Anyone run R3S04's for autox?

[2002maniac]

This year i used these hoosiers at the track and loved them. I also have been autocrossing in STX class with Azenis. I want to get some more reasonable street tires when the azenis wear out and was pondering running in SP next year with the hoosiers.

I know they wont have the grip of A3S04's or V710's, but what would they be comparable to? Victoracers?

kthanks.

[joshh]

You're one of the few that actually like the So4. I wouldn't buy them again even if they were a great deal.
That's an intresting question. I would rate them like this...R coumpounds only:

Toyo RA1's
Yoko A032R's

1/2 a step up from there is the Victoracers

3 steps up from there is the Hoosier A6 and the Kumho 710's.

If you're concerened about tire wear the 710's are seriously great for autocrossing and they are very very sticky. They will last way longer than the Hoosiers. The turn in isn't quite as good as the Hoosier but they are way more predictable.

[2002maniac]

How do the 710's do on the track though?

I want a tire that is great on the track (hoosiers are working well for me so far) and decent for auto-x.

Would the RS04's also be a step up from Victoracers?

[joshh]

The So4 is a step up from the Victoracers but I had a serious issue trying to get them heated up for autocrossing (very tempramental). The 710's will last longer at everything than the So4's.
If you can get heat into the So4 it does have more overall grip than the 710 but traction falls off very sharply where as the 710's grip at the limit is not quite as much it slowly falls off at the limit. Making the Hoosier tough to correct once it lets go. That's why I say the 710 is very predictable.
The So4 may very well be stickier than the 710 on track but you'll eat them up easily twice as fast. And because durring a HPDE they are getting some heat in them. At an autocross the A3So4 was bad for me because of the negative heat issue. The 710 I have had to actually cool down at autocrosses.

[2002maniac]

When you say S04 I'm not sure if you are differentiating between the R3S04 (road race compound) and A3S04 (Autox compound)

I am really surprised that the 710 (an autox tire) would have more traction and last longer on the track than a tire with a compound designed for the greater heat of the track.

interesting. I'll have to do some more research and look into a set of V710's if they are indeed the best for everything.

[joshh]

That's not really what I said. The R3S04 is going to have a bit more grip on track than the 710. But it's not as predictable and lets go way faster at the limit.
The A3S04 was very hard to get hot during autocrosses. So if you intend to use the R3S04 for autocrossing, they will never get hot.
I've never had the A3S05 but reports are they are the same as the A3S04 in that they don't get hot very easily.
In my opinion, the 710 is the best all around tire out there for grip and wear and will do both autocrosses and track days. They heat up incredibly fast and even when they get a bit greasy they are just as predictable. And they will absolutely out wear the Hoosiers.

Just to give you an idea, my A3S04 Hoosiers lasted 7 autocrosses brfore I pulled them off. They have one more maybe two autocrosses in them.
My 710's have 11 autocrosses in them and they are about 1/2 done maybe a little more. Way better wear.

[nando]

wow, only 7 autox's out of your A3S04s? I have about 9 autocrosses/50+ runs on mine, and they seem to have quite a bit of life left in them yet.. did you wear through to the chords on the shoulders or something? I plan on having mine flipped during the off season to avoid that.

FWIW the A3S06's are supposed to be much improved over the 04 and 05. I'll probably give them a try when I finally wear out my 04's. I've heard from some of the very competitive guys around here that they edge out the 710s on grip and match them for wear. I also know the hoosiers have stiffer sidewalls for better responsiveness. but if you want a track/autox tire in one, yeah the 710 is probably the way to go. A3S06's probably wouldn't last many laps on a track. :p

and yeah they are a bit tough to get warmed up.. my front tires are no problem, but my rears take a while to warm up. makes the car a bit tail happy.. stupid awd ;)

[joshh]

Yeah from what I've heard the R/A6 is a much much better tire than the old 4 or 5's. I haven't heard much about wear though. If they really do wear more like the 710's that's a huge bonus.
My Hoosiers have another 2 autocrosses on them so it's more like 9 autocrosses. No cords yet but theres not much rubber left on them before hitting the cords. If the R/A6's really wear that good then that's another good option but personally I wouldn't buy the 4 or 5's.

I'd love to try the A6's next.

[2002maniac]

Cool. Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll run the R3S04 until they die and look into V710's

[joshh]

Look into the R6 Hoosier as well. I can't speak for them. But I've heard several good things about them. I don't know if the R6 will heat up enough for autocrossing though.