing? I'm looking at a set of A6's that have 3 autox events (approx 12-15 60s runs). Obviously the tread looks okay, but does this cause the tire to heat cycle out?

[Grippy]

A6 is much more cycle resistant then R6 but because it is an "Auto-X" compound it can overheat on a track under a heavier car. R6 are designed to win a road race which comes at the cost of cycling out quickly, you can count on 6 great cycles then it is downhill from there. They will wear forever but turn to rocks. If you can check out the tires with a durometer that might tell you something. But someone else got the best part of the rubber, thats why they are selling them.

Toyos on the other hand seem to get faster just before they cord so a used set would be fine unless flatspotted.

I have been running Kuhmo 710's which probably fall somewhere in the middle, a little slower than Hoosiers but faster than RA-1's. I usually get maybe 10 prime cycles then another 20 or so at A- or B+.

[Chrispy]

You can use A6's as a TT tire on the lighter cars, they will probably peak around timed lap 1 or 2 depending on ambient and track temperatures. They were very popular with the top ST4 competitors last season For auto-x you can consider each run session a heat cycle rather than each run.

[TroyV]

Nick,

Are you talking about parking lot autocross events, or a place like Devens? The surface at Devens is like cheese grater compared with a parking lot. Have a look at the really worn areas of say T6 at NHMS, then make that the entire surface.

Autocross wears Hoosiers...and particularly A6's faster than they can cycle out. That is to say....you will cord them long before they will get hard. I liken running a tire on track to almost like a tanning process to leather. The wear rate is less...but the temps are similar, and sometimes, depending on application, the track you are running and the weight of your car, temps can be higher and obviously for longer periods of time.

Any time I have had a R compound tire....of any make....that I thought was cycled out, I ran them at Devens, which beats the crap out of them...and takes off layers. The next time I was to the track with the tire...they would have a little more grip than expected. Essentially just digging down to the fresh stuff underneath. This has been so for V710, Z214 C51, R6, SM6 etc.. I have noticed this less with the RA1/R888/NT-01 as those are really just street tires.

[blindsidefive0]

Everyone, thanks for the replies.

To summarize:
- A6's are not as likely to heat cycle out as R6's
- However, A6's might overheat with a heavy car for a longer session
- Autox is not likely to heat cycle the tire as bad as the track, but it will tear the tread off

I think if I can talk the guy down in price a little bit, I might pick up this set and try it out. If the detailed pics of the tread look okay (meaning he wasn't running on a vicious surface that ripped layers of rubber right off the tire), and he truly only had them for autox, they should have some okay life in them as a TT-only tire...I wouldn't run these for full sessions.

Overall, I'd like to run what Troy calls a "street tire", preferably the NT01, to get to/from the track and double as a practice tire. Then I would run something like this A6 (or ideally a Hankook z214 c71) for a TT-only tire (unless I get a set that overheats before my 3 laps is up). Lastly...anyone got any old Hoosier wets (I can fit 8 tires/wheels in my car comfortably, might as well bring another set)...I hate running my street tires in the rain

[TroyV]

Nick,

That is exactly what I do. I run NT-01's on the street....and for hot lap rides and practice where I'm not really caring too much about lap times. I save the good tire for day 2 and run on it as little as possible.

[Chrispy]

Do you know what the weight of your car is Nick?

[blindsidefive0]

Troy - sounds great. This is helpful to validate my thinking on the "tire strategy"

Chris - 3175 is the curb weight provided by the factory.
I believe I'm probably on the higher end of what would be effective for the A6, and based on some research I've seen mixed results - a lot of people (with similar car) say they are blazing fast for a couple laps and then fall off...which is fine for me...unless they don't even make it to lap 2 or 3.

[dradernh]

Lastly...anyone got any old Hoosier wets (I can fit 8 tires/wheels in my car comfortably, might as well bring another set)...I hate running my street tires in the rain

I've picked up used HWets that I was happy with from Jean-Paul: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh ... ?t=1025134. Last set was $612 shipped ($130 each + $23 shipping), so around half price. These are the tires I used at Summit Point. They had very little use on them when I got them.

Nick, That is exactly what I do. I run NT-01's on the street....and for hot lap rides and practice where I'm not really caring too much about lap times. I save the good tire for day 2 and run on it as little as possible.

Same here, except for the street part. Very cost effective. Plus, this gives a driver an excuse to carry even more tires.

[Foosh442]

Nick,
The A6's in my opinion would be perfect for TT or even some full 25-30min sessions. My car weighs about 3250lbs. (with me in it) and I run the A6's for 40min sprint races. They "come in" extremely fast (they feel great even after only one warm up lap usually) and as others have said they are pretty darn good right to the cord. I finished off a set at Summit Point that had roughly 16-18 sessions on them (each session being anywhere from 20-40min). I don't feel that they really "fall off" until about the 30min. mark during a race. Hope this helps...

[betelgeuse]

Nick,

My 99 m3 weighted under 3100 lbs (3090 I think) with the spare removed and about 1/3 tank of gas.
I tried the A6s once and I think they overheated after the first lap. My times fell off a lot the second and 3rd lap.

NHMS CC 7/8/2009 ST3 330 Greg Loupis 01:19.111, 01:19.980, 01:20.317, 01:19.111 1-T BMW E36 328is

R6 only for me from now on.
My .02 cents
Greg