Toyo R888s tread question

[CL65 Captain]

The rears of my Toyo R888s are worn to the bottom of the tread - past the wear markers. I am wondering if I have one weekend left in them before they start to show cord? I have never corded any tires as I usually pitch them when I go below the wear markers. However, most people I talk to use their R compounds until they cord.

BTW: I have to drive to and from the track (180 each way) so as soon as cord shows - I am done because I will have to drive home with them.

I am just wondering if anyone has had any experience of how much longer these tires go before cording once you are through the tread? I have one track weekend left this season and trying to figure out whether to replace them (Nitto NT01s this time) or see if I can get another two days out of them.

And yes, I know I think I was running too much pressure in the rears as they were wearing pretty even until last weekend when I noticed the middle wore much more than the rest of the tire. I was running 35/35 cold, which ended up 38/42 hot. Fronts are wearing pretty even but looks like I need to drop the pressure on the rears a bit.

 

[nsxnut]

Check you tire pressure when hot. :smile:

Unless you have taken all the camber out they should wear on the inside edge.
Looking at the images provided I think you have more time left.

Do you have a spare? Will it fit over your breaks?

You will want to make sure to air up before driving home from the track.
If they are low they will cup and wear on the edges.

The inside edge should cord first.


Later,
Don

 

[NSX R-GT]

you are fine for 1-2 more track days!
i squeezed out a few more days on my last R888 which i can't even see the thread!

but of coz, tell a friend to help you bring a set of spare just incase!
when you see the cord, DON'T drive it, it might loose air when you are on the highway!

hope this help!

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I would put 2 street tires on the back as the rear tires wear out faster than the fronts. Just to be safe, I would be real if the tires cord by the time I drove to the track 180 miles away.

I also believed 42 is way too much hot. I sometime check the tire pressure without cool down lap. (usually cool down lap doesn't change tire pressure as much as brake rotor temp... but then I'd know for sure.

If it's just for track day, you still have a lot more to go.

 

[docjohn]

I agree with the others,ok for one more day,check pressures hot, and it will suck to be you if it rains:wink:

 

[CL65 Captain]

I agree with the others,ok for one more day,check pressures hot, and it will suck to be you if it rains:wink:

If it looks like rain they will be left at home and the Goodyear F1GSDs will be making the trip.

Thank God that next year the new Bluegrass Motorsports track opens EXACTLY 22 miles from my driveway. :biggrin:

 

[nsx2tall]

you are fine for 1-2 more track days!
i squeezed out a few more days on my last R888 which i can't even see the thread!

but of coz, tell a friend to help you bring a set of spare just incase!
when you see the cord, DON'T drive it, it might loose air when you are on the highway!

hope this help!

I'd agree with this. They should work great at full slick. If you set your pressures correctly, the shoulders should wear more and even the tire out a bit.

You should really find a way to have an extra set of tires with you at the track. I've found several ways to make tires undrivable while there.

 

[Mark S]

Don't you consider heat cycles.

 

[docjohn]

Don't you consider heat cycles.

Most of these newer R compound track tires are used for hpde where we are'nt counting the seconds/per lap for ultimate performance.If this were a competitive race forum then yes heat cycles might come into play.

 

[nsx2tall]

Don't you consider heat cycles.

I've only ever seen heat cycles discussed with super soft tires such as Hoosiers (the R6 comes to mind). Is it relevant to the life of the "harder" R-comp tires? I'd be interested to know too.

 

[gotbhp?]

I've only ever seen heat cycles discussed with super soft tires such as Hoosiers (the R6 comes to mind). Is it relevant to the life of the "harder" R-comp tires? I'd be interested to know too.

The RA1's, NT01's and R888's are fairly consistent until they chord.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I've only ever seen heat cycles discussed with super soft tires such as Hoosiers (the R6 comes to mind). Is it relevant to the life of the "harder" R-comp tires? I'd be interested to know too.

I had experienced RA1 being old, and now my NT01 showing signs of it... you can generally feeling the tires losing grip sooner. (versus it providing consitent grip over 12-15 laps) But then it also depends on how hard you run those tires. My car doesn't have optimal camber settings and all my tires are wearing from the outside.

** don't know if it's relevant, I noticed both tires giving up when they are at their second year. (I track 5-8 track days each summer)

 

[Mark S]

I had experienced RA1 being old, and now my NT01 showing signs of it... you can generally feeling the tires losing grip sooner. (versus it providing consitent grip over 12-15 laps) But then it also depends on how hard you run those tires. My car doesn't have optimal camber settings and all my tires are wearing from the outside.

** don't know if it's relevant, I noticed both tires giving up when they are at their second year. (I track 5-8 track days each summer)

That is what typically happens. As I understand because it's a DE event some folks run them to cord. While I personally would not run them that far I can see a benifit of running tires that give up sooner and are not consistent. You will learn how to adapt to steady deterioration which is good if you ever decide to run a real deal.

 

[stuntman]

+1 on too much tire pressure. You might want to invest in a $75 NEEDLE-type pyrometer to check the carcass temperatures on top of your pressures to better dial in your alignment and camber.

I've only ever seen heat cycles discussed with super soft tires such as Hoosiers (the R6 comes to mind). Is it relevant to the life of the "harder" R-comp tires? I'd be interested to know too.

R-compound tires are all tires below 140 tread-wear rating. So that includes Hoosier R6/A6, R888, RA-1, NT-01, etc...

 

[CL65 Captain]

Since I have to drive 180 miles to the track, I was planning on running the rears at the lowest pressure I can to "cup" the tire and avoid wearing the center on the drive out.

My question is how low can I go before I risk damaging the tire on the ride out there? 30 psi?

 

[nsx2tall]

My opinion is that 180 miles in a straight line (relative) won't make any difference on tire wear. However, if you set your cold pressures to about the same that you would use for the track, you could certainly expect a few less hot PSI as a result. This might give the cupping effect you'd like, but a few thousand miles is probably the point at which it would matter.


stuntman,

RA-1 are rated at 100 and the R6 at 40 treadwear rating (you no doubt know this). I still have never seen any information on the life of an RA-1 tire having been based on heat cycles. However, I have heard of such a thing for the R6. Could you elaborate on your post?

 

[nsxnut]

Since I have to drive 180 miles to the track, I was planning on running the rears at the lowest pressure I can to "cup" the tire and avoid wearing the center on the drive out.

My question is how low can I go before I risk damaging the tire on the ride out there? 30 psi?

I would do the inverse.
If your car and tires are setup for max grip you will wear the inside edge.
Not the center.

40 psi on the drive out.
Lower at track to use entire tire. Camber and toe will wear the inside edge.
Air back up to 40 for the drive home to keep the tire off the edge.

 

[stuntman]

stuntman,

RA-1 are rated at 100 and the R6 at 40 treadwear rating (you no doubt know this). I still have never seen any information on the life of an RA-1 tire having been based on heat cycles. However, I have heard of such a thing for the R6. Could you elaborate on your post?

Any tire that has a treadwear rating less than 140 is considered an R-compound tire while anything 140 or above is considered a 'street' tire.

Their are tons of variables for heat cycles/tire life/grip/etc... For example are the RA-1s shaved or unshaved? Were they scrubbed in or run/abused immediately as a 'sticker'? And a few more variables...

Their are tons of people who will disagree with eachother about all of those variables, what works, what dosn't work, and the extent of either.

RA-1s are widely-known for their consistency until they show cords and even with severe cording (I FINALLY googled it and it's "Cord" not "Chord" -but hey, I confused them too...:biggrin.

 

[nsx2tall]

Maybe you should have been a musician instead of a race car driver. :tongue:

Back to topic, I hadn't thought of alignment settings when considering tire pressure settings. NSXNUT may have a point, but I am still of the opinion that it will be mostly irrelevant on such a short trip.

Maybe you should consider Laguna Seca so you can optimize your pre-track travel tire wear (ptttw for short)? :biggrin:

 

[nsxnut]

but I am still of the opinion that it will be mostly irrelevant on such a short trip.

I agree. 180 miles shuldn't matter unless you have already corded the tire.

If the cords are on the edge a little more air pressure may keep it from riding on the edge.

Later,
Don