Tire Life?

[Ultimate Altima]

My dad's looking at getting an inexpensive street legal track toy. Some of the front runners are 5.0 mustangs, 240sx's, 3rd gen F-Bodies, and MKIII Supras. He wants to stay kind of mild so that brake pads and tires don't get too expensive.

 

I don't want him to be mild.

 

So I'm just curious as to how long a set of either R-comps or somrthing like Falken RT-615's would last under one of these cars at either full, or almost full weight.

[RodeoFlyer]

From experience I would stay away fro Falken RT-615's. They aren't all that fast. They come back as quick as they break loose, but truly aren't a grippy tire. On my fat pig Mustang they get pretty slippery by the end of a run.

 

Toyo RA-1's seem to last FOREVER. My friends' RX-7 now has 4 track weekends on them and they are just about ready to be replaced. This is a car with a multiple drivers in multiple classes. It runs in HPDE, TTF, and PTF. We are talking about an honest 50-60+ track sessions on them. Gian has actually won a few races on them. I can't make a better testament than that.

[RodeoFlyer]

oh yeah -

 

5-LITER ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

parts are CHEAP and EVERYWHERE

[kbrew8991]

I get about 25 hours out of my rear RA1s and close to 50 hours out of the fronts on my MR2, but its a low horsepower and only 2700ish lbs

 

I'd steer clear of anything north of 3000ish lbs if possible if you want it to be cheap on consumables (brakes, tires, etc)... my $0.02

[L98Terror]

Nitto NT-01s, seem to last and last.

[mcolangelo2005]

Nitto NT-01s, seem to last and last.

 

I agree with the previous comments on the Falkens - they get greasy after about 15 minutes into a 20 minute track session.

 

I recently ran Nitto NT01s on my just-sold Mustang and was pretty impressed with them. Never felt them losing grip as the day went on and they did give a little bit of aural (sound) feedback at the limit. They weren't as grippy as the Hoosiers I ran previously but they are a lot more affordable and don't wear as fast.

[Markus]

Gotta 2nd the good comments about the Nittos. Two of us ran them over the weekend at Grattan in time trials and they did great. They grip well and seem like they will last a long time for an r-comp.

 

One note - I think they start at like 6/32 tread and I'm not sure they will be great in standing water after like 4/32. Like the RA1 they will probably still grip well in damp conditions, they just don't have the tread voids to evacuate any serious water.

 

- Mark

[midngn]

FYI: Nitto is made by Toyo. You should not see much difference between the tires. Yes they do last forever, but they will be slower. If you want him to pick up a few extra seconds go with the Hankook Z214 or Hoosier R6. Hankook has a great contingency program for Time Trial.

[kbrew8991]

Nitto and Toyo also offer contingecy stuff for Nationals

 

and they're 5pt tires, not 7 or 10 point tires

[RodeoFlyer]

NITTO isn't shown as a contingency sponsor on the TT website. Is this a new relationship?

[Markus]

This thread is kind of going two different ways so let me qualify my past response....

 

Azenis and RA1's were mentioned, so to that I say if you want a long-lasting durable tire - get Nitto NT01's.

 

But - if speed is an outright concern and you don't care about tread wear you need to be looking elsewhere, I recommend the Hankook Z214's based on their contingency and the good test results others have had with them (grippy compound comparable with V710's or Hoosiers).

 

That kind of mirrors what I'm doing this year - using my friend's NT01's for test days and Z214's for competition.

 

- Mark

[kbrew8991]

did you miss the part where they're totally different point tires?

 

silly Miata drivers

 

I haven't seen anything out of Nitto yet, but last year they gave away a full set of tires to the class winners... I'd expect something. Besides, I'll run what I've got to run to maximize my points setup, a whopping $100 contingency isn't worth placing 2nd when theres something thats faster...

[BillB]

I am also extremely impressed with my Nitto NT-01s. I am running 225s on a 2850 lb car (with driver). I have 5 track days and 4 autocrosses on them and still have 4/32 of tread left (6/32 new). I also haven't felt any fall-off in the performance since they were new. The grip is excellent for a 5 point tire.

They seem to handle heat much better than the V710s I ran last year. My best laps were always lap 1 or 2 last year, unless I ran at 50% for a lap to cool the tires. Now I can get my best lap anytime in a session, which really gives me a lot more flexibility when dealing with traffic.

 

Based off your requirements, the NT-01 should be the perfect tire for you.

[Greg G.]

 

I haven't seen anything out of Nitto yet, but last year they gave away a full set of tires to the class winners... I'd expect something.

 

We appreciate Nitto's gracious sponsorship last year, but with Toyo (sister company) offering a contingency program, we are unable to allow Nitto to sponsor us this year.

[Pat L.]

But Nitto's contingency last year rocked! Whatever, props to Toyo for stepping up.

[kbrew8991]

doesn't change my statement, I'll run what I have to run to win , especially if its only a $100 or so in Toyo bucks or whatnot

[L98Terror]

I ran all sorts of tires at Grattan last weekend

 

Saturday

 

I ran Nitto NT-01 275 17 ft & 315 18 Rear for two sessions these tire were purchased new the beginning of last session I'd say they have about 20 Autocross runs and about 10 track day each with 2-5 20 minute sessions so let's say 40-50 heat cycles.

 

Best time 1:27.6

 

Than the last two sessions I ran Hoosier A6 up front 275 17 & Hoosier A3S05 295 18's out back the A6s have about 15-20 heat cycles & the 05s have about 19-24 heat cycles.

 

Best time 1:27.494 ( I had metal showing through the one rear tire about an 1 inch ban all around))

 

 

On Sunday

 

I ran the same A6s up front with 2 more heat cycles & a set of R3S05s in the rear 295/18s ( bought them as scrubs so I have no idea how many heat cycles)

 

Turned a best of 1:27.465

 

I ran two hot sessions on each combo.

 

My conclusion old Nitto's are just as good as old Hoosiers

 

 

For a reference point last year when the Hoosiers were new I ran a 1:27.2xx from a dead stop at the beginning of the straight with the start finish in the same spot.

 

I'd say new hoosiers sould be good for at least a second.

[JamesE]

I throw my 2 cents in on the Nitto NT-01's as well. I run 275's on my 3100 lb AWD Subaru and they are fantastic. I am very pleased with the life. I'm averaging 8 track days. As a 5 point tire I'm sure you sacrifice a little grip when compared to a Hoosier or Kuhmo, but I haven't had another car in my class beat me through a corner yet. They are well suited for Time Attack. The grip level comes up quickly so you can get your fast laps in early while you have clean track ahead and a cool engine. After a 20-30 minute session of pushing hard you can feel that the tires are overheating but surprisingly I can still rip off very fast laps.