Anybody using these tires for Autocross? If so, how well are they performing? Any trouble with warm up times, or anything like that?

I know that they are more of a road race tire, but I've found a pretty good source for them and thought I'd ask.

I got spanked by a damned Miata this weekend, and have decided that the Sumitomos probably aren't going to keep me in the winner's circle this year. I'd be looking for something in a 13" tire, and the 888s come in a 235/45/13 at a very good price.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.







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I just posted this in the other thread there, but I'll post it here and see what people say about it.

I have just recommended the Kumho Ecsta v710 tire. Here's the link to them:

http://www.kumhousa.com/Tire.aspx?id...6b9e6b2&cat=18

 

I run these, in 235/40x17, on the front of my FC, and they are fantastic, even with 275 wide Yoko A032-Rs on the back the car only ever oversteered on the limit when doing an autox course a few weeks back, even off throttle.

You could go in massively too hot after making a mistake and still no understeer, never had that with any other tyre.

Ran these on lots of other cars too and found them great, wear really well for a treaded tyre, and need no warming up, well, not compared to a proper slick tyre anyhow.

 

I can't imagine these would get up to temp for autocrossing. They are a track tire, and (like the RA1) one of the longer lasting ones. You'd need 1-2 good laps to get them up to temp on track.

 

^ Agreed. I think you would have a hard time getting them up to temp for AutoX.

 

are you referring to the toyo or kumho?

 

They are surprisingly functional for a track tire (one of the national level drivers around me has them as rain tires on his smurf CRX), but nowhere rear as good as a A6 or 710.

 

using it as a rain tire could be acceptable, but not for all around.

 

I imagine it would be decent. I've seen exige guys using them fine (I think it's their OEM tire).

It would be no where close to a 255/40/13 A6 though. with hoosiers available in that size it's hard to argue anything else.

 

Well, the thing is, I'm having a hard time justifying the $1,000.00 price tag of a set of Hoosiers for something that is considered a hobby (not by me, but definitely by my wife)

I'm trying to find something that would be close to the performance of a Hoosier, but at a significantly reduced price. I found a source for the R888 at 108.00 each, which is why I was asking.

Another possibility is the Toyo RA1, but again, I'm not sure how they would perform for autocross.

I don't necessarily need that extra 1/10th of a second that the extra 400 bucks might get me. I'm just looking to get close. I've been racing on Sumitomo HTR 200s for four years now, and have done pretty well with them. But now I want to go for FTD, instead of just coming close (I'm usually within 3 or 4 seconds on a 60 second course). So I don't need the latest and greatest thing out there.

If I can get 90 - 95% of the performance of Hoosiers at 60% of the cost, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for...

 

I ran a set of brand new RA-1s (205/60/13) on the POS-7 at a local autocross just to scrub them in and get a little seat time before hitting the track. After 3 runs the tires started to get a fair amount of grip. I would think if you wanted to start off autocrossing a shaved set of new RA-1s or 888s you can meet your goals of being close to a HoHo and having the benefit of a long lasting tire. I say go for it!

And they will be FAR superior to the Sumitomos!

 

Breaking them in here.


Flogging them for real.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to keep researching and looking around for the right deal. Any other thoughts on this, please speak up...

 

Mark .. not sure why I didn't mention this before, but look online for used tires. You'd be surprised what people will give away for almost nothing.

Follow a miata spec guys and get their tires that might have 1/2 life on there or something like that.

 

I have been running spec miata Toyo RA-1's that have been ran down close to 2/32 tread life left. The price was right because I paid 50 bucks for all four tires and they was great for solo2. Very grippy at these levels! Just ran my fronts down to the cords after 3 years of dancing on them. I need to order the camber plates to resolve this issue but 3 years of use is a lot for 50 bucks.

 

I hate to be a dick, but there is no way you're getting anywhere close to 90-95% of the performance of A6s with an RA-1 or an R888. High perfromance street tires (like the RE-11 and starspecs) are a full 2 seconds slower than v710s (according to GRM testing on a car that was setup for street tires) which are slower than A6s in most cases.

an RA1 or R888 might close that gap in half if you're lucky... but it probably still won't be close.

they would be a lot better than the sumitomos, I just don't want you to expect too much.

you could look into v710s which are cheaper than A6s @ $166 per tire. I would probably suggest just picking up some used A6s for really cheap. I got a set of used 225/50/13 A3s with 13x8 wheels a while ago for $200

 

I never understood why autocross rules dont change class by type of tires, but they do for performance mod. i think it should more be like time attack of classing by tire thread wear

 

There are several street touring classes now that require tires with a treadwear rating of 140 or above.

 

I have found a source for used race tires, but my size is a bit on the rare side so I'll have to watch for them. It seems that the Hoosiers go for about 200 a set, but he had some RA1s for half that price, which is why I asked about them.

And I agree about the classing issue. It would be nice if they separated them based on tire, so that you weren't required to spend a huge amount of money on a consumable item just to be competetive. But I'm sure that's an old argument that has already been beaten to death.

Thanks again for the input guys....

 

Now that sounds just about like what I'm looking for. If I could only find a deal like that, I'd be all over it.

 

I have done some autocrossing on 888's and think they work fine. They actually don't need much warm-up. They come in much quicker than the RA-1's I used to use. I am mainly a road racer, but my experience says you will really like the 888's. The sumi's aren't likely to be anywhere close to the 888's. I have run a LeMons rx7 with Dunlop Direzza Star Specs (which are probably stickier than the sumis) and the 888's are way better.

Just my 2 cents.

Carl

 

i have no idea what autocross is but ill give my view on the 888s

i run them on my FD in time attack. on a 1 mile track it takes 2 hard laps before they are up to the correct temp, would usually get around 2 quick laps in before they started to go off ,not by much maybe 3 or 4 tenths.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U4x9STeTtc

 

I think that another question that should be asked is what tire pressures are people using them at road course vs auto cross

 

I kind of figured this is what you was looking for. I am very budget minded when it comes to my hobby of autoxing. Unless you are going to be competing in the SCCA Nationals or Tours the RA-1's will work great for you. If you are exceptional on the Sumitomos wait till you get these.