Hey I was looking at getting Hoosier R3S03 Racing Radials (DOT), and I was wondering if anyone has used these before?
The car will be used on the track as well as the road.
Thanks

 

Those tires should only be run on the track. They are too soft for the street and can be cut very easily. Even on the track don't expect them to last more than two weekends of road racing.

 

use these only on the track. I have tried Kumhos, BFGs and Hoosiers. The Hoosiers are the stickiest, then the Kumhos, the BFGs are no longer made so thats a dead issue. If you want a track/ street set of sticky tires try the yoko's 032s just dont expect them to last long. YMMV

 

Barnone--THE fastest track tires available short of going with full-on racing slicks. Because of their lightweight contruction, RSS03s are track-only tires. They could be damaged quite easily from running over road debris. If heat-cycled properly, new R3S03s should last you half the season (including flipping the tire on the wheels), where a season is 10 track day events.

For street/track tires, try the Toyo RA-1s. Much better than the Yoko A032Rs with regard to stick. Either will last about 6000 miles depending on how hard you drive.

The Kumho V700s are also fairly decent, street/track tires, for the price. The starting tread depth for the Kumho is 6/32nds, while both the A032R and RA-1 start with 8/32nds tread depth, so you'll get less usable mileage out of a Kumho V700.

One note of caution. Unless you're a seasoned road racer (very experienced), you'll probably waste your money on Hoosiers. While they are quite fast (sticky), it takes considerable car control skills to harness the speed out of the Hoosiers.

If you're just starting out, or are an intermediate road racer, I humbly suggest getting new Pirelli P-Zeros. If you'll be using them on the track right away, have the P-Zeros shaved to 5 or 6/32nds. The P-Zero Asimmetricos are THE fastest (stickiest) street tires I've ever had on a dry/wet track. Shaved to a shallow tread depth when new, they will challenge Kumho V700s and Toyo RA-1s for fast laptimes. Tire Rack offers tire shaving for $15-$20 each tire. The 225/50-16 size is only $139 from the Tire Rack. Buy the P-Zeros unshaved and they'll last you an entire season of street/track driving or 10,000 miles (YMMV).

 

agree with the comments posted here.

The Hoosiers are only for track use. It isn't steel belted (fiberglass carcass) so they will sustain damage easily. And they are not cheap.

I have also heard that they hydroplane in the wet at anything above 40mph, though I have not been daring enough to try.

On the track though they are awesome. I ran with Toyo RA-1s prior to switching to the R3SO3s and the difference is significant. Even at lower tire pressures they will retain their shape and the sidewalls won't roll over. But I think the Toyo's breakaway characteristics are a little more progressive. Hoosiers are not for novices.