Boinkus44

I've been running with Hoosier R6's and Nitto NT-01's for the track for the past couple of years, and really like both tires (for different reasons), but curious if anyone has tried the BFG R1's. I know they don't come in the specific sizes for the 6GT3, but the 245/40 front is almost identical to OEM and the 285/30 rear is not that far off (0.5" less section width). I did a search, and it doesn't appear that there is much experience (if any) with the R1 in the 6GT3 community. Any guinea pigs out there ???

himself

Might be due to poor sizing. 285 and 335 are the big sizes. Turns out we like the missing widths: 295, 305, 315.

-td

Boinkus44

Agree that the rear sizing is the issue. But the section width of the 285 rear is approx 4% less than the section width of the OEM 295's, so does it really make that much difference ? My tire shop (who is selling the R1's) says it shouldn't make a noticeable difference and they may be right, but I'd prefer some real life feedback as opposed to a $1300 experiment.

himself

Section width is part of the problem, but if you run the 285 BFG, the matching front size is 225. I don't know anyone that would run this on their GT3. I'm sure you could, but 225s up front but that's what Boxsters run I suppose you could try to run the 245 on the front, but then you are front biased on grip and larger diameter as well by 1/2 inch. That might be close to ABS issues, but I'm not versed enough in that to have a comment.

For $1300, I'd just as soon run Hoosiers. Hell, I'd buy 3+ sets of scrub hoosiers for that price - and get more life AND faster times than the BFGs

-td

LVDell

Not sure how much it comes it to play in a detrimental sense. For example, my fastest lap time at VIR to date (which I will never see again) was with 20+ HC used Yoko scrubs running 250F and 280R!

996FLT6

^Same here(1:58:043 bypass at thill- usual time is high 1:59-low 2) but on Kuhmo v710's at 38 hc before they corded at 40. Mike

Boinkus44

That helps ease my concerns about the rear tire width. Your experience actually confirms what my race shop says - a narrower rear tire can actually be faster in the 6GT3 and 6Cup all other things equal. Would be a nice bonus if true but I'm curious about the R1's because they are apparently gripier than the R6's and about $250 per set cheaper - at least here in Canada. Not sure how many HC's they're good for which is why I'm interested in hearing from someone with real life experience with the R1's - preferably with a GT3.

P.J.S.

I was told by Damon at TR that the bfg give up a little grip to the r6 but last longer

my friend has tried a set on his 2500 lb 355 hp 3.8 RSA and he said they were great

Boinkus44

Seems generally consistent with what I am hearing about the R1's. I've heard that they're a little gripier than the R6's, a little less grippy than the R6's and about the same as the R6's - although more seem to say they're a little better grip wise than the R6. I've also heard that they last longer than the R6'sand that they don't last as long as the R6's. For the most part, this is all third hand info, so just trying to get some reliable data points. You're info is very helpful. Thanks.

jasonfreed

I used the R1 on my E36 track car. Back to back comparison to the Hoosier R6.

The R1 (out of the box - not heat cycled) had the same lap times as the R6 (using a GPS lap timer) - same day, same temps, same driver.

They lasted FOREVER compared to the R6.

If someone verifies the sizing works for the GT3, I'd buy them over the Hoosiers in a second!

Boinkus44

Great information. Thanks. Best I can tell, the R1's are a good fit on the fronts with the 245/40's and a (small ?) compromise on the rear with the 285/30's. OIf you're OK with running 285's, the only issue as far as I know would be running 285's on 11" wheels - which may not be that big of an issue.

AllanJ

I've run 285 Kumho V710 on 11" wheels. No prob unless you like to stack spare wheels (now rims will touch).

However, you might need to adjust rear sway bar if you are used to 315 because older 285 V710 on my car turned it into an oversteering mess when used with my regular Hoosier/Nitto 315 rear setup.

Boinkus44

I was wondering about that specific point. My regular setup is also the Hoosier/Nitto 315's on the rear, and at the moment everything works really well together. If I have to start fiddling with the setup for a marginal increase in grip or tire longevity, I'm not sure I want to do that.

AllanJ

I didn't try fresh 285 V710 on my car, they were a bit old but only saw autox and they still had "tread" left. I was a full 4 seconds off fresh R6 lap times though because my car was oversteering everywhere. Corner entry. Mid-corner. Corner exit....

It was insane and was like driving in the rain. Since I'm a nutjob I decided to leave them on and not adjust the rear bar and drive around the track working on my car control skills.

Boinkus44

Kind of sounds like Hoosiers after the 20th heat cycle except the oversteering thing. Going to be testing that theory tomorrow at Mosport. Looks like I'll be sticking with the Hoosier/Nitto arrangement as there just doesn't seem to be a compelling enough advantage to go the R1 route at the moment. Thanks.