robbodleimages Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I recently saw the announcement from Toyo, SCCA, & Spec Miata that they are returning to the RA-1 for the 2010 season and discontinuing their use of the R888 as their spec tire. Where does this leave us for 2010 and beyond? I bought R888's and sold off 2 perfectly good sets of RA-1's a month before the announcement was made that RA-1s legal period was extended thru the entire 2009 season. I don't want to get bitten like that a second time, if I can avoid it. Planning ahead, where are we(NASA American Iron) going? Has Toyo decided to pull back on the R888's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Matt Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Rumor on the CMC site is that an announcement on the R888 status is imminent, perhaps even this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Rumor on the CMC site is that an announcement on the R888 status is imminent, perhaps even this week. Is this the same CMC group of directors that had no idea about RA1's being allowed till 12/31/09....? If it is announced soon it would be nice to be able to plan using up all my soon to be obsolete tires like I did last year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Matt Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Yeah, well rumor also has it they are on top of the situation this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDog Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Rumor on the CMC site is that an announcement on the R888 status is imminent, perhaps even this week. Is this the same CMC group of directors that had no idea about RA1's being allowed till 12/31/09....? Despite it being pointed out to them several times including quotes from and links to the NASA National site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Despite it being pointed out to them several times including quotes from and links to the NASA National site... So you are saying they were "right on top of it..." To quote the famous Spinny McSpinsburg.... "it is what it is." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Tornado Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Guys Ra1 tire clearly is it if they do spec miata so plan accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 I can't wait to lineup against Chris and Rusty Ferguson and Dean Martin armed with R888's. Talk about taking a knife to a gunfight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holster Maker Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 This hint was posted today on the CMC site, looks like it might be RA1's for '10. Good...I have a new vacuumed bagged shaved set. Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:45 pm Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, so its for 2010. Let me help you decide on how to use your Toyo bucks today since there are 2 tires available. I would buy RA1's... _________________ Tony Guaglione CMC National Director CMC2 #55 03 Mustang GT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmmotorsports Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Here are the latest FACTS and RUMORS: Fact: SCCA has announced that the 205/50-15 RA1 WILL be the tire for their Spec Miata series in 2010. Fact: Toyo has announced that the 205/50-15 RA1 will be put back into production after only an additional 1,000 units were produced earlier this year to help with the transition of the announcement NASA made earlier this year. Rumor: Toyo will be putting back into production, the more popular RA1 sizes, 205/50-14 & 275/40-17, etc. LATEST Rumor: Toyo will be putting back into production ALL of the RA1 sizes since it is not in their budget to revamp the 888 to fix the concerns that everyone has with them. Fact: We have to wait what both Toyo and NASA agree to and hope to have an answer very soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 Let me just say the following. BF Goodrich G-Force R1. Mustang Challenge has shown these are a quality spec tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMC#11 Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Let me just say the following. BF Goodrich G-Force R1. Mustang Challenge has shown these are a quality spec tire. Do you recommend the R1 as a dry tire and then a second brand for the wet? That would hurt people that do this on a tight budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Matt Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Let me just say the following. BF Goodrich G-Force R1. Mustang Challenge has shown these are a quality spec tire. MC also has a rule that makes it MANDATORY that every competitor buys and uses at least one new set of R1s per race weekend, so I don't think you can draw any conclusions about how that tire would perform across multiple race weekends compared to the RA1s. It's a fast tire but it's not cheap either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean#4AI Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 I can't wait to lineup against Chris and Rusty Ferguson and Dean Martin armed with R888's.Talk about taking a knife to a gunfight. I'm pretty sure that both Rusty and Dean have been running R888's. They both seemed to do quite well at Mid Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Dean Martin could look racy on a set of Cooper tires. I need all the help I can get. BFG: A. Mustang Challenge runs a BFG as their rain tire. I am not sure what it is, but they do run rains. B. The wear on BFG R1's is pretty impressive. I will be running a 3 year old set of R1's in the enduro at RA on Friday. My lap times only improve over time on that set of tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 if I were choosing a tire for a Spec series, or a control tire (like AI or HC has) I'd have trouble not going with the BFG R1 from what I've read and heard from first-hand club racing type users though if the real RA1 comes back, It'd be a harder decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmmotorsports Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Will the "real" RA1 please stand up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic_Cobra Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I have no problem keeping Toyo for the spec supplier for NASA but the 888 seems like a big step backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 Jimmy wouldnt you like to have some grip for about the same money? There is nothing so much fun as racing a bunch of guys on Hoosiers with Toyos on. I realize they are a different class, but its like dragging a boat anchor around. I suppose I am the rare guy that also enduro races my AI car, but there is no way I can race enduros classed with cars on Hoosiers and others while on Toyos. That means having to carry two brands of tires to a race weekend and changing the set up. If it has to be Toyo, thats fine. But if we have a choice, I would prefer the BFG because it wears better than a R888 and its as fast as an R6 Hoosier and its costs are near that of the R888. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I think I would be happy either way with RA1's or BFG's...however, the RA1 is my favorite. Hell, I dusted off a set of scrubs from 2005 this weekend just to burn up and still was running at the front of the pack even with a totally destroyed aero package after a big off in practice. Then I spent two races horsing around trying to kill the rears drifting around many of the corners trying to put some rubber on the track....Nope. Then did 3 MASSIVE burnouts after the weekend goofing off...still no cords showing!!! Granted, they aren't speedy now...but could still be used for an instruction day. Either way....it would be nice to advertise the tire choice soon because the CMC/2 guys really need to know what they are dealing with to choose which class they are going to run or start finding parts to move from 1 to 2... The 3rd gen guys seem to be getting screwed BIG TIME!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmmotorsports Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I was really hoping for an announcement before Nat'ls but regretfully, I don't see that happening. Looks like we will have to wait till September to find out the future of our SPEC tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nape Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 R888s aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be. You just have to finesse them instead of gorilla them. I think they could be faster for one lap, but you can't drive them 11/10ths and expect them to come back like RA1s. Here's a video from earlier in the year. Dave Algozine on RA1s and me on R888s. I don't claim to be Michael Schumacher, but it's possible for someone on R888s to run even with RA1s. That said, I don't care which tire we run. Have two tires if R888s suck so bad, let people choose. Flame away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 having two tires defeats the purposes of a control tire, but hey its not my series so have at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmmotorsports Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 having two tires defeats the purposes of a control tire, but hey its not my series so have at it x2 In order for it to be a true "spec" series, one tire must be specified, not the option of two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 R888s aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be. You just have to finesse them instead of gorilla them. I think they could be faster for one lap, but you can't drive them 11/10ths and expect them to come back like RA1s. Here's a video from earlier in the year. Dave Algozine on RA1s and me on R888s. I don't claim to be Michael Schumacher, but it's possible for someone on R888s to run even with RA1s. That said, I don't care which tire we run. Have two tires if R888s suck so bad, let people choose. " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Flame away. I had to cut out at 7 minutes but you were finding the apexes much better than he was.... Looked good and smooth which works on an R888. We have had a few winners in CMC2 on them but can't get an AI car here to make them work. Everyone told me to soften the car! Well, I trashed a brand new skid plate this weekend with the hard setup and no front aero.....AND I am an inch from min ride height. Soft? Right.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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