Potomac-Greg

After 2 years of running big Toyo RA1s (17" and 235/255), I decided for a couple of reasons to "regress" to a smaller street tire. I picked up a set of Hankook Ventus RS2s (225 50 15) and had them shaved. Without shaving they were $99/each.

I just did two track days at Summit Point WV. I got 2 sessions in the VERY wet, and 4 sessions in the dry. In the wet, they were a little spooky, but I cannot really say they were spookier than any other street tire. I kept up with comparable cars, and only had one near-spin. In the dry, they were very impressive. I found myself taking turns at exactly the same pace as I was on the RA1s, but maybe using more track and definitely making more noise.

At the end of a 20 minute stint, they would get louder (squealing), but there was no loss of grip. In fact, there were times I was wide on entry to a turn and was able to tighten it up with more steering lock, at a point where I thought grip was maxed out. VERY grippy tires.

I really do not miss the RA1s one bit. Particularly when you factor in: (i) cost, (ii) the ability to arrive-and-drive-and-go-home without tire changes, and (iii) cost.

PS: The shaving might seem extravagant on a $99 tire, but given that my 944 is a weekend car, it would take mie 10 years to wear out a set of full-tread tires. So I might as well start out with them in their "sweet spot."

333pg333

Why can't you drive on the RA1s? I drive on my R888s and still see plenty of track time through the year.

FASTRNU

Ya, why cant you drive on the RA1's?

Yabo

I know RA1's are dot approved or whatever.. But could you actually bring your car to get inspected with them and they would pass??

xsboost90

inspected by who? Ive driven on RA1's plenty but still tried to keep the miles off. I was wondering how the hankooks did on the track though.

chrisc

I have the Ventus. I won a set of Dunlop Direzza's at the local PCA XMas event, had them shaved & mounted and they are even closer to DOT R rubber IMHO!

Potomac-Greg

I can (and have) driven NEWER RA1s on the street, but they're kind of pricey to wear out on grocery trips! And when they get older (and better) they're not to good in the wet. Last time I was at VIR, I had to scramble out of there early so I kept the RA1s on for the drive home.

Chris - thx for the tip on Direzzas. Maybe I can ween myself off R compounds more easily than I thought! Grinning all the way to the bank....

Yabo

I mean inspected by the state

josephsc

Thanks for the heads up! I'm also in the process of weening myself of RA1's (for the same reason -- cost and ease). I ran Potenza S-03's yesterday at a track and found myself missing RA1's. I'll have to give Hankook Ventus RS2s a try!

CurtP

No such thing as DOT approved.

Depends on the state and the inspector. On one of my other cars has failed state inspection here twice - once for ET Streets and the other time for Yoko A032R at half tread depth. Both times I took it someplace else and it passed without issue (both fails were at Merchant's Tire, FWIW).

JonH

Greg, what kind of pressures did you use with the RS-2?
I just got back from Mid-Ohio this weekend driving to and from on my R888's - all I have to say is adjustable camber plates rock!

Han Solo

Thanks for the review Greg. I've got a set of the Hankooks on order. They're for my 924S and in 16" size. I'm having to put 205x50 fronts and 225x45 rear to clear the tighter wheel wells. I'll report to this thread after I try them at the next autocross in two weeks.

Potomac-Greg

I was targeting a hot pressure of 40-42#, and to get there, I started at 36-37# cold. I found that I was actually putting more heat into the rear tires than the fronts. I only had four dry track runs, so I had no opportunity to experiment. The tread wear looked to be well distributed with appropriate roll-over. I didn't touch the pressures because the car was working so well. I was running -2.7 degrees front camber (leftover from my RA1 days).

I had gone into the day expecting much more oversteer compared to my staggered RA1 setup. I was using narrower rubber on both ends, but much narrower in the rear, and it wasn't R-comp rubber. I also had upgraded front and rear sway bars to M030 and the rear was set at the middle hole. I was surprised that handling was very neutral, with no tail-wagging (except in the wet).

Potomac-Greg

I may be wrong, but I think shaving tires down makes an enormous difference. Less heat in the tire and less squirm.

Yabo

Sorry, i meant meets dot rating requirements.. and I was thinking of BF R1 not Toyo RA1, where I read the DOT stuff... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....del=g-Force+R1