Slicks vs Hoosier R305 vs Kumho V710?? Lap times

[Silver Bullet]

Am curious how much difference in lap times on a normal road course.

Am trying to max out my points for a time trial series but also get most value for points used.

Our VRL slicks 1-2 seconds quicker than V710's and then are hoosiers 1-2 seconds slower than the V710??

Any help or real time comparison would be great!!

[Olitho]

I don't know about the time comparison, but I really like the way my car runs with the Hoosier VRLs. It seems to run much faster than the RS series DOT tires by maybe 1-2 seconds. These are my seat of the pants comparisons and not scientifically derived by strictly controlling variables and doing direct head to head comparisons, etc.

[seege]

I don't know about the slicks but the difference between the Kumhos and the Hoosiers is not 1-2 seconds.I have run both in the past year (more than 10 sets each) and I am intending to run the Kumhos this year for reasons other (mostly) than quickest time. The Kumhos are maybe slightly faster new, and a bit faster at the end of a race. The Hoosiers seem to sort of fall off the edge, while Kumho's slowly and predictably get a little more slippery. The Hoosiers may be better for a very smooth and quiet driving style(that I sure don't have), but to me they seem to heat soak and get greasy faster than the Kumhos, which don't seem to degrade as much being slid every lap. If cost is an issue then the Kumhos win hands down in a Corvette with max negative camber. I've corded a set of Hoosiers in 4 cycles. The quickest I've worn out a Kumho is more like 9 cycles(no rotation) with one set recently qualifying at 11 or 12 cycles...its amazing. The Tire Rack sells the 31535ZR17 710 Kumhos for what..$218(don't bother with heat cycling) and The same size Hoosier is like $257. Easy decision for me.

[Silver Bullet]

Olitho , do you run 335's in the rear??
If so how did you get them to fit??

I think VRL's are my answer as I can get them slightly used damn cheap.

[bpf1970]

Originally Posted by Silver Bullet

Olitho , do you run 335's in the rear??
If so how did you get them to fit??

I think VRL's are my answer as I can get them slightly used damn cheap.

I ran VRL tires last year for several events. I used 305/30/18 all around. They were a little bit quicker compared to the same R3S04 setup but I have been advised it's not because of the compound (Hoosier told me they were the same). It's actually because the VRL 305/30 is actually made in a 315/30 mold. I noticed this when I stacked the R3S04's next to the VRL tires. The VRL tires were about 1/2" wider so the stack of 4 was 2" taller.

I actually liked the car with the same footprint front and rear. The car was less apt to understeer and throttle oversteer was a little easier to apply.

BTW- no fitment issues up front using OEM rear wheels.

[Silver Bullet]

So you actually ran these on stock 18x10.5's all around.

Isn't that to small a rim for the tire???


That might add another twist to my decision then as that would allow me to only need to get 2 more rear stock rims.

Of course stock rims with full race slicks I worry a little about.

[Olitho]

Originally Posted by Silver Bullet

So you actually ran these on stock 18x10.5's all around.

Isn't that to small a rim for the tire???


That might add another twist to my decision then as that would allow me to only need to get 2 more rear stock rims.

Of course stock rims with full race slicks I worry a little about.

Yes, I run my 305x18 VRLs on four stock rear rims. As was said two posts earlier, I really like the way the car handles. The car feels very well balanced. I can turn the car into a corner, get it set, and then hitting the apex and unwinding to the outside of the turn is almost all done by measuring throttle inputs.

I have run 335x18 VRLs on CCW wheels. I cannot say the car feels appreciably faster and lap times were similar. Of course I did not do a good controlled scientific test by running the car within a narrow time window during the day, changing wheels and tires frequently to get an adequate data sampling to arrive an my conclusions. It is just an unscientifically derived conclusion from using these tires over about 8-10 track days since December.

[Silver Bullet]

Thats good enough for me.

I got 4 305/30/18's for now and will run them on my ccw's. Might buy another set of CCW's for my street tires because I really like the look and get tons of comments.

[bpf1970]

Originally Posted by Olitho

Yes, I run my 305x18 VRLs on four stock rear rims. As was said two posts earlier, I really like the way the car handles. The car feels very well balanced. I can turn the car into a corner, get it set, and then hitting the apex and unwinding to the outside of the turn is almost all done by measuring throttle inputs.

Well put Olitho. Ditto here. My experience is that the 305/30/18 package really works well on most tracks. However, I did find that the higher speed tracks (Road America) favored a little narrower tire up front due to wind resistance. The 305's are just barely within the front fenderwells so they catch a fair amount of air.

As to fitting them on the 10.5" rims... they actually fit pretty well but I wouldn't go any bigger. The person that put them on wasn't very happy though.

[Silver Bullet]

For me they will be run on 18x11 in front and 18x12 in rear.

The 11.5 inch is the perfect size for those tires based on tread width so my rims seemed to have worked well enough.

I never thought about the drag piece with the tires sticking out. Is that a real difference?