Does anyone has ever used a set of Bf Goodrich R1 r-compound?
I am looking to buy a used set for solo II... yeah yeah, I a student on a budget

PL

 

Somebody bought all the extra tires when Spec Racer Ford changed to Yokohama. They are all in 205-13 and 185-13. Old style R1 (not g-force), and you can get new ones for $25 each.

Granted they've been sitting around a while, and were designed for a lighter car, but for a ~2000lb civic I think they're a great budget tire. I bought like 3 sets a few months ago to use for practices and track days.

I think they have an ad up at improvedtouring.com .

 

the older style R1 (before the Gforce) is my all time favorite race tire. why they changed it, i'll never know. the guy that made the decision to change to Gforce should be shot.

if you can still buy them, especially that cheap, do it!

 

Quote:

"the older style R1 (before the Gforce) is my all time favorite race tire. why they changed it, i'll never know. the guy that made the decision to change to Gforce should be shot."

Amen!!

I heard that the BFG engineer responsible for the R1 was hired by Khumo and developed the Victoracer. Don't know if this is fact or rumor, but easy to believe since the tires look and behave similarly.

 

I ran R1's for six years. They were the tire to have at the time. They will not beat Hoosiers but for the $$$, they will be fine. They were also great for camber challenged cars, real stiff inner wall help reduce tire deflection.

 

BFG R1 (non G-force) HUGE

V700s are no BFG R1, IMO. Good, but no R1.

I heard a totally unconfirmned rumor that the asymetrical internal construction of the old R1 made t too expensive for BFG to make a profit. So they changed it to a less expensive design and charged more for it. In Shultz terms: "They may have cost a lot more, but at least they sucked"

 

I had heard that, as well.

I loved the BFG-R1s and autoxed on them for years. I ran a pair well used ones the front of my CRX during ECHC practice on Saturday, in fact.

I loved the molded-in "camber", for Stock class.

 

I have run on them before. They take a while to heat up and because of that they are much more suited for track use. Will they be better than street tires? Probably. I am also willing to bet that you are getting used take-offs from a racer for $10 or so a tire. I know this because when I was autocrossing in college I had a very valuable friend who raced an IT rabbit that just so happened to use R1s in the same size I needed.

If you can stomach $75 a tire I would seriously go to a Kumho over an R1.

 

When available new they were kickass, and I miss them dearly. But this far away from when they were discontinued, I wouldn't expect much.

 

The $25 tires are brand new, still have stickers and the little pointy things on them. They remained in production for SRF until about a year ago, well after the regular versions were pulled off the shelf.

I wouldn't take them to nationals, but they're great for practices or regional events. The car is quicker with the 205/60-13 R1s than it is with 205/50-15 kumhos, could be due to the better gear ratio.

 

That built in camber is why I won a state auto-x title with + .3degrees camber on one wheel. Everyone else was on G-forces that year.


[Modified by MaddMatt, 9:22 PM 4/8/2003]


[Modified by MaddMatt, 9:23 PM 4/8/2003]

 

Just a note- the 205-60-13 and 185-60-13 R1s for sale ($25) are the older design R1 and built specifically for Spec Racers- I am told this is a slightly different compound than the regular R1. This is not the assymetrical, later R1 (design just before switch to G-Force which was not available in 13inch diameter). These may get a bit greasy in longer races which is why BFG discontinued the SRF model R1 and these are so inexpensive.

I love the assymetrical R1s on my ITC CRX. Not as fast as a Hoosier but pretty close in my experience and less $ and a lot more forgiving.

 

thanks guys

 

Before you buy them, get some info on how they were stored. Like several people have said, they went out of production several years ago (about 5 if I remember correctly). The R1s were great tires, I drove on them myself when I first started doing track events, but they were new, not 5+ years old. Personally, I wouldn't buy a track tire that old. The risk of them being dried out is too great.

Matt