When it comes to racing in any of the regional dirt, oval championships, or drag racing, there isn’t much secret wisdom on how to win.
Nine out of ten times, it comes down to the pilot’s talent and tire choice, which is almost always American Racer tires vs. Hoosier.
The main difference between American Racer and Hoosier tires is that, in general, American Racer tires have slightly softer sidewalls and compounds, which makes them more forgiving. On the other hand, Hoosier tires are less susceptible to adverse track conditions.
Picking the right tire for any race, especially in the open tire competitions, where such choices are available, is a crucial tactical decision.
But, choosing the right tire brand before the season begins is a strategic decision that can either make or ruin your whole season.
So let’s compare these two tire brands.
American Racer Tires vs. Hoosier Comparison Table
Before you go and grab a set or dozen of the tires from any of these two brands and mount them on your car, and hit some dirt track, we have to have a word.
The first thing to remember is that some competitions are limited to a single tire maker. And in recent years, that is Hoosier.
But, if you are driving some open tire competition, this article will be relevant to you.
If you are in a hurry and want to get to the point, without reading too much of the detailed comparison, how these tire brands compare against each other, you can see in the table below.
And then you should continue reading because the devil is in the details.
| American Racer | Hoosier | |
| Origin | Indiana, USA | Indiana, USA |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
| Performance | Similar | Similar |
| Durability | Lower | Higher |
| Variety | Similar | Similar |
American Racer Tires vs. Hoosier Detailed Comparison
Comparing two brands of highly specialized racing tire brands is a challenging process, especially if you are a team principal or driver of some independent racing team.
But, it is also a decision that could make or break your season, as the correct tire choice can be the difference between winning and not finishing a race.
There are a lot of nuggets of wisdom in many racing corners of the internet. All you have to do is find them.
They are the personal experiences of various drivers with these tires.
So, let’s see what they are telling us.
Origin
Before we get to the finer details of this comparison, let’s see who is who?
Who are American Racer and Hoosier if we know that both of these companies hail from Indiana?
American Racer is the brand of racing tires owned by Specialty Tires Of America. They are the sister brand of:
- American Farmer
- American Carrier
- American Contractor
- American Logger Tires
The company has existed for over a century, and its racing tires are often called “working man’s tires.”
Hoosier is a company half the age of its competitor and a brand that has invested a lot in promoting various racing competitions around the country.
And also investing in them directly as an official tire supplier of all teams, such as for Formula Atlantic Class.
Price
Tire expenses of a team over the year are not a negligible item of the budget.
So, making sure that you are getting the most affordable performance from your tires can be an important decision to make.
How do these tires compare to each other?
In general, Hoosier tires are between 15% and 25% more expensive than American Racer products for the same type of track, competition, and size.
That is just one of the reasons why they are more popular among independent teams and drivers.
Performance
As we have said above, American Racer tires have slightly softer sidewalls and compounds of their treads, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, depending on the conditions of the track.
If the track is softer, a harder compound will have more bite, but on a harder track, a softer compound will bite better.
Also, softer compounds have a degree of advantage after the restarts, as their performance doesn’t drop as much when they cool.
American Racer tires are often described as more forgiving because of softer sidewalls.
They allow them to deform more due to lateral forces of cornering, thus in part decreasing the potential for sliding and oversteering.
Durability
American Racer tires have a tendency to have slightly softer compounds than Hoosier, and this can really impact their durability on track.
Rough track conditions of dirt tracks and hot track surfaces of asphalt and road circuits can shred American Racer tires to pieces. But they will get you planted to track like nothing else.
Hoosier tires have a tendency to have higher durability, but when it comes to racing, it is not necessarily a better thing.
Especially if you have to sacrifice their mechanical grip, and on some courses, under certain conditions, you will be.
But many race drivers experience that despite the overall softer compounds, American Racer, in the last decade or so, has really stepped increased the durability of their products.
On some circuits, they can last up to 50% more laps.
So, if you needed six sets per event, American Racer would necessitate four or five sets.
Variety
When it comes to comparing the variety of tires available from these two brands, it is a lopsided comparison.
In the world of racing tires, Hoosier is the largest supplier of competition products per the sheer number of different models.
And their models cover practically everything from carting to open-wheel circuit racing.
Though the American Racer has a vast selection of models, their couple hundred models are dwarfed by Hoosier’s portfolio of more than a thousand models.
You might also like some of our previous posts that compare tire brands head to head:
Advantages and Disadvantages of American Racer Tires
The American Racer tires are among the most affordable race track tires in the world. And they offer a surprisingly high level of performance for that price.
They are very good, whether radial or bias-ply type.
And relatively recent changes in the compounds’ chemistry have very much increased their durability on track without sacrificing their softness.
The drawback of these tires is that more and more racetracks and classes are switching to some other brands exclusively.
While this is not the fault of the tire brand, it is a disadvantage if you can’t use them.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Hoosier Tires
Hoosier is a brand with arguably the largest portfolio of specialized race tires.
And in many motorsport classes, they are the sole tire supplier, so it removes the need to make a decision whether to use one or the other brand.
Picking the right compound for the race conditions is a hard enough choice already.
But all these advantages come at a price. Hoosier tires do cost a pretty penny to run on.
And many independent and family-owned racing teams that compete on a shoestring budget find them out of their reach and also out of competition.
You might also like some of our posts comparing various different tire brands:
- Hercules Tires vs. Michelin
- Nexen vs. Falken Tires
- Goodyear vs. General Tires
- Achilles Tires vs. Michelin
- Arizonian Tires vs. Goodyear
Conclusion
The world of racing tires is more competitive than the casual motorsport fan would dare to presume.
There is always a fierce battle going on behind the scenes for the title of exclusive tire supplier.
One of such is American Racer tires vs. Hoosier, in which the latter company has a considerable advantage.
When the tires of these two brands are compared, American Racer makes better, but only for those classes for which they have products.
Sources
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/have-we-talked-about-american-racer-tires-yet/111880/page1/
https://www.stlracing.com/community/index.php?threads/hoosier-vs-american-racers.27067/
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/58138-american-racer-vs-hoosier/
https://www.carshtuff.com/post/hoosier-tires-review-brand-guide