hoosier 13" radial tire question

R

rabbitracer43

Member
So I havnt yet run the radial tire on my h prod rabbit but am thinking of running it now. I have 5.5" wide wheels and am curious if it is safe to run the 215-530-13's on that size wheel? I know it says 6-7" in the hosier spec sheet but im really trying not to spend money on new sets of wheels at this time. let me know what you guys all think on this subject. thanks
 
On a rear wheel drive car, if I had that problem I would run the 190's. Why push it? There is very little difference. In fact on long courses they would probably be better.
 
I plan to run the 215-530-13 Radials next year on my 13x7's. I would stick with the 195's if on a 13x5.5 or a 13x6 rim
 
I've run both.

I have the 215 mounted on a 6" rim, I don't know if I'd go smaller

from a tire standpoint. each has it's merits, run the 190 and be done with it

aaron
 
I would recommend to let the Hoosier guys recommend what to run. They know what works best for the rim, weight and car configuration.

I am running the s-215s on 13X6" rims on a wrong end drive car (per Hoosier's suggestion). I was thinking to run the smaller tire but followed their suggestion. It was the right call.
 
Doug, does that mean we need to start to race in reverse, according to Hoosier? :mrgreen:
 
215's on my CRX this year and last.

Tire temps will tell you what you should use. If you cant heat up a 215, then go with the smaller tire.

Set your car to 4 degrees neg front and 3.5 rear for starters.

And just adding these tires did shift balance forward. Meaning your split on spring rates, front to rear, will be closer if not the same. Where on bias plys we rann 200lbs higher in rear than front.

You'll love the wear!!!

But keep in mind, it wont be a simple bolt on and compare deal. But with that said, they are faster and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more resilient.
 
Mr. Loshak, with the 215 radials what do you recommend starting cold pressure ?? and hot target.

Thank you.
 
^^^ That answer will vary a bit based on the car, but for FWD, it'll be somewhere around 32f/28r hot, which would mean starting around 21-23 all the way around.

I too have had no problem with the 215 on a 13x6" wheel, but it would be pretty pinched on a 5.5" wheel. I assume from the user name that the OP runs a VW Rabbit, which being FWD, I'd be willing to bet the 190 tire will overheat. But, I think I'd go that route, until you can get some wider wheels.
 
When we tested the tires on my car, we found that we could run square on either 215's or 195's and turn about the same times. We got better drive ability with the 215's. We ended up running 215 f and 195 r to help the car rotate. Cold the rear will really come around but after they heat up they stick well and step out to my liking. cold 19f and 21r in the summer here in Houston.

james -r
 
Neat thing to remember: with the 215's on my car I have run 19 to 26 #'s cold to change F to R balance. ( no crowning )
 
Question for the RWD crowd.

Can I assume that the spring rate for a radial is a bit (or lot) lower than a cantilever? My 1900lb car behaves great on Cantis with 1 degree camber and stiff as hell springs.

I've had multiple test and qual sessions on 215 Radials but have not yet been able to get comfortable or even remotely competitive with that set-up. If I can run a perfect lap they are OK, but if I have to throw the car around or muscle it in any way, the car becomes unpredictable, with oversteer, understeer or both, like a rain lap.

Hoosier said there is nothing that requires a radial to run excessive camber, so all previous sessions were on my bias set-up. I don't see how running on a knife edge of 3+ degrees camber could possibly help, so softening the car seems to be the next step.

Looking for suggestions.

-M
 
Matt - I wouldn't soften the set-up for radials. I stiffened my bias ply set-up by over ten percent when I went to radials, so your stiff as hell springs are probably right if they are indeed stiff as hell. When Hoosier says there is nothing that requires you to run a lot of camber, that probably means if you can get the correct temperature profile across the tire then you don't need a lot of camber.

I don't understand why you are not testing with more camber plugged in. If you have been paying attention to the numerous posts on setting the car up, they all say don't try to just slap them on the bias set-up and expect anything. I would say that camber is at least as important as any other variable in the set-up. I initially plugged in 3 1/2 degrees in the front and when I couldn't get the rear to stick (because I can't put any camber in) I backed it down to 2 3/4 and got a better balance. So camber definitely affected grip in my case.
 
I have most of my weight in the front, being front drive.

Currently I have about 1 deg of camber at the front, and no adjustment at the rear.

Not sure about the temp across the tire, but the front tends to wear the inside edge and the rear the outside edge.

I know, just once I should get temps across the tire, will have to do that next time out.

So if I go with the radials should there be more camber? The springs are fairly stiff, I think it is 450 front and 225 rear.

It seems to work, but then how would I know if it is right.....
 
TED HEINRITZ":3t5243kp said:
I have most of my weight in the front, being front drive.

Currently I have about 1 deg of camber at the front, and no adjustment at the rear.

Not sure about the temp across the tire, but the front tends to wear the inside edge and the rear the outside edge.

I know, just once I should get temps across the tire, will have to do that next time out.

So if I go with the radials should there be more camber? The springs are fairly stiff, I think it is 450 front and 225 rear.

It seems to work, but then how would I know if it is right.....
Click to expand...

I would start with -3 in the front, and expect to change +/- .5.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top