mattEG

I'm about the most broke a road racer can get and still road race. With that in mind there are quite a few good used tire vendors out there. I'm trying to weigh the pro's & con's between the R6 and the R888. If there was a chance I could pick up RA1s anymore this thread wouldn't even be happening.

If you had to choose between an R6 and an R888 that are the same price for a 75% tire what would you choose when it comes to speed, cost, and longevity?

jdmspoonitr

iTrader: (1)

Are you completely stuck on R comps? RS3 are dirt cheap and are a fantastic tire for doing track days. I am assuming you are not doing W2W.

mattEG

Definitely doing wheel to wheel.

rice_classic

It depends on how competitive you want to be and how well the R6 was initially heat cycled.

You're going to get more sessions out of the R888 at their "race pace" just like the RA1 but the Hoosier will be faster, but for fewer sessions. They may fall off enough after 7-11 sessions and then be no faster than the R888.

If you want a tire that's as fast as the R6 but cycles more like a Toyo then you should consider the cost/benefit of Hankook C51's or Goodyear RS DOT's. I can't turn laps identical on those tires than I do R6's but they can go 20+ sessions without "falling off".

liam821

You missed it, late last year a place was selling R888 for $75 a tire.

Robin6

R888 are sick! get them if you can, if you can not, go steel them from a store, not a race car.

Atmosfear

iTrader: (18)

I agree, you would be hard pressed to find a stickier r-comp than the R6 but they typically wont last as long.

If you are more concerned with longevity then go with something else. Hoosiers spoil you, once you use them its tough to go back to a Toyo.

Robin6

im running NT01s far better over r888's, not budget tho on either...but if you can make it, go NTo1

known

iTrader: (1)

Well, R888s blow in my opinion. I bought a couple sets when they were running that sale, I would never pay full price when you could get a Hankook for the same money.

I don't know if you know, Continental Challenge take offs from the Minis normally start going up for sale after the season starts picking up. 225-45-15

I bought a set of them last year from a VIR race for $200 and they were fantastic, lasted several track days. They are basically a harder version of the R6 and they are made by Hoosier.

So obviously my choice would be the R6 or the Conti take offs.

Here is the set I had after a couple events

Robin6

Driving styles have a ton to do with tire ware too, just saying. ;P

rice_classic

Known knows. He's right about the R888's... I had 8 of them given to me and I couldn't even bring myself to mount them on a set of wheels. I sold them on craigslist. I don't see the point of showing up at the track with those. The RA1's are faster as are the NT01 and they're the same compound as the R888 (or close to it) but their carcass is much more forgiving and they are much less prone to the Groove of Death which the R888 is famous for.

And buying takeoff's is the way to go. I just picked up 9 Hankook C51's for $400 and 4 of them only have like 2 sessions on them.

Too bad you don't live close by Matt. I have a 4 barely used shaved Toyo Ra1's I need to offload for $150. 225/50/15 size.

Here's the biggest problem with running the R6 or the Contis and Known will agree.... There's a reason they're called Purple Crack. Once you race on them you'll find it hard to go back to a Toyo.

known

iTrader: (1)

That Hankook deal you got rocks.

Im buying the SM6 for my double race in April

I mean Hoosiers are just stupid, the crack analogy is perfect.

The first time on them I slowly pushed harder, harder, harder, holy **** this is too fast for me lol.

Now on other tires Im like WTF no grip!

SM6 for 170 each is the way to go.

mattEG

Whereabouts are you located - I'd be more than willing to pay shipping or have a friend swing by if you're in the right place for those RA1s.


Where are you guys finding used Hankooks? I'm only able to find R6s and R888s.

I will avoid the 888's like the plague.

known

iTrader: (1)

I might need to try some of this orange crack from Hankook lol.

mattEG

I was going to - but they are all sold out on tirerack and discount tire direct only seems to have the soft compound.

0Innes

iTrader: (3)

Last year we were running 14" wheels on our ITA car -- we started with Hoosier 225/50/14 R6 Tires and we all know how expensive it can get to put fresh tires on the car as much as we want to so we went over to the Hankook C51s in the same 225/50/14 size and we were actually able to turn similar lap times. We don't really have much longevity feedback on them as we try and keep fresher tires on the car and sold off most of the used ones before their life span were really used up in any way -- and the Hankook's were substantially cheaper to purchase which is a big plus.

This weekend we are running a 1.5 hour enduro and have the 205/50/15 Hoosier SM6 on the car as with the new Spec Miata deal the pricing on this size tire has come down quite a bit -- so we will have some first hand experience on those after this weekend

as for the R888's -- i bought a bunch when that sale was going on and we really like them, they have done well for us, great life, good traction -- still a good buy in my book, we still have (2) usable sets here that are being rotated through the cars at various HPDE type events.

rice_classic

I'm in the Seattle area and with local demand I'm going to opt out of shipping. Sorry matt but good luck on your search nonetheless.

My situation in finding Hankooks is unique and by unique I mean, they find me... literally. I get a call randomly from guys I know in the racing community that know I like running lightly used take-offs so they call me first. Here's the catch, when the phone rings I better have the cash available! Hankooks are hard to find because the tsunami affected production, however they were even hard to find before that happened.

Secondly the 2 brands that I did buy BRAND NEW last year and loved them both, Were the Hoosier R6 (SM6, my size so I get to save money) and the Goodyear RS DOT.

I was way happier with the Goodyears. Same lap times on each tire BUT the Goodyear's have already gone 5 sessions longer than the Hoosiers and still are as fast as they were on day 1. Way better bang for the buck if you ask me.

If I'm purchasing new I'm getting these:

rice_classic

Good Hankook info: Their sizes are like Toyos. For a 15" rim you want the 225/45/15.

The 205/50/15 Goodyear and Hoosier are the same width as a 225 Hankook or Toyo FYI. I can put a 225 Toyo or Hankook under my car but there's no way a 225 Hoosier or Goodyear will fit... I tried.

The C51 (roadrace) is the compound you want. The C71 is for AutoX.

Try this website:

http://www.racetiresdirect.com/hankook_z214.asp
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

known

iTrader: (1)

Where and how much for the Good Years? I have been interested in them but the availability seems weak. I might not be looking hard enough and having the Hoosiers available track side is nice but I have been waiting to hear about these good years..

rice_classic

I think they're $220/tire in the 205 size. (not cheap but cheaper than the R6, not the SM6)

I get mine from a local Goodyear guy. One nice thing about buying from the local guys is customer service. I had a tire blister and he swapped it out for a new one, didn't even charge for mount and balance. He charged $6 for shipping but oh well... new tire!

Basically their tire distribution system sucks right now but hopefully it will improve. This is the only online retailer I could find with a quick search.

http://www.performancetread.com/good...9kkoqu4ugevfk2

liam821

A little off subject... I normally tow my car when I take it out racing, but Id like to do a track day to test some some changes i've done with the car and instead of towing the car 300 miles I was thinking of driving it. I don't know if I can fit my race tires with all the misc stuff in the back of my hatchback - will driving 300 miles on the freeway destroy the R888 tires? I know they're DOT approved..but will I kill the life/grip?

My car is registered/insured still - although its not really "street" legal and hardly ever drive it on the street. It has a full cage/race seats/stripped/aero etc.

opinions?

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Ok guys so what was the issue with the R888's
Please explain? (specifics)

I used them for a year. It took a bit to learn the characteristics of the tire.
After 15 laps or more they did drop off a bit and got a little greasy.
But by that time the session or race was over.
Once i learned what TP's to run them at they were a decent tire.

rice_classic

That's 1 of the reasons. Everything below is from personal experience, fellow racers experience (from 50+ cars running them) and is mostly anecdotal.

The big picture is the "overall value" and that's due to how they compare to other tires on the market from the same company aka: NT01 or RA1. Most people have ditched them to go back to the RA1 for a whole host of reasons:

1: The fully treaded R888 isn't anywhere near as good as a fully treaded RA1 in wet conditions.
2: The RA1 is at or close to it's peak performance in a much wider variety of suspension/camber setups.
3: Personally, I've had a 4/32nd's shaved RA1 do 40 sessions. Great wear characteristics.
4: The R888 is famous for the "groove of death" which occurs even when all the testing is done to get the car setup to maximize the tire's capability. Pressures, camber, temperature etc. It doesn't always happen but I've seen it enough times to know better.

Now the R888 isn't exactly the black plague but there's better "value" in other tires. I'm all for maximizing setup to maximize grip but I run Ho-Ho's, Hankooks, and Goodyears in ITA and if I run H4 (a toyo class) I can just throw on RA1's without changing my setup and be good to go, with the R888's they're too particular to setup so unless I monkey with my setup to maximize the R888 I'm going to get beat by others on the RA1's.... So why not just run RA1's? (rhetorical)

You can clearly tell that I'm a lazy racer. I want to maximize my outcome with as little effort as possibly because race weekends are busy enough with the logistics of everything else involved. So, as a one man show I try to simplify, maximize and streamline what I can, thus R888's got crossed off the list.

I hope that helps a little.

edit: As for "budget" tires, if you're getting Toyos of any kind try to buy good "take-offs" from other racers. Toyos are basically good until they cord so save $$ and buy them used!

granracing

Used tires are a great way of getting them less expensively. I have several used 14"s sitting in my basement.

If you're using 15"s, the SM deal is pretty damn good.

What I did in the past was attend a few races. Bring the tire guy 1 12 pack of beer, tell him you're on a super low budget and wonder if he'd keep you in mind when he gets some decent takeoffs. Many tire vendors are more than happy to do this at NO charge. Typically they have to load the tires onto their trucks, lug them back to the shop, unload them, then pay to dispose of them. Now if you're using 15"s, go to some of the bigger events where SM will be there. Stupid guys like me are taking 6 cycle old Hoosiers and either just using them for HPDEs or getting rid of them.

Lo-Buck EF

i love my used toyos (thanks rich hunter!) i'm not sure where the OP is from, but look on ebay. theres a guy on there that sells all brands and sizes of used tires. i've had good experiences with him. 'leerx7' is his name i think.