The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → Riken Raptor ZR???
Anybody out there tried the Riken Raptor ZRs on their racecar?
They are the cheapest in the size tire that I'm looking for, and they just came out with an "all season" version.
Right now I'm running the Sumitomo HTR ZIII and they did ok.
Also has anybody had issues with summer tires at the colder races? Not counting that Texas race that was called due to ice.
Not sure what the weather is going to be like at Road Atlanta in December.
Also has anybody had issues with summer tires at the colder races?
No. Tires come up to temp in about 3-4 laps.
The issues we've had with tires (Hankook RS3) not coming up to temp have been on a (very) light car in the rain. Over-driving the car to keep the things toasty helps. Until you hit extended full-course caution, at which point they become nigh-undrivable until you can work some more heat into them. I do not recommend RS3s for wet weather.
did you end up running the riken raptor zr? thinking about trying them myself
Firebelly wrote:Also has anybody had issues with summer tires at the colder races?
No. Tires come up to temp in about 3-4 laps.
Actually, I'm not so convinced of that. At the Reno race a few years ago where it snow/sleeted it seemed like we started passing a ton more people on our 480TW M+S tires while the people on 200 TW tires were tiptoing. It looked to me that once the temps dropped below some number that they stopped working.
Depends upon the tire in question, I would imagine. Hankook R-S3s on a light car were evil when cold at a winter race. It didn't help that it was raining off and on, but I had to seriously over-drive the tires to keep them survivable. Then we'd get a long caution and the temps would go away and I would have to start all over with the almost-crashing until I could get the heat back into them.
Excellent tire when in their happy place, though.
Anybody out there tried the Riken Raptor ZRs on their racecar?
They are the cheapest in the size tire that I'm looking for, and they just came out with an "all season" version.
Right now I'm running the Sumitomo HTR ZIII and they did ok.Also has anybody had issues with summer tires at the colder races? Not counting that Texas race that was called due to ice.
Not sure what the weather is going to be like at Road Atlanta in December.
Well, Inde eats tires, so thanks for bringing this up... Just pulled the trigger on 3 of them to throw into the mix, that was incredibly cheap. Was looking for a more disposable tire option. Will have two BFG Comp2, two Direzza Z1, two Z2, one Pilot Sport, all used, and 3 new Raptors... Gonna find out what survives that pavement best 
OnkelUdo wrote:Firebelly wrote:Also has anybody had issues with summer tires at the colder races?
No. Tires come up to temp in about 3-4 laps.
Actually, I'm not so convinced of that. At the Reno race a few years ago where it snow/sleeted it seemed like we started passing a ton more people on our 480TW M+S tires while the people on 200 TW tires were tiptoing. It looked to me that once the temps dropped below some number that they stopped working.
I know, at least for street use, the rubber compounds of summer tires get quite hard below 40*F. That is why it's recemended to switch to winter tires in October before it starts snowing. Not sure if the effects of racing would be enough to bring the temps up to overcome the cold.
OnkelUdo wrote:Firebelly wrote:Also has anybody had issues with summer tires at the colder races?
No. Tires come up to temp in about 3-4 laps.
Actually, I'm not so convinced of that. At the Reno race a few years ago where it snow/sleeted it seemed like we started passing a ton more people on our 480TW M+S tires while the people on 200 TW tires were tiptoing. It looked to me that once the temps dropped below some number that they stopped working.
During the first stint at Road Atlanta on Sunday morning, with ambient temps in the mid to upper 20's (!) on a dry track, it took a solid 45 minutes for the RS-3's to even start to come in. 30 minutes for the brakes.
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