mooty

full agreement

mooty

r888 is the new definition for GARBAGE.

333pg333

If guys are doing shake downs then I imagine it's not a total waste?

Love to see video of Jack dusting RS's.

JackOlsen

Mooty's got it mostly right. I use Nitto NT01s now, since the availability of RA1s dried up while Toyo tried to switch to the 888s.

I usually dust the RS's in the paddock. It's not as hard as you might think. Here's a woman dusting a BMW.

todinlaw

It depends on what you want. If you want a good sticky tire, with lots of longevity, and all around good buy, I would go with the BFG G-Force R1 dot road racing tire. By far, and I mean Far superior to the Toyo RA-1 or R888 or the Nito. in terms of stick and tire life. I have raced them all.

Gary R.

Is that still the case Jack? I know NASA switched back to the RA-1s this summer as it was my understanding Toyo resumed production, but maybe it's in limited sizes?

Sterling Doc

This is a strong statement, and I would think a minority opinion with regards to durability.

Having endurance raced on all of those options, the RA-1 & NT-01 have better longevity than the R1. The R1 is a good tire, and 1-2 seconds a lap faster (depending on the course), but it won't go two 3 hour enduros like the RA-1 will. It is also more susceptible to flat spotting, and is a bit less forgiving to drive.

Charles A. Toupin

That is common here at Rennsport Region. Actually, most of the advanced drivers in GT3's are using them...

c.

JackOlsen

You're saying a set of R1s would last longer than a set of NT01s? I haven't run the R1s, but I've never heard about it having that kind of lifespan. As I've been told, it's somewhere between the RA1/NT01 and the Hoosier R6 in terms of both grip and lifespan.

No, you're right. I believe Toyo is bringing the RA1 back (probably) because so many people were disappointed with the R888. But I use my tires for a long time, and have continued tuning my suspension to the NT01s I switched to when it was announced that the RA1 was going away. I like that the Nittos don't need to be shaved to avoid the RA1's 'shaky weekend' of initial tread wear.

333pg333

Also, a two liner R1 isn't a realistic drive to and from the track tyre if that was desired. Any standing water and you're in big trouble. Possibly with insurance I'd suspect? The RA1 or NT-01 will also offer some wet weather driving on the track vs the R1.

85Gold

As an advisement the new RA1 is now using the same compound as the R888. So the new RA1? may not be the same grip/life as the old RA1.

Peter

Bill Verburg

250/650R18 is very close to 245/40 x18
280/650R18 is very close to 275/35 x18

Nitto Nt01 comes in those sizes RA1 does not

preston_brown

OK! Thanks for all the input so far everyone. The RA1 is definitely getting a lot of recommendations along with the NT01. So those I will look at.

I attempted to measure the width of my wheels tonight -- its a bit of a challenge since tires are mounted, and there aren't size stampings on the wheels (that I've seen; maybe I didn't look closely enough at the back side). I think the fronts are 11.5" and the rears 12.5". They are 18" BBS centerlocks with magnesium centers. Does that sound correct for a 964 RSR that was converted to 993 EVO 2(ish) specs? I've inspected the centers carefully for cracks.

Edit: Bill Verburg said:

"GT2 Evo used BBS10x18ET32 & 11x18ET14, yes, they were centerlocks."

So I may have mis-measured with my tape. The tire sizes that are on the rims right now look good -- not too narrow or wide for the rims.

I have two sets of slicks at present in the size I mentioned (250/650R18 and 280/650R18), one mounted, the other not. They are both at least 6 years old. Not sure how they were stored -- likely in a garage out of direct sunlight. But I can see that the slicks that are mounted already have some cracking around the sidewall. Not tons but some.

When I have driven the car on the "street" (I have forgiving neighbors and live out in the country) it wants to pull left and right and not go in a straight line. Tie rods appear fine as do wheel bearings so I am assuming these tires are a) not heated up and b) rock hard because they are old.

Bill Verburg

To measure the wheels w/ tires mounted you need 2 stiff lathes that fit across the outer edge of the wheel flanges w/o touching the tire
like this, rubber bands can be used to hold them in place





Most aftermarket wheels will measure 1" more from face to face than the bead width, BBS have thinner flanges and will measure ~.875" more than the bead width.

333pg333

Unlikely that you have 250/280 mounted on 11.5" and 12.5" wheels. That would be too much of a stretch and as you've said, they appear to fit well. I'd take at least 1-2" off your guesstimates on the wheel width. Sounds like a nice car btw.