I haven't looked into buying tires, although I will be needing some real soon and now have a chance to get some slightly used Toyo RA1 tires in 225/50/15 for cheap..(I have flares and 8" Fuchs). So are these good street tires?

Doug C

No, but I love 'em anyway. Unbelieveable grip and predictability. Just don't get caught in the rain
40 treadwear..they ain't kidding. Not street legal in CA, but who looks?
RA-1

Thanks for the reply.. I can get these tires very cheap so the point is really mute I guess. The 40 rating means that they wear quickly or refers to how they handle wet conditions? Please excuse my ignorance on this subject.

Doug C

QUOTE (DougC @ Jul 27 2005, 07:35 AM)

Thanks for the reply.. I can get these tires very cheap so the point is really mute I guess. The 40 rating means that they wear quickly or refers to how they handle wet conditions? Please excuse my ignorance on this subject. Doug C

40 says they wear quickly. Decent, not too expensive, performance street tires have treadwear ratings in the 300's. Higher priced ones that wear relatively quickly have ratings in the 200 range just to give you an idea.


Andrew

You will see less than 1000 miles from these tires on the road.

My 50 tread wear Kumhos are near done with 170 Autocross runs on them. about 120 miles. Drove them to the store and around town one day when new. Just to get the "new" off them. Ye Ha.... Pretty tough to restrain myself not to waste the tires screwing around.
HAve you ever autocrossed these are the tires you need.

Joe, you must go a lot faster than I do
I got about 8k miles including 2 ax and 8 track days from mine. Most tread was gone, but no cords showing.

On a previous race / street car I ran Kumho Victoracers all the time. I was pleased with the results. Sorry, no mileage records to share. I do remember putting on a brand new set and driving to a race in Holtville. There was much more wear in a 20 min practice session than in the 400 miles on the highway to get there.

Yea wow, 1000 miles means that they'll last me about a month and a half of normal daily commute. I really hope they last longer than that or it wouldn't be worth the cost of having them mounted, even at the substantial savings I'm getting them at. Now, on the other hand 8K would get me about a year's use out of them..so I'll have to try and take it easy (if possible!)..

Doug C

I would consider something more tempered to wet weather and bad roads... face TX doesn't have good roads anywhere...


I'll get BFG geforces when I need new tires, and people love the Falken Azenzis too...

right, I'm with you there..but I can get these for $40 ea., slightly used..

Doug C

used race tires... isn't that like using a used condom?! there are better street tires for that price, that will last longer, IMO

buying used is not that bad, but on tires that don't last that long to begin with(not even designed to last long) is a false economy

you can coopers or Kumhos *new* for 70-80 each

QUOTE (Joe Ricard @ Jul 27 2005, 08:11 AM)

You will see less than 1000 miles from these tires on the road. My 50 tread wear Kumhos are near done with 170 Autocross runs on them. about 120 miles. Drove them to the store and around town one day when new. Just to get the "new" off them. Ye Ha.... Pretty tough to restrain myself not to waste the tires screwing around. HAve you ever autocrossed these are the tires you need.

Naw he'll see more like 6,000 to 8,000 on RA1. Hell I have more than 1500 miles on my Yokohama R compounds and still have more than half the tread left and I have run a ton of AX miles on those tires.

But I would say go with a new set of Falken Azenis Sports. Either the old 215 or the new 615 models.

Grant, I do want the Falken's but they don't have them in 225/50/15 yet, supposed to be out in October I believe.. and I can't wait that long. Besides, I can get a set of 4 of these Toyos for the price of 2 of the new Kuhmos or Coopers. I only need fronts but I may go ahead and get 4 and save a couple for when they wear out. Apparently,and this is from the seller "they all have a ton of life left on them" FWTW.. I'll pass on them if they are very much more than scrubbed in.

Doug C

Have him give you a measurement in 32nd's inside / outside and middle of tread face.

Yea Howard I prolly do drive faster. We run SCCA down here in Southtown. No holdin up yer pinky or winkie while racing. Actually I'm down to about 2/32nd's froma start of 6/32nd's

QUOTE (DougC @ Jul 27 2005, 10:48 AM)

right, I'm with you there..but I can get these for $40 ea., slightly used..

false economy.

these tires are more fragile, somewhat more prone to puncture and road damage, and wear quickly -- particularly in the dallas heat. i'd certainly buy 'em for that price if they still had some life left in them, but i'd save them for the track. you can get kumho ecsta 712's for pretty cheap -- and they'll be a decent street performer, and plenty robust.

QUOTE (Howard @ Jul 27 2005, 07:16 AM)

No, but I love 'em anyway. Unbelieveable grip and predictability. Just don't get caught in the rain

"Remember, a dry tire is better in the wet than a wet tire is in the dry." -- Skip Barber

Nathan, Tire Rack doesn't show the Kuhmo Ecsta 712 in a 225/50/15 ....You sure that's an option for me in the size I'm looking for? Also, I read some where that someone was using the Toyo RA-1 as their wet weather tire..but I know that's apples to organge because theirs is a race car, but the perspective is interesting.

Doug C

QUOTE (DougC @ Jul 27 2005, 11:15 AM)

Grant, I do want the Falken's but they don't have them in 225/50/15 yet, supposed to be out in October I believe.. and I can't wait that long. Besides, I can get a set of 4 of these Toyos for the price of 2 of the new Kuhmos or Coopers. I only need fronts but I may go ahead and get 4 and save a couple for when they wear out. Apparently,and this is from the seller "they all have a ton of life left on them" FWTW.. I'll pass on them if they are very much more than scrubbed in. Doug C

Woah!

If you're going to use Race tires on the street, do not, do not, do not mix-n-match with regular street tires. Especially if you're only going to put them on the front. That is a perfect recipie for a spin when you least expect it.

That being said, DOT race tires like the RA-1 can last a pretty long time on a light, low power car that doesn't go autoxing or racing. They won't be sticky that long though. As a a matter of fact, if you only use 'em on the street, chances are you'll never see cord. They'll have turned to useless rocks long before then.

Race tires are soft, for grip. But that means that the tire compound is more vunerable to heat cycles. The more times you heat them up and cool them down, the harder they get. I had a set of Yoko A008's that went 5,000 miles with a bunch of autoxes in between. But they were absolutely useless well before that 5,000 miles went past.

Race tires on the street can be a lot of fun, but they are almost no better than completetly bald street tires if it rains.. Really... Especially if they're already somewhat worn...

-Josh2

QUOTE (airsix @ Jul 27 2005, 11:54 AM)

QUOTE (Howard @ Jul 27 2005, 07:16 AM) No, but I love 'em anyway.  Unbelieveable grip and predictability.  Just don't get caught in the rain  :D "Remember, a dry tire is better in the wet than a wet tire is in the dry." -- Skip Barber

Only if you're racing, and don't need to drive home on the same tires when you're done...

-Josh2

QUOTE (DougC @ Jul 27 2005, 12:12 PM)

Nathan, Tire Rack doesn't show the Kuhmo Ecsta 712 in a 225/50/15 ....You sure that's an option for me in the size I'm looking for?

no, not sure... forgot about the size issue, sorry....

QUOTE (jhadler @ Jul 27 2005, 12:59 PM)

QUOTE (airsix @ Jul 27 2005, 11:54 AM) "Remember, a dry tire is better in the wet than a wet tire is in the dry." -- Skip Barber Only if you're racing, and don't need to drive home on the same tires when you're done... -Josh2

I meant that a little tounge-in-cheek. I likes stickies.
-Ben M.

QUOTE (airsix @ Jul 27 2005, 03:34 PM)

QUOTE (airsix @ Jul 27 2005, 11:54 AM) "Remember, a dry tire is better in the wet than a wet tire is in the dry." -- Skip Barber

Uh, I don't think Skip was talking about schlicks
Running Azenis now, and it's a damn good street tire. It's no race tire! A crappy race tire is better on the track than the best street tire. I would grab those used ones in a second.
Would have gotten Proxes again, but the extra $80 per tire seemed overkill for my relaxed driving style on the street. I'll check my lap times next trip to Willow and post, but I bet I'll be losing a couple of seconds per lap.

QUOTE (jhadler @ Jul 27 2005, 01:58 PM)

Race tires on the street can be a lot of fun, -Josh2

I ran Comp TA R1's on my street 911 for about 6 months or so....absolute blast and the grip/feedback was awesome

I have been using Toyo RA1s on the street for more than 3 years (on two different 914s). They only show additional wear after track events. I do not notice any street wear whatsoever. I towed my 914 to the WCC, ran the track event and towed it back (over 1,000 miles). I then towed it to Las Vegas, ran a two-day track event and towed it back to Phoenix again (over 700 miles). I just got back from a 3-day event at Willow Springs turning into turn 8 at 130MPH over and over again. Oh yeah, and towed it home again (over 1,000) miles.

They do not turn into rocks from street use - they stay sticky. They are really amazing tires.

Andy