[K Miata]

Toyo:up:

which ones? I've heard better things about the RA1s than the R888s.

I only track my car and drive it on nice (dry) days, so is there anything better than the RA1s for that? I'm going 205/50/15

 

[K Miata]

RA1's

they are their grippiest right before they are chorded. So that means when you buy them new, they get better and better and better:up:

thats what I've heard. and I've heard because of this, the tire life is pretty long.

I'm thinking about some 949Racing 6UL 15x8 wheels with some RA1s for the DC2... that would be a good time.

 

[K Miata]

I've seen a guy running the r1's at local auto-x in a new civic si & it looked like he had a hard time bringing them up to proper operating temp. Seems like they are more for the road course.

Also i was reading some threads on the porsche & lotus forums & they say the r1s don't work well on a light chassis! Any input?

They said the R888 is king in the wet & a good all around tire.

has anyone else confirmed this? I mainly road race the car, and heating tires up is definitely not a problem. maybe going 15x8 with RA1s could be too much...

but then again, the RA1 seems to be the standard tire for NASAs Honda Challenge, and of course all those cars are quite light.

 

[K Miata]

^^^it was the spec tire last season i think...most the porsches guys i talked to don't like the 888's compared to the RA1 and are more then excited to go back to them(RA1's).

see thats what I had heard from a few people. I friend of mine has run both tires on his cars and definitely prefers the RA1s.

are 15x8s wrapped in RA1s too much grip for the back wheels? I mean I can always stiffen up the dampening in the rear.

It's really to set it up to make the back end swing out with my current 205/50/15 Azenis.

Thoughts?

 

[K Miata]

wuts the purpose of swinging out the back end? im always faster when my rear trails the front, kicking it out seemed to make me spin. i guess its how people prefer things?

for the most part I agree with you, but sometimes it helps to break it free around a tight corner, as long as you can control the spin, which is easier said than done

but under most circumstances, yeah you don't want the back end all over the place.

 

[K Miata]

^^^ Toyo RA1s

 

[K Miata]

JamesL, that was a perfect explanation of why you can be quicker if you let the rear break free. and also why I don't do it much

Ok, I wanted to bump this back up because I need new tires ASAP. right now I have some 15x7 rota slips (yeah yeah I know) but I want to throw on some Toyo RA1s for the track. My funds are limited right now.

So, I want a 225/50/15. Toyo's website says these can be mounted on a 15" wheel either 6, 7, or 8" wide. At first I was planning on upgrading my wheels to something wider, but would there me any advantages/disadvantages of running the 225 width on a 7" wheel vs. a 7.5" or 8"? Eventually I want new wheels, but right now there are other mods that will get me around the track faster.

Who has experience with this and can point me in the right direction? Thanks

 

[K Miata]

ok. So, 225/50/15 RA1s or R888s on a 15x7 wheel. You need to go to the 50 width for a 7" wide rim. Good or bad? Toyo says they are sized for a 7" wide wheel, but any advantages going with a 7.5 or 8?

 

[K Miata]

Nitto nt01 can be had for $115 225/45/15

949racing tells me they faster than toyo R888 as soon as I get a tracking # from wheels I'm gonna order the nt01 to try them.

Try to stay away from a 50 or 55 profile I learn it the hard way. The lower the profile the better response you will get, the better the car will handle.

On something widers than 205 7.5, 8 or 9 wheel will work in your favor since it make the tires have a wider patch contact with the road. But 7" will do for a 225 tire.

those nitto nt01's look nice and sounds really good too. that price is attractive. and it says you can mount them on a 7" wide wheel... could be a cheap option for me

 

[K Miata]

A 225/50/15 is pretty large for a little Civic hatch. An Integra could get away with it a bit easier, IMO.

You need to take gearing changes into consideration as well, if the tire is a taller OD than what you have been running previously. 225/15/15 is almost a full inch taller than a 225/45/15.


Running a 225 tire on a wider wheel, such as a 8" or 9", changes the shape of the contact patch slightly. It doesn't mean there is any more rubber on the road, just that the contact patch that is on the road is wider and shorter. This has its benefits... specifically, that each discrete "patch" has less work to do per each rotation of the tire. The shorter the contact patch gets, the more uniform the loading is that is applied to the area of the patch. This should result in an increase in lateral grip.

Theoretically, a shorter/wider contact patch should also be less prone to deformation... and should have less rolling resistance.


That all being said, a 225/50/15 or 225/45/15 will work fine on a 15x7" wheel. Will it be the absolute fastest? No, perhaps not. But it will be a quick/cheap solution and one that plenty of racers use.

thanks for the info, you know your stuff. So, I am I better off with a 225/50/15 or a 225/45/15 then? Given that the factory tire is a 195/55/15, I was thinking of going with the 50 vs. 45, but I know there are advantages to the 45. Plus the NT01s only come in 225/45/15s. I'm still up in the air between the RA1 and the NT01.

 

[K Miata]

okay I have an update on tires. I just bought some Toyo R888s, 225/50/15 for a whopping $115 each at tiresdirect.net. They are located in Addison IL and I will be picking them up. Sweet deal that I couldn't pass up. Thought I'd pass it along.

 

[K Miata]

Good info I found on the R888

This is very usefull, since it is a diferent desing that the ra1 to get the best performace out of them they need to be ran at 45 to 47 psi hot while the ra1 like around 38 psi hot, so a 40psi may be a good starting cool starting point on the R888.

Maybe that's why 949racing was recomeding me the NT01 over the R888 because almost everyone runs the R888 at the psi that the ra1 likes.

I did some searching & people that bump the psi on the R888 say they wear evenly & the more they wear the faster they get. As they wear down to the belts they behave like full slicks.

Read the info on the link below.

http://www.nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=28171

that is a really great post, and read through it all and will try it on thursday out at Gingerman with my new R888s. perfect timing, I'll post my thoughts afterwards.

 

[K Miata]

Oh cool man go to that track & do your magic with the dc2 & share your sperience with us.
I mounted mines yesterday but I don't know when I'm gonna hit the track.

lol hells yeah I can do that.

 

[K Miata]

^^^^ very interesting. well right now mine at sitting at 35 psi cold, so tomorrow I will play around with some different pressures and see how it feels.

JamesL, I'm guessing you've ran R888s before, how do you like them? what has worked for you?

 

[K Miata]

How did it go?

okay I'm back! the car overall was set up really well. The R888s felt great, I ran them between 39-47 psi hot to try some different setups. most of the time I ran around 42 and it felt good and tire wear seemed even. Camber is set at -2.8 front -1.4 in the rear. and tire size is 225/50R15.

However, this is the first set of R compound tires I've ran, so I have nothing else to compare it to. So I may not be a great help, but I can say they are a great tire for the price. let us know what you think when you get out on them.

 

[K Miata]

I have some feedback on the R888s after two track days. Overall they seem to wear better at 36ish psi hot, at least in my experience.

I ran them around 42-45 hot for a few laps at autobahn over the weekend and now the centers look too worn, which i am not happy about. So I think I will be sticking to mid 30s if nothing else just to preserve tire life.

Even with 225s in the rear, I was able to rotate the back end when needed.

Anyone else?