mikew968

Could you rank R rubber tires from the fastest to the slowest. This should be interesting!!!!!


Thanks, MIke

Larry Herman

Well here's a starting point from fastest to slowest in the dry:

Hoosier*
MPSC*
Toyo Proxes RA1* (no tread)
Pirelli Corsa
Dunlop SSR*
Kumho
Toyo Proxes RA1* (full tread)
Yokohama A032R*

The asterisk marks the tires I've driven on, and the others are ranked according to what other experienced drivers have told me.

Who's next?

Benton

Thanks, Larry. That is very informative (if it's right!).

Brian P

Larry, any guesstimates on the amount of time difference between Hoosiers and MPSCs?

Larry Herman

Brian, that's a tough one, because there is such a difference in cars and setup and driving styles. One driver could maximize the abilities of a slower tire, and be not any faster when switching to a faster tire because they are under utilizing them, make sense? Also some tires will have better low speed grip so they will be better on tighter tracks, and then be way off on faster tracks.

What others have told me, and from the limited timing that I have done on MPSCs, is that the Hoosiers are about 1 to 2% faster than the MPSCs. That would equate to ~ 1 to 2 seconds on a 2 minute track.

APKhaos

For what its worth, I ran RA-1s for the entire 2004 season. I was very happy with them. Won the series. The only thing that promted me to try Hoosiers was a 50% off deal from Bob Woodman Tire, who provides on-track support at all NASA events.

Having run the Hoosiers at a single race, I can tell you that the difference between the RA-1 and the Hoosier is dramatic. The apocryphal '2 seconds per lap' is very close to correct. It was quite an experience to move from teh RA-1 to the Hoosier, and there may be no way back!

Larry Herman

Then don't ever go to slicks Tony. It's REALLY hard to bolt the R tires back on the car after running the slicks.

carreracup21

I havn't run MPSC's , but some guys with heavier (>3000 lbs.) cars claim them to be very close to Hoosiers on hot days with high track temps. MPSC's need to be pushed hard to find the sweet spot.

mooty

larry, do you run ra1 on the gt3? if so, what size?

Larry Herman

John, I have not run the Toyos on my GT3, however I have lots of miles on them on my old Carrera, and one of my sons runs them on his EVO 8. I think there is a thread on the GT3 forum where NJ-GT has run them, and lists what sizes he used. From what Toyo makes, I didn't think that there was a good size for us, but he found a set that fit.

Bill L Seifert

I have no first hand knowledge of this, but a friend just bought a set of Avon's in 225-45-15 after using Hoosiers in the same size for a couple of years. I didn't go to the race at St Louis last weekend because I discovered my tie-rods were loose when I was getting ready to load up. Anyway, he used them and said they were only fractionally slower than the SO4 Hoosiers,(The salesman at Tire Rack said that up front) and $25 cheaper apiece. No shaving either, like you have to do with everything else except the Hoosiers. Not as many sizes though. (In 16's only 225-50-16, and 225-45-17, and 275-40-17, no 18's) I find the MPSC's quite a bit slower than the Hoosiers, but last almost forever. (Unless you let your tie rods get loose.)

I am going to try Avons when I wear out my Hoosiers.

Bill Seifert

1987 944S Race Car

M758

My Ranking (Based on experienence and talking with others)
TIRE..........................................Grip.............Life
1) Hoosier................................. 10................2
2) Kumho V710 (not Victoracer)...9..................3
3) MPSC....................................8..................8
4) Goodyear GSCS......................8..................3
5) Hankook................................6..................???
6) Kumho Victoracer ..................5...................6
7) Toyo RA-1 (worn)...................5..................10
8) Yoko A032R...........................4....................7
9) Toyo RA-1 (Fresh unshaved)....4..................10
10) Really good Street Tires.........1..................20


Note I have driven on Toyo's and Victoracers and have heard information about the others.

earlyapex

My rankings for my 2300 lbs 911:

1. Hoosier
2. Toyo RA-1
3. Kumho Victoracers
4. MPSC

I have no experience with the Yoko A-032. Tire Rack lists only the hard compound for my tire sizes, which is not what I need.

Evan70

From personal experience, I would not even include Yoko A032Rs as R compound tires. when the model was new they were probably good, but there are several street tires out now that have as good (or better) grip than new A032Rs. And when they get old, you might as well be driving on bricks. Personally, the only reason I would recommend A032Rs is for wet use, and their are better tires out ther for that now.

The Toyo RA1s seem to be much better. I've got two full track days on them, and about 5K street miles and they are holding up great. Not the fastest R compound tire I've ever used, but very communicative at the limit. Might possibly be the best R compound tire available for a newbie at the track, or for someone who wants long tire life. Toyo's other division Nitto makes a similar tire called the 555R/RII, but they have very limited sizes and are geared more towards Vettes, Firebirds/Camaros, and Mustangs.

Anyway, this is how I would rank tires:
Tire..............................Grip (new/worn)..............Life
1) Hoosier........................10/10..........................2
4) Hankook Ventus RS-2.....5/?............................8
2) *Nitto 555R/RII...............5/6...........................8
3) *Toyo RA1.....................5/6............................8
4) *Kumho Victoracer..........5/4...........................5
5) *Really good street tire....1/1..........................10
6) *Yoko A032R...................1/0..........................8

* indicates tires I've driven on

Professor Helmüt Tester

Only ranking currently-available tires I have actually raced on, 'stickiest to granite-est':

1. Hoosiers
2. (very close 2nd) GoodyearGS-CS (5-7 cycles and they're DONE)
3. Kumho Ecsta
4. Kumho Victoracer
5. Hankook Ventus
6. Toyo RA-1
7. Yok 032H (all the grip of a bowling ball)

Got a stack of Kumho 710's around here...gotta try them in the next month. I'll speculate now that they'll be #3 on the list, maybe #2 if they can outlive the GS-CSes.

Memory Lane: I still have 2 sets of unused Bridgestone RE71R's (remember them ?) and a pair of Yokohama A-001's (not 008's...001's) hidden in the dark bowels of Tire Land here. If I can find a set of Phoenix Stahlflex's...I may go vintage racing.