Some of these HPDE guys lose sight of the fact that this is supposed to be a way to improve your driving skill in a safe, fun environment. I see this all the time with advanced students and even my fellow instructors. They need to "beat" everyone and be the fast guy. And, as we all know, it's a LOT easier to drop a second a lap by opening your wallet and buying Hoosiers rather than gritting your teeth and working on getting better.

Personally, I don't care for fussy high-maintenance equipment. I don't want to swap my tires 10 times in a weekend. I like to drive to the track, play all weekend, and drive back home. I won't miss a session because I left my rain tires at home or had a little spin that squared off my delicate race tires.

I don't enjoy trackside service. That's why I live RA-1's. You drive them to the track. You don't need to pussyfoot for two laps until they get up to temp. You run them session after session, rain or shine. Then drive back home and get a beer. Perfect.

Emre

 

I too laugh when guys show up with enclosed trailers pulled with their Cayanne's. I'm an "arrive-and-drive" kinda guy myself.

And I do run RA-1's myself - great tire - even a hint of rain for the weekend, and it's either the RA-1's for slight storms - or A032-R's for downpours.

But, if it's clear and no hint of rain, the MPSC's are just a blast. There is no downside IMHO, since they last longer than the RA-1's for me, and (evidence above) are sometimes faster than Hoosiers.

BTW, is anyone here claiming the RA-1s are faster than Hoosiers? Tswift? Cervelli above (a racer talking to bretheren racers) gives baseline setup, numbers, evidence and advice that suggest, for him, they are. That evidence may be disputed by others, but it's eye opening for sure - that they may be close... All the stick (and cost) of Hoosiers, and the endurance of an RA-1 - seems like a win ... At least compared with Hoosiers.

Off topic - a guy in our region is pretty high up in the Goodyear/Dunlop corp, and since we're talking about DOT-R's - There may be a nice replacement to SSR's Real-Soon-Now (tm)

Seems like we're getting more choices, and all are good ones.

Deetz.

 

Tswift,

Very nice write up. Thank You.

 

Anyone care to add some feedback, on the pilot sport cups? For hpde and auto-x? I have always been happy with their street tires, pilot sports, pilotsport a/s, and the new ps2s, how about the cups?

Thanks!

 

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=202964

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=168291

MPSCs DOT-R vs PS2s Street (surprizingly close):

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=221636

Deetz.

 

The PS2 are an excellent street tire and very good AutoX tire too. The first AutoX I went to with them I had FTD with everything else bone stock. There were many R compount cars there including a supercharged Z06 and STi (STU). I must have gotten asked a dozen times what tire I was running. The next day on the same track I switched to the Advans and had third FTD.

 

No you didn't. GRM compared the Nitto's to slick tires not an apples to oranges comparison... look again. The other guy posting is misinformed.

 

yes

 

So for you guys who drive to the track w/ your RA1s, do you still street drive to the track when all the treadblocks are gone?

 

only if it's dry out hahahah.

 

I'm about to try out the new Nitto NT01's.... we'll see how they do.

n

 

Just a question since I am going to need a new set of street tires in the spring, and I want a great compromise between mileage and grip. Question is, where does the Falken Azenis RT-615 fit in with these other "treaded" tires? At the back of the pack?

The only experience I have with tires on the EVO is with the Falkens and with A3S05's. If the Hoosier is a 10 in grip and the crappy $50 generic all weather tires my buddy has on his EVO is a 1, then I would rate the Falken about a 7 or 8.

EVOlutionary

 

^^^I am wondering if getting a 275/40/17 wide Falken 615 for $169/each would be a fair compromise for a 245 wide Hoosier or Kumho. I bet the R-compounds are still stickier, but with the Falken I could last a whole season of autocrosses and track days. Of course, I'd have to stick with our local street tire open classes instead of race tire classes, but this may be a good compromise.

 

I hope I'm not giving the impression that the RA1 is the "only" good track tire. As I said before, it is the best all around R compound tire. That means it is above average at many things, but not excellent at any one thing. Make sense? The Hoosier or Hankook, are goig to give much more grip than a Toyo, especially on and EVO with good HP and great handling. If you are competing in Time Attack or Time Trial events, then once you feel you've gone beyond the Toyo's capabilities, (which may take some time) then move up. There comes a point when the tire may be the last variable to change to pick up time. I don't reccommend going from say stock Advans to a full on Race Tire.

The reason for this is you really don't learn to drive the car. The tires become a HUGE crutch and I've seen so many people go faster, but have absolutely no skill. The tires coupled with a fast car make them fast right out of the box. But.... they platue, they can't go faster, so they start looking for eninge mods and suspension upgrades beyond what they already have done to fix the "problem." The problem is thier skills are not up to the cars performance level. Better to spend a weekend at skippy school then to put that money into some mod that is nothing more than a bandaid fix.

Second the high end R compounds have very little forgiveness built in. If you are a novice, you might feel fast, but once you start pushing the limit (your) then it can get dicey. The line between spinning out and ultimate grip is very fine! Until your driving skills are up to snuff, you may be buying a lot tires due to spin outs, brake lock ups, poor car set up and ultimately bad driving habits.

That is the reason whey we push the Toyo so hard. I sell both, from a business stand point I'd be better off selling the Hankook and Hoosiers to you guys, but I'd rather keep your business and not have people mad at me because I sold you something that isn't in their best interest at the time, only to make a few more bucks.

Hope this makes sense and If anyone ever has questions please call us or pm me.

 

since I rambled on the last post, thought I'd answer the question about running the 275/40-17. Those tires fit, but that doens't make them the best choice. The larges size I'd suggest on an eveo would be 255/40-17. Even that is probably too big for the car. That is why we sell primarily 235/40-17. The 235 will fit stock rims, the 255 though they can be squeezed on need a 9" wheel to get the full benefit.

There comes a time when you bigger is not better. It actually makes you slower. Think about how much tire a 275 is to push around the course. It is huge for the size of the EVO. You can "over tire" a car. Simpley stated the tires are too big and you go slow. The car doesn't have the HP to overcome the grip or the footprint left by the tire.

We see this a lot on Corvette's. At small tight tracks they use the 315 on all four corners. But when the track gets long straights then they go to small fronts. Too much air to push.

Hope this makes sense. Check out the Hankook Z212 at www.hankooktireusa.com
This tire is competes directly with the Falken 615. 245/45-17 is $114ea. Plus we can shave the tires for Autocross guys.