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Most of you know my car. I purchased Pat Griffith's raSEcaR last November and will be open tracking it for the first time this February on VIR's Full course. Here is my situation...
As of right now I do not have a full set of decent race rubber. The car came with 9 panasports (14x7), all of them wrapped in either Kumhos Escta V700s (225/50/14) or Hoosiers R3S03s (205/55/14), but none of them together really make up a good enough set that I would trust to track for 2 days. From there I started to do my homework and found that both of those tires are great choices for my purposes with the car, but each of them have their strong points and their weaknesses. I am posting to get as much info and advice on my situation as possible so I can make a smart decision very soon and get some tires ordered.
From what I see the Hoosier would be more versatile because I could flip it around as it wears, but the price is making me shy ($175/ea). As well as the price, the inability of me being able to properly heat cycle them before using them is also a negative. If I'm spending $700 on tires I definitely want them to last as long as possible. For the Kumhos, they are most defintely cheaper ($140-ish/ea) and can be shaved and heat cycled via TireRack. Bonus. They cant be flipped like the Hoosiers, but I'm not sure thats as important as I once thought.
I actually drive this car daily to school/work/where ever, so as of now it has some crappy-ass winter tires on the stock wheels. Soon it will have a set of skinny 195/60/14 Azenis and I was possibly thinking of running these on the first day of the track event to learn the car before moving up to slicks. Sound like a smart idea or a waste?
As always, any and all advice is much appreciated. Dropping $550-700 on tires is a big deal to a full time college student and I want to make it an educated buy.
Thanks
-Kevin
__________________ '91 SE-R - NASA-MA PTE #13...if it would stop breaking.
'65 Lincoln Continental
'70 Datsun 240z
'03 F-350 Dually PSD
I run Performance Autosport in Richmond, Va.
when i first started autoxing i was told run on street tires for a season.. they are much less forgiving and don't cover up nearly as many mistakes.. a definite way to learn the car...
also look into the Kumhos.. i've heard teh new ones are killer on FWD cars... and seemed to prove it at Nationals this year...
__________________
1992 SE-R WHT - SOLD
1992 SE-R BLK - R.I.P.
1999 Integra GS
1991 Integra LS -
Kevin, look into Toyo's. Search around a bit on the forum for feedback. When I am done with the Kumhos I have (I got a deal I could not pass on), I plan on changing to Toyo's. As far as your immediate concern, if you have that many what is keeping you from using up one set the first day and then mount another set for the second day at the track?
Kevin, look into Toyo's. Search around a bit on the forum for feedback. When I am done with the Kumhos I have (I got a deal I could not pass on), I plan on changing to Toyo's.
I was looking into the RA-1s as well recently, but they seemed just as expensive as the Hoosiers and feedback wise they had very mixed results. Either it was completely positive or someone totally hated them. That scared me off, but I'll do more research on them. I just ordered a set of 245/45/17 RA-1s for my companies Saleen racecar and they came from Bob Woodman tires shaved, but not heat cycled. Again, I am wondering if I should take "heat-cycling" as a major concern when buying these.
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As far as your immediate concern, if you have that many what is keeping you from using up one set the first day and then mount another set for the second day at the track?
Well I should of been more descriptive. There are only about 3 out of the entire 9 that I would even put on the car even for a day. The rest are pretty worn out or have flat spots/cuts/etc in them that make it seem worthless to try out. This was my obvious first choice because saving money and time is always a plus, but I think I have no other choice then to go and buy a new set. I'm trying to think of them as an investment to justify it to myself.
I think the Toyo RA-1 is a good option. I have yet to drive on them, but 80% of the instructors/A student drivers at the local HPDE's use these and are overall happy with them.
Price wise, I can get them for $135 for a 205/50/15 shaved, I don't see how this compares *price wise* to a hoosier which runs closer to $185.
__________________
Monty <--- Another victim of the go-fast crack pipe....
Awesome info guys...thanks you very much. I gotta price me some 225/50/14 RA-1's tomorrow at work. Anyone buy through Bob Woodman Tires out of North Carolina? I think they give a small discount for being a NASA member, but if anyone knows of a place that is cheap I'm willing to try them.
What do y'all think of me running a 225/50/14? I've noticed many run 15's and that usually equates to a 205, but Pat was running 225's with a wheel spacer and I'm all about getting as much rubber to the road. Smart choice?
Think about the Hankooks as well. I got a set last year and liked them. I think they're slightly better than RA-1s, but it takes a better driver to be faster on them. Cheaper than RA1s too. I got 5 or 6 weekends out of them. IIRC, ~$150 shaved for 205/55/14 (and boy are they WIDE 205s...more like 215s).
Most of you know my car. I purchased Pat Griffith's raSEcaR last November
Sucker! You should see what he bought in its place! Problem is, the engine is in wayyyyyyyy worse shape than what you got in the raSEcaR.
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The car came with 9 panasports (14x7), all of them wrapped in either Kumhos Escta V700s (225/50/14) or Hoosiers R3S03s (205/55/14),
I think the Hoosiers would last a weekend. Just slap some of the crusty Kumhos on the front for your first sessions then switch to the Hoosiers. I think I only used them for one race weekend. If you look at pictures of them at the Tirerack site, they don't come with much "tread" anyway, and I think you could still see some of it.
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What do y'all think of me running a 225/50/14? I've noticed many run 15's and that usually equates to a 205, but Pat was running 225's with a wheel spacer and I'm all about getting as much rubber to the road. Smart choice?
I tried 225's vs 205's at VIR once, and the 225's "felt" better but I ran the same lap times as 205's.
check w/ woodman to see if he is going to be at the NASA VIR event, if he is you don't have to pay shipping and he installs them at the track
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Originally Posted by FlodaSE-R
Awesome info guys...thanks you very much. I gotta price me some 225/50/14 RA-1's tomorrow at work. Anyone buy through Bob Woodman Tires out of North Carolina? I think they give a small discount for being a NASA member, but if anyone knows of a place that is cheap I'm willing to try them.
What do y'all think of me running a 225/50/14? I've noticed many run 15's and that usually equates to a 205, but Pat was running 225's with a wheel spacer and I'm all about getting as much rubber to the road. Smart choice?
Sucker! You should see what he bought in its place! Problem is, the engine is in wayyyyyyyy worse shape than what you got in the raSEcaR.
Hahaha. Well the raSEcaR will have a new motor in it by next week. I finally got everything lined up and will be swapping throughout this week. Hopefully this one will have more then 13lbs of oil pressure after running for 4mins.
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I think the Hoosiers would last a weekend. Just slap some of the crusty Kumhos on the front for your first sessions then switch to the Hoosiers. I think I only used them for one race weekend. If you look at pictures of them at the Tirerack site, they don't come with much "tread" anyway, and I think you could still see some of it.
So you say just mis-match the tires? I was trying to lean away from doing this. Seems sketchy..heh.
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I tried 225's vs 205's at VIR once, and the 225's "felt" better but I ran the same lap times as 205's.
Would I need the wheel spacers if running 205's? Eliminating the wheel spacers and saving a little bit more money is appealing if it didnt make a difference in lap times.
Hahaha. Well the raSEcaR will have a new motor in it by next week. I finally got everything lined up and will be swapping throughout this week. Hopefully this one will have more then 13lbs of oil pressure after running for 4mins.
Cool ... can't wait to hear how fast the car is.
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So you say just mis-match the tires? I was trying to lean away from doing this. Seems sketchy..heh.
The rear tires don't do anything but keep the gas tank from scraping the ground. Seriously, I ran the Hoosiers with the Kumho V700s on the rear last time out. Don't ask me what tire pressures I ran, though! I've also run Victoracer/V700 combos.
And looking back at my notes (one reason I have a web site ), I didn't have the Hoosiers until the last time I raced. So they were only used one weekend -- 2-qualifying sessions and what ended up as a 7-lap race because of a wheel bearing problem.
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Would I need the wheel spacers if running 205's? Eliminating the wheel spacers and saving a little bit more money is appealing if it didnt make a difference in lap times.
Again, I can't remember if I *needed* the wheel spacers or not. I probably just ran them as a precaution with the 205s.
Problem is, the engine is in wayyyyyyyy worse shape than what you got in the raSEcaR.
Seriously, I ran the Hoosiers with the Kumho V700s on the rear last time out. Don't ask me what tire pressures I ran, though! I've also run Victoracer/V700 combos.