JCP911S

Accoring to the laws that I understand, it is also legal to wear shorts and knee-high black polyester socks to a cocktail party.

The more pertenant question is why you would drive R compounds on the street. Being of the low-budget persuasion, I also drive my racecar to the track, and would highly recomment not driving R Compounds for more than a few miles

Bill Gregory

Maybe the Tire Rack rep was thinking about tires like the Kumho V710 or Avon Tech R where there is a manufacturer caveat that doesn't recommend driving on highway, due to shortened tread life?

DGaunt

I personally don't see budget and "R" compound tires as incompatible. I guess I should tell you what I use before I go on: Yoko 032R R-Compound--205/50VR15. These tires don't really wear that much until you get them up to track temps, and handle water really well, at least until they hit 3/32 or so. I put 700 miles on a pair before they saw their first track day, and the spew 'bumps' were still on the tread. As far as economics are concerned, at CDN$160.00 (+tax@15%) installed, they are cheaper than most non-R compound tires.

I am the first one to agree that it depends on what size/car you are using and what the track/street ratio is, but for me, it works. Fifty series tires and a stock suspension are very livable on the road from both a ride comfort and rain point of view.

Last, being of the low budget persuasion by necessity, I have one set of wheels and tires, and the theoretical gain in tire life is not worth the wheels, extra tires, tire rack, and/or trailer and tow vehicle I would need to have it both ways. To me the lesser of the two evils is using the R-Compound on the street. YRMV.

JackOlsen

Yoko A032R's are a very good street/track compromise. Of course, the flipside to this is that they're a compromise -- neither a particularly good street tire nor a particularly good track tire.

They're also loud as all get out.

That said, I've run the Yoko's in the past, and you can leave one set on the car and not worry about throwing your tire money into the trash every time you drive on the street.

However, I've gotten quicker lap times with the strictly-street-rated BFGoodrich g-force T/A KD. In spite of having a name that's hard to type, it's probably the best non r-compound tire out there.

Tirerack is probably more concerned with liability problems than anything else.

jharding

My biggest fear with using my R-compound tires on the street is getting a flat tire. Sure a flat can occur at the track too, but there's so much more junk on the roads than at the track. Of course the year before last I drove my car with Hoosiers to the gas station about a 1/4 mile from NHIS. When I came back to the track I noticed a tire going flat. So did I pick something up on the way out of the facilities or on the road to the gas station? All I knew is it cost me set of tires!

I don't know who drives MPSCs in the rain, but with my car I had absolutely no traction once the track got wet. I had so little traction I just came in early from the DE session. It wasn't worth sliding into the wall at half speed. My car is a bit too stiff to run in the rain, but it was so bad it was like driving on ice!

Leeds Gulick

Before I had a trailer and tow vehicle I drove to DE and autocrosses on my r-compound tires, including Hoosiers, between 30 and 75 miles each way. In 1998 I drove my 996 from the Seattle area to the Porsche Parade in Steamboat, Colorado and back on Kumho Victoracers, a distance of 1200 miles each way. Tire wear for the whole trip was 0.5 32nds inch on the rear.

Years ago a bunch of us went to an autocross in eastern Washington and we came back over the pass in 1 to 2 inches of snow on our Yokohama A008Rs. I've also travelled around western Europe from race track to race track (Spa, Magny Cours, Zandvoort, Zolder, Dijon, Silverstone, Assen, Nurburgring, etc.) in September and October for a number of years in the mid 1990's on BFG Comp T/A R1s.

All of the r-compound tires except for Hoosiers and possibly the Kumho V700/710 are plenty durable for the street and tire wear is minimal compared to on the track. Until the last few years (Hoosiers), everyone in my area drove to the track or autocrosses on their r-compound tires, including down to Portland which is 175 miles away. Ride and noise wasn't the best, but we all had suspension and exhaust mods anyway. Rain is the biggest problem but not really bad until there's significant standing water.

Leeds

ebaker

Some GT2's and GT3's came with OEM Corsas. I tried them in daily street driving. They didn't wear much but after ruining 2 tires with punctures I took them off. They also got premature age cracks. The "R" rubber has very poor puncture resistance.

DanS911

A very timley post indeed. I got pulled over by the local police Monday and cited for "Unsafe Equipment" to wit 4 bald tires. My MPSC's are probably 50% gone but are "worn thru to the wear bars in certain places".
Care to guess where? Not to the bars in the center (except for maybe a flat spot or two ;-)
I guess the moral is...You are at the mercy of their discretion on the street with R compound tires

DGaunt

As far as puncture resistance is concerned, if a tire is DOT rated, it has passed the DOT puncture test, which is a blunt pin rather than a nail-type object. That is not to say all DOT ties are equally good at resisting nails. However it is luck and the belt package that protects the casing from nails, not the tread rubber. True, worn tires are more prone to puncture as they are less compliant, but except for all out race tires, whether you get a puncture in the tread area is more luck than good design. More tires die from sidewall cuts than nails.

Interesting comments on the BFG tires. What is the cost and rain performance?

Arthur

Grant, I have used Dunlop SSR's both on and off the track, and they ride better than the MXX3's that are on the other set of wheels. The other factor with SSR's is that they are cheap from TireRack. My 18's cost around 120 or 130 each. The rubber on the Dunlops are fairly gummy and grip very well on the track. As an aside, one of the DE participants told me about a "solvent 105 or 150" that you can spray on your R compound tires that will make them as sticky as slicks. At the track this weekend I pressed his R compound tires treated with this stuff and I swear my fingernails felt like they were going through chewing gum on a hot pavement. Anyone tried this stuff before?

GrantG

Arthur - I'd like to try those, but they don't come in 15" sizes for my 73RS replica