I'm planning on purchasing a set of 16" wheels for track only duty. I would appreciate any feed back regarding R Compound tires - wear, stickiness, predictability, and, availability; there do not appear to be many choices if adhereing strictly to plus sizing.

 

16' is something im looking for as well, so far ive found the RA1 and the V710 kumhos has fitment that will fit the mini, anything else ive seen include the pzero corsas, hoosiers, and those much higher priced tires

 

Kyriian,

I searched Tire Rack and get "sorry no results for your search" every time. Maybe I should call...

 

Can't speak to sizes as my experience with these tires is with 911s. From a DE & $$$ perspective RA-1s are the best IMO. If shaved they yield credible grip and give excellent longevity. Get a second set full depth to use as rains. The Michelin sport cups offer a bit more grip once warm and also are known to last for reasonable periodds of time, but are quite pricey. Hoosiers, in my experience, are the stickiest, but also are known to go away when hot and last the least amount of time (although how different the new S05s will be I don't know). My winning racer friends will regularly go through a set, sometimes two in a weekend. I've heard very good things about the Avons both for grip and longevity and while I liked Kumhos for AX the 700s weren't great for the rigors of track and I've heard dead conflicting reports about the 710s. Yokos have their followers, but the people I know who've tried the new Advans aren't particularly impressed. The others, Pirelli and Dunlops, come to mind, are expensive are closer IMO in performance to a max street tire than they are to a Hoosier. One mans opinion, hope that helps .

 

Longevity is a relative concern. I did not look at the Toyos. I simply want a set to last 600-700 miles of pure track work.

Thanks for the advise.

Michael

 

Kumho makes the Ecsta V700 in a 205/45/16, which would probably do okay for a track tire on a car with sufficient camber. They don't make a decent 16" size in the Victoracer V700. I've run 205/50/15 Victos on my Mini (stock suspension) and got great wear and reasonable stick.

The V710 is available in a 215/40/16 which works fine for a mini. I've also run these on my mini, and the stick is really good and wear is decent - I've only autocrossed these, though, I don't know what they'd do on the track.

I've never run RA1's, but I've heard that they're more durable (but slightly-to-a-lot less sticky) than anything Kumho makes.

 

I looked at circumference differences and there are a lot of choices if I can get over the fact that some are a 1/2" taller. A 215 is for sure preferable, but I would need a 7 1/2" - 8" wide wheel for these. SSR makes a 7 1/2" wide wheel, but I cannot find an 8" wide wheel. I'll check Grass Roots mag.

 

I have 300+ track miles plus 200 to and from track m iles on a set of unshaven RA-1's. They will easily go 700-800 pure track miles.

They are a great mix of price,performance.longevity.

I get mine from AIM at Infineon. You can check thier site for sizing and pricing.

 

ive heard great things about the ra1s too, but i hear they take forever to heat up, since for me i need them for autox... ra1s may not make a good choice..

ill most likely get v710...

 

You would want a wheel that wide for them. For autocross, I run the stock-legal 6.5" rim width with the 215's. They fit fine. Another inch of wheel width would be better, but not mandatory. The 215 V710's aren't much wider than my 205 Victos.

 

I usually get two warm-up laps per session...2 miles plus or minus depending upon the track. That should be okay.

How do the Toyos break away? I've been on some that break away suddenly and seam to slide for what feels like forever. I would prefer a tire to break away gradually, but regain grip quickly. This characteristic leaves lots of room for experimentation...or, covers up a lack of talent...

 

I would say RA-1's for that... I run Michelin Pilot Sport Cups and love those, but they're 225/50R15. Bang for the buck, RA-1's rock...

 

Personally I've found the RA-1 to be one of the most fun tires available. They generally break away in a very controlled fashion. They slide predictably and I've have many enjoyable full out drifts on them. Kind of what you live for right . They will, like most tires I've driven, surprise you if you managed to overheat/pressurize them. You can always tell when a Toyo exceeds 44 psi. Even under those circumstances they are controllable. I run them at DE. For AX I'd run 710s or Hoosiers.

On a light car running on moderate speed tracks, they last forever. I know several people that have run them at DE, AX and on the street and gotten a season and a half + 6-7000 street miles. My last set lasted 20+ track days and a few of AXs where I was too lazy to change over to Hoosiers. Again, there certainly are stickier tires, but for me they represent the best value for performance out there at the moment.

 

If you're looking for an AutoX R compound, you can't beat the V710. ALL the top MINI's nationally run Kuhmo's for grip and wear reasons. The 215's are a pain to get on a stock 16x6.5 rim, but they will fit. They also last 3 times as long as Hoosiers on our non-front-cambered MINIs. 100 60s autoX runs is not unheard of for the V710, and they're much cheaper than Hoosiers. I wouldn't recommend driving them to the course though .

 

The V710s were my first look. The reviews were not great, however. Most folks complained about tread seperation and such. Not sure how they treated their tires, broke them in or what potentially aggressive suspension settings and tire temps they used. These last two are big tire wear factors.

I will be using Ireland's fixed camber plates up front - 1.25 degrees neg. All other settings will remain stock.

Anyone have experience with both? These will be used at DE events only, no AutoXing.

 

what about hankook race tires Z214? i saw a fitment for 16 wheels... anyone heard of good things about this?

 

Totally depends on the surface - at our autocrosses, on our nasty asphalt, V710's will only last 4 events (8 runs per event, so 32 runs of 90-110 seconds) even with rotations... Same with Hoosiers... On the track the V710's are great, but many people I know only get 1-2 weekends out of them.

On the same surface, the RA-1's or Michelin PSC's will last an entire season + a couple DE's. That's 72 runs and 16, 20 minute track sessions (or more). People are torn between the two and their choice mainly boils down to price. On lighter cars, the Michelin PSC's seem to fare better, while the heavy iron guys swear by the RA-1. On the MINI, both work very well, but I'd give the edge in grip to the PSC's...

I think the RA-1's are the way to go for DE's and track days, though. The PSC's are great, but expensive. The RA-1's are just awesome tires on the track. Shaved for the dry, they're faster around the course but don't last as long - most of my MINI track junkie friends just run them full depth. They get faster the more they wear. Progressive breakaway and lots of feedback. Great bang-for-the-buck.

For autocross on very rough surfaces with longevity in mind, the RA-1 and PSC is hard to beat... 'course, if you don't care about $, the HooHoos and V710's are faster.

 

I run the RA1s 225/50/15 and love them. My first set of Rs were the Hankooks, though cheap, i'll never buy them again. I had plenty of tread life left on them but they were starting to split edges after four 2 hour track sessions. The RA1s have 3 events (2 full days) on them so far, plus about a 1500 miles of street/highway and they are still good to go for next season. A couple of my other MINI buddies run the Yoks and love them.

Amit

 

Since you are running front camber plates, there is no way you can get a better performing tire than a V710! I have a friend who runs them on his Corvette at track days and nobody come close. I have run V700's on my stock "S" for a couple of years now at track days, this year I am switching to 710's. If you're on a budget, go with the 700's, if you want to outpace the competition, get 710's.

 

PM'd you about my 16x8, +42, Volk ce28n's that I want to sell.

 

how much you askin for? i really need a set of light weight 16 wheels... .

 

gowest,

Got the PM - PM'd you back.

Barring the above offer, I've decided to go with 17"x7.5" Rota sub Zero wheels with Toyo RA1 205/40/17.

Yes, these are nearly an inch shorter than stock diamter. For my application, weekend warrior stuff, these will leverage gearing a bit better, and, weigh in at 34lbs per corner - 18.8lbs per tire and 15.2lbs per wheel. Weight is a big deal and unfortunately most of the other tires sizes are over 4lbs heavier per tire. Thats a lot of rolling mass at the circumference. The 40 series section may prove to be a little too edgy...we'll see...only track duty, however. No street use is intended. The load rating is good, but not the highest. This might hurt weight transfer...I'm currently running stock suspension...a bigger rear bar and a camber kit should equal things out a bit better up front so no real worries.

A lot of folks have gone a half inch larger in diamter in an affort to approximate stock diameter. This larger circumference anchored with an extra 4+ pounds per tire would more than likely frustrate me.

My lengthy conversation with Onasled was a big help - thanks Greg!

 

$1400 + shiping form my dealer (mid atlantic area). The set is paid for, new still in the box and waiting to be shiped to me. I waited 9 months for these wheels after paying for them in full, up front as required, but have now decided to sell the car. I have a second set of the same that have hardly been used. Good fit with a 215/45/16 on my lowered MCS. If you know what you're doing a 225/45/16 will fit.

The wheels weigh 12 lbs. .32 oz.