[Baddawg53]

I usually only run the Hoosier R7, 315/30/18 square setup. I saw these brand new tires from pirelli which are trying to directly compete with the Hoosiers. There isn't much for reviews on these, I haven't found any Camaro owners who have tried them yet so I'm guessing I'll be the 1st. I suspect they'll be pretty similar to the Hoosier, a bit faster would be awesome, but lasting a bit longer before they fall off would be what I'm after here. I have a few days coming up in October so I think I'll have a great opportunity to see what these offer.


https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/...r/trofeo-track

[Dabjbr]

They sure look the business!

[mikedahammer]

How much do these tire run? Are you running 18x11 ET35 offset apex rims all the way around?

Edit....saw they were heat cycled by tire rack and saw pricing. Same price basically as the R7's $560-580 if anyone else was curious


Secondary question: you running 315/30/18 square?

[carguy55]

Those guys are expensive, but should be the equal or better than R7 according to the recent Tire Rack tests. I've been using Z214s, which just dropped their DOT rating, but now also starting using scrubs for TT events. Hoosier supposed to come out with an R8 sometime. I run 315/30-18 square

[Baddawg53]

Originally Posted by mikedahammer

How much do these tire run? Are you running 18x11 ET35 offset apex rims all the way around?

Edit....saw they were heat cycled by tire rack and saw pricing. Same price basically as the R7's $560-580 if anyone else was curious


Secondary question: you running 315/30/18 square?

Yes, 315/30/18 square. They're apex 18X11 et35 sm-10 wheels with a 1 inch spacer up front. I run 3 degrees of camber, they fit great with no rubbing.

The tire rack test is the only one I found, they look promising, so we'll see!! The R7 just went up to $580/tire!! These were $15 cheaper so that difference covered the heat cycling. I believe Hoosier blamed tariffs for the increase, there's been an $80 a tire increase in a year. I couldn't be more happy that I bought a tire machine and swap my own tires, at least I'm saving there...

[mikedahammer]

Just curious with what tire machine did you purchase?


Do you not spin balance the slicks? I have heard various opinions on balancing slicks and some say that it makes no difference for a slick/track tire.

[Baddawg53]

I bought it on Amazon actually. I looked for used name brand machines for a while but ultimately got this one. Having that third arm is a game changer. It paid for itself pretty quick.

I use a bubble balancer. It's good enough for me, and the weights fall off at times too.

[redfish86]

These are intriguing to me. I was considering a set for my stock wheels (I have 3 sets of 19x11 apex that are all tired up at the moment). Unfortunately, they don’t offer a 285/30/20 for front duty on stock wheels. There is a 265 but going smaller in width just isn’t in my nature. (Although a 265 40 TW tire probably grips better than the stock 285 SC3 up front)

[Baddawg53]

Just a quick update on these tires.

Obviously I'm far from a professional driver, and still have a LOT of room for improvement as a driver. So take it for what it's worth ...

They're kind of a mixed bag. I was able to set a new personal best at Thunderhill east with a respectable 1:57 lap, and left there feeling like there was still plenty of time to be had. An interesting note however from that track, my speed was down on the front straight consistently about 4-5 mph. My day at Laguna Seca was very interesting, spent the first three sessions running about 4-5 seconds off my normal pace, struggling with corner exit grip, and slow speeds on all the straights. After the 3rd session I swapped to the used Hoosiers R7's immediately dropped my times 4 seconds and regained all my lost top speeds on the straights. Turns out the tires are 3 pounds heavier each compared to the Hoosiers, and that combination with not being able to get a good run out of the corners resulted in lower speeds and lost time. Overall grip seemed really good, corner speeds and Lateral G's were similar for me to the Hoosier.

Another day on Friday where the plan is to make some suspension adjustments and see if I can find some corner exit grip. It's also a short, technical track without long straights where losing the top speeds will kill your times.

Braking was very good, no issues braking deep into the zone, steering response was also very good. I think the suspension adjustments will help a lot, and ultimately the weight of the tire will be it's downfall.

[redfish86]

Interesting update. Thank you OP.