Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there some ridiculously good all seasons? I keep hearing about the Michelin Primacy tires.I put Dunlop DZ102s on my Lexus. Cheaper than some of the high end all-seasons even.
The man is a true believer. But in this case, Quattro is a false god.
I have to say I disagree with all of this.
I ran 2 sets of Dunlop ZII over 2 & 1/2 seasons. Don't get me wrong, I love the tire. And I would buy them again. It has many of the characteristics of a dedicated track tire but without a lot of the vices. That said, there seems to be two polar opposite opinions on it's wet performance. Some people say it's great. Others say it's terrible. Having gone through 2 sets, but having done only one track event and one road trip in heavy rain, and having spoken to several other people who had a similar experience, I think it's fair to say that their wet performance is pretty good when they're new. But once they're heat cycled out, regardless of how much tread you have left, they're scary and it's like driving on ice.
I was at NJMP in June of last year and we had a passing thunderstorm that dumped a lot of water on the track: thunder, lightning, howling wind, the whole bit. But after about an hour the sun came out and the track started drying quickly. To be fair, there was a fair bit of standing water in some places, but a slowly drying line in others. I spent 3 laps of white knuckle horror show before returning to the pits. Even with the traction control on, any more than 50% throttle in any gear without the car pointed perfectly straight and the car was all over the road. I mean oversteer everywhere. I was going around corners at least 15-20 mph slower than the guys with street tires and was having to take ridiculously erratic lines and crazy amounts of opposite lock just to keep the car on the road. It was more like driving on ice than it was on water. And I was going speeds that I would have otherwise been OK to drive a stock Toyota Camry.
The year before I was driving in moderate rain on the highway and they were OK. But I wasn't doing anything to really test their grip level.
Warmer weather is the key though. And if you've had an overnight frost, driving with the ZII can be pretty treacherous.
As for the R888, it's even marked competition use only right on the tire.
The man is a true believer. But in this case, Quattro is a false god.
I lived about a mile from LAX back in the mid 90s and my wife is from Covina. I remember the months of no rain. Just curious, how many miles did you get out of them just daily driving?
Hancook C91s from an old Formula Mazda are fun. 13" 9lb wheel. Steer with the throttle for days.
I wasn't dissing the RT43s - they're actually not half bad for spirited driving (I think...Never gone past 55-60 in a good turn).Hey man don't diss the RT43s. Even if they're awful for spirited driving.
Friend has them on his Celica, whenever it corners hard it lets out a very dramatic screech.
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Truck stuff
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Speaking of tires I've been wishing you could still get performance tires for 14 inch wheels. I don't wanna change the wheels on the Supra, but you can't get any half decent tires for them.
1) I’ll start with a not so obvious one first. Insurance. We live in a very litigious society. Especially if you’re dealing with one of the larger insurance companies like a Geico or Allstate, that’s known to investigate claims, and they find out you had non-DOT tires mounted on the car, don’t be surprised if they use it to build a case to mitigate or possibly outright deny your claim, should you have an accident. Which might not be a big deal if you have a $3,000 fender bender. It could be a very big deal if you’re laid up in the hospital for 3 months with serious injuries. Along with a buddy or two. Chances are you could fight it but now you’re talking serious and nasty litigation. I've driven on the road with my Toyos too. But it's usually just going from the track back to a local hotel where I'm simply too lazy/tired/out of time to switch back to my road wheels for the short few miles or less. So yeah, call me a hypocrite here.
4) A tire with that much potential grip has it’s effects on the car’s suspension and chassis dynamics. You’ll potentially roll over (lean) more in corners. And you’ll be losing contact patch. It depends on so many different factors but to really take advantage of them, you’re going to want to run at least 2.5 degrees or more of negative camber. For a normal performance tire that would probably be too much. But for Proxes you can go further and there’s a sweet spot where the ideal balance is reached. And it makes little sense to drive a road car around on the street, over bumps and ruts and potholes and speed bumps, stopping at traffic lights, waiting for people parallel parking, etc., with a suspension set up to take advantage of the performance edge which tires like that can POTENTIALLY give you. OK, some people do. I guess I'm just too old to go through that myself anymore.
6) The compound these tires are made with is very sensitive. It’s not has prickly as a Nitto or Hoosier but it’s still affected by extreme conditions. Even if you’re smart and dismount the tires during the cold months, assuming you live somewhere where it freezes during the winter, make sure you bring the tires inside and store them in your basement rather than the garage. Because prolonged exposure to below freezing temperatures means they’re done. You're never going to get the same grip out of them again. Maintaining r-compounds is frankly, a PITA. It's like taking care of a baby. But one with mutant super powers.
I drive a modestly hefty car. My Impala tips in at 3500 pounds, so maybe that's why I have a different experience.From my experience they're pretty bad in the twisties. I had to drive my friends to his house the other morning and taking a sharp turn at a leisurely 20 or so led to tons of tire squeal and lots of under steer.
Good tires otherwise!
R888's are a completely DOT legal tire. Though I admit, barely...
I will never reach the optimum level of grip on public roads, I knew this when choosing what tire to purchase. But a semi-warm R888 will be just as quick if not quicker than almost all of the 'summer' tires available today. On a dry road of course
This is true on the track, not the street. On the most crazy high speed and twisty roads my R888 have never come close to reaching their optimal operating temperature. But that also means these tires don't see temperatures hot enough to heat cycle out. You need to be on a track and really get some heat in those tires before they go through a proper heat cycle. I know many people who have pretty much used R888's on their daily and have always kept the same level of grip until they ran out of tread.
Heated garage
= Complete and total envy. Mine is pretty well insulated so it normally doesn't get below freezing. But I'm at just high enough elevation that we'll have days in January/February where it's hitting sub zero temperatures at night and then all bets are off.I really think this depends on the size if the tire and what car your running it on. Most of the Camaro/Corvette/Porsche/BMW guys absolutely adore the R888's on and off the track while the Miata/Lotus/Mini guys have mixed reviews. I know for me it turned my car into a guided missile, with the proper suspension and weight reduction mods
Yep. Photo was taken just after a wash.
Make it a sleeper
Now we need proof you drive it
