Just started looking in to the atom

[Richard Buckingham]

I much prefer a 23" tall tire and run the Hoosier R25b FA racing slicks (9.5" frt/12" rear) Best part about using the R25b tires is there are a lot of "used" scrub take-offs available at 1/5 the price of a new tire,($80 used) and they are ULTRA sticky..and last a long time on a car set up properly (they require more negative camber than a street tire to work and wear well)

MadMaxAtom, looking here: https://www.hoosiertire.com/specrr.htm can you tell me which EXACT ones you've had success with? For $80 a tire I can afford to buy new 10" and 12" wheels too!

[MadMaxAtom]

Richard..to get the most out of the tire setup I currently run (the Formula Atlantic Hoosiers in R25b compound 9.5" frt/12" rears) does require a complete handling package..including custom spring rates,(350lbs/in frt-550lbs/in rear) custom valved (Moton 4 way) dampers,custom built (Palatov)billet suspension rocker arms (different motion ratio than stock:better) custom HD (Palatov)pushrods,custom (Palatov)HD uprights,full 4 wheel custom alignment settings..altered ride height,altered corner balance and so on and so on.My brake bias is 75% on the rear (don't try that on a stock Atom) Yes,you can bolt on a set of the same tires and wheels to any Atom...but you will not be experiencing the same amount of grip and handling without the other goodies. You can try them alone, but don't be surprised if you don't like the results. The tires may be cheap,but all the other stuff needed isn't. I use to buy them new. I'll never forget ruining an $800 pair of rear tires because I had the tire pressure off and the ideal camber setting wrong. I didn't have anything to go by,other than Hoosiers recommendation (which was for a 900lb real race car) You don't forget those lessons. I was reall happy to find a source of cheap FA take-offs for my addiction.Luckily,I got the setup dialed in pretty quick (for a rookie)
The Atom has special tire needs. It makes NO downforce and is very light on it's feet. I needed a sticky tire that would generate super grip at the LOW track temps we have here in the northeast, and then changed my car to take full advantage. (90% of my track time is on a surface that is less than 70 degrees) On the rare occasional track day that I see in the 90's for temps, the R25b setup is too loose..and I use the Hoosier A6's on 15x10s all around (in 275/35/15s) and can tweak my setup to them. In the rain, I use 215/55/16's Hoosier wets on all 4 corners,with a good deal of brake bias adjustment.In all honesty, if it's raining..I usually don't time trial.(unless I need the points... )