Rain tire Question..

[Matt93SE]

I currently run 235/40/17 R888s (or whatever takeoffs I can get for cheapola) on my car and they do just fine in the dry.

Last weekend I ran the car in the rain for the first time. I stuck the set of R888s with the most tread on them and OMFG suck!! Sliding all over the place!

My first National race is mid Feb, and Feb is notoriously wet in Houston area. So I'm shopping around for some rain tires.

I found a set of lightly used 205/45/16 Hoosier Wets and I have some 16x7 wheels sitting around I could mount them on.

I know you generally want to go a bit narrower for a rain tire, but is it okay to go that much narrower AND shorter?
Do you think the 205/45/16 are OK, or should I hold out for some 225/50/16 or 225/45/17- something that's closer to my normal tire diameter?
(I have plenty of 16x7 and 17x8 wheels to mount them on)

Keep in mind shift points and timing are already fubar due to the rain- I run a gear higher through many corners and short shift to keep the car under control, so I'm not real worried about what the gearing change is going to do in the rain.

Thanks for any info.

[JLawton]

My total uneducated opinion.......... The Hoosiers are gonna be a HELL of a lot better than your R888s. I guess it depends on how much the Hoosiers are? You could buy them, keep your eye out for a more appropriate size and then sell the smaller ones. But good, used wets near that size are going to be tough to find.

You will be blown away at how much better the Hoosier wets are.......

[gran racing]

Also ask how old the tires are. After a while, the tire compond changes and it becomes a much less effective rain tire. I have a set of wet tires in my basement which have plenty of tread on them, but would not be competitive in a rain race.

I think the 205s would be fine. I typically run 225/14s for dry; 205/13s for wets (primarily because of extra rims I have available for them).

[RedMisted]

The R888s were known to scare the hell out of the WC drivers when they first had to use them. These tires were so bad that WC allowed the RA1 to be reintroduced into the series for rain use only.

As for the chemical vitality of rain tires, I've heard on good authority that anything harder than a Hoosier wet will last about 4-5 years. Since I've only seen about an hour of rain in the last two years, I save the $$$ and buy high-performance street tires for use as full wets. RA1s are my intermediates.

[CRallo]

Is that track known for puddles in bad places or for water running across the track? The narrow tire is going to be better the more water there is on the track...

That said, my rain tires are 205's and our 240sx does great with them! I was competitive in the rain my first time EVER with 205 Hoosiers!

I like that they are 16's, not only because you already have a set or rims, but it being a 45 series instead of a 40 is good. That littlke extra bit of give is good in the rain. The only size I might hold out for is a taller 16, but it might not be out there...

IMHO do not waste ur time on street tires!! They are no where near soft enough and you'll hate ur self if it rains! Especially buying used tires for rims you already have there is no reason not to snag them! Rain could be ur chance to shine in STU, don't pass it up!

[ner88]

Being a Spec Miata guy and haven run both Toyos as rains, the R888 is a far better rain tire than a RA1. This comming from a guy who hates rain racing!

[DavidM]

We're limited to 15" rims in ITA. I use 225 HoHos for dry and some 225 RA1s for wet. The RA1s are narrower than the Hoosiers even though they are both 225. The RA1s are good for intermediate conditions, but full wet is a struggle. The Hoosier wets will be better in a downpour.

Did you soften the car up? If not, that will also help a lot.

David

[RedMisted]

As for the chemical vitality of rain tires, I've heard on good authority that anything harder than a Hoosier wet will last about 4-5 years.

Anybody know how long Hoosier wets are good for before they age out?

[mossaidis]

Longevity varies based on storage conditions and heat cycles. I know of a few folks that keep hoho wets for 3 years or 8 heat cycles or when their appearance starts to look bad, whichever comes first.. Some even try selling 'barely used wets" (i.e. 2 cycles in 3 years) for 80% of cost full knowing that they won't work the same. Even so, used hoho west usually work better than other intermediates in full downpour.

to add: on another thread, folks also swear by the dirt stockers for full down pours and Kumho v-700 victos for intermediates. Now, who has enough money to have 2 drys sets, 1 inter and 1 full wet set? Not me.

[Matt93SE]

Thanks for the input, guys. Amazing how many people are still racing 240s, but you never see them at the track around here. Then again, IT is pretty weak in the area.

Puddling on track? Umm yeah. here's a proof shot I stole from Mohflo Photography's website: http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Th...6&g=1VI6000Y07


I'll do a bit of looking for some 225s, but will pick up the 205s if I can't find anything else quickly.
Thanks!

Edit.. I considered the dirt stockers too, but they only come up to 15" from what I can find on their site. I'll have to check, but I don't think a 15" will fit over my brakes. I have a set of stock 15x6.5 wheels laying around I could use in that case..

[mossaidis]

Can you say "LRP in 2009" fast three times? ugh...

[gran racing]

Dirt stockers don't need to be pouring rain as some believe. I drove with these on the car at the Glen earlier this year and was in love!! Seriously, they kick some butt. Hoosier is going to be releasing a different wet tire compound this year. It'll be interesting to see how different those are.

[TStiles]

You know Matt ..... It's a miracle we didn't wad em up on that 3 wide start ... In the sequence of pictures , you can see the rest of the field backing off , giving us room to crash ... Just for the record , nobody touched , nobody damaged.

[AlienForceRacing]

We run the R888 tire also in the rain. Weve run them at Summit Point and New Jersey Motorsports Park. They have worked fine for us only when the track is very damp and drying quickly. We have seen that they are a great transition tire from wet to dry but im sure it all depends on the car. We dont really take care of them, they just sit on the trailer during the season and get rained on and blasted with sunlight. But like I said, they worked very well (to our surprise). We were getting lap times about 3 seconds slower. However, we would consider ditching them for a set of hoosier rains.

[Matt93SE]

You know Matt ..... It's a miracle we didn't wad em up on that 3 wide start ... In the sequence of pictures , you can see the rest of the field backing off , giving us room to crash ... Just for the record , nobody touched , nobody damaged.

What you can't see is that we were each about 10' apart in the photo above. Eva was well into the runoff area and my left tires were just outside the rumble strips.
How we made it through the exit 3 wide, I have no idea. I gotta admit I was squeezing my cheeks in as tight as they'd go hoping I could fit that Cadillac-sized car between two Miatas and not come out with one underneath me.

Man my car looks huge in those photos compared to all you Miatas!

We run the R888 tire also in the rain. Weve run them at Summit Point and New Jersey Motorsports Park. They have worked fine for us only when the track is very damp and drying quickly. We have seen that they are a great transition tire from wet to dry but im sure it all depends on the car. We dont really take care of them, they just sit on the trailer during the season and get rained on and blasted with sunlight. But like I said, they worked very well (to our surprise). We were getting lap times about 3 seconds slower. However, we would consider ditching them for a set of hoosier rains.

3 seconds slower? our laps were about 30 seconds slower in the wet!!
and getting a season out of R888s? I get maybe 4 race weekends out of them or 2 DE weekends. Then again I buy takeoffs that were already shaved so much less rubber on them than a full tread R888.

[LateApexer]

Anybody know how long Hoosier wets are good for before they age out?

I've used my Hoosier Wets for 5 years and they're still good. But I only use them in solid rain conditions, otherwise I switch to an intermediate.

Jim

[LateApexer]

Dirt stockers don't need to be pouring rain as some believe. I drove with these on the car at the Glen earlier this year and was in love!! Seriously, they kick some butt. Hoosier is going to be releasing a different wet tire compound this year. It'll be interesting to see how different those are.

I love the Dirt Stockers also but I used them only in pouring rain conditions. When the rain stopped and the track started drying out, I purposely drove off line to stay in the water. Lost a lot of rubber off of them that race! Switched to Hoosier Wets thereafter.

Jim