I just received a set of full tread RA1's that were used as rain tires by a fellow HT member and HC H1 driver. The tires show almost no signs of wear. As described they only saw 2 sessions on track in the wet. Some of the mold lines on the tires are still faint. I feel this has been a great deal as they will be my first "R" compound tire for track use. But here is my question the MFG date is 4204 so the tires are 3 years old. At full tread if stored properly how far off will they be compared to tires manufactured in the last year or so. Is there a possibility of the tires becoming better as the top layers of the rubber wear off? I try to read the tire article towards the back of GRM every month and after re reading last months article I just started wondering. Please post any experiences with older tires, good or bad.

Thanx guys and Happy New Year.

 

Regardless, you going to want them shaved down to at least 3/32's if you use them. As far as age, there should be a problem unless they're clearly dry rotting. However, I wouldn't expect them to last as many heat cycles like a newer set would ...I don't have an "empirical" data on this, but from my experience with used RA-1's (that's all I buy ) and extremely limited experience on new RA-1's...

Have them shaved down and go to town my friend!

 

Hey Mike. When you rode with me, the RA1s were 3 yrs old and heat-cycled out pretty bad. I had started off on them with full tread, not shaved. Plus I had small spots that were corded. They gripped like they were plastic tires but I don't think they were any worse that normal street tires.

I'm sure those tires will be ok, but like esteban said, I'd shave them down some. I might not shave them down to 3/32's though.

 

I'll be at VIR full with NASA in Feb is that something Phils can do with the tires mounted on my wheels?

 

Damn I answered my own question... Nope
http://www.philstireservice.co...e.htm

If that has been updated please let me know guys

 

I think it depends on how competitive you want to be. I've used R comps 3-4 years old (and older) in HPDE events. They're still R comps, still much better than street tires. And I use my RA-1 at full tread. I'm sure the racers who are looking for every last hundredth of a second will go for shaving and tell you to get new tires but if you're not actually competing where that slight difference really matters, don't worry about it.

If you decide that you would prefer to use new rubber instead, and if they're 205/50-15, I'll be happy to take those off your hands for a good price.

 

No, I'm cool with running them as they are my question about shaving was if they were not as good as my expectations. That being said I'm looking forward to runing them in 8 weeks and counting.

 

I don't believe most shops won't shave tires once they've been used. The cutting blade doesn't like the stones imbedded in the tread ........ even if you think its clean, they generally won't touch it.

I used an old set of RA-1s at the end of last season and they were bald & BLUE, I kid you not. Had to be at least 2 seasons old and hadn't been run in over 12 months but I had no choice. Set fastest lap of the race with them. Toyos are terrific. My 2 cents.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And I use my RA-1 at full tread. I'm sure the racers who are looking for every last hundredth of a second will go for shaving and tell you to get new tires but if you're not actually competing where that slight difference really matters, don't worry about it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So, you never had any problems with unshaven RA1s chunking or anything like that? I want to get a set but since I only do HPDEs and not actual racing, I rather not shave them since I don't care about the last hundredth of a second either. TIA

 

Full-tread Toyos don't like high-powered FWD cars. Wheelspin does kind of...melt them a little more than normal. I only have one experience of that, so it's only a little bit of evidence for it. I wouldn't call it chunking, but it wasn't pleasant.

 

The car I want to get them for is an S2000. I guess I'll take a chance on one set and see what happens. On the Toyo website they write that "Tread depth can be shaved to maximize dry traction" and that full thread provides aggressive wet traction. Doesn't indicate they have to be shaved.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vitt1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The car I want to get them for is an S2000. I guess I'll take a chance on one set and see what happens. On the Toyo website they write that "Tread depth can be shaved to maximize dry traction" and that full thread provides aggressive wet traction. Doesn't indicate they have to be shaved.</TD></TR></TABLE>
They don't HAVE to be shaved. That's just the best thing to do to maximize the tire's grip and durability. I've run more un-shaved Toyos than shaved ones and I've never had a chunking problem. I know a few guys who have, but they've had more power than me. Or they were running enduros. Or they were running very low tire pressures (generating excessive heat).

Heat is the issue. If you're running a car with less power and cornering levels than H1, I'd say you're probably not going to have a chunking issue. You just won't be getting the maximum grip from them.

Long story short, I'd run them as is.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
They don't HAVE to be shaved. That's just the best thing to do to maximize the tire's grip and durability. I've run more un-shaved Toyos than shaved ones and I've never had a chunking problem. I know a few guys who have, but they've had more power than me. Or they were running enduros. Or they were running very low tire pressures (generating excessive heat).

Heat is the issue. If you're running a car with less power and cornering levels than H1, I'd say you're probably not going to have a chunking issue. You just won't be getting the maximum grip from them.

Long story short, I'd run them as is.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks.

 

Like John, I've also gone through more full tread RA1s than shaved ones. The full tread tires have lasted more events than but they squirm a lot in the beginning of their life, as you'd expect, and they seem to heat cycle out by the time the tread is worn. They've never chunked on me, but I tend to take it easy.

 

Never had any chunking on my full-tread RA-1's, either. Have used multiple sets on the NSX and ITR.

 

I appreciate all the info. Now I'm sure I won't be wasting a set of RA1 by getting these w/o shaving, cause they sure ain't cheap.

 

I am also going through this same thought process with RA-1s. I am only using them for DEs, so I would like to not have to have them shaved. This is why I am also considering the Nitto NT-01, I have read from multiple sites that they are the same compound, but it looks to me that the Nitto may have an advantage (not being shaved) due to its tread blocks. Anyone else have any input to this thought?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by racinjason &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am also going through this same thought process with RA-1s. I am only using them for DEs, so I would like to not have to have them shaved. This is why I am also considering the Nitto NT-01, I have read from multiple sites that they are the same compound, but it looks to me that the Nitto may have an advantage (not being shaved) due to its tread blocks. Anyone else have any input to this thought?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've heard that they have the same rubber compound, but different construction (and obviously a different tread pattern). Also note that the RA-1 has deeper tread depth when new than the NT-01 (8/32" vs 6/32"). My guess (i.e. without any empirical evidence or testing) is that the NT-01 is slightly faster but that the RA-1 lasts longer. Also the RA-1 is slightly cheaper in smaller sizes (e.g. 205/50-15) but the NT-01 is cheaper in larger sizes.

Remember too, the "good" thing about track tires is that they don't last all that long, just a few track events, and then you'll be replacing them in short order. This means that you can try a set of one tire, then when you have to replace them soon enough, buy a set of a different tire, and see how they compare. Bottom line, it's easy to do your own testing.

 

stupid question but where is that date located so I don't spend 10 minutes looking for mine?

anyone know where it should be at on some Hoosier RS04s??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 6spdKEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">stupid question but where is that date located so I don't spend 10 minutes looking for mine?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your question isn't stupid. You can read the answer here, which tells how to interpret the Tire Identification Number for the date. The Tire Identification Number is shown on the sidewall on this page; it's the one number on the sidewall that looks like it's "punched" into the sidewall rather than sticking up from it the way the tire size and other markings are. (This is because they have to increment it every week, so it's not part of the tire mold.)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 6spdKEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anyone know where it should be at on some Hoosier RS04s??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Same as the above.

 

For the tread depth issue, I'm 99% sure it won't be a problem for DE usage at VIR in February. This event has historically been cold/snowy/rainy the past 3 years. You're probably not going to get enough heat into an RA1 to tear it up in those conditions. The extra tread depth will be a nice benefit if/when the weather turns to crap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WRXRacer111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">For the tread depth issue, I'm 99% sure it won't be a problem for DE usage at VIR in February. This event has historically been cold/snowy/rainy the past 3 years. You're probably not going to get enough heat into an RA1 to tear it up in those conditions. The extra tread depth will be a nice benefit if/when the weather turns to crap. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I haven't had any problems with the tread tearing up using full-tread RA-1's, even in warm weather.