FB Competitor's Opinions on American Racer

[Zcurves]

I just wanted to start a discussion amongst FB competitors regarding American Racer.

It took awhile to get the car adjusted to the new tires at Road Atlanta, but I'm very impressed by their willingness to support the NAF1000 series and to give us a tire designed specifically for our needs. I ran the first set at RdAtl 6 heat cycles and 4 more at VIR test day. I could probably get another cycle or two in testing.

My feedback was much the same as the others. I wanted to see a softer spring rate and a somewhat softer compound. However, I think it's important to have an all season tire (minus rain). If they go too soft, the tire won't last in the heat. If they are too hard, we'll have no grip in the cold like at RdAtl. Initial feedback from the Gen 2 design is positive and I understand it will be ready for general sale at Pittsburgh.

To those F1000 competitors not running the series currently but plan to in the future, pick up a set or two and get ahead of the curve regarding setup and feel. It's also a great way to support the series from afar.

[Nick77]

Hey Tim,
I couldn't agree more American Racer built a specific tire for F 1000 the weight, speed, size are all very good although the first compound was a bit harder than we all needed for a cold Atlanta weekend. I'm sure there are thought behind that compound was for longevity purposes but they quickly went back to the drawing board to give us a more suitable compound for a year-round tire. We tested generation 2 tire at VIR track day on Thursday average temperatures in the 70s tire came on and the second lap and was extremely good with grip, we put 4 heat cycles on the tire and Turned our fastest lap time on the fourth cycle. American Racer has put this tire into production and will be available for the major race at Pittsburgh in May I can't wait to race on this tire it's going to be a lot of fun I guess really the best part of this tire is that American Racer is building for us is the fact that it's a couple hundred bucks cheaper than what we all have been used to racing on in the past anybody can buy these tires from Brad Batose at Primus and test a set for them self. Have fun see you at Pittsburgh

Nick Mayer
#77

[CGOffroad]

What width wheels are these designed for? 6" front and 8" rears?

[Nick77]

We run 7 frt and 9 rear

[Zcurves]

The front tire tire is 7" and the rear is 8.5". I run 8" and 10" wheels, some 7" and 9", and I think I even saw Slahor with ARs on 6" and 8" at VIR. He finished 3rd in R1, so must have been working for him. I think they were designed to be used on any combination the class uses. I like the idea of one size and one compound. It helps keep prices down and maybe will ensure we always have fresh tires.

AR seems to be hungry and I respect that!

Nick, glad you guys can make it to Pitt. I'm going to do my best to be there as well. I just watched video of the Philly car run there and it looks fast and fun.

What width wheels are these designed for? 6" front and 8" rears?

[Blair Robertshaw]

can anyone please share what the Target Hot Tire Pressures should be running 7" and 9" wheels? thank you

[sprocketmensch]

Guys, so now that you have run on the gen 2 tire, what is the feedback? How does it compare to last years Hoosier?

[david oleary]

Well we are now waiting for the GEN 3 tire for the Glen, so far not sold
on the tires.
Hill showed up on Hoosiers and was 5-6 seconds faster then the Gen 2 tire

[david oleary]

i understand that the Gen 3 tire for the Glen was tested by Alex
and was to ho very well, he was faster on it then the Hoosier during testing
at Summit this pass week.
we will see what happens at the Glen.
Hill will be on Hoosiers and Alex will be on American tires so it should be a
good test.

[ghickman]

i understand that the Gen 3 tire for the Glen was tested by Alex
and was to ho very well, he was faster on it then the Hoosier during testing
at Summit this pass week.
we will see what happens at the Glen.
Hill will be on Hoosiers and Alex will be on American tires so it should be a
good test.

Wow wouldn't that be something if we had a potential tire battle brewing here. The new Hoosier A2000 rear is in my opinion not the best offering Hoosier has supplied us with.

Tire war at Indy would be awesome. Good on the Mayers for sticking with it.

Forgot to mention I'll be on Avons

[NorthAmF1000]

Rome was not built in a day gentlemen.

The third generation tire from American Tire has proven to be quick. Alex Mayer tested the new tire at Summit Point and was a full second faster than his previous time on competitors tires.

American Racer Tire has made a major commitment to Formula 1000 and is working hard to create an optimal tire design for the series. Not only did American Tire step up to be a title sponsor of the inaugural season, but the product is 25% cheaper than the competition.

As with any new project, there will be issues and hardships, however American Racer Tire has proven they are committed to providing a fast, consistent tire for F1000.

From all the drivers and teams in NAF1000, thank you to American Racer Tire for making the commitment to the inaugural season of the North American Formula 1000 Championship.

[NorthAmF1000]

Wow wouldn't that be something if we had a potential tire battle brewing here. The new Hoosier A2000 rear is in my opinion not the best offering Hoosier has supplied us with.

Tire war at Indy would be awesome. Good on the Mayers for sticking with it.

Forgot to mention I'll be on Avons

When you decide you would like an opportunity to mitigate your weekend racing costs, running American Racer Tires qualifies you for NAF1000 Random Drawings for Free Tires, Discounts on parts, and CASH at every event., not to mention the race purses, year end prizes, and free food available at every race.

Brexit yourself and race American!

[NorthAmF1000]

Alex Mayer wins Watkins Glen super tour event on American Racer Tires - beating Jeremy Hill on Hoosiers.
Full race report /results will be posted soon.

[S Lathrop]

What were the F1000 lap times compared to FA?

[Blair Robertshaw]

We just picked up a few sets of ART, have yet to run them but we did manage a weight comparison: we run Youngblood wheels. Fronts were 2lbs a wheel tire combination heavier with the ART. The rears were 3 lbs heavier than the Avons. End result the ART's ended up adding a total of 10 lbs additional weight to the car. These as far as we know are Gen 2.

[NorthAmF1000]

What were the F1000 lap times compared to FA?

44.8 winning Atlantic - Sedat Yelkin
48.3 - Winning F1000 - Alex Mayer


The gap is about the same as Yelkin and Loshak at 2013 Runoffs.

[S Lathrop]

44.8 winning Atlantic - Sedat Yelkin
48.3 - Winning F1000 - Alex Mayer
The gap is about the same as Yelkin and Loshak at 2013 Runoffs.

That tells me a lot. Thanks.

[Thomas Copeland]

Not surprised that American Racer has gotten a competitive tire now with Hoosier. Saw this coming from the beginning. As I mentioned in my Road Atlanta post the gap they had to bridge wasn't all that great. I could see that and I'm certainly no tire expert. But I know what I feel having raced on Hoosiers, Goodyears, Avons, Hankook's (etc) and now American Racer. Also they are very motivated. Expecting even more and better performance from them in the future. Good job Alex and ART!!

[JerryH]

The gen 1, 2 and 3 F1000 tires from American Racer were all the same construction.....but did have different compounds. They all weighed the same......1 lb heavier than the hoosiers....both front and rear.

GEN 4 WAS INTRODUCED AT WATKINS GLEN LAST WEEKEND. Both the compound and the construction were new. It was much better suited to our cars....and faster. THEY ARE LIGHTER THAN GEN 1,2 and 3.

This is not the same tire they make for FC. It is specific for F1000 and is labeled as such. Alex Mayer beat Jeremy Hill who was on freshly scrubbed Hoosiers. Their lap times were very close.....as was the entire race between them....exciting to watch!

Four weekends so far......and AR has changed the tire for every weekend. That is four different tires in as many weekends......a very intense development program.....and here is the best part.....there is more to come!

Don't forget the price is much less than Hoosier or Avon.....which is a big factor for some of us....and you must run them to be eligible for the prize money we hand out every race (from 2 to 3 thousand each weekend).

If you have an F1000 car, you should come join us......big fields....and a friendly group who pitch in and help each other.

Next race is July 21-23 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Check out our hospitality tent if you are there.....free food and wifi.

Jerry Hodges
North American Formula 1000 Championship
636-399-7060

We just picked up a few sets of ART, have yet to run them but we did manage a weight comparison: we run Youngblood wheels. Fronts were 2lbs a wheel tire combination heavier with the ART. The rears were 3 lbs heavier than the Avons. End result the ART's ended up adding a total of 10 lbs additional weight to the car. These as far as we know are Gen 2.

[Gary Slahor]

Just wanted to see if there is a consensus on how many heat cycles the new tire is good for ?
We only ran one set of the new tires, and scuffed them in on Sat morning for 3 laps.... then ran Sat race.... no practice on Sun and Sun race.... so that's two full heat cycles plus the 3 lap scuff.
Jason reported that the tires fell off significantly about mid race on Sunday.... That's not even two heat cycles.......Could be due to our setup, but I did notice some of our group changing tires quite frequently throughout the weekend.
Any opinions ?
Gary

[Nick77]

Just wanted to see if there is a consensus on how many heat cycles the new tire is good for ?
We only ran one set of the new tires, and scuffed them in on Sat morning for 3 laps.... then ran Sat race.... no practice on Sun and Sun race.... so that's two full heat cycles plus the 3 lap scuff.
Jason reported that the tires fell off significantly about mid race on Sunday.... That's not even two heat cycles.......Could be due to our setup, but I did notice some of our group changing tires quite frequently throughout the weekend.
Any opinions ?
Gary

Hi Gary
On Thursday we ran 4 sessions and then Friday morning one more session to make five heat cycles and we were still running in the 50s but the tire showed significant wear after that

Nick77

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Hi Gary
On Thursday we ran 4 sessions and then Friday morning one more session to make five heat cycles and we were still running in the 50s but the tire showed significant wear after that

Nick77

Can you clarify? Gen 3 or Gen 4?

Please indicate the tire Gen whenever making statements. We're all trying figure out this moving target....

[Gary Slahor]

I might be wrong but I thought the gen 1 Tires were used at Rd Atlanta and VIR. The gen 2 were for Pitt Race and gen 3 for Watkins Glen. I think there may also have been some inbetween iterations that us racers never saw that were only for testing.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Post 19 indicates Gen 4 at Watkins but doesn't say if all sets provided there were Gen 4 or who was running them....

Just trying to keep things straight since this is going to spill over to FC....

[Nick77]

The Watkins Glen tire was Gen 4 and all competitors raced on Gen 4 except for Jeremy Hill

Nick77

[BeerBudgetRacing]

The Watkins Glen tire was Gen 4 and all competitors raced on Gen 4 except for Jeremy Hill

Thanks. So the balance is somewhere between Gen 3 and Gen 4?

Gary's post "Life of gen 3 tires ?" was really Gen 4 then?

[Nick77]

Thanks. So the balance is somewhere between Gen 3 and Gen 4?

Gary's post "Life of gen 3 tires ?" was really Gen 4 then?

The construction on the GEN 3 and Gen 4 tire are basically the same the compound is totally different

Nick77

[BeerBudgetRacing]

The construction on the GEN 3 and Gen 4 tire are basically the same the compound is totally different

Nick77

Ok - but that doesn't clarify if Gary's comments were for Gen 3 or 4.

[NorthAmF1000]

Post 19 indicates Gen 4 at Watkins but doesn't say if all sets provided there were Gen 4 or who was running them....

Just trying to keep things straight since this is going to spill over to FC....

American Tire may use the data collected and information in the creation of FC tires; however, the F1000 tire and the FC tire are entirely different tires. Just wanted to clarify American is making different tires for the heavier FC cars than the much lighter F1000 cars.

[NorthAmF1000]

American Tire may use the data collected and information in the creation of FC tires; however, the F1000 tire and the FC tire are entirely different tires. Just wanted to clarify American is making different tires for the heavier FC cars than the much lighter F1000 cars.

Information miscommunication - The American tire currently being used by FC is the same tire for F1000.
Apologies

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Information miscommunication - The American tire currently being used by FC is the same tire for F1000.
Apologies

That's what I was told. Thanks for clarifying.
That why I'm trying to get the posts here clear on which Gen people are talking about.

It's a very fluid situation - which is great, but if comments don't address the right gen tire it's hard to reach the right conclusions.

[Blair Robertshaw]

Is the a date or production code that we can look for on the side wall to determine what gen the tires are from? I was also told f1000 tires have a f1000 identifier on the side wall. So do they or don't they. Anyone know for sure?

[Gary Slahor]

My post refered to the latest tires that were produced for the Watkins Glen race. Everyone seems to be calling them gen 4

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Since I have a new set of ARs in my garage now, I was reminded that they need to be mounted in the correct direction.

I heard that it doesn't matter AFTER the first heat cycle - you can swap sides/direction....
They just need to be heat cycled correctly at first.

True? Comments? Experience?