Hoosier FE Tire (60A Compound) - What's the deal?

[BeerBudgetRacing]

If any of you FE drivers follow any of the FC postings, there is a long thread about a spec tire for FC, a survey, committees, politics, etc. which resulted the SCCA declaring a Hoosier bias ply 60A compound tire as spec.

That's your tire compound!

The claim is the 60 compound is too hard - but this is 60A - supposed to be new in 2019 - and no one in FC has said they've run this tire.

Can anyone share their experience with this tire?
Is it too hard? Is the 60A different than the 60?
Do you follow the recommended setup or find something else works better?

Is there someplace with more discussion (pros and cons) on this tire?

Are you happy with it or lobbying for something else?

[Jeff Read]

First off let me say that Hoosier has always supported SCCA and I've always been a fan.

The current spec tire in FE2 (60a) is harder than the last Hoosier that we ran (45a) , but it is still head and shoulders better and more consistent than the p.o.s. American Racers that we were on for 3 seasons.

The current tire although not as fast as a softer compound , it is durable and consistent. Hoosier does a great job for us and I for one am glad that they are our tire supplier.

I have followed the FC thread from the beginning and have a friend on the adhoc. I would gladly give my opinion on that , but not on a public forum!

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Thanks Jeff.

Not looking to roast anyone - just want to know if the tire is drivable, etc.

Has there every been discussion of moving to a radial?

I suspect these are faster than the ARs? But slower than the 45a's ?
Or is it hard to tell because your cars are faster now?

Are they harder to drive than the 45a's?

[iamuwere]

Thanks Jeff.

Not looking to roast anyone - just want to know if the tire is drivable, etc.

Has there every been discussion of moving to a radial?

I suspect these are faster than the ARs? But slower than the 45a's ?
Or is it hard to tell because your cars are faster now?

Are they harder to drive than the 45a's?

This tire has very good, predictable grip. Easy to use without needed to scrub it in for a session, just put it on and go.

The tire has a predictable slide and braking.

It does not flat spot anywhere nearly as easily as the SRF Hoosier tire.

It does take more effort to get up to temperature than I would like when very cold and damp conditions (lightly wet and temps below 38F).

[iamuwere]

And: take this as someone who raced the Hoosier original 45 tire, the AR (HORRIBLE), Avon/Cooper, and raced FC in F2kCS on Hoosiers.

I actually think the tire would be better in FC sizes on the FE. I'd much rather have 6/8 instead of 8/10 tires. I think the FE is over-tired and this compound would be better at 6/8 size.

[LarryWinkelman]

Concur with what Jim said, although I only have the AR v2 and v3 tires to compare with. Both were crap, although v3 was less crappy. FE cornering speeds on the v2 were equal or less than (in some cases) in my SRF3.
They do take a while to heat up, and consequently it isn't unusual to have some locking on the first lap or two of a race, but I haven't noticed significant flat-spotting.
I have also set several PBs and one track record on tires with more than 10 heat cycles, so they seem fairly durable. I haven't tried running them to the cords.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

How about setup? What does this tire like?

Reports have been good but in our FC thread there is a report of losing edges fast.

[Agitator]

I have also set several PBs and one track record on tires with more than 10 heat cycles, so they seem fairly durable. I haven't tried running them to the cords.

I know this thread is a couple years old, but can anyone chime in on the current FE2 tire life? 10 heat cycles would be phenomenal. Is anyone else seeing little drop off with 10+ cycles? With it costing $100+ a set to mount a balance at the track, it's kind of tough to take off a 4-6 cycle set to put on stickers each weekend...but that seems to be the norm.

[iamuwere]

I have run two and three weekends with minimal drop in speed. I think they are fastest for one or two sessions by maybe a second then fade to a pretty even level until you run the rubber off of them. I have set track records on tires that were through the wear holes. I will always put on a new set for a Super Tour, but used tires for smaller races.

[Agitator]

I have run two and three weekends with minimal drop in speed. I think they are fastest for one or two sessions by maybe a second then fade to a pretty even level until you run the rubber off of them. I have set track records on tires that were through the wear holes. I will always put on a new set for a Super Tour, but used tires for smaller races.

Thank you! That info helps a lot!

James

[CGOffroad]

You will get answers to this question that vary significantly. A factor you have to consider in you decision is how the tires wear at particular venues. I ran an event in 2022 in California where the locals knew to put new tires on the car Saturday, and new tires on the car for Sunday. The surface and circuit were just known to be very hard on tires. They were right, it did make a difference! I have also run on tracks where it simply is not possible to get your best times on stickers, or 1 session scrubs. Best times were found on tires with 3-5 sessions on them.

Also, how much time are you having in between race events? If you do back to back weekends and end up with 8 sessions, your results will be different than if you do a weekend, don't run the car for 3 months, and then go out and put your 8th session on them.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

I ran an event in 2022 in California where the locals knew to put new tires on the car Saturday, and new tires on the car for Sunday.

Are FE's not limited to 1 set per weekend? FC's are. Stamped after Q1.

[Agitator]

Are FE's not limited to 1 set per weekend? FC's are. Stamped after Q1.

No, not at Majors, and not at Regionals unless there has been a "gentlemen's agreement". They are apparently experimenting at 3 Super Tour races with Spec Miata (one set of tires a weekend). I would support the effort in FE2, if it ever comes up for debate.

This will be my first year in FE2, from a FV. Interestingly, I can buy a set of spec FE2 tires from Hoosier about $40 CHEAPER than the spec Vee tire, despite the vee tire having at least half the rubber...I'm assuming that FE2 being an SCCA created class, they negotiated a better price from Hoosier.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

No, not at Majors, and not at Regionals unless there has been a "gentlemen's agreement". They are apparently experimenting at 3 Super Tour races with Spec Miata (one set of tires a weekend). I would support the effort in FE2, if it ever comes up for debate.

This will be my first year in FE2, from a FV. Interestingly, I can buy a set of spec FE2 tires from Hoosier about $40 CHEAPER than the spec Vee tire, despite the vee tire having at least half the rubber...I'm assuming that FE2 being an SCCA created class, they negotiated a better price from Hoosier.

Interesting. When FC went to the spec tire it was 1 set per weekend and 3 sets total for the runoffs.

I think restricting number of sets in a weekend better represents the spirit of a spec tire.

[LarryWinkelman]

I would support the effort in FE2, if it ever comes up for debate.

That used to be the rule in FE/FE2, but it was changed c. July 2021.

There's pros and cons. I don't know that anyone is running two sets of stickers during a weekend, but especially for the HST events with 2 quali and 2 races, you do have a little more flexibility if you don't have to declare a tire and use it for all 4 sessions. Or if you damage or flat spot more than one tire. As Jim and others have pointed out, the current tires are pretty durable.

[Skip Weld]

What is the current price of a set of FE tires, mounted and balanced with tax out the door at the track?
Thanks,
Skip Weld

[Agitator]

What is the current price of a set of FE tires, mounted and balanced with tax out the door at the track?
Thanks,
Skip Weld

I'll know a total in a couple weeks, but as of Aug 2022 - cost of tires was $209 ea - $40 per wheel mount and balance = $996 before tax and tire disposal

I just looked at my last Hoosier bill for FV tires - they were $211 each...so I was off saying FE tires were $40 less. They are about $8 less per set - still, it's odd that a much bigger tire (rubber/contact patch) is cheaper.

[CheckeredFlag]

it's odd that a much bigger tire (rubber/contact patch) is cheaper.

Economics probably plays a lot into this. The FC and FE2's share a pair of tires (FC rear and FE2 front are the same) and the tire compound and construction are the same for both classes.