[Jason Judd]

Anybody know how the Yoko stands up as a DE tire for the track?



I've been using the MPSC's for 4 years now...but I'm getting a bit frustrated with them at colder temperatures.



And you know the East Coast doesn't get warm until June or July!



So, I was thinking of trying these, mostly because they come in my size...unlike the Hoosier or Toyo.



Anyway, are these tires grippy, and do they last?



Thanks,



Jason Judd

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[whakiewes]

Jason,



I have never used the A048's on the 968, but I have on previous cars as well as cars that I have driven. They were fantastic tires with tons of grip. In my opinion though the Pilot Sport Cups are a slightly superior tire from my experiences. The A048 has a lot of grip, but to me is marketed as an autocross tire, which is how it felt. The MPSC is a tested to trued tire...comes factory on euro GT3's, M3 CSL's, and other high end car. Both are great tires, MPSC I may have seen a few more miles out of. I normally get about 10 good track days out of a set of A048's and MSPC's before they are garbage.



Wes



BTW, what sizes? I have a set of 17" A048's that were barely used (like 45 miles) that I could do you a super deal on to see if you like them or not.



Wes

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[mike]

Jason,



I have had good luck with Kumho Victoracers. I have heard that they aren't as sticky as Hoosiers or MPSCs (after they warm up). I don't have any experience with the others because the Kumhos are usually almost half the price of the others and since they work well for me I haven't tried the others. They also come up to temp fairly quickly. All that being said, they don't make them for anything larger than a 17" rim and IIRC, you are running 18s. They do make the ECSTA V700 and V710 R-compounds in 18s, but I don't know anything about them either except that they are closer to the Hoosier and MPSC in price.



Good Luck,

mike

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[Jim Child]

What sizes are you running?

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[Jason Judd]

Jim, currently I'm running 265/35/18 up front on 9" rims...and 295/30/18 in the rear on 11" rims. I don't know of much else to put on that rim.



I'm a bit concerned putting 245's and 275's on those sized rims, because it might be too much of a stretch for the tire. Hoosier has said they have a 295/30 for the rear, but the front would have to remain as a 245...and that seems to me like a recipe for some serious understeer.



The RA-1's don't come in other sizes, so that's why I was looking to the A-048's.



Wes, thanks for the offer, but I have 18" rims.



Mike, I tried the Kumho V-700's a while ago and got some pretty serious 'scalloping' or 'cupping' from them; so I've been reticent about using them. Maybe the V-710 has corrected that?



Jason

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[Eric_K]

Personally, I would try RA-1s 275/35ZR-18 front, 305/35ZR-18 rear on those wheels.



The Kumho 710s are a completely different tire than the V700s. I don't think you will have the same issues. I've tried one set of 710s and liked them. They quite fast, but don't have near the life of an RA1. The 710 would be good in the cold because they are soft.

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[Jim Child]

I run Hoosiers in 245/35/18 on 8.5" fronts and 285/30/18 on 10" rears. With my setup I don't typically have understeer problems, and I know several other 968/951racers who are also running this combination successfully. According to the Hoosier website you can run the 245/35/18 tires on a 8.0" to 9.5" rim, and the 285/30/18 tires on a 10" to 11" rim. IMO the R6 is the best DOT tire Hoosier has ever made. Lots of grip, and better wear than any previous Hoosier DOT model. I ran them all season in 2006, and didn't cord a single tire. I found that they would slow down a bit after a couple of weekends due to heat cycles, but that shouldn't be a problem if you're just doing DE's. That said, they still won't last as long as Toyos, so Eric's suggestion might be a better one if you can fit a 275 up front.

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[Eric_K]

FWIW, I have nearly 2 inches between my 255 RA-1/8.5 rim and the 2.25" spring up front. Its easy to measure with the fender off! With the right setup a 10 inch wheel and 275+ could fit up front.

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[333pg333]

May I also suggest the Toyos but not the RA-1's which I believe are good, but their newer compound/tread the

R888's. I run 255/30 x 18" and 285/30 x 18" on similar sized rims and enjoy great success. They heat up very quickly and seem to get a very good lifespan. Not sure what length and nature events you run. We tend to run shorter Sprints. My info on the MPSC's are that they take forever to get to heat but once there should hold out longer before going gumball.

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[Jason Judd]

I'll check into those...Thanks for the suggestion.



I definately would like something which works better in the cool weather.



Jason

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[Jason Judd]

333pg333 wrote:



May I also suggest the Toyos but not the RA-1's which I believe are good, but their newer compound/tread the

R888's

__________________



You must have some really good contacts, because I can't even get anybody to find them yet! My sizing seems to be available, but I can't find a distributor.



Any suggestions?



Jason

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[Eric_K]

I don't think you will find the R888 soon. Toyo just annouced they were bringing them to the US. They should start showing up in 2007.



http://www.toyoeditor.com/pressreleases/ProxesR888.doc



333pg333 is in Australia where they are already available.

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[333pg333]

You mean we've finally got something before anyone else Stateside???? WhoooHooo!!!

Having said that they were probably just using an insignificant market to be their guinea pigs in case

they we're crap. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Take my word for it they're not. They're really good. I've used two sets this last season and they really are much better in my opinion than the MPSC's that my friend had evidenced by the fact that he is markedly slower than me yet had many more spins as they were just too hard to get up to heat for him. I guess they would of course be suited to someone going a lot harder than him and over longer events in hotter regions. The Toyo's get up to heat really quickly without going off. The other brand that are held in very high regard over here are the Bridgestone RE-55's. Check sizes but they are used a lot down here and there is a whole 944 n/a series that runs on them. I think they're marginally more expensive but along similar traits as far as heat up and grip. I am going to be getting my 3rd set of the R888's though as a wise man once said "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

PS I'd be interested how much they're worth over there too? I pay around $500 aussie each (give or take for fronts and rears.)

Patrick

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[Jason Judd]

I spoke with Bob Vilven, who is a big distributor of Toyo's here in the US...



He confirmed what Eric said about them coming over in the beginning of 2007. He didn't have too much to say about the tire; he thought maybe it was a similar compound with a different tread pattern.



He did say that there was less rubber and that they were going to be lighter than the RA-1 tire. But, he felt that might be because the RA-1's come wth 8mm of tread and the R888's are going to have 6mm of tread. His point being, that since most folk shave them down to 4mm or 6mm, they may be exactly the same weight once all is said and done.



I've decided to wait for the Spring and see if they are in the US with my size of 265/35/18 and 295/30/18...Toyo has promissed that size combo will be available; but time will tell.



By the way, Bob Vilven is a very nice person to speak with, he has a ton of knowledge about the Toyo tires, and willingly shares his knowledge. I'll definately buy from him when the tires come here.



Jason

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[333pg333]

Jason I'm not so sure that they are the same compound. I thought they were different. I'll see if I can find out more info.

Patrick

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[Jason Judd]

Patrick,



Thanks...I'll look forward to them this coming Spring!



There's quite a few over here who are now interested in the R888. We're all jealous that you've got it already!



Jason

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[333pg333]

Hi Jason and others,



I forgot about this post but here's a link to the Australian site. Just go into 'tyres' then into 'Motor sport radials' and you can click on the tyres to see what they have to say. The R888's and the RA1's do come in differing sizes and do have different characteristics.



http://www.toyo.com.au/

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[Jason Judd]

Patrick,



Thanks for the update...I'll be waiting!



Jason

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[333pg333]

I'm now looking at trying to get some 11"s under the rear guard but the biggest Toyos are 295's. I am going to see if 315's will fit but I don't like my chances. There isn't much available in 305's. Any ideas?

Anyone tried P-Corsas in R-spec?

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[Jason Judd]

So we finally settled on the Hoosier R6's...



275/35/18 up front



315/30/18 in the rear



I'm pretty sure that I won't be dissappointed.



Jason

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