As part of a deal for my new 914 I was offered a set of used Hoosier on steel rims. The current owner of my car used them once (so he says) for one Auto X. What do you think there value would be??? I never Auto X before but it is something I would like try. what do you think?

It depends on how old they are. Consider them worth less except for the wheels and they are worth 10-20 bucks each?

If they are essentially "just scrubbed in" (1 short event)....AND haven't been flat-spotted then they are worth a few hundred bucks. They would cost $700 to replace new.

BUT...if they sat out in the sun/heat for a long time and/or are several years old and/or were flat-spotted or abused, then they are basically worthless. Very tough call -- you have to look at tires in person to get any kind of sense of condition and that is still not easy.

Well used race/autox tires toward the end of their life are typically like $20-50/ea...

Hey, let's hear some more about tire aging. This topic has been on my mind lately. When does race rubber become "too old" assuming there is still plenty of matterial left? How about street tires? I ask because I've still got some good tread left on my SP8000's but they just don't feel as grippy as they used to be, say 2 years ago.

If I bought say, some Victoracers just for autocross, and assuming I only did a few events each season with them at what point would they be thow-aways? I assume they'd loose grip from age before wearing out.

FYI the winters are mild here, humidity is low, and the summers are very very hot, so even just sitting in the garage the tires would see >100F regularly.

This is of course all purely hypothetical - if I buy a set of race rubber I'll feel obligated to do enough events to wear them out before they are too old.

-Ben M.

the rubber gets harder when it ages.
softer rubber = more grip
harder rubber = less grip

exposure to sun or heat does the same.

racing tires are even more vulnerable because they're very soft to begin with.

so, if they have been sitting for a while, they're probably toast.

Andy

I'm in the middle of the 3rd season with the Kumho's,
about 20 events I'd say, plus 50 miles each way to
the events, and still grippy and still rubber left.

What also kills tires is "heat cycles". If the runs are slow and no heat is generated-it is less damaging than if you drove several very hot runs. Heat is the killer.

And Hoosiers also breakdown from UV more than orhers I've found. The sidewalls start to crack. Thats why you see guys putting them in plastic garbage bags to store them.

There is an additive they put in the tire compound that protects the tire from UV rays. That why trailer tires can sit outside without cracking. But Hoosier doen't put it thier tires.

Paul

I'd knock the tires down if they weren't stored properly or aren't properly balanced. You don't know what you are getting, so don't make the guy rich.

Then again, having race tires are well worth the money in times, and enjoyment.

Go for it!!!

Unless you are super competetive, they are throwaways when they look like this.

This is how mine looked after the autocross yesterday. They are about 4 years old. For the last 2 years I've treated them with Formula V tire treatment before each event to try and keep them sticky. They worked well until they corded.

Id say its time for a new set of shoes