Dave,

For current Hoosier Street TD I'm paying $185 per tire. The 185/60-13 R7 are $195-200. Last week I email Hooiser for some help deciding whether to stick with the Street TD or go to the R7, my concern was the wieght difference (the TDs are only 11lbs). I was told for the my 100whp car that I'd be better of with the TD. They also told me they are coming out with a new / updated tire, 20.5 x 6.0 - 13, which offer more grip and will also go a few more heat cycles as well. It's due September / October. Basically they are waiting tell the sell of existing stock of Street TD, which means they may have some smoking deals on the older tire.

Now as for those Avon overheating, yes it is possible to do them in very quickly, they are fine for anything sub 1500lbs. When I ran them on my car it was 1780 with me in it, much more than that I bet you could cook them in a couple of laps. If I was doing untimed track days I'd buy a used set to play with. They were heaps of fun, with a bit taller sidewall then the Hoosiers you could hang the car waaaaaay out. My buddy whose known for wrestling old dirt bikes in the most alarming manner commented "those sure look like fun", total giggle fest. If there's timing I'll be on the Hoosiers.

Tom

Hi Dave you could try MD Motorsport (Max Dumesney) he is the importer in Melbourne for hoosier tyres.Greg

Hi Tom,
Just had a quick look at the Hoosier site. Gosh, those R7's look the goods. There is absolutely nothing available here in NZ unfortunately.
What sort of money are you paying for them over in the States?
Cheers
Dave

Hi Tom,
I have thought about these however after talking to a chap who has tried them on his 1200 evidently they are good for 1 lap then just get too hot and go off very quickly.
Interestingly I googled the Yokohama A050 and believe it or not they make them in a 175x60x13 so I rang the importer here in NZ to see if they had/could get them only to be told that they were not bringing any 13" A050's into the country - even after offering to prepay for them. Typical NZ !
Well buggar them- I quickly had a look on the net and found a Japanese site that exports so will contact them for a quote.( and our retailers wonder why they are losing business hand over fist to overseas suppliers via the net!)
So a few options on the table- still waiting to hear on the Nankangs.
Watch this space!
Cheers
Dave

Dave I thought of one other tire that I tried albeit as take offs; Avon ACB9. I used a 6.0 x 22-13. They are used on classic Formula Fords and small bore sedans. Again it's a bias ply but it should easily fit under you fenders and they fit on Rims as narrow as 5". You might be able to find them as take offs for cheap.

Tom

Thanks Harry,
As always a wealth of good,carefully considered sound knowledge and info.
I don't like my chances with the Nankang but I am going to try. Spoke with the importers in Auckland and there is nothing in the country so they would have to be specially indented . That in itself would not be a problem but I have to go through a retailer- that is where it could all just get too expensive by the time they put their margins on. At least I a a base line figure to work with thanks to your link to the ones for sale in Aust.
I do have another option that I am considering and that is there are some old stock of a medium compound Silverstone slicks 160/530/13 that fit my rims available from Palmside here in Chch. In theory I should not be using them for classics but heaps of guys do and no one cares apart from the big meetings. They would certainly cover track days and smaller events and at $120 each are now very reasonable buying.
I just feel a touch awkward using them when others are playing by the rules although I must admit I'm getting sick of watching the tread disappear on the R's...
Looks as if its going to have to be a complete rim change to get the 185/60/13's in those rear guards as well, I test fit a Revolution minilight replica and that is giving me 10mm extra inset to play with but its still going to be tight- bloody 4 doors!
Cheers
Dave

Dave,

In the small bore group people are using Hoosier Street TDs, Toyo ( the sticky ones) or Hoosier r6 now R7.

In the medium bore sedan group, which is made up of B-Sedan under 2.5L Trans Am (mostly BMW 2002 & Datsun 510s) they are almost all using either the Toyos or Hoosier R6/R7. Minimum weight for the 2002s is 1900lbs and 510s are 2000lbs (this is without driver) versus my car at 1670.

I've contemplated going with the Hoosier R7 in the same size but the bias ply tire is 4lbs lighter and and shorter. I lose out on the straights so every it helps. I haven't had a chance to email Hoosier and see if the radial R7 offers more grip (I think the bias ply is actually softer)

I agree with you harry about the hankooks they just drop of so fast.but they are so so sticky.greg.

A048 are superseded. Current Yokohama is A050 - that's what Improved Production has been using over here for the past few years. The A048 wasn't a great tyre - slow and loses even more performance with heat cycles. A050 on the other hand is regarded as the fastest semi available, along with Hankook Z221s.

R888 is also not a great tyre IMO. The wear well, but had no grip for a semi slick.

I'm currently using Nankang AR-1 semis on both my cars - twin turbo Soarer and AE111 Levin BZR. On the Soarer which I've owned for years I've had a few different semis now:
Nitto NT01. 245/40 R18. Lakeside 1:01.3
Hankook Z221. 235/40 R18. Lakeside 59.8
Nankangs AR1. 265/35 R18. Lakeside 1:00.2

So as you can see it's not a straight comparison using the same sizes, but the car was unchanged so it gives you an idea of how they compare. My Impressions:

Nitto are made by Toyo in the same factory in Japan, and have the same construction and compound as R888. They were unimpressive. lacked lateral grip and drive. They were only 0.7sec faster than normal road tyres! Same kind of performance I got from the R888 I used on a 180SX years ago. But they were cheap. That's why I tried them, combined with some people swearing they were better/faster than R888 - which they weren't.

Hankook Soft compound Z221 were awesome! So much grip it was ridiculous. But only lasted 5 track days so not great value for money, but if the ultimate goal is going fast, these are awesome. Hankook Z221 and Yokohama A050 are generally regarded as the fastest semis currently available. When I say they only lasted 5 track days, they still have plenty of tread, just lost grip. They didn't taper off - they stayed rocket-ship fast up until the day they gave up the ghost and went over 1.5sec a lap slower.

The Nankangs have good grip, good wear, and great prices. They're available in 185/60 R13 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nankang-AR-1-185-60R13-80V-80-TL-Tyres.
When I got the Levin, I went straight for the Nankangs. If you can get them in NZ, give them a go. They're not widely available in Aus...

In qld the importer is zcarracing ph 0738082755 not sure who is the importer in nsw