ssdeuce

I'm looking to buy some better track day tires this spring. I have been learning on Toyo T1R's on stock Z06 sizes. They are a nice everyday street tire but I'd like to step it up. I have a set of CCW classic race wheels and I'm thinking the Toyo R888's would be a good choice for me but I have to drive 5 to 7 hours on these to get to the track. Has anyone drove long distance on these tires? About how many track days am I looking at getting on these? Also if you know of a tire that would be better suited for what I'm doing I'm all ears.

Thanks!

1BDRSK

The RA-1's would work as well. So far mine have lasted over six track days and a 1/2 day cruise because I loaned my streets to someone else.

brkntrxn

My first recommendation is an NT01. I have ran them off and on for a couple of years and I think they are a great compromise between a 100 tread DOT R-comp and durability.

However, if you are driving 5-7 hours to get to the track, you might oughta look at the new NT05. With a treadwear of 200, it might last a bit longer with your extensive street heat cycling. I have heard some decent things about the tire, but I have never ran them.


-Kevin

longdaddy

Toyo RA1 and Nitto 555 RII are both rated at 100 UTQG and have good tread depth compared to more aggressive r compunds (8 vs 6). If I had to pick dual street/track tire, I would go with one of those (i hear RA1s are hard to find these days)

I drove 1500+ mile roadtrips on R888s as well as NT01s and they did ok, but I wouldn't want to get caught on them in the rain once first 50% of the tread is gone. Actually I did get caught in a downpour on worn NT01s once and i had to slow down to ~45mph on the freeway to stop hydroplaning.

if driving in cold/wet weather is not a concern the next step up would be NT01, R888 or PS Cup tires.

if you have good track alignment dialed in, you should expect DOT r-compound tires to last you 5-7 DE days before traction starts dropping off significantly.

some us get a small tire trailer so we can pick our track tires without having to worry about driving them on the street. This has worked very well for me.

brkntrxn

Longdaddy,

Did you notice any premature heat cycling issues with driving the R888s and NT01s on the street that far?


-Kevin

gkmccready

I daily drive my R888s on my C6 and then take it to the track whenever I can fit the schedule. Toyos don't seem to heat cycle out the way a Hoosier would, in fact they seem to get faster the more your wear them down. I drove my R888s to Spring Mountain from the SF Bay Area and back before running them a few times at Thunderhill which is also a few hours away. All while driving the car back and forth to my office during the week.

My big complaint with the R888s is the road noise for daily driving. They're really loud. Drives my wife nuts and makes me turn up the radio. :-) The only other complaint is that they really like a high hot pressure for best performance... low- to mid-40s hot.

I don't think you can go wrong with the R888s, RA-1s, 555RIIs, or NT-01s. They're all very similar and are probably the best of the dual-duty tires or a great intermediate step between a street tire and a race-only DOT-R (V710, R6/A6, etc).

longdaddy

not really. street driving does not heat cycle the tires (track temperatures are vastly higher), just wears out the material mechanically.

when I was driving my track tires to/from the track and doing interstate trips to NorCal tracks, the material would start wearing out at about the same time traction would drop off due to heat cycles. how that I trailer my tires, I throw them away with plenty of rubber still left.

JimbeauZ06

I also ran the T1R for a little more than a full DE season before looking for something with more grip. Incidentally I'm still amazed how well the T1R held up under some pretty heavy abuse. I still use them as street tires.

Choice between Nitto 555RII, NT01 and R888 may depend on your wheel size, but if you stay with your stock C5Z wheel size the RII is by far the least expensive choice. Discount Tire Direct less than $900 a set which is a great deal IMHO for a set of track tires you can street drive.

I put over 24 heat cycles on the first set, flipped them from left to right wheels and ran them backwards to balance out wear. I ran my next set for about 10 track days last year before mounting a new set for Daytona.

You know the RA1 is always popular but I haven't been able to find, and the NT-01 gets a lot of praise but costs a little more than the RII I hear mixed reviews on the R888s and in C5Z sizes they cost $400 more than the 555RIIs.

You'll find a lot of fans of the Nittos, but just haven't heard that much from vette guys about the 888.

ssdeuce

Thanks for the help guys. Jim I am really please with my T1R's they hold up really well. I've thought of using them for track day rain tires. I'm looking at 315/30/18 as my sizes for my CCW wheels. I may just stay with stock Z06 wheels and use my CCW's for slicks. What's everyone's opinion of running front Z06 wheels squared? I have two extra 17's caught them on a good deal. Thanks again for the feedback.

longdaddy

you should be fine as long as you still have a rake in the car. if you use AH, you want to try to keep your front/rear diameter ratio close to stock as well (does not have to be exactly the same)