Best 205/50-15 DOT Track Tire

[fbarrett]

Friends:

My 912 has 15x7 factory alloys, and I normally run 205/50-15 DOT tires, which fit without problems and lower the overall gearing a bit. I've been gone from the DE/time trial/track scene for about five years, so I'm out of touch with which tires are considered best these days. Michelin Pilot Sport Cups and Hoosiers are expensive. Can anyone offer guidance on a less expensive but effective alternative?

Looking ahead to 2010, what's coming from the tire companies?

Frank

[porsche4life]

I hear lots of good about RA-1s and R888s.


I have some RA1s on the way. Will give you some first hand trials in a few weeks.

[HarryD]

Hoosiers A6's for Autocross and R6's for DE/tiime trials/ road racing are the top dog. Costwise, all R tires are about the same at about $200/tire new.

Other options are Kumho V710's, Toyo RA-1's, Toyo R-888 and Yokohama 048's.

[Feffman]

Give Eric Frisby at Frisby Tire (www.FrisbyRaceTire.com) a call. He'll have some good tire suggestions from Toyo, Hoosier or Hankook.

Feff

[ErVikingo]

RA1s very stable tire, lots of useful life. R6's are supposed to be good also.

I don't like the 888's.

[Scooter]

I like my Falken Azenis RT-615s:

[racer]

Most good tires will run in the $150-200 range unless you come across a sale.

[berettafan]

just scored 4 new V710's in 205/50/15 for $400 SHIPPED.

they are not in my posession yet so we'll see what happens but from what i can tell there was some manner of change in the design. i even called the vendor to make sure the tires were priced right and the guy on the phone (sounded like a large place) says 'they are priced correctly on the website'. i'll give more detail once i get shipping confirmation.

but otherwise everything i looked at was either $80-$120 for street tires (azenis, ecsta xs) or $170-$200 for V710's and A6's.

[eric523]

I run the kumho v710's in the 205/50/15 size. I like them better than r888's for grip, but the kumhos don't last as long. I just paid $165ea from tire rack for a set that's on it's way to me now.

[porsche4life]

I was looking at something on Discout Tire for like 89... Don't remember what they were though. I am curios about those Falkens I looked at them but somebody told me they were kinda heavy.

[trekkor]

I guess it depends on what you are trying to do.

Set fastest laps- Toss up between HoosierR6 or Kuhmo 710.
Have a good time- Toyo RA-1


KT

[berettafan]

Shipping confirmation rec'd. Will have the tires Sat.

Vendor is performance tire in Ca. Note that they had two mfr #'s for these so i guess one is an old design and one is new. A phone call didn't get me much info other than to assure me the price was correct.

[911st]

There are a couple of different levels of tires.

The ultimates being the Hoosiers, V710's, and BFG R1's. They really a full race tire and should not be driven to the track.

Next level are the 'drive to the track DOT race tire'. The Toyo RA1 being the king and when shaved are almost equal to a full race DOT tire. Nitto N-1's being almost the same tire. The R888 has not been well received and do not seem to work well on a Porsche. Kumho Victo racer is a good tire and probably about in the middle of this group.

There is a newer class of street race tire that is very streatable and capable on the track. Tires like the Dunlop Z1, RT 615, Brigstone RE 11. They can be lot of fun and the gap between them and the drive to the track race tire is narrowing.

The Nitto's seem to be the best value for the performance delivered. However, V710's for $400 would be a significant deal.

If you are in a class were the tires are scored I am suspecting the Toyo R1R might be a near RA1 equal when shaved but would be scored like the street class race tire.

[ninesixfour]

If you want the fastest possible tire, get the Hoosier R6. They won't be fast for more than 10 heat cycles and they are at least $200 a tire.

If you want something that's roughly 2 seconds slower but still much faster than a street tire, get the Toyo RA-1. They cost a lot less than the Hoosier and last WAY longer. My last set was going strong at 55 heat cycles until I flat-spotted them under braking. Basically, they aren't heat cycle sensitive and you can drive them to the cords. By the time a Hoosier gets to 20 HC, it will be slower than an RA-1.

[Brant]

The hoosiers after multiple heat cycles are still faster than the RA1's
I ran on sunday with a set of hoosiers that have 38 heat cycles and still outrun my set of RA1's with only about a dozen heat cycles on them.

I have a light car with very very good tire wear
I get about 42-45 heat cycles out of my hoosiers
(most don't)

brant

[ErVikingo]

My sanctioning body does not allow R6's........ thus I use RA1's.

I really like the RA1's, great life expectancy and very stable performance even through 3 and 4 hour enduros.

[ninesixfour]

Originally Posted by Brant

The hoosiers after multiple heat cycles are still faster than the RA1's
I ran on sunday with a set of hoosiers that have 38 heat cycles and still outrun my set of RA1's with only about a dozen heat cycles on them.

I have a light car with very very good tire wear
I get about 42-45 heat cycles out of my hoosiers
(most don't)

brant

This was not my experience. I gave up on a 25 HC set of Hoosiers after sliding all over the place, installed a set of RA-1s with 5 HC, and instantly improved by several seconds. I was planning on driving the Hoosiers to the cords and just using them for practice sessions, but they were so awful I tossed them. The RA-1s were much better. YMMV. Even new (heat cycled) Hoosiers were only 1.7 seconds faster than the same set of RA-1s on the same weekend.

[typeonemb]

I run Kumho Ecsta XSs in that size on my 1974 911 for road course track days and timed events. For the money they are hard to beat and wear extremely well given the grip levels. I can also go to out of town events without a trailer for the tires or the car. Driving the car to the events is part of the fun for me. Overall a great tire.

[Blake Meredith]

You can get the Hoosier SM6 in a 205-50-15. The SM stands for Spec Miata. It is the same tire as the R6 it just cost $160.00 instead. That is what I am running on my 914.

[trekkor]

I got 50 heat cycles out of my Hoosiers until they corded.


KT