Vintage sports car racing tire choices

It used to be simple.  Especially if you had a British sports car. You opened the Dunlop tires catalog 

Once Dunlop stopped production choices got harder and some sizes have disappeared.  

So what’s available now!  

Eveyone seems to be running Hoosier Vintage TD tires, aren't they?

In reply to LanEvo :

Long before vintage tires became available I was racing with Hoosier dirt stockers because they sort of looked vintage.  

I went out and heat cycled them in practice and came in when they got a little greasy.  They would hold up for the 10 lap races we did back then  and I’d get six or seven more races before they needed replacement.  

What about Goodyear? Avon? Anything else?  

In reply to frenchyd:

I use the Hoosier Dirt stockers as rain tires on my racing Spitfire. For regular racing use, it's the Hoosier TDs, A70-13. DOT rated treaded tire that's accepted by almost every vintage org. Check the regs with the group you're going to run with, tires have become a bone of contention with some of the tech inspectors. A few of my friends run Toyos but I'm old school and like a bias ply tire on an old race car, it just feels right.

mike h

In reply to OFracing :

I agree about bias ply and a vintage car. Face it, the history of the car has already been written.  If you dump a lot of money in an old car to make it go faster, it’s still going to be slower than a modern car so what have you achieved?  

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Vredestein&tireModel=Sprint+Classic&partnum=5SR5SC&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

or

https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styles/european.html

In reply to frenchyd :

I don't think the Hooiser TD is the same as Dirt Stockers. The TD has a DOT rating, and I believe they're radials (not sure about that).

I tried to get some information about TDs a few months back (started a thread about it here), but no one seemed to have any first-hand info.

You have that correct. Dirt stocker is not DOT, it’s a bias ply intended to be a circle track tire to race on dirt. Soft compound that gets harder when raced on asphalt. 

Not really suitable except with very light cars. 

Proper Dunlop racing tires are still available, and they have been adding sizes.   Contact Phil LaMont at Vintage Tyres----- he's a super nice guy, and extremely knowledgeable when it comes to vintage racing rubber!  

You can email Phil at  vintyre@gmail.com, or call 519-756-1610

Or there is always the Dunlop site---- Dunlop racing tires

They've been a supporter of Classic Motorsports for years.   Be sure to let them know you are a reader / forum member!  

In reply to RossD :

thank you

In reply to Joe Gearin :

That is the best news I’ve heard in a while!! I was told they were out of business.  

I love Dunlop tires in vintage racing. They give true vintage feeling when tossed into a 4 wheel drift.  

Thank you!  

My pleasure, Phil  is a great guy to deal with---- and he's forgotten more about racing and tires than I'll ever know!

I also agree about Dunlops----- old cars are supposed  to slide around a bit!  

@LanEvo my apologies for not answering the post as I've been using Street TDs for  past 5 years or so.

Currently the Street TDs have been replaced by the HOT TD; they've ditched the old metric aspect ratio size labeling with inch. Example what was a 185/60-13 is now 20.6 x 7 x 13 etc. The new version of the tire is supposed to have a little more grip as well as being more durable. I have a set on order and my first race of the year is Feb 16-18, I'm hoping they'll result in some lower times.

I get 10-12 heat cycles out of the Street TDs, if I can get 12-14 cycles that would be awesome. Currently I cord the tires after about 7 hours of on track time (around heat cycle 14) but by that point my 1670lb 105 WHP car is capable of 3rd gear 75 mph power slides. 

As with most bias ply tires the alignment settings will be a bit different; most notably camber at -1.0 to -1.5 degrees.

Like a lot of people I find bias ply tires loads of fun to drive, 4 wheel drifts galore but there are some advantages. The bias ply tires in my size are 4lbs a tire lighter than the radial and it's also an inch shorter which helps my gutless car out on acceleration.

Before I used the Hoosiers I ran Yokohama radials, A008s and Advan A048 (I think). I also tried a set of Avon ACB9s that I got from John Berget (used) they have a bit taller side wall, which a good bit of wind up that made them fun. The car was slower on the Avons but they were a used so it's likely a fresh set would turn competitive times.

I get me Hoosiers from Frisbie/Sierra Tire as they are local to me, they also support Pirelli World Challange so they are experience enough that I don't worry about how my rims are treated. My Formula 500 has really this 10" rims that are easy to bung up so I won't let just anybody mount the slicks on them. For the 185/60-13s I was paying $187 per tire. I looked at some Dunlops and those were something like $240 a tire so they were a non starter for me. New Avons were about the same as the Dunlops.

I've driven a couple of cars on Toyos and the grip level is decent, not as high as the Hoosier but still what you would expect from an R compound tire. They do last a good long time, I know a couple of guys who get 6 weekends out of them.