I just noticed Hankook offers a soft compound in our size tires. Does anyone have experience with them. I have run the medium compound and love them but it takes me a couple of laps for the tires to really grip. I am running NASA SU class with some serious cars and every 1/10 counts. Feedback would be appreciated. I understand they won't last as long as the medium but would like to understand how many competitive heat cycles and how much of a drop in performance compared to the mediums.
Thanks!!
What is the code of two tires you are referencing? I thought standard tire, those supplied with my new car were C52 medium compound.
They are C72 compound. You can see them in the list here now:
https://hankookmotorsports.com/products/hankook-ventus-f200-slick-tire?variant=37642751148199
John, did you get C72 and try them out yet? Am curious how they perform.
@raider89 I decided to stick with the medium compound for now. It was my first weekend out with the car and thought it was better to stay with what I am familiar with so I can see the differences between the SR3 & SR10 on the same tire. I am may make some adjustments and try to dial in the medium compound before trying the soft compound.
I'm about to buy a new set of tires. I ran Hoosiers specific to the radical last season and had two sets of the Dunlops seasons prior. Has anyone tried the C72 Hankooks soft compound? I run TT and looking for a tire that warms up faster. I use tire warmers.
We've been running various cars on the C72 compound for the past 2 years. They are great on particularly cold days as they warm up (almost) instantly compared to C52's... We run them on rental cars when drivers have little experience with prototypes as they grip immediately and are an extra safety factor. They will last as long as C52's in terms of heat cycles which for us was the limiting factor for tire life (rather than wear).
I don't recommend them in warmer weather, if used for > 20 minute runs as they will then degrade quickly.
Great, thanks for the information. I did buy a set of C72s. I run time trial, so my stints are about 10 min. or less. I have an event at VIR mid March, the temperature should be 50-65 degrees throughout the day. With tire warmers I may be able to go all out on the first lap.
@tmpoquette I would love to hear your feedback as I am in the same boat running TT. The Big Boys don’t like it when it takes 2+ laps for my tires to come in. Especially bad in the spring and fall in Colorado.
I need to make a tire order soon and am curious to your results/thoughts.
Thanks,
Tom
@tmpoquette Hi, just following up to see how you went on the soft compound Hankooks? Thanks, Dan
I ran this past weekend with the C72s. Friday 60 degrees in the morning and 85 during the day. It's a big difference. I did use my tire warmers in the morning and could run 8/10s on the first lap. Full speed second lap. When the ambient increased to the 80s, I didn't bother with the warmers. The next two days were around 75/cloudy degrees during the day. I did use the warmers but could go full speed on the first lap. This compound is perfect for time trail. I did run 6 laps and didn't see a slower lap time.
Thanks very much for the update Trevor, I have just fitted a new set of C72s for use this weekend over 5 & 10 lap races, with forecast ambient temps of 50-60 degrees F. I don't have warmers but sounds from your experience as though I should be able to get the tyres at or near operating temp over 2 hard warmup laps.
