The general consensus is that the Hoosier A6 is the tire to have. However, now that the Hoosier contingency program isn't that great for TT, I wonder if there are any comprable alternatives. Just exploring my considerations for NASA TT - balancing out points, budget, longevity, fall-off, grip at different heat levels, etc.

The local track records have been broken with 225 A6's. I figure the below are my choices for a 6pt tire:

Hoosier R6 - probably won't go with this since the A6 is definitely faster than R6 and any width difference won't matter

Hankook TD - not a lot of info on this tire right now as it's new. Apparently it dominates Japanese Time Attack. Should be slower than the A6, but given treadwear rating it seems like it will be classified as a 7pt tire even though it's supposed to be faster than the other 7pt tires (RA1, NT01). May be as fast as R6s? At 245 the added width could help even that out and I still end up with a 6pt tire. Or at 225, I end up with a 0 pt tire and have 6pts to play with (95 lbs weight savings?).

Hankook Z214 C71 soft, 225 - From what I can tell these are competitive with A6's at autox even though they are rated as a 10pt tire. They will only be 3pts if I run 225 leaving me 3 points for something else (50 lbs weight savings?). Not sure if they are going to be good for more than a lap though - not a lot of track-data from my initial research.

Grand Am Continental - pretty cheap and easy to get used from what I hear.

Anyone have data on the TD's or Z214's on track?

 

I'd check out the Hankook Z214 C71 for sure - brian and wynn ran them one time at road atlanta and edged me out on some olding A6's.

I run my buddies hyundai in auto-x he has a C71 front and C91 rear and that car has unholy grip at both ends.
You won't find the C91 compound in a size u can use but that is suppossed to be better than the A6.

 

A6's are where it's at. I am not a fan of the C71's. I ran quicker times at MIR and Road ATL on my 1 year old scrub RA-1's than I did on the C71's. This past December at Road Atlanta, I put down a low 1:39 during the warm up session on those same old RA-1's. That is about the same time I managed on sticker C71's, granted that was in the summer. Once I switched to the A6's, I ran a 1:36.5 at Road Atlanta in Dec. A6's are much better than the C71's imo. Just go to big events with plenty of cars in your class, and win.

 

Dammit. That's not the answer I was hoping for lol. But I guess if I need A6's to win, then I'll have to get A6's. Any good sources of used tires? I'd still like to try and keep costs down.

 

I would not recommend used Hoosiers. When they start to slow they look perfectly fine with lots of rubber left. You'd most likely be buying an expensive tire at a discount more in speed than in price. Suck it up and buy them new [edit: I didn't know A6s didn't need to be heat cycled: and either have them heat cycled at the tire dealer or run them on the track for only one session and then let the cool overnight. Skip actually hauled his new Hoosiers out to the track and had me run one session on them for the break-in heat cycle. Proper heat cycling Hoosiers seems to be very important for tire grip and longevity.]

 

What kind of longevity do you think I can expect?

So part of the reason I'm looking at take-offs or alternate tires is because of the change in contingency. With not much in real monetary value to win, I find that I'm refocusing on the fun aspect of racing and less of the competitive...if that makes sense. So it turns into, do I want to have less expensive fun on R6's and be happy being within a couple of seconds of the leader? Or do I want to spend more money and (possibly) win?

 

R6s need heat cycling. Not sure if the A6s, do though. There's conflicting reports on that. IIRC, the "care and feeding of Hoosiers" just comment on "scuffing and going" for the A6 compound.

 

I'd rather buy new NT01s or RA1s than used Hoosiers. More fun per dollar.

 

True, but then no chance at contingency!

 

Good point.