Continental/Hoosier challenge slicks
 

I'm seeing these new and used for pretty cheap. How are they as a track day tire on a lightly modified car? How impractical would they be on an autocross?

Don't buy used slicks. Unless you want just one use of them on the track.

Oh... if you have to ask about how they perform, you are not ready for slicks. Maybe not even ready for any Motorsport.

Sorry silly questions gets you silly answers. It's like saying how much faster will a twin turbo V8 vs a stock NA 4 banger would be.

To late. I've done 4 track days. (stock tires) Just checking my options. Seems a waste to buy a dot tire that will never see the street.

This is the stupidest thing I've heard. He doesnt know how slicks perform cause he hasn't used them, therefore he isnt ready for any motorsport? Get off your high horse

Buying used is a excellent option for the budget racer.

Finding the right size for your rims can be a issue.

Find what your local cup cars are using and choose track rims based of that.

There are alway lots of slicks being changed out on days, all with varing conditions.

Ha!
Clearly the dude is trolling or something. But come on anyone that done any kind of track day or autoX doesn't even have to second guess how better slicks are than dot simi-slicks.

There is no high horse even remotely near by. Just common logic.
:slap:

True but you really ever know what condition of used you are going to get. That might be ok if they are normal street tires.
But slicks, nah the amount of money you think you'll save vs the time left is not worth it. Just buy new and enjoy the track day without worrying when the slicks are going to ware out.
Then why even ask if you already know the answer?

I've purchased used slicks from the tyre guys at track days/events a few times.

You get to pick what you want, it's not like you or they pick cooked tyres.

Alot of people have more money than sense, or, for the pointy end guys, swap out tyres that are at about 75-50%.

Me, I always keep a eye for who swaps what though, the rich idiots who have all the gear but no idea are the ones to watch, they sometimes just swap out perfectly good rubber "because rich consumers", these guys are hotly watched at the tyre guys truck, by myself or any other "seagull" ready to dive onto a bargain.

I've had good cheap success

And the difference between road tyres and full slicks, even 2nd hand slicks, is huge.

Some clubs here will not let cars run full slicks at trackdays without at least a certified cage.

I've ever used "Grip" a few times to soften up some old tyres I've been able to pickup cheap, as long as they last a session or 1 day.

https://griptyresoftener.com

My best score was a set of near new softs that I scored for $400, it was raining and some rich dude swapped them out for wets.

Killing $400 worth of rubber a day is better than 2k$ worth of rubber for the average punter.

He wanted to know if they would be worth using for autocross. I dont see how he is trolling, it was a simple question with a yes or no answer. This forum is here for people to ask questions, not for ****heads like you telling him that he isnt ready to track his car because he doesnt have any experience with slicks.

Yikes! I've found great info on this forum but this one went sideways quick. There is always that one guy...

FWIW these are going for $150 new in17" 86 friendly size. I wanted to know how good they would be for 20-30min sessions on track and if they are useless on autocross for being hard when cold. Basically:

How quick they come up to temp?
Do they wear out or cycle out?
What kind of lifespan?
Do they work on camber challenged cars like ours?

Whatever else I don't know enough to even ask about. Maybe slicks will cause oil starvation? I'm new to this but not stupid.

I have some friends that do this occasionally on their BMW E30 and E36. You end up with absurd grip, and it’s kind of silly. Compared to street tires it makes everything else on the car feel inadequate, like, the suspension feels too soft, the engine no longer has the torque break traction, etc... kinda fun experience. Just plan on the tires not lasting much more than a trackday and you’ll have fun.

You could have answered that much nicer.

Don't listen to Mr.AC - he's WAY out of bounds on this one - and he's being a ****. Don't listen to ****s.

I raced competitively on used R-comps from 2004-2011 and in 2011 I ran half the season used tires before buying a new set and won the championship that year. I won 4 championship after that racing on tires well past their "fast" points and would get more out of a tire that most people said you could. I often changed them once the cords were showing.

You CAN know the performance of used R-Comp by 2 things. 1) The age and 2) the number of heat cycles. Most racers (who buy new tires) record the number of heat cycles and the reason they do this because most R-Comps have a performance maximum in the first number of cycles; on some it's 3 cycles on others it might be 12+. But even after the performance drop off occurs they are STILL R-COMPS even if they are .5-1.0 second off their fastest pace. As long as there's tread they'll function - but how the function over the duration of their usable life is actually easy info to find by searching proper racing forums (this is not a racing forum).

There's a BMW E30 class here that uses Toyo RRs (in my size) and the fast guys would do 4-6 cycles on them then replace them (even though they would be fast for 12+) so I would get VERY cheap tires. The really fast Spec Miata guys might do 3-5 so I could get Hooseir SM6s for cheap some times as well and they would still be within .3-.5 seconds of their fastest until the darn cords showed.


As for your other questions: If these are for sale - they are "cycled out" meaning they are not at their fastest - but they're still fast. They will probably like camber somewhere from 2.5-4 degrees depending on setup (buy a tire pyrometer) and as much caster as you can throw at them. If you're highly camber challenged then run them with more tire pressure to reduce sidewall flex.

I would expect they would like to be somewhere around 34-40psi hot - but once again - record your data and you'll figure it out. They will not be as forgiving as a street tire. If you graph the slip angle, it falls off fast once you exceed maximum adhesion.

Have fun out there!

Excellent post!

I use R7s for time trials and use oder Hoosier set for practice and throw on a fresh set for the 'bang' out lap. THis was cost effective as I would win new tires (Hoosier contingency with NASA) if there were 7 participants. I'd use the 'fast tires' for 10HC before retiring them to practice (next year's strategy as TT5 is very competitive).

The older set can get up to 30 HC and they were still a touch faster than my sticker Toyo RR (which as correctly observed, are fast for 5 laps then consistent to the cord dropping half sec or so per lap).

Best bet is to get 225/45/17 Contis from Bimmerworld. You'll get a good idea on what its all about. The R7s are marginally faster than the Contis I ran but FWIW, perfect for track days.

Lutfy

I'll get a set just to see what the deal is.

Call up JB Racing Tires: Two Six Two Nine Zero Three Four Two Three Five.

No affiliation. He sells A7 (Autox compound) as well. Those tires come up to temps faster even on the road course. If getting 225 sized tires, suggest 225/40 vs the 45 series tire as you'll get some oomph from the gearing as well.

Cheers,

Lutfy

Had a chance to run a brand new set of Conti slicks earlier this year at Sebring. Amazing grip, pulled nearly 1.8 G's in the hairpin during their first and only session when the passenger side valvetrain came apart and took the built motor with it. Needless to say this set is for sale in the classified mounted on a brand new set of Wedsports 105N's. Whole package not a whole lot more than a new set of R7's.

That guy is right! Never buy used slicks. In 2009, I ran a set of used Hoosiers for the full AutoX season and I ended up finishing 2nd in Mod. Unless you want those kind of results, don't buy used.

Wait... maybe you can buy used.

+1 for JB. I used to buy from them when I ran my old car. They don’t always have the sizes we are looking for though...


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They’ll be fine for both, but will be pretty far off any dedicated autocross tires because they are designed to work best hot as they’re an endurance tire. So if you can hot lap they’ll get better each run, but these are slower than R7’s and A7’s.

I have run the Conti slicks from Bimmerworld for testing day purposes. They are a bit slower than R7s at their best but get greasy a lot faster. However, for the price they make a lot of sense and I could always get at least 3 track days out of a used set. They are a great DE tire, but I think they are too slow coming up to temp to be a good autocross tire (speaking without experience).

That said, if you have only done four track days, I wouldn't move from stock tires to slicks. Grippy tires mask driving errors and will impede your development. I would stick with lower grip tires until you really feel like the tires and not your driving are the limiting factor.

Conti slicks are basically built as an endurance tire. They have an extra layer of tread. Most of the races they are used for are 2-6 hours. They would be tough to get heat into fast enough for autocross purposes.