I hope they don't change them too much. I love my R7s!
Photograph courtesy Hoosier
The R-comp motorsports tire space is about to get hot and sticky, as Hoosier today confirmed that it’s in the final stages of development of successors to the vaunted A7 and R7 models. Debuted a decade ago, those tires dominated autocross and track competitions but have recently come under fire from new competitors like the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo Track and Yokohama Advan A055.
Mike Edmiston, head of R&D, commented that Hoosier is always testing new advancements so they’re ready when the market demands it. While the company is now part of Continental–and subject to its parent company’s internal standards process–it’s as dynamic and agile as ever.
The new tires will carry forward the two-compound strategy, with an A8 for cone dodging and R8 for circuit use. Both will also now fall under the TrackAttack Race moniker, expanding on the product line begun with the TrackAttack Pro introduced a year ago. That tire was a streetable track day tire, built using much more modern methods than the A7 and R7. We expect to see some of its DNA in the new A8/R8 pairing.
Official launch will be in late December to meet the SCCA’s January 1 eligibility deadline for Solo and Time Trials use. GRM will be testing as soon as tires become available.
I hope they don't change them too much. I love my R7s!
315s please, 30r18 to be specific.
SkyNoLimits8 said:315s please, 30r18 to be specific.
I expect these to look just like the outgoing tires, so they can use the same molds. It's a super-niche product and molds are very expensive.
All that to say, only sizes that exist now in A7/R7 will show up in the update.
Do we know anything about any update to the compound? I was talking to one of the tire suppliers, and he mentioned the compound is same, but the construction of the tire is new, and will make a difference. If that's true, that'd be a bit disappointing...
By the way, GRM folks, will you be testing Pirelli Trofeo Track tires anytime soon? Tire Rack has tested them, and the tire has bested the R7s with a very small margin, with a much better average lap. I was very excited due to that and tried a set, but looks like the tire drops off quite a bit after 5-6 laps, and does not recover with a cool-down lap, at least in my own experience, which was obviously not realized by Tire Rack since I don't think they run tires more than 3 hot laps...
Ozer said:Do we know anything about any update to the compound? I was talking to one of the tire suppliers, and he mentioned the compound is same, but the construction of the tire is new, and will make a difference. If that's true, that'd be a bit disappointing...
I don't know how much stock I'd put in statements like that from anyone who isn't an engineer at Hoosier (and they probably aren't talking). I've heard people say similar things about both the RCE and the Track Attack Pro, and I think it's pretty clear at this point that they both behave quite differently from R7s.
Ozer said:Do we know anything about any update to the compound? I was talking to one of the tire suppliers, and he mentioned the compound is same, but the construction of the tire is new, and will make a difference. If that's true, that'd be a bit disappointing...
By the way, GRM folks, will you be testing Pirelli Trofeo Track tires anytime soon? Tire Rack has tested them, and the tire has bested the R7s with a very small margin, with a much better average lap. I was very excited due to that and tried a set, but looks like the tire drops off quite a bit after 5-6 laps, and does not recover with a cool-down lap, at least in my own experience, which was obviously not realized by Tire Rack since I don't think they run tires more than 3 hot laps...
We have requests in for both the new Hoosier and the Pirelli. Our usual process involves six consecutive laps, so any drop-off typically shows up there.
We have no specifics onactual changes as of now. Hoosier showed the tire at SEMA, but said little other than "it's better".
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