vpk944 wrote:
Forgot to ask. What is the expected number of heat cycles you guys get out of your Toyo's. You said they come in around 6. Hoosiers are ready to be sold to DE drivers at that number of heat cycles.
I have run many sets over the 9 year I have used these tires. My most typical usage rate is 24-28 heat cycles before they give up and are no longer competitive. I have no issues running races at 22 heat cycles and competing at the front. I have in fact set some of my fastest laps on heat cycel 24 just before they give out.
In my expereince you get a little warning with the tires where they will work, but at race distances will not last. This means that during a race they will start to fall away. However you can still get 2-3 good laps from them. The tire in this state works great as a qualfying special, but not so good as a race tire. The tire will be slick at this point, but if you can keep the car on the road you will have some really fast laps. 1-2 heat cycle later they are slow very slow. I had one set die on me mid race and lap times when from 1:14 to 1:16 start of the race to the end. That was around heat cycle 27-28 however.
Best bet is to always have 2 sets active. One set rather fresh and the other worn down. This way when the worn down set is done and gives up you can change over the broken in set an not miss a beat. Wheels are cheaper than tires so you should have at least 2 sets, but 3 sets is even better.