I just called tirerack.com. I wanted to replace my worn BF Goodrich g force T/A R1 - 295/35Z R18. They only had 4 left. I bought one (to replace one tire that went bad after 2 track days). They said Goodrich was not offering a comparable race tire, and tirerack had bought up the inventory, and that's all they had. I asked about hoosier. He said they didn't have them in the size for the L. He said in the future someone should start making a race tire in the Lightning size to fill the need, but nothing yet. Any recommendations of where to get race tires?
Tom

 

Hoosier does/did make a 18" road race tire. Back in 99 when these truck were still new and we were testing to see what works and what doesn't, we tried a pair of the 18" road race tires at the drag strip for traction. Though it was good for the amount of power we made then, we soon started to roast them. It is a very wide tire (wider than stock) and has a very low profile. The tread was very thin (not a good street tire, but DOT legal) with large chunks of rubber inbetween the grooves. Ill see if can find them and let you know what tires they are.

 

I just sent one of mine back to Team BFG for inspection. It appears that the tread is separating from the side wall. It happened to two of mine, front and rear on the driver's side when I was running Thunderhill. They were practically new. I hope to hear from them next week.

Spike

 

I saw that the tire rack does have a few of the 285/35/18 R1s left, but since the 295s seemed skinny on my wheels I'm wondering if the 285s will really be too small. Also, Hoosier does make an 18. I'm surprised Tire Rack didnt recommend that tire. The viper guys seem to love them. Expensive though.

 

Road race tire options:

Hoosier R3S03: 275/35/18 A+ Stick. This size should work well. I would run these over their 285/30/18 because of height. 285 or 275 are NOT too narrow for 9.5" rims. I would not run 305/30. For road-race tires, 275's will outhandle a 295's on a 9.5" rim. Try it.
On my track car: I get 5-6 events and ~2000 street miles on hoosiers. Yes, I drive them on the street.

Kumho ECSTA V700: 285/30WR18 A- Stick. This size will be available by end of year. Not the best size per my comment above. On my track car: I get 10-12 events and ~5-6000 street miles.

Toyo Proxis RA-1: No 18" tire: B+ Stick. These things last forever.

BFG T/A g-Force R1: 275/40/18: A- Stick. Great Size. Tire rack shows 275s in stock. Nathan: tirerack is showing 285/30 in stock, not 285/35... again too short height-wise IHMO. Width would not be a problem.

For the above, I'd rate the Potenza SO2 (the stickest street tire in my opinion): B- Stick. (BTW, the S03's suck).

 

OK, thanks guys. Actually I changed my mind and ordered all 4 Goodrich tires from tirerack. I'll try the Hoosiers after these wear out. Tom

 

Do you guys have to run DOT tires? I will soon be trying out my 18" Dunlop radial slicks. That coupled with the new suspension should be fun. Yikes now it's time to upgrade the brakes.

 

are you talking about drag slicks or road racing slicks? and if you're talking about road racing slicks, where can I buy them?

 

These are road racing slicks. They are from one of the LeMans (ALMS) prototype cars. Same height as the F-1's, 5mm wider, and a whole bunch lighter. These happen to be Dunlop's but Michelin also makes this size. I will see if FlashSVT or SpoonDog can post some photos. They took a few pics of the tires when we did the suspension. The set I have are "scrubs". The make a few laps to bring them up to temp, pit and remove them to be used during the race. These never made it back onto the car. I will find out more on cost and availability of new tires. I plan to try them at the strip also.