Tires for the track - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jhorowitz · 09-07-2010, 04:42 PM

I currently use Toyo RA1's. I just put on a new set for the track and in 3 days they really wore. Has anyone had any experience with these tires as to how they wear at DE's. My last set gave me 11 DE track days.

Any suggestions for getting better wear or for using other tires?

Pat · 09-07-2010, 05:54 PM

RA1s are great tires. The Nitto NT01 is basically the same tire with a different tread pattern. Tough to go wrong with either.
That said, if you want them to last longer, you will likely be sacrificing grip. For a Boxster that mainly sees time on the street, I'd stick with the RA1 or NT01.
Are you willing to sacrifice stick for wear? If so, maybe something like a Kumho XS or Falken 615 might be more in line with your priorities. Or maybe even a Bridgestone RE-11.

Topless · 09-07-2010, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhorowitz

I currently use Toyo RA1's. I just put on a new set for the track and in 3 days they really wore. Has anyone had any experience with these tires as to how they wear at DE's. My last set gave me 11 DE track days.

Any suggestions for getting better wear or for using other tires?

I run NT-01s and get about 10 track days per set. Three things you can do to improve tire wear:
1. Lower the car to get 2 deg negative camber.
2. Stiffer rear sway so the car rotates more easily without plowing.
3. Careful alignment to get max neg camber and zero toe.
Bonus tire wear points if you drive smooth and avoid over-driving (sliding) the car.

MikenOH · 09-08-2010, 12:41 PM

IIRC, they come with 8/32 of tread; probably too much for doing DE's in the dry. Heat cycle them and have them shaved to 5-6/32; they should wear better.

If you're not driving them to the track, Kumho V710's, BFG R1 or Michelin SC's are all great and offer a lot of traction.

By comparison, I probably have 10 tracks days on my Kumho XS and they are at 5/32's. If I were to go with these again, I'd have them shaved to 7/32 at TR; as it was, I lost 2/32 on the fronts the first DE I went to. Amazingly, they came with 10/32 on the front which was way too much tread for the intended purpose.