Best track wheel/tire combo poll...

[cvjoint]

Longevity will be great but on cold days you'll hate yourself for running them. They can feel like ice blocks from the first session to the end of the last. Since there is no ABS you can lock up and flat spot them which will impact your longevity in unexpected/unsexy ways.

I only had a sticker tire on once on this car so there is a bit of noise in my data but:
R7 will last 12+ track days, so basically you'll heatcycle them out first
A7 on front will last 8 track days
A7 on rear will last 4 track days
R35/R25 similar to A7 (well, actually I feel R35 will last longer than A7 or R25b, most likely you'll heatcycle R35 first)

If you move to wider patch you'll get much more life out of any of the compounds. I'm using R25b now and they seem to last well past heatcycling in 245/355 sizes.

A7 is just so easy on this car. 949 racing wheels for them are cheap and fitment is known, fenders are made for sizes up to 295 (although I'll say they are more like 275), almost as sticky as r35/r25b, will wear out when they heat cycle on 245/275 combo.


I consider a tire heatcycled at 35 sessions. Most people get far more life out of brakes and tires than I do. Some of it is because they run slower some is because my driving is not easy on tire and brakes.

[9and3]

I just bought a set of BF Goodrich R1S . They are much cheaper than Hoosiers and getting great reviews.

Got them from Phils Tire Service , Tires were $20 per cheaper than Tirerack Freight was cheaper too.

I ran R7 last season. Did about 20 track days and still lots of rubber left. Heat Cycled out before the wore out. Figured go with a soft compound since wear is not an issue.

Argonaut: where are you located in PA?

[cvjoint]

I just bought a set of BF Goodrich R1S . They are much cheaper than Hoosiers and getting great reviews.

Got them from Phils Tire Service , Tires were $20 per cheaper than Tirerack Freight was cheaper too.

I ran R7 last season. Did about 20 track days and still lots of rubber left. Heat Cycled out before the wore out. Figured go with a soft compound since wear is not an issue.

Argonaut: where are you located in PA?

Great deal and great tire. I think you'll like them a lot and definitely faster than 100 heatcycle Hoosiers!

I wouldn't count on the rears lasting long. I slid around some soft 245 rears and wore them out in a weekend. Not talking drifts or anything but with <275 rear in autocross compound be ready to change them often if you drive them hard. Nothing like R7s which wear like bricks. It's also far easier to flat spot skinny soft compound tires.

[ejo]

Phil's Tire Service is Awesome. Not always the best price but service is second to none.

[argonaut]

I just bought a set of BF Goodrich R1S . They are much cheaper than Hoosiers and getting great reviews.

Got them from Phils Tire Service , Tires were $20 per cheaper than Tirerack Freight was cheaper too.

I ran R7 last season. Did about 20 track days and still lots of rubber left. Heat Cycled out before the wore out. Figured go with a soft compound since wear is not an issue.

Argonaut: where are you located in PA?

I am located near Harrisburg, PA. I visit WGI, Pocono, Summit Point and VIR every year and occasionally make it out to NJMP. I wouldn't mind getting out to Pittsburgh sometime. I drove that track like 10 years ago but haven't been back since. I've seen your videos from Pitt - pretty cool with that new extension.

[cvjoint]

I'm going to throw another one on there, the Hoosier H20. I ran the 225/15 version as fronts at Sonoma raceway this weekend. It's a really capable tire on the Atom, fast out of the box and holds grip really well to 140* which is what I got in 75* ambient. I ran within 1.5 seconds of my record time and I had a passenger as well.

[argonaut]

It will be interesting to see how well they hold up. On a heavy car, in the dry, you'd chew thru them in a day (or at least thats what I've been told, never personally used a set). What made you decide to try them? Don't they cost about the same as a slick?

[cvjoint]

It will be interesting to see how well they hold up. On a heavy car, in the dry, you'd chew thru them in a day (or at least thats what I've been told, never personally used a set). What made you decide to try them? Don't they cost about the same as a slick?

They seem to be wearing as quickly as A7, but there may be a bit more thread depth to begin with. I'd say the wear is acceptable for how sticky they are. The low curb weight of the Atom is key, I agree you'd chew em up fast on a Corvette or similar.

The H20s are my rain tires but in this case I had a tire blowout so I used my rain tires as plan B. The Atom always runs. Kept up with a new GT3RS and was only 1 second or two off the Radical and super cart in advanced. I was quicker then everyone in the group just under advanced which was mixed open passing/point by. The H20s are fast.

I think for an Atom that can only use one set of wheels for everything dry/wet/road/road race/autocross the H20s are the best. You'd have to rely on the Dot markings for street legality and there are obviously some issues with that but doable.