Toyos vs Hoosier R60 CF

[alangbaker]

Goodness knows I don't want to start any political discussion about this, but I think everyone here knows that there might be reasons why a Canadian wouldn't want to be purchasing goods from the United States right now.

With that in mind (and given that our group in British Columbia has opted to go back to an open tire rule for FF this year), is there anyone who can tell me if I have a hope of being competitive at the sharp end if I decide to use the Toyo R888R rather than the Hoosier Club Ford bias ply tire?

My car came to me set up for running on the Hoosier radials, so I know I have sufficient adjustability to run the correct cambers with either, but...

...I'd like to have a chance of winning.

Thoughts?

[stonebridge20]

Starting your post like that is probably a really good way to start a political discussion.

[DanW]

Alan,

One of our local CF guys tried a set of R888s to compare with American Racer, and Sumitomo. He is very particular about tires. He said the R888 and Sumitomos felt quite numb and had a hard time getting them any temperature compared to the ARs.

That said, I believe the Ontario FF guys use the R888s.

Another thought would be to bring your car to Seattle for a race weekend, buy and mount a new set on the car and tow it home.... Once mounted, they are considered used.... I don't believe there's a tariff on used tires.

[alangbaker]

Alan,

One of our local CF guys tried a set of R888s to compare with American Racer, and Sumitomo. He is very particular about tires. He said the R888 and Sumitomos felt quite numb and had a hard time getting them any temperature compared to the ARs.

That said, I believe the Ontario FF guys use the R888s.

Another thought would be to bring your car to Seattle for a race weekend, buy and mount a new set on the car and tow it home.... Once mounted, they are considered used.... I don't believe there's a tariff on used tires.

I do appreciate the idea, Dan, and I would very much like to do another race in Seattle some time soon...

...but it's also a matter of conscience for me.

I've emailed back and forth with David Clubine, who campaigns at least a couple of cars in Ontario, and his opinion is that the Toyos will be at a definite disadvantage at a track like Mission (heavy braking, a few rapid left-right transitions), but I still think I'll probably end up using them.

[John Nesbitt]

Goodness knows I don't want to start any political discussion about this, but I think everyone here knows that there might be reasons why a Canadian wouldn't want to be purchasing goods from the United States right now.

..

Starting your post like that is probably a really good way to start a political discussion.

Please, let's not start a political discussion. I come to Apexspeed to get away from all of that.

[DaveW]

Goodness knows I don't want to start any political discussion about this, but I think everyone here knows that there might be reasons why a Canadian wouldn't want to be purchasing goods from the United States right now.

With that in mind (and given that our group in British Columbia has opted to go back to an open tire rule for FF this year), is there anyone who can tell me if I have a hope of being competitive at the sharp end if I decide to use the Toyo R888R rather than the Hoosier Club Ford bias ply tire?

My car came to me set up for running on the Hoosier radials, so I know I have sufficient adjustability to run the correct cambers with either, but...

...I'd like to have a chance of winning.

Thoughts?

Starting your post like that is probably a really good way to start a political discussion.

I didn't think that was political - just a comment on tariffs raising the cost. If it was intended to be political, I agree with Stonebridge.

[alangbaker]

I didn't think that was political - just a comment on tariffs raising the cost. If it was intended to be political, I agree with Stonebridge.

It absolutely wasn't intended to be political. But it seemed prudent not to ignore the facts of the situation.

[Brian Graham]

Are you asking about bias ply slicks or bias ply treaded tires like the VRG or vintage groups run. Definitely will be slower than slicks and maybe slightly closer with the vintage tire. The main difference will be you will have more money in your wallet with the Toyos. Don't get me wrong, I love the tire Hoosier has put out for FF and VFF, its just a fact that it is cheaper to run the Toyos.

Brian

[Larry H]

The Hoosier VFF (vintage club tire) is at least 2 to 3 seconds faster than the Toyo R888s. Last weekend I ran my FF on VFF for the first time at a VARA event at a new-to-me track. The driver that won Saturday had 29 heat cycles on the VFFs. On Sunday, he put on new VFFs and ran comparative laps times. Sorry, I can't more precise as lap times varied quite a bit because of the wind pick up as the day progressed.

My first thoughts are that the Hoosier VFF tires seem to have more forgiveness than the R888 (I have 2 years of experience with the R888) They do cost more but I think they may not heat cycle out as quickly. You would need to change the chassis setup. The other consideration is what the other racing series in your neighborhood are running.