Review of APEX ARC 8 with Hoosiers

[Buzz135]

I was at Infineon yesterday with my new track wheels and tires. This is my second set of APEX wheels and this time I went with a staggerd set 18x8.5 in the front and 18x9.5 in the back. Tires are 245 in the front and 255 in the back. These tires run big. I used a 5 mm spacer in the front and 2 degrees of camber. The tires fill the wheel wells. I had no rubbing at all. The tires were easy to get a feel for. They were a little loose until they got warm. I found after the tires got warm they were easy to correct when they did come loose. This is a great setup if you have all the suspension parts to handle the extra grip. The guys at APEX were great to work with and I also had them mount and balance.

[hxman]

Were you running Vorshlag's with stock suspension? I am thinking about this setup for an r-compound setup.

[Buzz135]

Originally Posted by hxman

Were you running Vorshlag's with stock suspension? I am thinking about this setup for an r-compound setup.

I have almost all the M3 parts including roll bars, subframe bushings, wishbones, then I went with Ground Control Camber plates and coilovers. There are a lot of good setups to choose from and springs. I also had Yoko ADO8 on APEX wheels, that I will now use for my rain tires and a backup set. It is a tight fit but I can get a full set of tires in the backseat area.

With the stock suspension and camber plates there is so much roll that it will even be more with the r-comp. That is why the r-comp has been one of the last things for me. Are others running stock suspensions with r-comp?

[hxman]

Good to know you get all 4 in the backseat area, I assume you have the seats down???? lol

[Groundpilot]

R-comp. tires with stock susp.(even with c.plates) is not a good idea.
OP, Do your gr. control camber plates make noise when driving over uneven road? I vave worshlag plates and they are noisy.

[Buzz135]

Originally Posted by Groundpilot

R-comp. tires with stock susp.(even with c.plates) is not a good idea.
OP, Do your gr. control camber plates make noise when driving over uneven road? I vave worshlag plates and they are noisy.

Groundpilot I have not had any noise from the camberplates. The end links on the front sway bars need some spray lube from time to time but that is it.

[Pig Farmer]

Buzz, this is great info. Can you let us know how much you have dropped the car? And confirm you are only running neg.2 camber up front? I was under the impression you had to run neg.3 to get 245s to clear the fender. Thanks.

[jbass524]

Hey Buzz,

This is Jan from Apex. It was great to meet you at Sears Point.

I love your 135 and all your mods were so clean and make so much sense. As an N54 guy I've been through it all so seeing a car as beautifully modified as yours was a pleasure.

I hope to see you at more track days.

Cheers, Jan

[Buzz135]

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

Buzz, this is great info. Can you let us know how much you have dropped the car? And confirm you are only running neg.2 camber up front? I was under the impression you had to run neg.3 to get 245s to clear the fender. Thanks.

Pig Farmer, I will have to check it but it sets low. The Camber is close to neg 2 but could be some more but no more than neg 2.5. I did contact the guys at APEX and I told them what I had and they told me what would work.

[Buzz135]

Originally Posted by jbass524

Hey Buzz,

This is Jan from Apex. It was great to meet you at Sears Point.

I love your 135 and all your mods were so clean and make so much sense. As an N54 guy I've been through it all so seeing a car as beautifully modified as yours was a pleasure.

I hope to see you at more track days.

Cheers, Jan

Jan, good to meet you, Next NASA event is April at Thunderhill and I plan to be there both days. Will you guys be there? Eddy came over and took some closeup pics of the fitment, you should post them so others can see the fit. I am really happy with these rims and how much rubber I can get on the ground.

[jbass524]

We will be at Thunderhill for both days. We're driving our Apex "Street to Track" project E36 M3 for the first time there.

I'd love to drive your car at Thunderhill. Oh my. I see some very low lap times with that beauty.

Let's make sure to connect.

[1&done]

Originally Posted by Buzz135

I have almost all the M3 parts including roll bars, subframe bushings, wishbones, then I went with Ground Control Camber plates and coilovers. There are a lot of good setups to choose from and springs. I also had Yoko ADO8 on APEX wheels, that I will now use for my rain tires and a backup set. It is a tight fit but I can get a full set of tires in the backseat area.

With the stock suspension and camber plates there is so much roll that it will even be more with the r-comp. That is why the r-comp has been one of the last things for me. Are others running stock suspensions with r-comp?

Do you have the rear roll bar? Assuming seeing "bars" is plural. That is my next mod, however, I was weighting on the LSD.

[Buzz135]

Originally Posted by 1&done

Do you have the rear roll bar? Assuming seeing "bars" is plural. That is my next mod, however, I was weighting on the LSD.

1&done, Yes rear M3 roll bar. When I did the rear subframe bushings and the subframe was dropped is when I put in the rear roll bar.

[TC Kline Racing]

We run Arc-8's with Hoosiers and love it! Great choice OP!

[Groundpilot]

Originally Posted by TC Kline Racing

We run Arc-8's with Hoosiers and love it! Great choice OP!

I run BFG R1 245/265 and love it but i hear Hoosiers are even better. Unfortunatly they are not available at 265 for the rear and that is exactly the largest tire we can fit on a lowered 135i.
I have 12 track days on my R1s and i can easily go for 4 more i think.
How about Hoosiers? They dont last nearly as long because of softer compound?

[TC Kline Racing]

Originally Posted by Groundpilot

I run BFG R1 245/265 and love it but i hear Hoosiers are even better. Unfortunatly they are not available at 265 for the rear and that is exactly the largest tire we can fit on a lowered 135i.
I have 12 track days on my R1s and i can easily go for 4 more i think.
How about Hoosiers? They dont last nearly as long because of softer compound?

Hoosiers are a very versatile tire, in that they are A-symmetrical and can be 'flipped' anytime you like. Once the shoulder of the tire starts to become worn, you can; un-mount, flip, and remount the tires so the fresh shoulder is now on the outside. Also, if you are running a 'squared' set-up, this makes it easier to swap fronts to back for better wear as well.

As far as 'wear' goes, it depends on what type of driving you are doing. For a race weekend we usually use one set for the entire race weekend. This involves: 3 races, 3 qualifying sessions, and a couple of practice sessions. If you are just doing DE's I would say you can use them as long as the tread is still there(no cords showing).....that is about 3-4 track weekends per set.

Overall, it depends on; what you will be using the tires for, how 'hard' you will be on the tires, and if you are able to run a square set-up and flip the tires as needed.

Hope that helps.

[pixelblue]

Originally Posted by TC Kline Racing

Hoosiers are a very versatile tire, in that they are A-symmetrical and can be 'flipped' anytime you like.

so are BFG R1s

[TC Kline Racing]

Originally Posted by pixelblue

so are BFG R1s

I know Was just stating the facts about Hoosiers for Groundpilot...I'm a fan of both tires, actually.

[Groundpilot]

[QUOTE=TC Kline Racing;
If you are just doing DE's I would say you can use them as long as the tread is still there(no cords showing).....

I would say no, you cant use them as long as the tread is still there. Not even for HPDE.
R-comp. tires wear by heat cycles. It doesnt matter how much rubber may be left. Depending on tire compound, after 8-12 heat cycles they get harder and will not grip as before. Softer the compound, sooner they heat cycle and as a result of that grip is not the same.

[Focusedintntions]

If they wear by heat cycles then assuming you're doing a DE that has 4 sessions a day you wear out the tires after 2-3 days....seems a bit excessive no? Or am I defining my heat cycle in correctly?

[TC Kline Racing]

[QUOTE=Groundpilot;11584581]

Originally Posted by TC Kline Racing;
If you are just doing DE's I would say you can use them as long as the tread is still there(no cords showing).....[QUOTE

I would say no, you cant use them as long as the tread is still there. Not even for HPDE.
R-comp. tires wear by heat cycles. It doesnt matter how much rubber may be left. Depending on tire compound, after 8-12 heat cycles they get harder and will not grip as before. Softer the compound, sooner they heat cycle and as a result of that grip is not the same.

This is true, I would say it's more of a personal preference. They are certainly still 'safe' to use, you just can't expect the performance you got when they were within the first couple of heat cycles.

[Groundpilot]

Originally Posted by Focusedintntions

If they wear by heat cycles then assuming you're doing a DE that has 4 sessions a day you wear out the tires after 2-3 days....seems a bit excessive no? Or am I defining my heat cycle in correctly?

You can still use them but they wont grip as well. Thats why racers change them after 1or 2 races.
As far as i know Hoosiers cycle out very quickly, which is a main reason you dont see them at DEs.