Ya, that is Bettie, thank you. I had the hood painted like that after I bounced a deer off the front of the car. Check the website for all of her goodies. More every month!

 

Because they've bought the market, not because there's anything special about the tires. If they'd put that money into R&D, they'd have a better product, instead of the same old thing from 8-10 years ago.

 

^^ this is one of the few times i agree with Jeffs

 

 

...the RA1 is a highly respected tire. Not tops in grip when compared with other R compound tires, but very long lasting and consistent.

 

There is no question, however simple, than cannot become a 2 page debate on something completely unrelated. I love this place!

 

Toyo RA1s are one of the most sought after R compound tires around. I'd bet now even more then Hoosiers. Jeff, this is a very poor assumption here.

I agree that with Toyo not wanting to pursue TireRack. Trying to get anything from TR is a nightmare as the sales people are clueless, at least in my experience.

 

I put a set of Toyo Proxes 4 on my MCSc immediately after purchase after having a set of summer Proxes on my 02 MC. The Proxes 4 are very good tires, IMHO, decent grip even in light snow, low noise, and so far great wear. Have 20K on my car and the tires still look new. I highly recommend them.

 

Gee, maybe it is different for different areas? I know dozens of people locally who run R compounds, and don't know of a single one on Toyos. At least 90% of them are on either Kumhos or Hoosiers.

The Toyo RA1 has a good reputation as being a long lasting R compound tire, but it doesn't have a good reputation as a particularly fast tire when compared to the best from Kumho and Hoosier. For some people they are ideal though and fit their uses very well.

My summer street tire is the Toyo T1R, and I'm very happy with them, however my race tire of choice is the Kumho 710.

-Keith

 

I replaced my S-lites/runflats with Toyo T1R's in 215/45/17 on Flik Wasps from Edge Racing as soon as I drove the car home. Rotated them at 5K, have 9K now and still have plenty of wear, quiet, grippy. No complaints on either the tires or the Edge Racing buy.

 

I guess we'll just have to disagree here. Find me a racing class with no spec tire rule and I'd truly be shocked if any of the points leaders were running RA1's. They consistently give up several seconds a lap to the Hoosiers or Kumho offerings.

It tends to be the spec tire of choice because of a claimed cost savings (due to a longer lifetime). The problem with that argument is that most frontrunners are shaving the tires down to almost nothing for the races, effectively equaling the life (and cost) of the other brands. If you're happy running mid-pack or less, then yes, you can definitely save some money by running them from full tread. If you're looking for an HPDE tire, then again, they're the value choice.

Again, no assumptions, just the fact that most people RACING on the tires are doing so because the spec tire rule says they have to.

 

Actually, shaving can help a tire to last longer.

The RA1s may give up ultimate grip, but are extremely consistent and this counts big time for me. I can't say why other folks avoid them, but I could speculate that most folks will purchase anything that turns their cars into 'G' machines...for bragging rights alone.

A tire needs to be consistent if is to be of any benefit to a technical suspension set-up. Otherwise you've blown the very reason behind all the picayune set-up procedures and efforts.

There are a few tires that come to mind that are stellar in the grip department, but fall off pretty darn quickly as they heat up.

 

Bragging rights alone? Gee, all the people I know that use Hoosiers and Kumhos do so because they want to win the classes they race in. For open track days, driving schools, or other non-competitive types of track driving, the Toyos are a good choice, since a person will save money at the expense of ultimate grip. If you want to go faster than the competition, you'll use the fastest tire with the most grip, and it isn't the Toyo.

-Keith

 

It's never as clear cut as you wrote and that was the reason behind my 'G' machine reference. Cornering power alone will never, ever win races.

Strategy - if we're discussing racing - plays a huge role in tire selection. The RA1s will outlast a Hoosier 3 to1 in a mini enduro for example. The question is, how much slower are the RA1s intially - because they'll only get faster as they wear, NOT slower. The Hoosiers will get slower as their performance falls off, changing how the car handles too - this is a big deal in racing.

If there are no required pit stops, I know what tire I would be using. Factor in three 10-15 sec pit stops, and that's quick, and you've lost nearly a minute. Factor in the fall off in performance and the inconsistent handling that come with it and you can add more time to the not so good column. Consistency wins races.

For DE events, RA1s on a fairly well set up Mini (good camber) will last about 20 cycles. A Hoosier, around 4.

 

Very true, enduros would be another case in which the Toyo RA1 would be a good choice in many circumstances.

I have heard of some club racers who have used them because they are on a budget since they can usually get several weekends or more out of a set of Toyos, however those people are usually mid-pack or worse compared to the people who spring for a set of new race rubber every weekend. Its usually more than just tire choice too though, since choosing a tire for budgetary reasons, usually means the car owner will cut corners to save money on other areas too (compared to the competition).

 

I would also add that one should be a decent driver if one is using Hoosier variety R compounds; smooth inputs reward tire life. Perhaps the guys running mid pack are also only decent drivers??? Dunno.

In any event, the RA1s are a great value; I get my rocks off without having to explain away $700.00 every weekend to my wife

 

where is our tire guru-minihune? we need his input on toyo before we can
speculate on anything. ive always suspected toyo's were more in the
lines of Falken tires from driving cars that my buddies have. ive never
purchased toyo's in the past; perhaps i should consider my next set for my
other car.

 

I have the RA1s Kenchan.

The other difficulty here is that you can purchase most other R compound tires in either soft, medium or hard rubber. So a direct comparison needs to be qualified. The RA1s come with no such choice.

Kenchan,

Where you bean latley? Lettuce know

 

i think berky actually thought toyo's were made by toyota.

 

o meye god