Okay, I searched and to my suprise I did not find much information on break in of R compounds, and the R888's specifically. I really thought I would. Feel free to call me a noob and post some links.

Anyhow,

FedEX just dropped off a set of R888s for me today, I am going to the track tomrrow. They are mounted, but not on my car. I cannot put them on my car until I arrive at the track. Any suggestions for break in procedure? I have read many different theories including:
1. Driving them to the track
2. Running a few laps then taking them off and letting the cool for 24-48 hrs

I figure I'll just do a few laps gradually working up the pace then take a break for a while and let everything cool off. What type of damage can be done to the tire if it's not properly broken in? assuming there is such a process.

I began tracking on winter tires, then all seasons, then high performance street tires. These are my first R comps.

Thanks for all your help!


Modified by Scotty2H at 2:46 PM 6/26/2008

 

Actually, the ideal break-in (for any track tires) is to run them for about 20 minutes at highway speeds, then take them off the car for 24-48 hours. That's the same thing accomplished by the Tire Rack's heat cycling service, as described here. It sounds like that's not possible in your case.

 

Thanks for the reply! I was trying to find that tirerack article as I saw other people mention it. It helps.

I'm not competing with these tires, just heading out there for fun. I'm not to worried about loosing time, just want to prolong the life of the tires. I guess I'll keep it in mind for next time, and take it a little easy tomorrow.

Thanks again.

 

What I did for my RA1s were drive them on the street for 40 mins at med pace, took them off, stored them for min of 48 hours then used them for track. They have been rock solid performers since.
Tip: Make sure you mark them, so you can put them back on the car in the same place.

 

I just bought some triple 8's for my EVO. I just ran a good 20 minute session on track then let them sit overnite. Then ran them again the next day at the track. They came is pretty quick a lot faster than the RA-1's did.