etzilon

I used to drive to the track on treadwear 320 tires with a set of NT01s+wheels, luggage, tools, chairs and son on the front seat. No trailer, just RX8 (rear suspension didn't enjoy the bumps though).

In short: there are better ways to spend NT01s than driving to the track.

cwatson

iTrader: (1)

How many track miles did you get out of them? I only ran them on the street to and from the hotel at the event and to and from the gas station (<100 easy street miles total). I have all seasons/winters for the drive to the track and to have spare wheels in case I break/bend one. The 400 miles I'm referring to is all track.

etzilon

So far, I have a bit over 500 miles on my 225/45/17 NT01s and they have plenty tread left (avg 4/32 left - 18 heat cycles)

cwatson

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, I'll have to take a closer look at the tires. I'll take some photos and try to slice the tires to get a better handle on evenness of wear. FWIW, I was running the following: stock height w/ big bars, 40 psi hot, -1.5 to -2.0 camber on all four, and zero toe. Temperatures were 50°F for the first day and 60°F for the second. Tread was gone after the first day (est 220miles). I estimate average weight around 3400 because of usually having a passenger. 80%+ of laps were driven at 100% with three spins on the set. Wear appeared to be towards the outside, but cords showed up on the inside shortly after those on the outside.

etzilon

Hard to tell, cwatson. Too much sliding or understeering? Weight is definitely a factor; my competition weight is around 2,950 lbs.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

I've been running NT01's for track days as well...

The R6's were becoming a huge expense for a non-competitive scenario and the Nitto's last a lot longer with a bit less grip

Have been running RE-11's full tread for rain tires...seem OK

no-coast-punk

I've done 3 events on my rivals.

Best street tire I have ever seen. Quiet and comfy on the road. Grippy as hell and super predictable on the track.

cwatson

iTrader: (1)

etzilon, my NT01s unfortunately got thrown away (had them in the shop @ work) before I got a change to inspect them further. I was still very happy with their performance, but I need to get 750+ miles out of them (4 days) before I can justify the cost for non-competition use...

dannobre, how many hard miles (10/10ths) are you getting from the NT01s?

no coast, how is the wear on the rivals?

etzilon

I got 4 weekends out of my last set of NT01s. 3 of those were time trials, 1 wasn't all out but longer open track sessions.

Edit: 225/45/17 NT01s

cwatson

iTrader: (1)

So, would you say about 3*2*60 + 1*2*120 = ~600 miles?

-Chris

MagnusRacing

iTrader: (2)

I my experience the NT-01 tire lasts about as long as any true R Compound tire out there. I don't think you'll find anything that lasts longer unless you go to a high performance street tire (over 100 treadwear).

etzilon

Between 750 and 800 miles. I could have run another HPDE type weekend on them if one of the tires hadn't had tread splice.

Nathan Atkins

I'm currently daily driving and weekend autocrossing 225/45/18 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs on OEM wheels. I have acquired some cast off 245/40/18 StarSpecs from an STi buddy who has switched to rivals, this pic shows the width difference. The current tires see some 90 miles per day and have about 16k miles on them along with I think 9 autocross events. I tend to stay on the near side of the friction peak so they've worn well. When they get REALLY low I'll switch to these 245s, around the time theyre done I'm set to inherit my wife's BRZ so that'll be my new autox steed.

etzilon

I guess I'm a cheap bastard... when I was driving the RX8 to the track, I did so on treadwear 320 tires and switching to Nittos at the track.

kbrewmr2

I'm with stupid - no reason to commute to your track day on trackday tires

etzilon

I'm feeling better now. Ready to tackle my Tuesday :-P

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

I get 5-6 trackdays on them...depends on which track...how hot it is...and how hard I push them.

Some of our trackdays we get a lot of time...up to 5hrs...so should get more if you are in the 4-5 30 min session type days

And I trailer my car to the track

twistedwankel

iTrader: (6)

Replaced 245/40/18 Hankook RS3's this year with Toyo R1R's and like the Toyo's much better all around. Live in FL so run these tires only + frequent xcross in Street Tire 140 classes.

The Toyo's cost me $150/set less delivered. They are quieter, don't thump when cold with only one layer of nylon, don't overheat, wear well, hook up well when it's cool or hot, come with 8/32" tread, work well in heavy rain, slightly larger diameter and weigh less.

Hankooks were fine too but for the money I'll keep doing the Toyo's until SCCA makes us all switch to 180-200 tires in 18 months then I'll probably buy the cheapest decent tires I find in that range.

I'd love to find a nice set of used 17x9 rims and go that route. Maybe save up for a new set as those tire sizes are the way to go and cheaper.

**The Toyo's finally suffered from excess heat cycle last weekend after about 1.5 years of 250 concrete airport runs and probably 50 misc asphalt autocross runs and down to 1/16" tread. They were consistent thru their whole tread depth. Ordered a new set of 245/40/18 Rivals for the next season or two. Got best deal on them with rebate + sale. Buddy will be selling me some used 17x9" rims in a few months so will use them for STX locally on some 255/40's and the 18" for C Street.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Heeroguy

i ended up getting the R1R's aswell this year, went 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 in rear, wanted the kumho escta xs's but they are out of stock and cant find the 275/40/17's any where else so toyo was my only real choice just hope they are good.

last 2 sets of tires where re'11's and dunlop Z1's last year

2hit6

Anyone tested the Dunlop ZII? I'm thinking about running this set next season...

Heard great review on these tires from my CSCS (Canadian Sport Compact Series) folks, but not heard any review of these tires on our cars.

Redshift

iTrader: (2)

Interesting thread on the ZII's a little further down this forum:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-...k-race-245611/

Put them onto my consideration list.

Nathan Atkins

I picked up an extra set of wheels for a few hundred bucks so next season my autocross tires will be just that, autocross tires.

Ive got a set of 245/40/18 BFGoodrich GForce Rivals in the basement now waiting for next year. I've had some good results using these tires in 215/45/17 on my wife's BRZ so i thought I'd get a set for the 8 too.

The dedicated track tire set is owing to the lessons learned by using the Direzza Z1SS daily. They just are not up for the task, in spite of my strictly highway driving, its just too too many heat cycles and too many miles, they're basically bald at this point. I've mounted my winter set early this year because the Z1s were just spent.

Anyway we shall see how the Rivals do.

All_Day_Dre

iTrader: (2)

Ive been on Toyo R1Rs 245/40/18 for about 12 months, 10,000 miles which includes 6-7 Auto-X events and 3 track days...daily driven

Steve Dallas

I am currently running 2009 manufacture Potenza RE-11s and have a love-hate relationship with them. They are only used for AutoX and a few track days per year. They are grippy as hell under the right conditions and on the right surfaces, but they become hockey pucks below 80 degrees and on some surfaces (like the cheese grater surface that is the Mineral Ring). I will probably look at Hankook Ventus or Dunlop Direzza when these are worn out.

I am actually planning to run my last AutoX of the season on my daily driving tires, which are Yokohama YK580s, as the temperature this Sunday is supposed to be in the 50s.