Just curious if anyone else has discovered these little gems?

I just got a fresh set of R1s put on my car today - 265/35/18s running on 18x9.0 rims. Been looking to get a new set of R comps on since I had a little bang up and trashed my old rims and 285 Pirelli Corsas and was eager to try some new, more aggressive rubber.

I'm aware that the BFG g-force R1 is most commonly compared to the Hoosier R6 and I've never run R6s but I've run numerous sets of R888s in 235 and 245 width, as well as Bridgestone RE55s, plus the Pireli Corsas in 285. Easily the most aggressive ruber I've run on my car were some trick, super soft compound 245 Pirelli raing slicks (for AutoX).

As such, sadly I can't do a direct A6/R6/R1 comparison. On the other hand I've been exposed to a pretty good variety of rubber so it will be interesting to see how the g-force R1s stack up.

I took the car out to a little private, empty road network I know of so I could heat cycle the tires properly before tracking them and all I can say so far is holy crap they GRIP! The R888s, RE55s and 285 Corsas are no comparison from the get go - even witout pushing the tires too too hard my impression is that the only thing I can compare the grip to were the Pirelli racing slicks I had. And I suspect that these R1s grip even better than those things!

On the same roads and speeds where I would have been at the sliding threshold on the Pirellis or Toyos I wasn't even taxing the R1s and quite frankly I was managing such high cornering speeds with no loss of grip at all that I dared not push harder towards the limits of the R1s out of sheer disbelief!

On a more secluded, utterly curbless section of my 'private road' (which happens to be three lanes wide for extra peace of mind) I was able to finally find the limits and get down to business - yes, the R1s do chirp right on the edge contrary to what I was led to believe but you sure as heck don't want to be charging toward that edge so much as flirting with it.

I'm anxious to see how these things will fare on my next trackday but I must say that early imprssions are very very good indeed. I should easily be able to beat my previous best times (on the 245 R88s BTW, not the 285 PIrellis) without getting anywhere near the R1s limits. Something tells me I may have to re-evaluate alot of gearchanges and lines and stuff now though if I really want to slash my times as much as possible

I'll be using these as my daily tires as well - I've actually done that with all the R Comps I've ever owned. What can I say - it doesn't rain here and the grip of R Comps is just plain addictive - normal street tires feel like driving in high heels to me. Will be interesting to see how long these last compared to the others anyways.

Anyways, just thought I'd throw this out there to see other peoples' impressions of their R1s - should have a bona fide track evaluation in a couple of weeks.

 

Just got these today... lightly used 265/35/18 BFG R1's....

 

There's a reason no one runs the R1s. The R6 will blow them out of the water on the track. They're not even in the same league as the A6's for autocross.

They're certainly a lot more fun than street tires though.

 

Agreed on everything.

They are nowhere near any Hoosier in terms of overall grip, but I'm guessing they are better than any street tire or treaded R-compound.

They don't make the R1s like they used to, unfortunately.

 

BFG R1 is faster than hoosier R6. been there done that. Also the R1 265 actually measure 275. So putting on a 9" wide wheels is not a good idea. On our time attack evo we have NTM-03 18x.9.5 and we run 265.

 

That's exactly the setup I've got now.

 

Almost every performance tire out there runs about 10mm wide.


Also, they are definately slower than R6's. Heck, redline lets you use them where R comps are allowed, but not the R6

 

nice.

well from our testing we were 1/2 seconds faster than when were on the hoosier R6. We dial and take tire temp and setup our suspension base on tires, track configuration, and track condition. I can only speak from my own experience with both. Also about redline, yeah there's a big argument on that. That's why the R1 is now banned from modified class.

 

Are you looking to run these in Red Line Time Attack? If so I think they are outlawed this year from what I heard... Except for unlimited class.. I will check again because I was looking for another tire for this year... looking at the Toyo R888 or something along those lines..

 

Are there any other strong opinions on R1 vs R6?

The price appears to be similar. I don't think $20 one way or the other should prevent someone from buying the better tire.

I'm looking to upgrade from the NT-01 but stay with a 255-40-17 or 245-45-17 tire. Price isn't really an issue I'm simply trying to get more stick without rolling and cutting fenders.

I did find this thread with an interesting video attached:
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/...ot-tire-38645/

 

Apparently the NEW BFG g-force R1s are not the same as the old ones; they've been redeveloped.

If you can't run DOT slicks due to regulations then I'd say R888 all the way - very reliable and great wearing tire, quite streetable actually (except for the noise and depending on your alignment settings). They're a little greasy after 10 hard minutes or so in a track session is all -that's the only negative I ever had with them - but you can either back off or just drive around it.

I'm running the new R1s just for fun really - trackdays, street and AutoX.

Not sure how long they'll last on the street. I do have -3 camber up front (although with 0 toe all around), but I only drive 15 minutes to work and back (5-6 clicks perhaps), generally drive like a grandma on the street (follow the speed limit because the track is really the only place I feel safe to engage Warp Factor). I'm not sure whether the R1s will heat cycle out within a week like very soft AutoX-only slicks or whether this won't be an issue - it might be very unlikely that the tires will get hot enough in daily driving to heat cycle" at all but you never know!

I've read a few threads with Z06 and Viper guys using Hoosier R6s for a daily tire and they seem to be getting around 2000 miles out of them so let's see.


Let's see how long they last, and whether they harden before they cord - in any case they seem to grip phenominally well and the stiff sidewalls have done wonders for the handling response and transitional behaviour of the car - these tires seem to be perfectly in sync with my spring and damper settings. If I manage to get, say, 3-4 months out of them (2000-3000 miles) then I think I'll keep ordering more and more. The sheer grip is as addictive as crack and they're not noisy on the street like R888s are.

In any case, the best thing about DOT R slicks is that you can rotate AND reverse the tires to even the wear out and at least extend their usable life a bit.

R888s are also great but are nothing close to these things. This set of R1s may have a short lifespan but it will be a very eventful one I'm sure

Always interested to hear more feedback as more guys start using the new R1s in competition!

 

My take on it. for overall lateral grip I think the R1 beats the R6. But in braking and acceleration the R6's softer sides make it the tire of choice. Really its a toss up between the two depending on how the car is setup. Both tires require a different approach to spring rates due to the huge differences in side wall design.

Now the R1 and A6 are not even close.. the A6 destroys it by a few seconds on a minute and half course.

 

now if you want to run some fast laps, get yourself Hankook C91. it's not a endurance tires but it's great for time attack. On the other hand we love our Toyo sponsor R888, very consistent tires.

 

Well.... I'm looking for max grip during 30 minute **** pounding sessions but I don't want to go wide. I'm sticking with the BBS and a 245/255 tire. I'm not sure what is best suited for that mission.

 

If it's not competition I'd recommend R888s - they're very consistent, forgiving and long lasting compared to the R1s.

I reckon R1s etc. will jsut give you that extra "edge" if you're out for scalps

I haven't tracked by R1s yet (next trackday is on the 19th) but so far they seem to favour a more linear, smooth driving style as opposed to an aggressive, slidy style if that helps.

Will find out a little more tonight when I heat cycle them.

Edit: Yep I pushed em hard and I'm right - the R1s are not a tire that likes to be slid...real amazing grip though, they seem to bite harder the more aggressive you turn in. Yoikes!