New To FF, What Tire Should I Buy?

[mkp250r]

Hey guys,

Been reading a lot of post on here regarding tires. Im new to FF and need to purchase a fresh set for the start of the season.

I will be running in the Northeast for the most part.

What tire do you suggest i purchase?

All this talk on the forums has only confused me more.

[Bob Wright]

The usual questions are needed first...what kind of car, what kind of racing? Regionals? Majors? If club ford, you are probably looking at Hoosier R60 in the NE. If majors...you have some choices.

[racerdad2]

Wright is right figure out who you'll be racing with and ask them what tires you'll need. Some race groups run a spec tire. Others have an open tire rule and the compound you choose depends on track temps & conditions.

The R60's are a good tire to start with and you'll need a set of rains if you're planning on racing in the wet.

Enjoy !!!

[mkp250r]

The usual questions are needed first...what kind of car, what kind of racing? Regionals? Majors? If club ford, you are probably looking at Hoosier R60 in the NE. If majors...you have some choices.

I have a 87 Citation, Looking to run regionals and some majors in FF.

[S Lathrop]

Given that you have a 87 Citation I would recommend that you run Hoosier tires. Depending on what you want to do , I would suggest you use a 35 or a harder compound( 45 or 60).

The car was designed around tires that were similar in diameter to the Hoosier FF tires available today. Changing tire diameter very mush can cause problems.

[TimH]

Advice from a guy who knows a little about Citations.

Gotta love ApexSpeed.

[mkp250r]

Given that you have a 87 Citation I would recommend that you run Hoosier tires. Depending on what you want to do , I would suggest you use a 35 or a harder compound( 45 or 60).

The car was designed around tires that were similar in diameter to the Hoosier FF tires available today. Changing tire diameter very mush can cause problems.

Thanks ill take a look at these!

[mkp250r]

How many race weekends (regionals) on average would you get from a set of hoosier 35 ?

[Will Velkoff]

Hope to see you out there this season! Tire choice all depends on how fast you want to go and how long you want them to last. An R35 will be sticky and fast, but fall off after several heat cycles, where a R60 will not be as fast overall but will be more consistent with less drop off through 10-15 heat cycles.

[S Lathrop]

How many race weekends (regionals) on average would you get from a set of hoosier 35 ?

It depends on the driver and how well the car is setup.

A moderate driver with a well balanced car and good tire management, should be able to do 3 weekends min, maybe more. Hard driver with a strong push will kill a set in a weekend.

If the softer compounds are not abused, they will cycle better than hard compounds and give the driver a more satisfying ride.

After repeated cycles the soft tires harden but still can give better grip than a hard tire with the same number of cycles.

[mkp250r]

would it be safe to say your at the mercy of the other cars you would be racing against.

For example if everyone is running on sticky 35's I'm going to be forced to buy a pair of 35's if i want to be competitive.

Would you say most guys in our region are running 35's or something different?

i pretty much just want to be on a level playing field

[Garey Guzman]

It depends on your racing experience. When I started, I was setting Personal Best times on the 10+ cycle of GY 160 (R35 approximation). After some years, I found dropoff with each cycle.

If you have karting or other race experience, run what the other guys run. If you're new, R45's or R60's will be consistent for a longer period, allowing you to learn and track your improvement. The R60's (I think) are the cheapest and would be my suggestion for the racing newcomer.

[mkp250r]

Im coming from a pretty extensive background in karting,I started at age 5, ran everything from ICC Shifter karts,Rotax and even oval cage karts and my uncle and father raced FF for over two decades plus a bunch of other cars. I have a feeling i should be up to speed fast

[mkp250r]

Im coming from a pretty extensive background in karting,I started at age 5, ran everything from ICC Shifter karts,Rotax and even oval cage karts and my uncle and father raced FF for over two decades plus a bunch of other cars. I have a feeling i should be up to speed fast

Should note father and uncle raced in the 70's and 80's in FF and times have Changed

[cgscgs]

Reading this thread makes me wonder, if the internet had been around in the 60's would Colin Chapman be responding to Lotus FF questions on Apex? Gotta love it.

[Ian Lenhart]

I know several guys that have low heat cycle (1-4) take offs for sale that are switching over to Toyos this season. Being your first season, I'm going to make the assumption that you will have a bit of a learning curve, so before going out in fresh rubber and flat spotting them during your first session, I suggest you buy a set of decent used tires until you get up to speed for a lot less $$$.

Feel free to PM me for their contact info.

[Roux]

Since you are in the Northeast you will likely get to run with me, Jim MacNicholl and Ed Callo at some point. We all made a gentlemans agreement for the local limerock race and other local regionals to use the now discontinued Pro F1600 Hoosiers which may still be available on their website, heavily dicsounted. Those are essentially R45 compound. So if guys show up with R35 or even R25's we are nominally going to be at a bit of a disadvantage and we don't really care. We will race among ourselves and have some parity

Steve

[Tom Valet]

How many race weekends (regionals) on average would you get from a set of hoosier 35 ?

Approximately 1/2 of a race weekend. Only half joking.

[mkp250r]

Since you are in the Northeast you will likely get to run with me, Jim MacNicholl and Ed Callo at some point. We all made a gentlemans agreement for the local limerock race and other local regionals to use the now discontinued Pro F1600 Hoosiers which may still be available on their website, heavily dicsounted. Those are essentially R45 compound. So if guys show up with R35 or even R25's we are nominally going to be at a bit of a disadvantage and we don't really care. We will race among ourselves and have some parity

Steve

Heavy discounted sounds great to me. I would love to be on a cheap tire that last long as long as everyone else is on the same.

Limerock is about an hr from me so I will be there as much as I can. Although I looked at the schedule and didn't see all to many races there.

Too bad we can't get everyone in the northeast to be on the same page, so we all can run a discounted tire

[racerdad2]

I second the thought on going out on used take offs for your first few times. If you're pushing hard you'll have some full lock ups & spins. Tossing away $1k in tires sux. As you know, seat time is everything. Get to as many track days and test & tunes as you can.

Of course, nothing beats stickers IF the budget allows.

[EACIII]

Check with Hoosier on the left over F1600 tires. You may be able to get a set for about the same cost as used take-off. (lot less then a set of Toyo's)

And I don't think they are really that much if at all slower then a R35.

Ed

[mkp250r]

Check with Hoosier on the left over F1600 tires. You may be able to get a set for about the same cost as used take-off. (lot less then a set of Toyo's)



And I don't think they are really that much if at all slower then a R35.



Ed

Thanks I'll contact them ASAP

[propturner]

I like the idea of the discounted Pro tires as well. But, to answer your earlier question, most SCCA regional and majors racers use the R35's in my experience. It is not an economical tire. 8-10 heat cycles and you can feel it going away. As you can tell by the many posts on tires, it is expensive to stay with the pack. At least for an average driver like myself. Hope to see you this season.

Bill Atherholt
South Jersey SCCA

[keith joslyn]

I'm entering my second season of FF from a few seasons of F500. F5 was great with only one tire compound choice. I found after 4 or 5 heat cycles they fall off, BUT it took me a couple years to notice. For the first year I didn't know the difference between new and 12 heat cycle old. The F500s are so light the tires will not wear out. I'd recommend you find a fresh used set for your first weekend - whatever compound and then invest in a set comparable to what you are running against. I use R45s. Now, with more experience under my belt, new tires are like cocaine - you want more, more, more. I see some fall off after just a couple heat cycles in the R45 compound I use. I"m cheap, I think, and try to get 10 to 12 heat cycles from the R45s. I will be looking into the new F1600 pro radials . I have heard some say they will be competitive for 2 to 3 times the what the R45s were. The recommended front camber will be a problem in my car, but I'll still be looking.

See you at the track - came say hi.