Indy Lights (Lola T97/20) Tire Recommendations

[halcyon]

I recently acquired a Lola T97/20 from an estate sale, so unfortunately I only have some notebooks and wasn't able to download the 15 years of experience from the previous owner who passed away earlier this year. I already plan to reach out to a couple of race shops that support these cars but also wanted to ask some questions and learn from the experience on the forum here. Before I begin setup on the car, I want to understand what is the best tire for the car. I see that Cooper, Hoosier and Avon all sell 15" Atlantic tires to fit the car. What is the consensus on which is the best tire? Which is the faster tire? Does one brand offer better longevity? Are there significant differences in how the cars respond on the different tires? Are their significant differences in sidewall stiffness or other factors that would necessitate different spring rates or other setup changes between tire brands? Thanks for any experience that can be shared.

[Dee]

I have used all but Coopers on an Ralt 41 and Swift 016 the best was the Avon, BUT they are out of production (hopefully someone will buy the tire line and bring it back) Hoosier is making a Super Soft tire no feedback yet. one tire to the next will require big setup changes.
Good Luck
Dee

[Graham Rankin]

Adding to Dave’ comment, Im running the Hoosier SS compound on the Swift 014 with good results so far. The S compound is also good but for your car being heavier wear may be more prominent. Ive heard there maybe a few of the Avon A53 coming which if true and you can get them, they maybe better suited, a little harder, but may work for you. Current generation Indy NXT are using Bridgestone, but they are specific to the series so likely not attainable, also my guess they would be a harder compound.

[Lenny T.]

The T97/20 ran on Dayton/ Firestones back in their day . Not sure what tire size new lights cars run but they are now on Firestones. Reach out to Firestone .

I was a race engineer for those cars when they first came out and still have all set up notes if needed.

Lenny