What tires would YOU buy?

[Cap'n Pete]

If your choices were the following (based on limited available sizes), what would you run for Time Attack?

(UTQG in brackets)

SGT1 - Hoosier R6 (40)

SGT2-R - Michelin Pilot Sport Cup (80)
SGT2-R - Toyo R888 (100)

SGT3-S - Kumho XS (180)
SGT3-S - Bridgestone RE11 (180)
SGT3-S - Nitto NT-05 (200)

I'm pretty sure the Michelin's are "non-premium" R-comps, since they have more than just circumferential grooves? (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ilot+Sport+Cup)

Since the Time Attack format will have much more LAPPING time, I think the Hoosiers would die prematurely, and even the R888's aren't reknowned for longevity.

Anyone know how long those Michelin's might survive?

How about the difference between the Kumho's or Bridgestone's?

I appreciate all opinions and feedback!

[ADAM]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

SGT3-S - Kumho XS (180)


thats what i am fetting after i burn off my non preimum R's that are on my car


they are about the only ones that have my sizes i need

[gearhead]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

Michelin Sport Cups are a poor choice as you cannot flip them to maximize the wear and not very much quicker than their street PS2 at least on a M3.I got 13 days of lapping on my NT05's and I am getting another set to replace those and they held up great and wore very evenly after being flipped once and were reasonably grippy for a street tire once warmed up.For comparion my R888's lasted 1 1/2 days about 3 hours where I get about 4-5 days out of my RA1's which I only have one set left now.I run 275/35 18's on a 10"rim.

[Carguy]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

For a heavier car like a Vette I'd look for tires that have fewer individual tread blocks, are capable of sustaining frequent heat cycles and have good grip consistency at track temperature. A few years back Mike G. with the black EP3 Civic SiR tried the Michelin Sport Cups and if memory serves me he wasn't impressed with wear after 2 events at Shannonville. If a street tire appeals to you I'd seriously consider the Potenza RE-11s. These tires were top on my list but I opted for Toyo R1Rs because I wanted to run sponsor tires. I think the R1Rs may prove to be a bit squirmy on my CRX but it will have less impact on grip than on a heavier car.

[KLZEMX6]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

for my money i like to go with a tire that i can flip in case i get any abnormal wear.

which would make me only considering the hoosier the toyor888 or the nt05...nothing worse then camber wearing a tire a bit and have it basically ruined

[Lloyd_]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

I would probably get the RE-11. The XS would probably be faster in the hot & dry though.

[BGregovski]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

What tire - you might as well look for the meaning of life -

My money went to Toyo R1R - Sponsor tire

I have run Toyo RA1, Yok 032R and 048 as well as Hoosier R6 in the past. All were good for what I was doing at the time. Well the Hoosier would provide altimate grip, at the expense of usable life. So last year lapping was expensive for me (R6). With the lapping part of OTA increasing and my requirment to travel greater distance, my money is on R1R. I have found the R1R to have remarkable grip (UTQG - 140) so I think I will run these for a while. I run them on a 911, so not a extemely heavy car but rear tires wear very fast - which could be compared to a heavier car - I would think.

I will provide more info over time but for now thats my 0.02

[Chris P]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

I'd get 3 sets of R888's. 1 shaved for the days two competition runs (should be fine for the seasons 18 heat cycles or roughly 2 hours of track time), 1 for morning lapping, & finally one fresh unshaved set for the rain. Also, Toyo will love you for buying three sets of tires.


Now back to reality & assuming you actually have a tire budget I'd probably go with the Kumho XS given they have sizing for the Vette and seem to be quick.

[Cap'n Pete]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

Until/unless I get a THIRD or FOURTH set of wheels (Chris!), then I'll be stuck with 1 set for everyday STREET, and 1 set for TRACK duty (everything from lapping to racing the clock) .

Good (honest) feedback about those Sport Cups, so I'll probably avoid them then. - thank you for saving me the trouble!

R1R's aren't even an option ... not in my size! Neither are anything from Hankook, or a bunch of other options.

Seems there's not much love for the 888's (except from Chris), and aside from their performance advantage, the Hoosier's just aren't practical (at least not cost-effective), so that narrows it down to the RE11's or XS's. Based on price alone (well, from Tirerack) there's about a ~$170 price difference per set between the two, so that narrows it down even further .....

..... sounds like the Kumho's are the winners!

Thanks everyone for your input!

[Dave Barker]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

Just another point about R comps on a powerful heavy car vs streets. My experience was that I tended to overheat the streets after just a few laps, (likely somewhat my driving style as well), but your Vette is sig lighter than my Camaro.

What did I end up with for this year? I really wanted nitto NT-01s but the marketing at Nitto is crazy and they seem to deliberately make it very difficult to buy these tires in Canada. I ended up with Toyo RA-1s, (interesting that you can't buy these in Canada either and they are not eligible for the sponsorship awards despite being made by the same company that makes 888s). BTW the build date code on the RA-1s was 0711 i.e. they are indeed fresh.

[Scott McIntyre]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

No love for the Kumho V710? I've run these for the past few years and have found they offer excellent grip & longevity. You'd easily get a full season out of a set, possibly two seasons.

This year however, I'm trying the new Goodyear Eagle RS DOT tire. Early reports have it posting faster times than the Hoosier with considerably less wear. Plus it's cheaper to boot. Sounds like a winner to me.

[KLZEMX6]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

No love for the Kumho V710? I've run these for the past few years and have found they offer excellent grip & longevity. You'd easily get a full season out of a set, possibly two seasons.

This year however, I'm trying the new Goodyear Eagle RS DOT tire. Early reports have it posting faster times than the Hoosier with considerably less wear. Plus it's cheaper to boot. Sounds like a winner to me.

I was supposed to get a set of these but getting a set in a 15" size proved to be impossible by spring even though they list them on their site...was very upsetting when i found out they weren't going to be available until july at the earliest

[Cap'n Pete]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

No love for the Kumho V710? I've run these for the past few years and have found they offer excellent grip & longevity. You'd easily get a full season out of a set, possibly two seasons.

Again, not in my size . Damn this C6 and its odd-sized, mis-matched, poorly staggered and offset wheels!! Would have been nice if they'd left the hub offsets the same as the C5, and I wouldn't have an issue, but it's JUST different enough that wheel options are fewer, therefore, tire options are fewer .

This year however, I'm trying the new Goodyear Eagle RS DOT tire. Early reports have it posting faster times than the Hoosier with considerably less wear. Plus it's cheaper to boot. Sounds like a winner to me.

I'll have to check them out, but suspect the result will be the same .

[Lloyd_]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

Looks like the Eagle RS comes in great C5 sizes though!

[Cap'n Pete]

Re: What tires would YOU buy?

Looks like the Eagle RS comes in great C5 sizes though!

Of course!

I guess if I weren't so "cheap" and would just spend the ~$3000+ for a nice set of CCW's, I could get custom offsets to fit my car, and then buy all the nicely sized 18's I want!

... or keep running the C5Z wheels that rub on the inside (front) 'cause the offset is wrong ... at least EVERYBODY makes a 275/40/17!!