Hoosier R6 vs. Pilot Sport Cup

[Viper X]

Allan,

1 - Many of our track guys drive to and from the track with Hoosier R6s. Avoid wet or very cold days and take it easy.

2 - I personally have over 5000 street miles on a set of Hooiser A6's. These are on the back of my 1000+ hp Paxton Viper, so they get a pretty good work out every time I drive the car.

3 - PSC's will last longer on the street, a bit longer any way BUT they will heat cycle out on the track (loose grip) quicker than the R6 or A6 tires. This is from personal experience on a Viper running both types of tires on several road courses.

4 - Both tires will blast your sills or rear quarter panels on the street. Clear bra is the answer.

5 - Best solution, since you aren't a poser (I really like that as most of the VCA members in that area don't track their cars) is to get a trailer either for your car or for your tires. Most of us started where you are now and many of us have all evolved to a car trailer. Once you've felt the additional grip and predictability of the Hoosiers, you'll never go back to Cups. Cups get greasy when hot or have a couple of track days on them and become unpredictable, which means off track excursions.

Good luck,

Dan

 

[Allan]

Dan, thank you so much for the reply, very insightful. I really want to try the R6's. One other concern though, and I know this is subjective, but on average, how many HPDE track days does a Viper get on R6's (usually 5- 30 minute sessions a day). Currently, I average 4-5 good days on the sport cups. If I were to drive very "clean" would it be possible to get that many sessions out of the Hoosiers?

 

[Viper X]

Hi Allan,

The number of "sessions" you get from R6's will vary based upon the temperature (cooler is better), how hard you drive (sliding and spinning is bad), track surface (smoother is better), the track configuration (i.e. lots of tight turns and heavy braking or a few very high speed sweepers will wear them quicker), if you keep your "hot" tire pressures where they should be (not too high or low), if you swap your tires from side to side, i.e. left to right of your car at the end of every track day, if you swap your tires on their rims for fresh "edges" at about half way through their life and some other factors like your car's alignment, which can be critical. R6's like a bit more negative camber than other tires. You can read up on them on Tire Rack's website in their "care and feeding of R6's" area. Use the search function for alignment specs or PM me and I'll send you what I run on my ACR.

I get about 4 good days out of a set of R6's, then about two more days with progressively less grip. While I would not consider my self as "super fast", I am careful and normally run in the fastest HPDE group or "race" group with race cars. Though there are always some cars faster than I am, usually stripped, caged, highly modded race cars, I'm running faster than most.

Many of our track guys (we have about 50 in our group) get 30 sessions out of a set of R6's before they cord. Our sessions are about like your sessions, i.e. about 25 minutes each.

Good luck,

Dan

 

[Allan]

That is such awesome, 'real experience / non-poser info' -exactly what I'm looking for. In high performance vehicles, it seems everything is a compromise, no gain without a loss. I have two sets of tires to get though this season before I really need to decide on what to buy next. Probably will take the plunge and try the R6's. My alignment is -2.2 camber in front, -1.5 in the rear. I think that should be sufficient. I also have my own tire machine, so 'flipping them' isn't a problem for me (already doing that now). Also rotate tires sometimes at the track mid-day if necessary. My only real issue I guess, is that I don't trailer the car.........Dan, Thank You very much.

 

[Viper X]

That is such awesome, 'real experience / non-poser info' -exactly what I'm looking for. In high performance vehicles, it seems everything is a compromise, no gain without a loss. I have two sets of tires to get though this season before I really need to decide on what to buy next. Probably will take the plunge and try the R6's. My alignment is -2.2 camber in front, -1.5 in the rear. I think that should be sufficient. I also have my own tire machine, so 'flipping them' isn't a problem for me (already doing that now). Also rotate tires sometimes at the track mid-day if necessary. My only real issue I guess, is that I don't trailer the car.........Dan, Thank You very much.

Wish I had room for a tire machine.

I run -2.6 up front, -1.3 at the back with about 1/8 toe out up front, 1/8 toe in at the back both are per side. Some guys run more negative camber up front, like -3.0, but I've found that what I'm running gives me the best overall wear and grip, again, a compromise.

Good luck,

Dan