Well, I know Hoosier says not to do this but...if you go to an SCCA National race, almost all the guys that are 100% serious run the A6(autocross) Hoosier unless it's very hot, or an abrasive track, then they run the R6. That includes certain cars that are sponsored by other tire manufacturers. The A compound can be worth 1sec + per lap at some tracks.

 

Once again, you guys rock! Looks like my original suspicion was correct, that RA-1's are pretty much the way to go for a dedicated track tire for DE/lapping days. Seems to be the best compromise of price, usable life, and grip for someone on a budget but willing to get an extra set of wheels for track use. "Street" tires just aren't doing it for me. I know some guys drive to/from the track on shaved RA-1's (in the dry) with no issues. Makes sense I guess, one hard-cornering 20-minute session probably takes more out of them than a round trip to the track, assuming you don't run over anything to damage them.

 

I run Toyo Proxes RA-1's on my car.

The details:
Car: 944S2 with suspension upgrades
Application: DE's and Autocrosses
Tire prep - unshaved
DE days: my last set lasted 19 days, plus a season of AX. The set prior lasted 18 days and a season of AX.

The trick to long life with the RA-1's is to flip them on the wheel after 7-10 days. I feel this is more important than having them shaved. Sure, the tire is squirmy at first - but that'll get you to slide the car around a bit more!

Unshaved, they are squirmy at first, but as the tire wears down more, it gets grippier and grippier - all the way until they start showing chords. In my experience, after about 16-17 days, the heat cycling starts to become evident, and the tire's grip diminishes a little.

IMHO, for DE's, it is hard to beat the longevity of the RA-1's. I would consider the performance/grip factor to be average amongst the rest of the R-compound tires. But getting 19 days out of a set of R's is pretty decent, IMHO.

-Z-man.

 

For the guys getting alot of life out of these, how much camber are you running? My car is strictly street but i try to make every autocross. I only run about 1 degree of camber, the V710's and Victoracers are saying to run anywhere from 1.5 - 2 degrees. Thats way to much for a street car i think.

 

I've got -1 now - was thinking of bumping that up to 1.5 or 2 - why is that too extreme for street, besides tire wear?

 

Jon - I'm running -2 degrees of camber. I am sure I would get a bit more even wear if I went with a greater negative camber, like -2.5 or -3.0.

-2 degrees of camber isn't too extreme for street use, in my experience.

-Z

 

We run the Toyo as a spec tire also. Most guys get 4 weekend = 8 days.(3 sessions per day for a total of 21 heat cycles). I could probably squeez another couple of practise sessions out of mine for a total of 23 heat cycles.

I tried unshaved, hated it. Shaved, to 4/32sTire last almost as long as unshaved, but much more predictible

 

I got only 30 sessions out of my RA1 rears (8 days) on my 3020 lb 993. A little disappointing. Fronts are good for a few more days. I run -2 / -2.4 deg camber. I flipped them after 5 days so the only thing I could have done to get more life would be to run more neg camber maybe.

Chance- realize that RA1's will have literally no tread after about 3-4 track days even if you run unshaved. So driving to/from the track will be dicey if it rains. The first track day on unshaved RA1's is a waste of time. RA1 are a good DE tire but I still think Dunlop SSR were better.

 

Oh yeah, I was totally going to go shaved, and likely haul them up and put them on at the track. Unless of course I'm being totally lazy and it's a usual zero chance of rain summer day here in NorCal. I figure, optimistically, maybe 8 days at $800 a set averaging $100/day for more track fun. I've run a Spec Miata on them, and have zero complaints. You think the Dunlops SSRs would be better for a track-only tire, or as a combo street/track? Why?

 

Well, it's a moot point, but the SSR was *almost* as fast as the RA1 in my experience. And the tread allowed you to drive safely to/from the track. Plus they're better in cool weather, which is nice up north here (but not so great in 85+ deg F temps). And they give more feedback than RA1, and had the same life. I wouldn't choose SSR as a track-only tire.

 

Ah, cool.

Tchandler, what is up with that avatar? Is it just me or is her head and buttocks freakishly large???

 

Chance
yep, I think win I shrunk the pic to avatar size, She got a little distorted.

 

Toyo vs. the World: Wow, what a tall order Mr. Toyo is up to… I’ve run against like class drivers in Toyo’s, PS’, S02/03, NT01, etc. First, given the fact that in a TT event you may see 1 or 2 clean runs for times; is it really worth all the hoopla and dough for something that is more expensive and can be used less over time? Second, maybe I’m an anomaly, but I run on tracks where it’s extremely difficult to get that “fast” lap without coming upon slower traffic in the practice sessions. Third when you finally get to your two laps of fame, hasn’t the track conditions usually changed? Colder/Hotter, sun glare, fluids on the track, tire temps, etc.? Finally, in these environments (DE/TT/Racing), it would be difficult to get the “fastest lap” on a tire when you rarely see perfect track conditions and a lot of traffic.

The only way an accurate tire comparison can be provided is: 1) if the track temps don’t change from run to run, 2) a robot is driving the car exactly at the same level every lap, 3) the robot hits every apex exactly like the previous lap, 4) the track conditions remain constant, 5) a F1 team actually agrees to do the testing, etc, etc, etc…..for me, most days the Toyo’s work as good as anything out there and I can drive home safely and have money in my wallet to take my wife out to dinner (and sometimes I beat the other competitors).

IMHO: The RA-1s are a great tire for their value and if you check around most of your competition will be running them.

 

If anyone is interested I usually have a few used sets from our WC GT program .

Most have 1 -2 heat cycles and are shaved ready to go.

Sized available
245 -18's
305 -18's

Email me directly

 

As far as camber goes I set the car up with -2.4 in the front and new shaved RA-1's and ran the car hard (for me anyway ) at VIR. After the weekend was over I still had more wear on the outsides of the front than I would have liked.
This winter I'm going to put the Racer's Edge Control arms in and lower the car and try to get -3.5 in the front. My understanding is that the Toyo's like ALOT of neg camber (> -3 degrees)