Toyo Proxes RA1 Break-in

[GLASEM]

In the past.....have run Hoosier's on my race car
Purchased a set of Toyo Proxes RA1's
Are they best broken in for the first time like Hoosier's?

Take them out for one hard session......remove from car......deflate.....let sit for
at least 24 hours....then use till they hit the cords

Advise

[pgeorgeson]

In my experience, no need to take them off and let them sit. I just throw them on during a warm-up session then they are ready for qualfying and/or the race later the same day. I think that is what most of the Spec911 guys do out here, but I am sure they will chime in if they disagree.

[OffCamber00]

That's correct. They need no break in. Just mount em up and go.

Most guys also shave them since they tend to be quite squirmy when full depth.

[KTL]

Originally Posted by OffCamber00

Most guys also shave them since they tend to be quite squirmy when full depth.

This.

You're best to shave them right from the get-go. If you run them full-tread, they'll squirm and feel quite scary your first time out with them running hard. Let them cool down for next session and they'll feel better but still not very confident. They get better with each run.

But just shave them to start with and avoid all that silliness of floaty handling. They'll last longer too. Full tread tires wear fast due to tread squirm and heat buildup. Shaved tires are more stable.

[GLASEM]

THANKS

Another question.....................
Once they are shaved.......and no longer have a directional tread pattern
Can they be switched front to back.......side to side.......criss......cross?
In another words......are they omni-directional?

[OffCamber00]

They aren't fully shaved - there will still be tread left (typically 5/32 of an inch). If you run them in the dry, then you can treat them as omnidirectional.

The other thing you can do is just buy Nitto NT01s. These are the same compound as the RA1 and do not need shaving.

[KTL]

Any "race" tire with a significance of tread height/depth benefits from shaving. Even the NT-01

Obviously neither the RA-1 or the NT-01 absolutely has to be shaved. They can be run full tread right from the start. It's just not the best way to get the most out of your tires.

[Jack Olsen]

Running unshaved RA1s makes you think your car is broken. It's really bad for the first weekend.

I've never shaved NT01s and never noticed a real difference from the first use on.

(Then again, there's a chance that NEITHER the current RA-1s or NT01s are the same as they were before Toyo attempted to switch to the R888. It's possible that they are using R888 cores or components in both tires. The old 'faster and faster until you get to the cords' character doesn't seem to be there anymore.)

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by KTL

Any "race" tire with a significance of tread height/depth benefits from shaving. Even the NT-01

Obviously neither the RA-1 or the NT-01 absolutely has to be shaved. They can be run full tread right from the start. It's just not the best way to get the most out of your tires.

This contrasts with recommendations from Toyo/Nitto. They do recommend shaving RA-1s and don't recommend shaving NT-01s.

After shredding perhaps a dozen sets of NT-01 tires I don't notice much lap time difference from stickers to cords. I do give them a careful first heat cycle and let them rest for 24 hours. I never noticed the same sort of tread squirm on full tread sticker NT-01s.

[KTL]

You sure about that Nitto recommendation? Scroll down to the bottom of the page

NT01

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by KTL

You sure about that Nitto recommendation? Scroll down to the bottom of the page

NT01

Shaving NT-01s will increase traction simply by eliminating the grooves and increasing the effective surface area of the tire. A very different issue than Toyo RA1 "recommending" shaving to eliminate excessive tread squirm. Two different tires and very different animals.

[KTL]

Kinda splitting hairs. It does benefit from shaving, despite it have a stiffer/wider tread section. The RA-1 squirms so much because the tread blocks are much smaller.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by KTL

Kinda splitting hairs. It does benefit from shaving, despite it have a stiffer/wider tread section. The RA-1 squirms so much because the tread blocks are much smaller.

Exactly. The RA1 is fookin scary on the first day without shaving. NT-01 feels great from day one and as the grooves wear down, the added contact area probably compensates for the HC aging so they are very consistent from sticker to cords. If you needed another 2/10ths you could shave them from day one and use it as a fresh qualifying tire.