J-RAD

Anyone tried these as opposed to the staple tire - Michelin Pilot Sport Cup's? Looking for DE use only. Curious as to how the Yokos compare.

They are both priced about the same but the Yokos could potentially be rotated to offer a bit more life.

JackOlsen

I'd choose the Toyo RA1 over both.

Greg Smith

I've always found it interesting that the Porsche crowd goes with MPSC's and the BMW crowd goes with RA-1's. Yes I have nothing to offer to this thread.

J-RAD

Why? I know they are popular as well (although I don't know that I've ever personally seen them used). Have you driven the Yokos?

smlporsche

The RA-1's are less expensive, last twice as long, can be rotated after shaving, and come up to temperature twice as fast as MPSC's for starters.

At full tread depth they are fantastic rain tires.

The time difference on a 2 minute lap is about 2 seconds from what I've read but in a DE environment that should not be of consequence.

RamVA

I've gone through several sets of A048s on my Lotus, but have not used them on a Porsche. My take is that they aren't quite as sticky and that they cycle out very quickly. I get 5-6 days out of rears, 4 of them "good", though maybe 10 out of fronts, and on the last day you can feel them going away. (I've gotten 8 decent days out of the Cups on both ends of my 996.) On the plus side they heat up much quicker than Cups, which is a big help on a lighter car. That said, after this set goes I'm switching to Hoosiers...

Sean F

My buddy had been using them on his 997s and he liked them okay but ended up moving to MSPC's and thinks the grip is much better with the cups. Of course, now he's moving to Hoosiers

JackOlsen

I've gone through several sets of the Yokohamas, and never liked them. They're neither a particularly good street tire or a particularly good track tire. And they're loud.

The Toyos (and presumably the Nittos, and we'll see about the newer Toyo R-888) are close to Hoosiers in performance, but have much more consistent handling characteristics over a much longer lifespan. The only odd part is breaking them in, especially unshaved. But then they continue to get better over a very long time, compared to most other R-compound tires.

One potential downside for a 996 is how the RA1's would hold up to the additional weight. I'm able to run them in the mid-to-low 20's, hot, on my car (2500 pounds, 275/315 tires), but that might not work with narrower rubber on a heavier car.

911S3.6

Tires are like dogs, everyone thinks theirs is the best.
Found the RA-1 cheap junk and lumpy. Overall consensus among club racers/de folk some love them some hate them.
The MPSCs are great on heavier cars, i.e 2800-3100 lbs, as they can get up to temperature. I ran the MPSCs for three season and though they do not wear out, they heat cycle out. Also, on my particular car, which weights 2280 lbs, there just wasn't enough heat generated except at Road America in July, when ambient air temps are high.
Took a chance with the Yoko 048s this year and gained 2.5 seconds at Heartland Park and Putnam Park as compared to the MPSCs. They have worn well and evenly. One short run in the morning and a tire pressure adjustment, and they are stable the rest of the day - which was not true of the MPSCs.
Again, the MPSC are great tires but they were designed for GT3 and cars with more weight.
The Yokos seems to perform well on lighter cars, stick like glue especially once you get the tread worn down.
Both MPSC and 048 will scare the **** out of you in a torrential rain...

Nick
Jack is right about the noise, they are loud, but not louder than the car's engine...LOL!

Cory M

Where did you find 315 RA1's? I didn't think they made them in that size....Mid to low 20's seems like really low pressure too.

JackOlsen

My mistake. I had to jump down a size (to 255/275x17) when I switched to Toyos. I'm able to get the Nitto NT01 (same compound, different tread pattern and depth) in 275/315. I've got a set on the way to use in September.

On my car, I've gotten my best lap times in the 25-29 range with the Toyos, depending on track conditions. The Toyos in the narrower sizes were faster (for me) than the Yokos in the wider widths. Toyos are slower than the Hoosiers in the wider widths, but $1000/weekend for less than a second gets old in a hurry.

Cory M

If you like the RA1's you will like the Nittos, they are good tires. I would take the Toyo's or Nitto's over either of the tires the original poster mentioned.

andrewdr

What about Pirelli Corsa System? I currently have 295's on the rear Carrera S Lobster rims, can i put 305's and would they be good for DE events?

fork_included

toyo's for longevity for sure.

also people keep in mind toyo recomends that the RA1 be run at -3 to -5 degrees of camber, very few people ahve daily cars set up with such an aggressive camber setting, so they dont use the toyo's to their full extent.

JackOlsen

Some of us do.