last season I ran Toyo RA-1 D.O.T. competition tires...long story short, they are done for and am considering either getting them again or switching to the kumho victoracers in the same size...

anyone care to share their experiences on either tire especially the victoracer considering I haven't tried it yet? Ideally someone whom has tried both would be able to provide the best evaluation but any input would be much appreciated!

 

what are you looking for in the tire?

the old addage about RA-1s is "They suck, but they suck for a looooooong time!"

victoracers will stick better than the RA-1, but don't last nearly as long. If you wear the RA-1 down in two track days like I do, then you'd be better off with a harder street tire- like the Azenis 615.
If you heat cycled the RA-1 to death before wearing the rubber off, then you may look at the victoracers.

also, what size are you running? I've got a pair left over with a bit of rubber left on them.. I think they're 235/40/17 IIRC. they've been sitting in the garage for a year now, so they're probably hard as rock.. but if you want them I'll make you a good dela on them because I probably won't use them.


oh.. and how are the shoulders/sidewalls holding up on your RA-1? mine never would last because of my severe body roll (even with 450lb springs on every corner!!) and positive camber gain as the suspension compresses in a corner.

anyway, there's a few things to think about.

 

Might also think about the Hankook Ventus RSS Z211 and Z214....I've heard several people say how much they like them for track days. And Kooks tend to be reasonably priced as well....

 

well I am primarily looking at just the victo or ra-1 as I like to think they are in the same performance category whereas the hankook while very good are more in the azenis 615 category...

I liked that my ra-1's lasted a long time! they were my 1st r compound tire...and they are very progressive (exhibiting the characteristics of a forgiving street tire, but the grip of a mild r compound tire) which was nice...but if the victo's are considerably faster/grippier than I would be happy to deal with the faster wear...I would just like to know how many times faster they wear than the victo's....

since my LCA's are parallel to the ground now, my tire wear should be even better and I am running much more neg camber up front than before which should help...

I just wish there was a maxima guy on here that has used both and could compare them...

from asking around matt, your problem may have been that you bought them at full tread depth...and on a heavy FF car, I hear they will chunk and last less time than if you had bought them shaved which I plan to do (4/32's) this time around again if I go with the toyo's again...my toyo's certainly didn't wear terribly fast but what was expected--I sincerely think that proper rotation, buying them shaved, running the correct pressures, and a lot of negative camber is essential to getting the most life and grip out of any r compound tire...

matt--I have heard that in many placed before:
"They suck, but they suck for a looooooong time!"

but you certainly get your dollars worth out of ra-1's...I know I did!!! and I know victo's supposedly grip better--but how much better and is it that much better that it's worth the trade-off in wear? that is my dilemma...

I do know the ra-1's stayed consistent till the end which was nice whereas I hear the victo's heat cycle out way and grip drops off way before cording...

in either case last season I ran the ra-1's in 235/45/17...this year I am stepping up to 255/40/17 in whichever tire I choose...

 

the price between the two is so close now...as I get a good price on the ra-1's that make them the same price as the victo's...so price is not a factor...I do not drive on them to the events...I change them out there...

 

I disagree...the two kooks I listed up there are both DOT r-comps. The Hankook Ventus Z212 R-S2 (which I use for autocross) is comparable to the azenis 615s......good autocross and summer street tires.

The Z211 and Z214s are both pretty much track-only, like the ra-1 or victos...

 

yeah...sorry I knew that...I always get the #'s mixed up in the hankook lineup...forget which is which...but there is very little info about the hankook's...as they are a relatively new r compound...and not many places sell it...

 

Mike, I read this and your PM. Shaved RA1's and the Victo's are good but certaninly not the grippiest rubber out. Based upon my readings (lost of GRM) and discussions here's what I'd do (little consideration for sidewall or sizing)...

YES
Kumho Ecsta V70A - good for combo for both
Toyo RA1 - you like them but make sure to shave em
Pirelli Pzero Corsa - should be good for both but pricey
Yoko A048 - should be good for both but pricey

NO
Avon Tech RA1 - too soft for multi event RR
Hankook Z211 and Z212 - narrow heat ranges would make it tough for your
combo
Hoosier AS - too soft for RR
Hoosier RS - doesn't heat up for autox
Kumho V710 - too soft for multi event RR
Kumho Victoracer - good for RR but just ok for autox
Mich Pilot Sport Cup - might be ok but pricey

 

well the A048's are way too expensive as are the pzero corsa's! plus they wont grip as well as ra-1's or victo's from my experiences, but they are close...

I actually thought the general consensus was that victoracers were better for autoX and ra-1's were better for rr but both could do double duty...the reverse of what you have up above...

in the grassroots motorsports comparo your reference, I believe the victo's were 1/2 second faster on a 39/40 second course than the ra-1's...so nearly 1 second on a 60 second course faster could be expected (the average when I autoX)...but I can't recall them making any judgements on wear characteristics which is what I am weighing my decision on as I want whichever tire I choose to get to last an entire season and 4 or 5 DE/open track days before they cord...(keep in mind I don't drive on them to or back from the events--I change them out there with my street wheels/tires)...

as far as the v70a's go...I never really considered them as I don't seem them being run that much on the west coast here...they don't come in 255/40/17 like I would like plus I hear they have uneven wear issues and cord prematurely...

 

I ran the Corsas for a season and a half, the grip was great for the first 3 or 4 events. I swapped them inside out twice (Z was camber challenged) They did not like the extended heat cycles.... last few events I would compare them too sticky street tires. I thought about the RA1s (I haven't found 255/40s or 275/40s for sale... "sold out") The guys I've talked with that have run both suggested the Victo racer is a better autoX tire. If the 275/40s will fit up front on my Z I could go with 555RIIs,NT-01s,Victos,RA-1s Very little price diff, I have a feeling I'll end up with the Victos. Only bad thing with the 275s, I don't think I could stuff them under the Max... I'll try it

 

btw, ignore the "backordered" on the page z32drifter...I talked to the owner over e-mail and he said they just got those sizes in as those are the sizes I am also looking at...


http://www.bmwwheels.com/bmwwheels_toyo_tires.asp

best price on ra-1's after two months of searching around...!

damn I wish toyo would just import their new R888 tire (sucessor to the ra-1) which is only available overseas...no word on when they will pass DOT approval to be sold over here...but I hear they are 2-2.5 seconds faster than ra-1 on a 1:20 course and wear in between victo's and ra-1's...crazyness!

 

Thanks for the link, now I'm in the same boat Victo VS RA1.

 

I'm sticking with azenis 615 next time...
the 240 just isn't heavy enough to overheat them. when I was at Maxus flogging the crap out of the car at motorsport ranch, I just flat out couldn't get it sideways. I only hit the brakes for abou tthree turns and was WOT the rest of the time. the 615 just stuck and never got greasy.

my maxima is just too damn heavy and I have too much body roll. the outside tires were eating the shoulders off, but the inside wheel was spinning the inside half of the tire off. need to dump the VLSD and rebuild the front suspension so that I don't ave the positive camber gain as the suspension compresses. (as well as negative gain on the inside wheel)

as another FYI... I ran one set full tread and one set shaved. same issues with both on killing the shoulders, and none with chunking.

 

did you chalk your tires to see if they were rolling over? adding some pressure might have helped with that...but your positive camber gain under compression is the biggest issue...something I have finally sorted out this season by raising the car a lot (wish we had RC correctors/adjustable lca joints...so we can run super low and not have that issue) oh well...but handling is considerably better as a result from initial impressions!

 

Mike, you're right about the Victo's - I just checked the 11/02 GRM; they were .5sec faster than the Toyo's for autocross. Oh, and I meant the Avon RA1's where too soft for road.

The V70A's are avail in a 245/40/17 though. Better gearing, nearly 5lbs lighter, and nearly the same width. I believe they can be flipped for wear like the V700's too.

 

but I thought the V70A's were more for wet racing whereas the victo's were better in the dry which is the only racing I do...

this choice is driving me up the wall! maybe I should just flip a coin! I can only find people who have run one or the other and never both on their car so they have no genuine comparisons...

I was running 235/45/17's last year so the 255/40/17's will still be better gearing than those from my calculations...only slightly though...

 

so I just picked up some barely used 245/45/17 V710's (only 40 runs on them for less than half of what they cost new $325) and I saw picks...they look great and wore completely even thus far, they are from a subie sti guy in the arizona chapter of autoX...those will be my tires for championships...now I just need to figure out what I am going to use for normal practice autoX and road racing...