mikey D

the two sizes i chose to talk about here are only 2% differnt on the spedo. they are nearly the same diameter.

I can get 205 series victo racers for my stock wheels and run about 110 bucks each and have awsome traction but relativly short tire life.

What if I stick a set of these fender flares that have been posted about recently on and put some 255/40/17 kumo sports car tires for the same price as the
victo racers.


Can the wider hard compound tires offer the same amount of traction and the smaller soft tires?

SevenHeaven

The smaller victo racers are better on the track. Hard compound tires means an unwanted trip in the land of flora and fauna. Remember bigger isn't always better. I have made that mistake in the past.

jpre

If SevenHeaven's answer wasn't clear enough, there's no chance a bigger street compound tire could offer the same amount of traction as an R compound tire. The difference is dramatic.

I've talked to some people who've run victoracers on the street. I was under the impression they would heat cycle to death too fast, but I was told you could get a decent 5000 or so miles out of them effectively. YMMV.

Me personally I like full tread RA1s on the street when it isn't raining, generally thought of as an endurance race compound rather than a sprint race compound.

MosesX605

I brought that very question up at my last solo II event, and the consensus among the old guys is that even R tires that are sized to narrow stock rims will grip better that a nicely wide street tire. The difference is THAT great. Now imagine how sticky you'd be if you got the R tires in the 17 inch size.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Actual diameter of the tire makes no difference, it's the compound, tread width, sidewall size and air pressure which create the grip levels, which is why a lot of race cars run on smaller rims than 17s. You only increase your unsprung weight with larger rims and this is a bad thing.

nimrodTT

Like they said, been there, done that, it's not even close.

mikey D

well thats disappointing but im glad to know so i dont waste my money on wheels.

on my 205 victo racer on 13 wheels i got a summer of limited street use out of a turbo first gen. They had incredible traction even on poor road surfaces.



255 street tire would have been awsome just for the tread life and would have been worth the expense in wheels.

aussiemg
the wheel tire combo i had in mind would probably have lessened my unspring weight. the wheel itself is 12lbs and the overall diameter of the combo would have been nearly the same as a stock gsl se wheel tire setup.

It woulda been good!!

thanks guys

mikey D

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...=1#post4936897

check this out....

i have conflicting replys.

just to clarify my question

using same same diameter tire
a 205 series R compound tire
a 255 series street compound tire

can the street compound tire compare the the R compound tire in traction
at a race track.

Lt. Dan

Not a chance.

Dan

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

No way, but if it rains while you're on the road, the race compound will be horrendous.

mikey D

seeing were saying that the r compound even in a smaller tire will grip better.


How much better do you think between a small r compound and the big 255 street tire?

day and night or just moderate differance.....
hard to say without actually doing it i suppose.

MosesX605

I'm aware of that. I was referring to the better sizing of the 17 inch tire he specified.

jpre

And DamonB in a different thread wrote:
That's a big difference in width but I think the R will still win if it's a good race tire and is warmed up. When cold I would expect the street tire to be at least as good.

That said running R compound tires on the street is completely pointless. You never get them hot, they ride rough, don't work well in the cold, don't work at all in the rain and they'll turn into bricks before you ever use up the tread.

---------------------------------------------------

The difference is night and day, but you'd have to drive like a maniac to realize anywhere near the potential of an R compound on the street, and like DamonB wrote, if you can even warm them up to a reasonable operating temp. It would be best to have some track experience to try to utilize R compounds, to be able to just throw your car into corners with your foot to the floor at insane speeds and have it stick is amazing. Everything DamonB said has some validity, but the RA1 is somewhat of a special case. It's not as prone to heat cycles as other R compounds. They don't ride particularly rough. I don't think they corner well in the rain, but I must admit I never experimented with lowered tire pressure to attempt to compensate for the wet. I think their straight line braking in the rain is excellent. When it's really cold, like 40, maybe 30 degrees or below they are slippery and slightly dangerous if you're used to them when they're warmed up.

Max7

I've been running RA-1's on the street for 4 years now. Love them. I put about 8k a year on them, rotate the next and good for another 8k. then time to get new ones.

mikey D

all i want to know is will a HUGE *** street tire be able to compete in traction with a SMALL *** track tire.


I dont care about ride quality and all these other variables that dont matter to me.

if you put both tires on the road and drive the living **** out of them how comparable will the grip be.

hammmy

Dude, you're a slow learner.

-dave

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

mikey D

The street tire will never match any race compound on dry surface.....period