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I was thinking of running a set of Toyo RA1's but wondering now if thats not a good idea. The car currently has a set of Toyo T1R's that came on the car. Not sure what the wear or grip rating is on either but I should before i go out spending cash on a set that wont last a race. The car is a mk2 VW Golf. I was told that the RA1's wear like iron but maybe not hard enough to last at Lemons NE.
What do you think?
I was thinking of running a set of Toyo RA1's but wondering now if thats not a good idea. The car currently has a set of Toyo T1R's that came on the car. Not sure what the wear or grip rating is on either but I should before i go out spending cash on a set that wont last a race. The car is a mk2 VW Golf. I was told that the RA1's wear like iron but maybe not hard enough to last at Lemons NE.
What do you think?
RA1s are not legal...must have a tread wear rating of 190 or higher.
We used the Azenis 615's at last years Toledo 24 hours. Other then one puncture we still have 3-4/32" of tread left from brand new tires. Tho one tire is more like 1/32" but that is the one wheel were the shock was dead somewhere after 2-3am in the morning and it was just bouncing around the rest of the time. 3 of our drivers were very agressive, the 3 others were pretty easy on things.
We plan on using this set again and probably borrowing another set as spares/wet tires for Nelson 24. See you there
WINWAR wrote:I was thinking of running a set of Toyo RA1's but wondering now if thats not a good idea. The car currently has a set of Toyo T1R's that came on the car. Not sure what the wear or grip rating is on either but I should before i go out spending cash on a set that wont last a race. The car is a mk2 VW Golf. I was told that the RA1's wear like iron but maybe not hard enough to last at Lemons NE.
What do you think?RA1s are not legal...must have a tread wear rating of 190 or higher.
Well, that certainly changes my tire choice. Thanks. I havent truly gotten into the tires yet. I hope i would have figured that one out before I ordered. Again, thanks!
Anyone recommend a good tires for this car. 2100lb FF VW.
Anyone recommend a good tires for this car. 2100lb FF VW.
The absolute cheapest ones you can find within the 200-300 tread wear range. Or, if you're getting a smokin deal, the 300-400 tread wear range. Stay away from studded snow tires.
Really, tires are a huge expense and won't win you a race. They will make driving a bit more fun, but we're running 280 treadwear general performance tires and our car is a consistent, reliable blast to drive. Suspension setup will be much more important.
mjfassio wrote:Unfortunately for I Wanna Roc the stock IROC rims are 16" which means that there's not a whole lot of options on tires out there. We have been debating on several models and I thought I'd get some input from the group. All prices are from TireRack.com and the tire size is a 245/45ZR16
Hankook Ventus R-S2 - 200 AA A - $113
Yokohama AVS ES100 - 280 AA A - $118I had a set of ES100's on my Audi years ago and replaced them with Bridgestone RE960's before they wore out because I disliked them so much. Do some searching around on Tire Rack and you can do a lot better or better yet just call them on the phone, their reps can recommend the best tire in the size you are looking for.
I had ES100's on my A4 too.. I liked them a lot, but they wore very quickly then got REAL noisy..
I think we ran hancooks on our two cars -surprisingly good. On the celica (less roll than the corolla), we could easily run two events. Hardly even worn after one event. I did find when reusing the tires from one season to the next that they got really hard and fell off quite a bit; probably more than a second a lap slower. Basically use them up in one season or they really fall off.
WINWAR wrote:Anyone recommend a good tires for this car. 2100lb FF VW.
The absolute cheapest ones you can find within the 200-300 tread wear range. Or, if you're getting a smokin deal, the 300-400 tread wear range. Stay away from studded snow tires.
Really, tires are a huge expense and won't win you a race. They will make driving a bit more fun, but we're running 280 treadwear general performance tires and our car is a consistent, reliable blast to drive. Suspension setup will be much more important.
Tires make the biggest difference on every other race car. Why is this so different?
troubleonwheels wrote:WINWAR wrote:Anyone recommend a good tires for this car. 2100lb FF VW.
The absolute cheapest ones you can find within the 200-300 tread wear range. Or, if you're getting a smokin deal, the 300-400 tread wear range. Stay away from studded snow tires.
Really, tires are a huge expense and won't win you a race. They will make driving a bit more fun, but we're running 280 treadwear general performance tires and our car is a consistent, reliable blast to drive. Suspension setup will be much more important.
Tires make the biggest difference on every other race car. Why is this so different?
Because this isn't a race about speed and handling. It's about surviving to the end in a $500 car with 70+ other yahoos in $500 cars on a 1.4mi course.
Oh, but choosing the absolute wrong tire (studded snow tires) you could loose the race.
Tires make the biggest difference on every other race car. Why is this so different?
Because even at 2 seconds a lap - the winning car at CMP would have gone only 1200 seconds faster. that's 20 minutes over ~16 hours. That's one break down, one penalty, a couple of slow driver changes, etc. And how often do you think that you actually get to use the tires at 100% given the amount of traffic? Tires matter less in the grand scheme of things than running clean and having a reliable car.
Tires only really matter to the top 5 cars or so. They know who they are already and they aren't the ones asking about tires. 
Tires only really matter to the top 5 cars or so. They know who they are already and they aren't the ones asking about tires.
Ha! I love it.
Tires only really matter to the top 5 cars or so. They know who they are already and they aren't the ones asking about tires.
But some of them are giving advice about tires....
I can vouch for the RT615 Azenis tires. Very grippy but do tend to get a little greasy in the heat if you drift in the turns too much. The give away gradually so you can recover from a slip easily and they warn you audibly as they do so. Two sets is ideal for a Lemons race, 1 for each day. Since we're running a lot more power this time around, our tiny little 205/15s will assuredly put us in the dirt pretty quickly. So we're shopping around for some mammoth 9" x 17" rims to fit 255s onto. Not easy to find for cheap so if that fails, we will go to a 245 on an 8" x 17" rim.
Actually, now I feel I'm a little stuck. I was planning on sticking to 14" wheels on my VW. There really doesnt seem to be much out there. I currently have some Toyo T1R's. Is that the best I can do?
Actually, now I feel I'm a little stuck. I was planning on sticking to 14" wheels on my VW. There really doesnt seem to be much out there. I currently have some Toyo T1R's. Is that the best I can do?
I'm pretty sure that's what we use. We approached someone we know who works for Toyo about a sponsorship.
His reply: I'll sell you the tires at cost, if you DON'T put our logo on the car.
Good enough for me 
I had a set of Azeni 615's on my Sentra for the SE-R cup races as well as multiple Auto-X events.
I like them ALOT... but I never truely tested them for endurance. They did last me two seasons though.
oneday wrote:Ottobon wrote:The Azenis are in my experience the best tire in their class.
As long as you only need them to last through a 20 minute HPDE stint, then maybe....but only if you are only doing two or three stints.
I have them on my 3300 lb Ford LTD and they lasted through eight 20 minute HPDE stints at California Speedway with plenty of tread left.
On the other hand, we nearly burned through a set on our 2200 lb BMW at the last Lemons race at Thunderhill. So it has a lot to do with how you drive.
Four electric impacts and a spare set of tires... Easy fix...
I have a '84 bmw 318i e30 car that we're racing (all new to this) at the Lemons fall south at CMP. What trend wear tire is best for us? 400 so the tires will last? Or something between the minimum and 400? I don't what to spend a bunch of money on fancy tires. Just want to run the entire race.
TOYO T1R or Fuzion HRi. You'll love both and likely get two races out of them if your alignment doesn't suck.
I've run Azenis RT-215, Azenis RT-615 and Hankook R-S2's on my track cars. They both seem to grip about the same under optimal conditions, but the Azenis definately can overheat and fall off very fast, taking a while to recover. I drive pretty hard and haven't really overheated the R-S2's. If I have it wasn't nearly as noticable as the Azenis.
The R-S2 does need to be scubbed in or shaved first. They pretty much suck at full tread, but once worn down to 3/4 tread left or so they are great, and get much better with wear, all the way down to the cords. The R-S2's are also better in the wet than the Azenis.
We are running 195/60R14 R-S2's on our E30. Good enough for 2nd fastest lap time at Stafford. I wish we could afford to buy 15" rims so we could get 225/40R15 tires. The wider tires would not only handle better, but last longer.
-Scott
The wider tires would not only handle better, but last longer.
SHHHHHH... don't tell everyone that secret...
So it has a lot to do with how you drive.
Amen to that. We ran Azenis on our MR2 last February in Houston and will run them again at Nelson and Houston this fall. But our MR2's are pretty lightweight and underpowered, so it's hard to wear them too bad too fast. They make an inexpensive 195/14 that fits our stock wheels whereas most other tires that we would consider for this race would require us to pony up for a wheel upgrade.
One interesting thing that I found about the Azenis is that they do tend to give you a good bit of warning before they become really problematic. Toward the end of my stint on Saturday afternoon I felt them getting kinda greasy on the back part of the course when I'd drive the car really hard through Keyhole and Bus Stop and it really brought home to me all the times on TV when I've heard about how some team is telling the driver to back it down a little bit and conserve the tires. It's one thing to know about that in the abstract and a totally different thing to finally experience it. It was kind of a cool moment when I was able to realize it and then do it.
Amen to that. We ran Azenis on our MR2 last February in Houston and will run them again at Nelson and Houston this fall. But our MR2's are pretty lightweight and underpowered, so it's hard to wear them too bad too fast. They make an inexpensive 195/14 that fits our stock wheels whereas most other tires that we would consider for this race would require us to pony up for a wheel upgrade.
One interesting thing that I found about the Azenis is that they do tend to give you a good bit of warning before they become really problematic. Toward the end of my stint on Saturday afternoon I felt them getting kinda greasy on the back part of the course when I'd drive the car really hard through Keyhole and Bus Stop and it really brought home to me all the times on TV when I've heard about how some team is telling the driver to back it down a little bit and conserve the tires. It's one thing to know about that in the abstract and a totally different thing to finally experience it. It was kind of a cool moment when I was able to realize it and then do it.
Mr2 you say? I think we now have a nemesis...
mid-engine VS mid-engine
toyota engine VS toyota engine
Azenis VS Azenis
It will be all driver then... 
Riktor, with your Pontiyota, are you more concerned about the Toyota motor leaping out of the Fiero body because the body's not good enough for the motor, or are you more concerned with the Fiero body rejecting the Toyota implant as inherently incompatible, like using an A+ heart in a B- body? Either way, I can't see how this ends well.
Are you running a 4AG motor?
Either way, I can't see how this ends well.
The Azenis get greasy on a heavy car, 3200lb SHO. BFG G-Force Sports didn't, treadwear 300 I think it was.
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