MR_E Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I have a friend who drives a 96 Camaro SS. He tows it to all the events he runs (autocrosses only to this point), so he doesn't have street tires for the car. Somehow he's become convinced that his R1's will only last one weekend at the track, and he's using this as his main excuse for not coming out and doing track days with us. I know there's plenty of people on these forums that have experience with these tires, so I'm trying to show him fairly conclusively that he won't have to buy tires nearly as often as he seems to think. Thanks for you input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 if you overdrive the crap out of them, with a poor alignment, lock them up every braking zone, and do burnouts coming out of every corner maybe you could kill them in one weekend. If you're not pulling a Lewis Hamilton however they're pretty long-lasting race tires, just about on par with RA1s and such I hear but quicker/grippier. Should easily do quite a few events even on a heavier car like a Camaro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z06 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 On a heavy car like the Camaro or Mustang, the BFG R1's last a long time. It's been my experience they harden before wearing out. Street alignment or track alignment, they just last. The BFG R1 is a really good tire for practice lapping and not wanting to break the bank. Using Hoosier R6's with stock suspension and street alignment on a 2011 Mustang GT, I corded the fronts after 5 sessions. I spoke with the engineer who developed this tire, and he said the BFG R1 275/35 18 was developed for the Mustang or a heavy car. Typically I get several months use with these tires. Like I said, they will harden and your lap times will suck, so just remember that while using them. It makes for a good driver excuse as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper93 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I'm getting 3 sets CHEAP from a great new friend of mine. He only has 2 sessions on them, and they're barely scrubbed in. He was running a Saturn Ion Redline, and I'll be putting them on my Scoob. They should last quite a while, even on a heavy car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens98gt Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 This is great considering i got 2 set of r1s real real cheap. When i bought them i didnt know how long they were going to last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z06 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 BFG R1's have lasted me somewhere around 15 sessions or 8 months. Bought them in February. Today they are done. Fastest time with these tires was 1:43 and now I can barely muster a 1:48. They have plenty of rubber but absolutely no grip. Braking is scarey and cornering induces a spin if not careful. Street tires in the rain would feel better than these tires today. Still a really great tire for lapping such a heavy car. Easy on the wallet. (3800lbs with driver) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z06 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Just looked up my sales history on Tire Rack. I bought this set of R1's on 11-08-10. They are 1 year old and I don't know how many laps or sessions are on these tires. A ton of laps and sessions! That is pretty freaking good for a track tire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerkat Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 What is the thread wear number? I encourage DE1 and 2 student to drive a higher tread wear number for two reasons. One is the tire life, longer life means less cost. Two you will learn better car control on a less sticky tire. Sticky tires can cover up bad driving habits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_E Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 What is the thread wear number? I encourage DE1 and 2 student to drive a higher tread wear number for two reasons. One is the tire life, longer life means less cost. Two you will learn better car control on a less sticky tire. Sticky tires can cover up bad driving habits. Treadwear is 40. I understand and agree with your suggestions, Kim. It's what I always tell new drivers (both autocross and track), and it's one of the reasons I've run all my track days thus far on all seasons. Kevin also understands this principle. The problem is that this is his track only car, so all he has are the R1's and assuming I can convince him to come to the track, he's not likely to buy a second set of wheels just so he can mount some street tires on them for a few events to learn track driving. Is it an ideal situation? No, but it's also not something I see changing either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerkat Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I am also a firm believer in using what you have first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promo Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 On a heavy car like the Camaro or Mustang, the BFG R1's last a long time. It's been my experience they harden before wearing out. Street alignment or track alignment, they just last. The BFG R1 is a really good tire for practice lapping and not wanting to break the bank. Using Hoosier R6's with stock suspension and street alignment on a 2011 Mustang GT, I corded the fronts after 5 sessions. I spoke with the engineer who developed this tire, and he said the BFG R1 275/35 18 was developed for the Mustang or a heavy car. Typically I get several months use with these tires. Like I said, they will harden and your lap times will suck, so just remember that while using them. It makes for a good driver excuse as well! How many times do you run? I got 3 out of my R6's before they ran out of tread, the season ended so I didn't feel like storing them for 6 months in 20* or less weather so I pitched them. Might have had one more day left in them.. They had 2 sessions and had a good amount of tread on them. One thing I noticed is the damn tire chunked pieces of rubber like mad. I'll be giving R1's a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z06 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 At the time I bought them, I ran them several sessions every other week. Tossed the set a week ago. Got my money's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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