Highway driving on R-Compound - general concensus

Who here drives to the track with their R Compound tires on the car?

I have before, why?

For wear and heat cycling purposes, probably best to do it at the track. I had them in the back last time. I don't like doing work at the track though...

I remember at one of the Autocross events I went to a guy in his brand new M3 drove on his . . . I'd say he had about a 40 minute from his home to the track

it can depend on the brand and conditions, plenty of people do it without issue

the current Hoosier S03 tire is known for not being very puncture resistant and driving them on the street for much distance is to be avoided. The new S04 will be much stronger in this regard, but then like most of the latest R compound tires you'll have virtually no hydroplane resistance if you get caught in a downpour. Hoosier is going to produce a treaded rain tire version of the new S04 tire so that may be an option for you at the expense of dry weather grip and then there are the usual other R tires with tread; Victoracer, Corsa, A032R, etc.

I'm seriously tempted to get a set of Ecsta V700s for the street... R-Tires take away some of the excessive isolation in my car.

Originally Posted by The HACK

I don't even know why you're bothered with working at the track Sergio. Just get one of your student SAPS to change out those rims for you like Raffi does.

I only get rookie instructors like Sergio to help me out, students are busy enough as is!

I've been using Rs on my daily driver cars for about 15 years now. The best Rs that I've tried for street usage have been Yoko A001R, Yoko A008R, Kumho Victoracers, and Kumho V700.

Ok have been Yoko A008RS, Pirelli Corsa, and Goodrich Comp R. I found the A008RS and Comp R to be too sensitive to temperature, and the Corsa got very hard after a number of heat cycles, plenty of tread but no grip.

I tried Yoko A032R but they were too noisy. I've never tried Hoosier's. They looked too light weight to me to stand up to street usage and are the only ones that I wouldn't drive to the track.

The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup looks like it might make a good street tire, but I've never tried it.

For Nick325, the pluses and minuses that I've noticed running the Ecsta V700 on the street. The pluses are grip, steering response, road feel, braking, and traction. The negatives are a little rougher ride, greater sensitivity to inflation pressure and alignment, more tendency to hydroplane and a shorter lifespan than non-R type tires.

With occasional agressive driving and no race track time, you can expect upwards of 20,000 miles out of a set. Also, the V700s are actually pretty good in the wet. The grip is very good, and as long as you have at least half tread, they're suprisingly resistant to hydroplaning. Not in the same league as a Michelin Pilot Sport, but better than some cheapy "all-season" tires I've experienced over the years.

Well, after coming back from the 900 mile round trip to/from Sears Point and discovering a nail in my street tires, I'm glad I decided to throw the R compounds in the back of the car.

Perhaps as I get older and my back starts really hurting from lifting the rims & tires I'll come up with a different plan of attack. As for now, I can handle the moderate 'inconvenience'.

Originally Posted by sergiok

Well, after coming back from the 900 mile round trip to/from Sears Point and discovering a nail in my street tires, I'm glad I decided to throw the R compounds in the back of the car.

Perhaps as I get older and my back starts really hurting from lifting the rims & tires I'll come up with a different plan of attack. As for now, I can handle the moderate 'inconvenience'.

I told you, that's exactly why I don't drive to the track with the R-comps. The one time I drove back from the track with the R-comps, I got a screw right on the edge of the tire. $178 later, I'll never ever drive to the track and back with R-comps on.

Greg: The ride is what I love most about driving on R-Tires. I might feel differently if I had a decent suspension, but one makes do.

That said, after my experience last weekend, I'd have to say that it's probably best to maximize the number of heat cycles you get our of your tires. Clyde needs to drive my car and tell me what he thinks of the grip levels, but my current set of R-tires may not have any stick left, just awesome sidewalls.

Originally Posted by Nick325xiT 5spd

Greg: The ride is what I love most about driving on R-Tires. I might feel differently if I had a decent suspension, but one makes do.

That said, after my experience last weekend, I'd have to say that it's probably best to maximize the number of heat cycles you get our of your tires. Clyde needs to drive my car and tell me what he thinks of the grip levels, but my current set of R-tires may not have any stick left, just awesome sidewalls.

My experience with the Kumhos is that they stand up very well to a large number of heat cycles, many dozens, maybe even over 100. I am careful when I first get a set to break them in properly. I don't do any hard driving on them until I've had a chance to heat cycle them at least once, and preferably twice. I have a favorite stretch of curvy road that works out quite well for heat cycling. In normal daily driving, I don't think they get hot enough to heat cycle. At least I've noticed no detriment in that regard.

I've also noticed that for optimal grip, it's possible to overinflate the Kumhos. With the V700s, I've found that the optimal pressures for street use are usually within a pound or two of the car manufacturer's recommended pressures, if anything, a little lower than stock. For autocross, I normally kick the pressures up about 10% over what I run on the street, mostly to prevent the tires from rolling over onto the sidewalls with the alignment settings I use on the street. I haven't done enough track driving to make any recommendation. I'm sure that others here can help in that regard.

Also, a couple of times when I've overheated R type tires, they get a kind of a crust on them which is very slippery. With a little care, going fast enough to scrub off the crust, but not too fast to overheat the tire, I've generally been successful in getting them back into usable condition, although I was unable to save a pair of A008Rs which I way overdid on a front wheel drive car.

As the tires get older, they do lose a little bit of grip. If when new the V700s are a 100, and a Michelin Pilot Sport is an 80, then I'd say they go down to about a 93 or 94, not good enough to win in a competitive slalom class, but plenty good for fun track days and the street. They seem to lose their grip in a linear fashion over the life of the tire.

I don't know if the above will help, but I'm just relating my experiences with many years of driving Rs on the street.

Originally Posted by Nick325xiT 5spd

Greg: The ride is what I love most about driving on R-Tires. I might feel differently if I had a decent suspension, but one makes do.

That said, after my experience last weekend,

So, what happened last weekend?