R comp advice

[matthugie]

After some deliberation I've decided to run R comps season. My issue is that I do a fair amount of AutoX, but have been moving more towards HPDE/time trials. Since I just got engaged I expect I'll make it to more autox than track days this year, but will definitely be doing both. As I can only afford one set of race tires am unsure of which tires to get. I know I'll have to compromise somewhere, but don't want to kill a set of tires unnecessarily.

So, the choices I'm looking at right now are Hoosier A6's and R6's. There are some pretty long autox courses that get run here (70-80 seconds, 6 of 9 events posted for the year at that venue), but I don't think I'd be able to get R6's up to temp or be able to keep them there for an event. However, I also want tires I can run HPDE's with and not destroy. If I go with A6's, would a 2 day HPDE at VIR or the likes kill them? My understanding is that they don't withstand prolonged higher temps well, but I'm not sure how accelerated the rate of deterioration would be.

I appreciate you veterans helping out someone new to race tires.

[Gary Horneck]

I find the R888's to be a good compromise. The Hoosier's go away too fast for me. A cold spring/fall morning on A6's is not fun, but the R888's will grip at much lower temps IMO.

[Bglad]

RA1. Way better than R888. You can also go NT01 a they are the same compound as the RA1 and made by TOYO

[RoccoB517]

I also like RA1 and Nitto NT01 for dual duty. 100 tread wear is a nice intro to the capabilities of an R-comp while maintaining some durability (certainly more than 40TW).

[Bullwings]

you might also want to check out the maxxis RC1 that just came out. NT01 regulars are reporting very good results from them and at a slightly cheaper price point.

As far as selecting tires, it also depends on how you want to be classed, if it's just for fun, etc. etc.

IMO, don't get A6s, if you want to run them at both auto-x and HPDE, they'll heat cycle out long before the season is over, and if you run them in the summer heat, they'll die for sure. R6s would likely last longer, but as you said, getting heat into them for an auto-x might be a bit more difficult. They also won't be as sticky as A6s, but they should also last much much longer.

A6s and R6s and hoosiers in general are an "i want to win no matter what and will blow lots of $$$ to do it" kind of tire. If you're not getting prizes or trophies at the end, then you're burning money unnecessarily for what isn't going to equate into more fun, especially on a dollar for dollar basis.

Something else to consider, is oiling. If you don't have some kind of baffling in your oil pan, you might suffer starvation issues, and blowing your motor will likely put you way past your "fun" budget...

I'd say go with a lower level "streetable" rcomp like the others have been suggesting - RA1, R888, NT01, RC1.

It should give you the best compromise between longevity, usability, and fun. State your intended level of competition, classing, etc. etc. That will allow people to give you better advice on what tire to run.

[FLG]

For what its worth, i hated the r888's. To the point of i just gave them to a friend, i used them on the front of my drift rat, could never get them to wear properly. Played with camber, tire pressure, they just would wear on the outside edge constantly (im running -3.5 degrees of camber and zero toe) to the point where they even started to cord. They also seemed to heat cycle out quickly. After reading it seems im not alone with this issue. Ive heard good things about the RA1's. I now run star spec zii's they work great but might be a bit to soft for you.

[Chris916]

This.

RA1. Way better than R888. You can also go NT01 a they are the same compound as the RA1 and made by TOYO

RA1's are a good compromise as they will last much longer on the track then A6, or R6's. Much better then r888 and great in rain if you don't shave them. Only downfall is they need heat to perform at their best, so you wont get max grip at autoX

[jlevie]

The RA1 is a very good tire for the track, but I suspect that they aren't ever going to get hot enough to grip well in and auto cross. The R888 or NT01 tires sound like a better choice and of those I'd go with the 888's. Don't shave them and you will get more life out of them.

While it doesn't matter much for DE's, heat cycling matters for time trials. I figure RA1's and R888's are good for 6-8 heat cycles before they become practice tires or get sold. I don't have as much experience with NT01's, but they are probably similar.

[klodkrawler05]

I haven't seen them mentioned yet but what about the Kumho V710? They aren't quite as fast as the A6 on auto-x but they last much longer and are cheaper than the R6.

Rotating front to back after every event and then flipping after 1 season I got 2 full years out of a set of v710's which wound up being 220 auto-x runs and 2 HPDE track days with 200 minutes of total track time.

and that was on a large, heavy camber challenged stock class e46 330ci

I wouldn't expect the A6's to even last 1 full day at VIR, its not uncommon to see auto-x cars go from new sticker tires to cords showing after 2 days of dual driver cars at the Solo Nats. and thats only 16 runs at 60-90 seconds.

[matthugie]

Thanks for the responses guys. I probably should have mentioned that I'll be running these on Apex Arc-8's, 17x8 et20, so I have options in almost all of the suggested tires except for the V710. Right now I have square 235/40/17 ZII's, which I ran for about half of last season. They fit pretty snugly (late model, rolled rear fenders), but rub slightly in the front at full lock. I don't think I can get away with anything that runs much wider or taller than what I have on there now.

As for goals, I'm in SM and would like to be somewhat competitive locally for autox (there are a couple Evo's/STi's that are pretty nasty, as well as a supercharged S52 318ti, all running 275+ wide Hoosiers). Running ZI's and ZII's over the past year I've been off pace by ~3 seconds, and I don't expect a huge jump from ZII's to R comps, but combined with driver improvement and some other changes to the car it should help close the gap. For track goals, it's more about driver improvement in a different environment and getting up to running timed events.

[klodkrawler05]

The old adage used to be that you'd gain 2 seconds on a 60 second course by switching from street to R-Comp! maybe the switch will be enough to get you in range!

[matthugie]

The old adage used to be that you'd gain 2 seconds on a 60 second course by switching from street to R-Comp! maybe the switch will be enough to get you in range!

I've heard that and it would be awesome, but I'm not entirely sure that's as accurate as it once was. The level of performance from tires like the ZII's or Rivals has closed the gap between street tires and R comps, and since I won't likely be getting a dedicated autox tire I'm not expecting that huge of a jump. If it's the case then that's awesome, but I like keeping my expectations reasonable. Thanks.

[Wanganstyle]

I run NT01 (and ran Ra1) on my dual duty car; is a good all purpose tire for hpde use and autox and street.

we race on star specs / RS3 (minimal treadwear rules)

I place mid pack autox with Nt01's (the top guys run hoosiers and are much more skilled than me)

[Wh33lhop]

Looks like the RC1 will eventually come in 245/40r15.

[IronFreak]

I have no experience and no room to talk just curious where the BFGoodrich Rivals sit in all this?