Circuit R compounds

[GTR-Dad]

Have you tried your R1's yet, Dan? I got a set myself.

The track has 6 inches of snow on it and more is coming down as I type.
Have you taken yours for a spin?
d

[Marke]

Not yet. I am saving them for the Knox Mountain Hillclimb on the May long weekend. Did you get yours heat cycled? I did. Supposed to make them last longer. We will see.

[evilgtr]

Marke - can you please elaborate on the heat cycle ? In a 0-60 magazine the talked about how to heat treat your tires. There procedure was to find a fairly large empty parking lot and do 6 large medium speed circles in one direction the switch directions and repeat then park your car for 24 hours. And of course you do this to only brand new tires. Is that procedure similar to what you do ?
Cheers

[GTR-Dad]

Not yet. I am saving them for the Knox Mountain Hillclimb on the May long weekend. Did you get yours heat cycled? I did. Supposed to make them last longer. We will see.

I didn't, but wish I did. Brain fart?
Just need to take some care first time out.

Evil - Here are a couple of links on heat cycling. What you describe would prbly work if it gets the tires into the right temperature range.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/tiretech/bfg_Gforce/bfGoodrich_gForce_R1_care.pdf

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=66&

Hoosier provides better detail than many! http://www.tirerack.com/images/pdf/warranty/HOOSIER.pdf

THE INITIAL RUN HEAT CYCLE
R6 Roadrace
The first laps for the tire are critical for setting up the durability and competitive life. The first session should consist of no more than 10-15 minutes of running. The early part of the session should be run at an easy pace, with the speed gradually increased until the end of the session. The final lap should be run at the fastest possible speed. The intent is to achieve maximum tire temp on the last lap. At this point the car should be brought in and the tires allowed to cool at a normal rate.
During the initial run-in process, the inflation pressure should be 3-5 psi higher than you would normally use. The best progression would have the driver taking 4-7 laps to accomplish this break-in. Each lap should be approximately 7-10 seconds a lap faster than the previous lap. The goal is to have the tire temp as high as possible on the last lap without “shocking” the tire during the warm up laps. In essence, no wheelspin, late braking, or sliding. The last lap should be at, or very close, the maximum possible.

[Marke]

What Dan posted about heat cycling says it all. I got Tire Rack to do it so I didn't have to let them sit for 24hrs. Not all r-comp manufacturers require that long of a cure time.
The Z214 heat cycling instructions from the Hankook website went like this. Do 2 easy laps then 2 moderate speed laps followed by 2 flat out laps. Let tires cool down and your good to go. If your tires started chunking then you needed to repeat the process.

[Marke]

So I ran the BFG R1's for the first time at Knox Mtn. One thing I have to point out is the R1's are a 1/2" wider than the Z214's, so 3mm spacers were required on the front to clear the upper control arm. Also I needed to roll the rear fenders and decompress the front and rear springs for a little more ride height.

The R1's didn't seem to get nearly as soft as the Z214's when they were warm and did not retain the heat. I did end up being 3 seconds faster at Knox, but other things could have been a factor.

The true test will be the next Mission event. My best time there is 1:18.0 on well used Z214's, so I am expecting to be in the 1:17's on the new R1's. Stay tuned.

[GTR-Dad]

Thx for the update. Sounds like fun!!
Dan

[Marke]

BFG R1 update

These tires are terrible for auto cross. They do not heat up and do not retain the heat at all.

Still haven't had a chance at running them on a road course.

Only plus is they make tons of noise at the limit.

I will not buy them again.

[Marke]

Final BFG R1 update

Finally got to use these tires at the last Time Attack event of the year at Mission. The rear tires took too many laps to heat up and they just did not provide the grip to get a fast lap time. My worn out Hankook's provided me with a faster lap time(1:18.0) and there are tons of life left in these R1's(1:18.2). They did not hook up at all accelerating out of the corners. Lots of comments from spectators on my 4wd burn outs looking really cool. To me that just means I am not going as fast as I could be.

Really disappointed in the R1's compared to the Hankook Z214 (C51). For next year I have a line on some super soft C91 compounds. I hope that will get me into the 1:16's.

[bignate]

Final BFG R1 update

Finally got to use these tires at the last Time Attack event of the year at Mission. The rear tires took too many laps to heat up and they just did not provide the grip to get a fast lap time. My worn out Hankook's provided me with a faster lap time(1:18.0) and there are tons of life left in these R1's(1:18.2). They did not hook up at all accelerating out of the corners. Lots of comments from spectators on my 4wd burn outs looking really cool. To me that just means I am not going as fast as I could be.

Really disappointed in the R1's compared to the Hankook Z214 (C51). For next year I have a line on some super soft C91 compounds. I hope that will get me into the 1:16's.

Could track temp have been a factor this time of year?

[support@feastauto]

Have never run the R1's but totally understand where your coming from.

The Toyo R888's running now on the Silvia take a couple laps to warm up, even in chilly Nov. weather. But at that stage they will hold out for a very long time.

[Terrh]

what's everyone running in 2012?


I picked up some 275/40/17 RT615's to use on the street and in the rain on my lightweight/pretty BBS LM's

And some hoosier A6's (same size) to use for time attack.

My "track" rims I haven't weighed but they are heavy. I got some 17x9 chrome mustang cobra rims on the cheap. I figure if I end up bouncing it off curbs a tough cheap wheel is going to matter more to me than a fragile lightweight expensive one.


My experiences with R1's in the past are that they really, really like to be warm and don't work at all until they are.

I've used RT615's on track before in a low powered FWD car and really loved them. Lots of grip, no surprises and very consistent unless I got them too hot, but even then if I backed off a bit they came back.


I bought the A6 (vs the R6) in the hopes that they'll heat up quick for time attack when I want maximum grip after less than 2 miles of driving. I'll post back in here with how it goes after a while.

[Marke]

The A6 will heat up faster and provide more grip than the R6 but will over heat quite quickly. The A6 gets greasy when it gets hot. You need to get your fast laps in early.

[fwd suck]

My vote is for the NT01s.

+ 1 these tires r maaaaaaad

[Terrh]

The A6 will heat up faster and provide more grip than the R6 but will over heat quite quickly. The A6 gets greasy when it gets hot. You need to get your fast laps in early.

That's how the time attack format works though - one warm up lap, 2 "hot" laps, 1 cool down. Not much chance to overheat the tires.