R's for the street?

I used to run RA1s all summer (mid-April to the end of October) on my Miata. Toyo no longer sells the RA1 in Canada (boo), so I switched to R888s. I've never had an issue with wet traction, or punctures, or extended heat cycling.

For reference, I only managed about 6000 kms on my R888s last year, but that includes almost 2000 kms of track time, plus countless autox runs.

Not bad. Not cheap, but my Azenis didn't really last much longer, either, with track days and autox.

OK, after the first few posts, I was convinced not to do it. Now I'm not so sure it's a terrible idea. It's more for the fact that I don't have to change/own two sets of tires, and it's a limited use car. I have no intentions of driving 10/10ths on the street. That was 15 years ago...

doc_speeder wrote: It's more for the fact that I don't have to change/own two sets of tires, and it's a limited use car.

My scenario exactly. If, in the future, I have space for a small tire trailer, I may go back to streets/Rs. But I am space limited right now, so that's not an option. Plus, if it is really crappy weather, I have better vehicles to drive than my Miata.

Where are you located? I live in Texas and have no issues whatsoever with temps/weather on my RA1s.

I'm just about to mount up a set for my S2000 as well.

I'm in southern Alberta, about 60 miles north of Montana. It's a summer only car. Our summer days are like 20-35 degrees C. Temp won't be an issue.

Vigo wrote: Isnt GRM streeting nt-o1s on the white golf?? I thought i just read that.. and they said it was working out so far. Ive thought about doing the same thing with some 225/45-15 nt-o1s on my aries.

...and in the turbo Miata from time to time. Florida is generally pretty kind to R-comps, and we've had really good experiences with the NT-01.

poopshovel wrote: Put me in the "That's a berkeleying horrible idea" camp. 2300 lb. car + R comps + 70mph + slightest bit of rain = driving a berkeleying jet-ski.

What he said x 70. On my short list of things not to do. Bad juju.

Jensenman wrote: kquote>oldeskewltoy wrote: That's why I said EXPECTED tread life. Tires are all tested on the same equipment, tread wear data is collected and then extrapolated to an approximate tread life number. That number is most definitely comparable all across the range of tires and manufacturers, that's why it's called Uniform Tire Quality Grading. A Bridgestone 100 can most certainly be compared to a Kumho 100 can be compared to a Michelin 100 etc under ideal conditions. Sumitomo's explanation is one of the best: http://www.sumitomotire.com/tireabc/utqg.aspx

If my instructors knew what they were talking about.... the UTQG is uniform in name only.. according to them it is accurate only across the tires of any one particular co.... things may have changed since I took the suspension and brakes class....but that's what the story was in '05...

excerpt from the sumitomotire.com:

Uniform Tire Quality Grading System or UTQG, is the standard by which tire manufacturers rate the quality of THIER tires.

I am planning on running the 205/50/15 Nitto NT01s or the Toyos RA-1s as well on my MINI (I hate changing tires at events!).

Anyhow, it looks like this topic has been well covered except for one thing. How much performance do these tires give up to the Kumho V710 or Hoosier A6 on a proverbial 60 sec autocross course?

RA1s are the best street tires I have ever used hands down. Just get them off the car if its going to get cold. They do NOT like cld temps.

In reply to dsycks: Cool, thanks. I switch to "all season" rubber from Nov to March.

I'll be the one to say that it depends on the tire and the climate you are in. I have a good friend who daily drives on RA-1 in rain without issues. he is here in Northern California where it rarely get very cold. The same friend would NEVER drive on the road with Hoosiers or Kumho 710's. All the negatives that were listed in the earlier posts apply. No tread, fast wearing, low puncture resistence, etc.

Since I started this, I'll give an update... I've been running on the NT-01's since early September. About 4,000 kms of street/highway use, and 18 autocross runs. They are showing VERY little wear, and other than being a bit growly at lower speeds and thumping considerably on square-edged road imperfections, they are really a perfectly fine street tire for my needs. I'll take them off in the next week or so as it will start to get cold out, but they'll go back on next spring with no hesitations. The car in this situation is a '92 8v Jetta, on GC coils with Koni's, and a mild performance alignment. About 2.5* front camber, 0 toe, and untouched/unchecked rear alignment.