THSCC Forums

I am about to pull the trigger on new track tires. HPDE in a stock Miata. I am looking more for longivity than speed. Any opinions or experience?

Thanks
Rob

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Rob, check in with the Spec Miata guys. I know there's been some complaining about the 888; since I don't have a SM, I haven't been following it closely.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

Might want to add Nitto NT01 to your list. In case you can get them at a better price. Should be comparable to R888.

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http://www.greywinds.com

Well, Toyo is going to start making the RA-1 again just because of SM. Endless complaining about the R888, particularly the longevity, has caused them to revert.


--Donnie

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Pretty sure Brad Mackey got about two years or more out of a set of RA-1's on his miata, just made the switch to 888's at CMP in June... give him a shout

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Stacy King
Midlife Crisis Participant

can't speak for longevity Rob but i think they stick better than the RA-1s initially.

i only have about maybe 15 hours on mine and they seem to have much tread, but again the grip is said to diminish rapidly on these. i still had great grip the last time i used them.

they don't need to be shaved IMO as there is no noticeable tread squirm.

Cooper had some RA-1s a while back that he had had for some time. check with him.

also, Cline just tried a new set this weekend. check his feedback. he's been running Hoosiers i think.

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BenchWarmer Motorsports

another one of those damn LeMons heads

just another Chump

we are an Autocross Club Dammit............

Yeah, if you go with RA-1's they have to be shaved. To amazingly low levels, in fact, for the longest life. Leave too much rubber and the tread squirm overheats them badly.


--Donnie

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This is a Miata we're talking about

I started with un-shaved RA-1s on my heavy E30 and got about 8 track events with them with (in my opinion) no problems. Had them on for February '08, and had I not flat-spotted two of them in March I would still have them on the car today.

For someone who already has r-compound experience, then by all means, get them shaved, you'll hate the squirm for the first event... but for someone new to r-compounds, there's nothing wrong with full tread IMHO.

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Stacy King
Midlife Crisis Participant

I am leaning toward the RA1s shaved. I am not looking for the ultimate fast lap so my primary goal is to have them be sticky and last through multiple HPDE's. I don't want to go down to Sebring for my track day on new tires and hate them due to tread squirm. Since I am not running races, I should be able to get away with not shaving them to within an inch (or 4/32") of their life.

The Nittos are about $20 per tire cheaper. Does anyone have experience with them on a Miata? Grip comparable to the Toyos?


Wes - No the car is not AX stock legal. duh. When I am not alone in class I register in CSP so you have one other underprepped car to beat up on. I just don't want to take out the seats. If you have a dog in the hunt - protest me.

Thanks for the help.

I bought some used RA-1s for my integra. I did about 4-5 HPDEs in them.

still has some tread on them.

i love those tires. very sticky, even in the rain.

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'11 RallyX VP
1998 Integra Type R - track fun
1999 Subaru 2.5RS - dirt fun

I have used ones and like them but they are corded so I probably should not use them. This will be my first set of new track tires.

LOved the r888s Of course this car is superior to my old car but the tires were great.

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2002 MCS, 2003 MCS Track Rat, 2003 Generic White Yukon, 2003 BMWk1200rs, 1973 CB350F, 02 996. 08 Cayenne Turbo
http://www.clinehallagency.com

I have run both with most of this year on R888's. I corded an R888 in Sunday morning qualifying session. So the race, I slapped 18 month old RA1's on the car. Not only had they finished up the 2009 race season, they had seen three AX's. I was over two seconds faster during the race than qualifying on Sunday.

The car felt like it had before when it was turning 2:16's up there. So during the race I ran a 2:17 with very old tires, 95 degree day with high humidity. I was less than a second of Mike Morris' fast time of the race. I was well off his 2:14 during qualifying on Sunday.

The R888 are a fine dual purpose tire. They are great in the rain and I think wear longer than the RA1's. Maybe a lot of that is you are not suppose to shave them. But my personal opinion they are numb. Plus I think they have a tendency to lock up more under braking than the RA1's.

If I was spending that much coin on an HPDE tire, I would not shave the RA1's. For race conditions, yes you need the extra second or so. But for HPDE or TT, it will not matter much. The two primary benefits are long tire life and for the first two weekends, a decent rain tire. Shave them, travel to Sebring and it rains....you are screwed.

As for tire squirm. They felt just fine under a 3280 pound car when I got my first set.

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

I'm talking about my experience on the tire in Spec Miata. I don't have any experience on RA-1's otherwise, in fact.

At the 13 hour in 2005 there were some folks who had the "bright idea" to not shave their RA-1's in hopes of going the whole race on one set of tires. They went through TWO sets of unshaved RA-1s by the halfway point and then switched to the tires they had laying around that they had practiced and qualified on that WERE shaved ahead of time. They finished on THOSE tires just fine.

We, on the other hand, shaved them to like 3/32's and ran the entire race (and won) on SEVEN tires. So what I'm saying is even a Miata can overheat them with tread squirm. Oh, and the guys in question who tried the full treads weren't terribly fast, either. Probably two seconds a lap slower than us, maybe more. And we were two seconds a lap SLOWER than the two "pro" cars (this was back when "Pro Spec Miata" existed instead of MX-5 Cup) that were there, but they were also on the same shaved RA-1s as us and had similar tire wear and use as us. (And I'm talking about with drivers like Jason Saini in my car versus Tom Long in a "pro" car, so the time comparison is fairly legit.)


--Donnie

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