Race Tires

[RusherRacing]

What is the best tire for the $$$ for different categorizes of Racing?

I know AutoX so here is a little blurp if others would like to fill in Road Course, either TT, HPDE, SCCA...

DOT approved R Compounds

Hoosier A6
Good: Sticky Sticky and again Sticky the best tire you can get if budget isn't an option
Bad: Expensive and poor life

Kuhmo V700
Good: Price and Wear. The best tire out there for someone that is in the process of learning R compounds. They can take a beating and they seem to last forever if properly taken care of. Great for local events and ok regionals.
Bad: Not nationally competitive against some of the other choices out there.

Kuhmo V710
Good: As sticky as the Hoosier A6 lower cost competitive option.
Bad: Hard to get a full season out of them

Others include (don't have experience with them so feel free to comment)
Nitto NT01's, Avon Tech R's, Michelin Pilots, Toyo RA1's


I left this very open ended please post up other reviews on tires. Personally I need a set of tires for Road Courses next year and would prefer to get my moneys worth out of them, and since I will be learning I want something that will last any specific recommendations?

Also here is a little old school reading on tires, also tire rack has some good write ups.
http://members.rennlist.com/944sandmore/traktire.htm

 

[Evan K.]

Toyo RA-1's. Should last you an entire season.

 

[mavisky]

I've got a friend with a c5 running the new Nitto NT-01's this year and he's been very happy so far.

I personally run on the old Falken RT-215's which aren't nearly as good a max performance streetable tire as the RT-615 as the newer model moves water much better than the old although both are susceptible to hydroplaning.

I also have a set of 225/50-16 V700 Khumo's I haven't been able to play much with.

 

[Slow old poop]

My plans are to get a set of 245/17 Toyo RA1s for practice and a set of 245/17 Hoosiers for setting fast laps in TT.

The Toyos wear like iron and will last all season, but are probably 3-4 seconds a lap slower than the Hoosiers.Perfect for practice, running on the street, and running one-day test-n-tunes.

If I was a zillionaire, I'd run Hoosiers all the time. I'd have a set of Hoosier rain tires, a set of qualifying tires, and a set of race tires.

Rich

 

[The_EE]

I've got a friend with a c5 running the new Nitto NT-01's this year and he's been very happy so far.

I personally run on the old Falken RT-215's which aren't nearly as good a max performance streetable tire as the RT-615 as the newer model moves water much better than the old although both are susceptible to hydroplaning.

I also have a set of 225/50-16 V700 Khumo's I haven't been able to play much with.

I have a set of Falken rt-215's on my car right now and plan on getting the rt-615's in a couple months to replace the tires. How much more traction do they provide? I was having trouble spinning the 215's off the line at 40psi. I am going to try them at 51 which is the max psi on the tire and see if I can spin them then. I tried a 6500rpm launch at 17 psi and they barely spun then gripped and bogged me. ( in my GSX )

 

[Slow old poop]

I have a set of Falken rt-215's on my car right now and plan on getting the rt-615's in a couple months to replace the tires. How much more traction do they provide? I was having trouble spinning the 215's off the line at 40psi. I am going to try them at 51 which is the max psi on the tire and see if I can spin them then. I tried a 6500rpm launch at 17 psi and they barely spun then gripped and bogged me. ( in my GSX )

You may be on the wrong forum. You are talking drag strip launches, but this is a road race forum. We are happy to have you, of course. Most road racers graduated from drag racing.

Rich

 

[mavisky]

If all goes well according to my massively complex plan I could be sporting 275/40-17 RT-615's by next season.

 

[drivemusicnow]

I have a set of Falken rt-215's on my car right now and plan on getting the rt-615's in a couple months to replace the tires. How much more traction do they provide? I was having trouble spinning the 215's off the line at 40psi. I am going to try them at 51 which is the max psi on the tire and see if I can spin them then. I tried a 6500rpm launch at 17 psi and they barely spun then gripped and bogged me. ( in my GSX )

I think for straightline launches, typically i've seen lower tire pressures grip better than higher tire pressures. Try dropping them down to about 24-30 psi and see how that works for you.

Toyo RA-1s are hard to beat in a price/performance/life standpoint. They are my planned tire for next year. Hopefully I can pick up a set of mustang wheels to play with until I can afford the TD PR1.2s

 

[mavisky]

Watch dropping the pressure too much on the 215's. Even on my 205/55-16's the sidewall is rediculously stiff and the tire will go concave at much below 24psi. My best results have been with keeping the front suspension soft and the pressure in the 26psi hot range.

On track though with my big sidewalls I'm feeding them as much as 40-44 all around.

 

[Elvenhome21]

when I run enduros with my eclipse, i normally run 50 psi in the right front (only becasue camber must remain less the 1in from bottom of tire to the top of the tire) keeps tire from folding and increase spring rate (must keep stock springs) and heating the springs only can increase rate so much.

 

[Evan K.]

I see that alot of people push Mustang wheels. Why not just use EVO wheels? Bolt on with stock lugs, are hubcentic, are 17x8" (many EVO guys use 255/40/17 RA-1's on them) and can be had for a few hundred a set.

 

[drivemusicnow]

I see that alot of people push Mustang wheels. Why not just use EVO wheels? Bolt on with stock lugs, are hubcentic, are 17x8" (many EVO guys use 255/40/17 RA-1's on them) and can be had for a few hundred a set.

please send me any link in which you find stock EVO wheels for 'a few hundred a set"

Cause I would buy them. But usually they want about a grand for wheels and tires, where with mustang wheels you can find a set of 4 good shape 17x9 wheels (sometimes with some used rubber) for 500$ or less.

But honestly, I would pick up some evo wheels if I could find any cheap.

 

[mavisky]

17x8 evo wheels for $600-800 or 17x9 mustang wheels for $500 or less.

Weights are about equal as the evo's wheels aren't exactly lightweights and the extra width of some of the mustang cobra wheels offsets the slight weight penalty.

 

[eclipsh]

Got my Evo8 wheels w/Kuhmo ASX rubber for $500 shipped off eBay.

Good thread guys.

Any thoughts on the best streetable rubber? Sounds like the RA1 is getting some thumbs-up.

 

[asian312]

RA1 is not a street tire in the normal context. They can be driven on the street as some of us are not quite to the point of having a trailer or squeezing 4 tires plus gear into the hatch. The tires being discussed in this thread primarily deal with soft compound track specific tires. The trade off for the grip is the increased rate of wear. Full time street driving on these types of tires will equate to a pretty penny.

 

[eclipsh]

My bad, thought it'd actually be "streetable." Missed that it was more of an R-Compound. I'll just listen in for some good race tire info then

 

[Slow old poop]

My bad, thought it'd actually be "streetable." Missed that it was more of an R-Compound. I'll just listen in for some good race tire info then

They are "streetable" in that you can drive them to and from the track, do a little street racing, and cruise the boulevard. I wouldn't use them for daily driving, though. They probably are good for 6,000 to 10,000 street miles.

Rich

 

[4BangR-x]

Check on www.evolutionm.net for good deals on Evo8 wheels. I see them posted daily for under 500.

 

[mavisky]

The RA-1's are great, the NT-01's are their grip equivalents but probably not as good in rainy weather.

I've heard that Toyo may be bringing over their R888 which is in use overseas.

 

[Slow old poop]

The RA-1's are great, the NT-01's are their grip equivalents but probably not as good in rainy weather. .

I ran Toyos in the rain (well, a wet track, anyway) in the TT group at Road America and was 2nd fastest of all the groups, just 1 sec behind an S2000 running on Hoosier rain tires. It was fun blowing by the TTA, TTU and TTR cars! My Toyos are pretty much slicks by now, but they still stuck pretty good. With a little more tread, they stick even better.

In fact, my time in the rain on Sunday morning was equal to the fastest lap set in the rain during the race groups on Saturday.

Ah, it was probably just the AWD. AWD rules in the rain!

Rich

 

[Evan K.]

please send me any link in which you find stock EVO wheels for 'a few hundred a set"

Cause I would buy them. But usually they want about a grand for wheels and tires, where with mustang wheels you can find a set of 4 good shape 17x9 wheels (sometimes with some used rubber) for 500$ or less.

But honestly, I would pick up some evo wheels if I could find any cheap.

Greg as others have posted here try the various EVO forums. There is usually some twerpy kid who just got his new bling parting with the stockers for less than $500.00 a set. I usually see them on my local EVO forum for $300-$350 a set. There is a guy letting go of a set o MR wheels for $600.00 (one wheels has issues). MR wheels go for more as they are 2lbs. lighter per wheel.

http://www.norcalevo.net/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=2&topic=14501.0

 

[jtmcinder]

You'd be stuck with Hoosiers, since Kumho (for example) does make the size, but 295/35/17 is rather tempting. It's wider than the current-rage 285/30/18, uses a smaller wheel (for a lower moment), and 17x10.5s are cheaper than 18x10.5s.

Has anyone tried these? Is anyone else tempted?

- Jtoby