I nominated to keep my 'R' spec Toyo R888's on the road as well as track as opposed to buying another set of wheels and tyres. I have just been told by my mechanic that my fronts are wearing a bit thin due to road use and the rears aren't far behind. He doesn't sell tyres so there's nothing suss. My issue is that they are only 3 months old and I don't drive more than 10 miles a day on average! I have been running around with my race setup so lots more camber and toe than normal but it does seem a bit sad. I have also done a few days on anti-clockwise tracks so there is a bit of a pattern developing due to mostly left turns. These tyres are around $500 each which is more than half my weekly wage. Does anyone else run with these and what sort of life do you get out of them?
Does anyone run with 'R' spec tyres on the road and track?
- Thread starter 333pg333
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lali
New member
I'd imagine that you're looking at about the right sort of mileage. I used to run sticky tyres on road and track on my Caterham and it used to get through them like buggery so i went out and got some more wheels and stuck some £30 tyres on them.
Equally I run a track set up on the road on my S2 and I have shafted the front tyres from driving to and from the ring and spa with tons of neg camber....
The best thing to do is to get a set of 2nd wheels for road use and put some Falkens or other cheapish tyres on... the initial outlay is going to hurt but the long term savings are there to be had, remember there is more than enough space to get a spare set of wheels in the boot for when you do go on track.
If you still need convincing then imagine the situation that you set from home with a set of legal toyos, they get worn on teh way to track, and by the end of the day your just on the legal limit... then 5 miles away from home (cos that's when it'll happen) you get tugged by the Bib and they give you 3points per bad tyre.....
Equally I run a track set up on the road on my S2 and I have shafted the front tyres from driving to and from the ring and spa with tons of neg camber....
The best thing to do is to get a set of 2nd wheels for road use and put some Falkens or other cheapish tyres on... the initial outlay is going to hurt but the long term savings are there to be had, remember there is more than enough space to get a spare set of wheels in the boot for when you do go on track.
If you still need convincing then imagine the situation that you set from home with a set of legal toyos, they get worn on teh way to track, and by the end of the day your just on the legal limit... then 5 miles away from home (cos that's when it'll happen) you get tugged by the Bib and they give you 3points per bad tyre.....
I must admit I have done the vast majority of my 5,000 miles on my track tyres and they still look much as they did new. They are Dunlop SSRs rather than Toyos though. I also have adjustable camber plates so I set the geometry to suit the road (most extreme range of the Porsche specs) and then add about 2 degrees more negative for the track.
Well the Toyo's were my first try at 'R' spec and I am sold! However I think co$t will get in the way and reason will prevail. Not sure about the Dunlop's but my friend has Mich Pilots and they seem to take an eternity to get to temp on the track and we only do short sprint events hence the need for sticky rubber which wears out quickly.
Diver944
Active member
The beauty of a track 944 is that you can fit a second set of wheels/tyres in the boot so most of us do have one set for the road and one for track which we changeover in the pits. The other advantage is that a sudden downpour does not leave you teetering around a wet track on near slicks.
You could pick up a set of 16" D90's with tyres for under £200
You could pick up a set of 16" D90's with tyres for under £200
Too right Fen. We pay $200 for just one crappy Dunlop LeMans tyre or the same for that Falken rubbish! Based on an average take home wage of about $850 per week we pay through the nose and then some!!! A decent 944turbo '89 is over $30k to start with and then you pay at least $10k just to get it up to normal spec. conditions.
3 points for the first one, licence endorsed for the others but no extra points. not that this would be much consolation!
"R" tyres will wear much quicker as they are much softer. Normal tyres have a compromise, duration over grip. Race tyres are only interested in grip - duration is relative to race length only. Also, road legal race tyres are generally wet or intermediate and will suffer from overheating and accelerated degradation if run dry.
I had Beaky set up with -2º camber at the rear. The cheap road tyres were pretty evenly worn with an annoyingly large amount of tread left (as I didn't like the tyres). 2000 miles later, much at speed and with long motoryway stretches, the rear tyres were wrecked on the inside with the tread completely worn away in a band 2"+ from the inside edge.
So, extreme suspension settings will scrub out tyres very quickly and R tyres will wear more quickly any way.
I had Beaky set up with -2º camber at the rear. The cheap road tyres were pretty evenly worn with an annoyingly large amount of tread left (as I didn't like the tyres). 2000 miles later, much at speed and with long motoryway stretches, the rear tyres were wrecked on the inside with the tread completely worn away in a band 2"+ from the inside edge.
So, extreme suspension settings will scrub out tyres very quickly and R tyres will wear more quickly any way.
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