The time has come for me to get an R compound tire for track days. I need something that offers as good if not better traction than the OEM tire while lasting longer under track conditions. All input is appreciated as a long as it relates to the choices in the poll.

 

I think you should consider the Hoosier RS303's. Perhaps 245/40/17s if you track your OEM wheels.

 

Does anyone read the post before replying to it? Hoosiers do not last long enough for them to be economical. Nor are they any of the three tires I listed.

 

Yokohama A032R

 

The A032R is a great tire to have. Almost everyone who purchases them are happy. The Kumhos are good for beginners or individuals that burn through them and dont want to spend a lot of $ on replacements. They perform well for their price, however, I think the Yoko's are a bit better.

Check out the survey results on these two tires at the following link:

Competition Tire Results

 

Neal,

Between the Kumho and the Yoko, which will last longer? I'd ideally like something that can last three to four track days and that I can also use on the weekends for canyon and mountain driving.

 

There is only one choice for track day tires if you don't want to run Hoosiers, Toyo RA1. The RA1 ran at full skid will last for a whole season. They don't grip as well as a Hoosier, but they last forever. They are consistant over the life of the tire and the feedback we get from competitors who use them, is the closer they get to the cord, the faster they get.

That brings me to shaving. We can shave your tires to 4/32 race depth. This will make the tires quick out of the box, more managable, and no squirm. Of course you cut the life span down to half, but only if you race all the time.

If you are going to be doing track days and want to be fast, out of the box, shave them. If you want good grip and long lasting tires, no need to look anywhere else.

BTW/ I sell the Yoko's too and no one buys them in the U.S. Kuhmos are cheap, in more ways than one.

PM me for more info

 

Whats the price of a set of RA1's? I had Toyo T1S in the past and they were excellent, and have been considering the RA1 as a replacement for the Advans. Thanks for the overview, however biased it may be, it seems to confirm other owner feedback I have read in the past. Just wish an Evo owner was running these so we could get a good comparison from a customers perspective.

Thanks regardless!

N10S

 

The Yoko's are the more durable of the bunch. They are designed to be driven back and forth to the track if needed. It seems that these would be the best way to go if your looking for durability

 

I'm going to give the A032 Hard compound a shot.

 

Here's my Toyo RA1 story:

I bought a set for auto-Xing my Miata in 1994. I ran them full tread, on and off the street & did some track days also. They weren't competitive. So, after 3000 miles I had them shaved and suddenly they were fast. I ran them, shaved, for 3 years at autox's (10 per year), and 1 track day a year, and drove them to and from the events.

I finally replaced them w/some BF Goodrich auto-x tires &, later, with Kumos. After I wore out 2 of the Kumos I remounted 2 of the old Toyos which I had kept as they semed to have a little more wear left. After 9 years, they still stuck better than the new Kumos.

So, when I replaced the worn out Kumos it was with 2 new, shaved Toyos. When I sold the Miata to buy the Evo, the two 9- year old Toyos & two new Toyos went with it and are still being used for track days, etc.

I was impressed with their grip (not quite in the Hoosier league), wear and longevity. If they make a size that fits the Evo, that's what my race tire will be.

 

Now I know what to try next.

 

Hoosiers are great if you can afford to replace them every other track day.

 

There is also a school of thought that if you are running the tires mostly on the track (with just some driving to and from), shaving will actually make the tires last longer! The theory behind it is that if you drive the tires hard, they'll start to chunk and overheat easily (due to excessive squirming from being used hard). This will prematurely wear out the tire.

Toyo literature recommends using the tires at full depth in the rain, and shaving for dry use (I can't remember the exact wording). Backed up by CincyEvo's story, shaving is really the way to go unless you'll be driving in them in the rain. All of the RA1s I've ran have been shaved. Some of the other memebers of other internet forums have sworn never to run full thread RA1s again since they're so squirmy in the dry and claim that they are even scary (S2ki guys).

 

CincyEvo - Where did you get used tires shaved? Usually tire shavers will not shave used tires since it may introduce small rocks and stones to their machines which causes damage....

I've been looking to get a set of tires which have been driven for 500 miles shaved..