New 200TW tire - Hoosier TrackAttack Pro

[RedReplicant]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

If it’s not a melty one and done super 200 and lasts at least 6 days I would be on board. I’m over the current 200tw tire meta, I want more meaningful laps.

I've recently found the answer to that, but you won't like it.

My Elise came with two sets of Hankook F200 medium and hard slicks - against my better judgment I didn't just sell them and have been running them, they pretty much only get faster the deeper in the session you are. They're not the easiest to drive, but that partially might due to the car.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by RedReplicant

they pretty much only get faster the deeper in the session you are.

I believe slicks need a lot of heat in them to work well, so it might be that they only reach operating temps later in the session. It might be fun driving ever increasing pace without fear of losing grip, but I would prefer tires that warm up quickly and perform the same throughout the session (goes both ways - not greasing up like 3-lap-wonder tires nor not reaching full grip until the last lap). This way I can explore the limits of the car.

[RedReplicant]

They seem to take a lap to not be skatey, which is comparable to the RE71RS when I ran it on my BRZ. The RE71RS would get greasy after maybe two laps for me.

The car is 1700lb without driver and it makes 220whp NA, stock aero. It's a missile and also wants to murder you, pretty fun.

[RT-BRZ]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I believe slicks need a lot of heat in them to work well, so it might be that they only reach operating temps later in the session. It might be fun driving ever increasing pace without fear of losing grip, but I would prefer tires that warm up quickly and perform the same throughout the session (goes both ways - not greasing up like 3-lap-wonder tires nor not reaching full grip until the last lap). This way I can explore the limits of the car.

Most slicks (other than Hoosier A7's) are designed to take a bit to heat up from what I know.

[ZDan]

In my experience, if overdriving A052s I can find myself running out of grip after a handful of laps. But driving at 9.8/10ths instead of 11/10ths, I've found I can do LONG stints without losing grip. As mentioned previously, in an endurance race in an S2000 on 255/35-18 A052s, I set the fast lap of the event on like lap 100!

For me, A052s have been the go-to tire bacause:
1. all the grip from lap 1 turn 1
2. wet grip is *amazing*, and sliding grip in the wet allows you to push without risking doom...
3. can run long stints without losing grip, if do not overdrive!

We'll see where the new Hoosier 200tw falls soon enough I hope! Honestly if they were available in my sizes I'd be tempted to run a set in time trials a couple of weeks from now, but would have to be 225/45-16 for the Miata or 225/45-17 for the BRZ and I'm only seeing 18" and 19" sizes....

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Me and two frenz ran 255 A052s on an S2000 for two 3-hour endurance races earlier this year. I set the fastest lap of the event on the 100th lap on day one. They lasted the event no prob! I usually get 6 "normal" track days (45 minutes to an hour of track time per day) out of A052s on the BRZ and looks like I'll get about that on the MX-5 as well, though I expected more life on much lighter-weight car...

Very curious where this new Hoosier lands as far as lap times and tire life, and most importantly for me, wet grip...

Interesting. I never bothered with the A052 or RE71 because of their reputation. The closest I have run to them is the RT660 and unless it was a cool cloudy day I couldn’t get more then a couple laps out of them and they were greasy and they only lasted 4 days.

Looks like Maxxis has a new 200TW too.

[RT-BRZ]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Interesting. I never bothered with the A052 or RE71 because of their reputation. The closest I have run to them is the RT660 and unless it was a cool cloudy day I couldn’t get more then a couple laps out of them and they were greasy and they only lasted 4 days.

Looks like Maxxis has a new 200TW too.

I ran RT660's last year and I cooked them at a SCCA TT event. I cooked them so bad that they were even completely useless for autocross.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Interesting. I never bothered with the A052 or RE71 because of their reputation. The closest I have run to them is the RT660 and unless it was a cool cloudy day I couldn’t get more then a couple laps out of them and they were greasy and they only lasted 4 days.
.

Assuming a semi-decent setup (some suspension stiffness, some front camber, minimal toe-in), the A052's reputation as only lasting for 3 laps and only for a few days does not seem warranted to me.

Should also mention, the S2000 had a not-too-huge rear wing and modest front splitter but IMO not enough to really affect tire life. Track-only "race car", but it was ballasted up to 3100+ lb., so not exactly a lightweight race car!

[Breezio]

I get an entire season (20 days) of autocross out of a set of A052s when single driving.
There wear rate can be very vehicle and setup dependent.

[ZDan]

FWIW, known fast veteran driver was only 0.5s faster on these Hoosiers vs. NT01s at NHMS (South Oval config) in his well set-up and fast C5 Z06. And only for a few laps in their first session. Subsequent sessions they were almost exactly as fast as NT01.

Oh wellz...

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Only half a second faster? On a 200TW tire vs. a 100TW tire? I'm not sure I'm following your logic here.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Only half a second faster? On a 200TW tire vs. a 100TW tire? I'm not sure I'm following your logic here.

NT01 is not really a fast tire, slower than A052 I believe although I've never personally tested them back-to-back.

Regarding NT01, GRM sez:

this is another 100tw track day special that delivers on par with today’s Super-200s for single-lap pace.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...-buyers-guide/

However they give the A052 an "A" grade for time trial pace, and the NT01 get's a "C". Weirdly both get a "D" for heat tolerance.

As usual take with pinch o' salt but I'd still bet on A052 being faster than NT01...

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by ZDan

NT01 is not really a fast tire, slower than A052 I believe although I've never personally tested them back-to-back.

As usual take with pinch o' salt but I'd still bet on A052 being faster than NT01...

Oh, for sure. I was referring more about the classification of TW rating. I guess my commentary is aimed more at the NT01 being not worthy of its 100TW rating than at the Hoosier. It would sure be nice if ratings on tires actually meant something...

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Oh, for sure. I was referring more about the classification of TW rating. I guess my commentary is aimed more at the NT01 being not worthy of its 100TW rating than at the Hoosier. It would sure be nice if ratings on tires actually meant something...

It's a treadwear rating, lower number doesn't necessarily mean more grip. Tire manufacturers don't really have any requirements on how they rate for treadwear, and of course the super-200s are given that rating because of rules requiring 200tw minimum for some autoX, racing, time-trial classes. I.e. maybe they should be rated lower if based strictly on wear rate. I mean in the real world on the street, normal usage, I would bet their lives would be a lot shorter than the same manufacturers' 400tw tires!