I hate to start sounding like the Toyo spokesman (specially since I get
no free tires from them....) 8(
I have driven on my autocross tires almost all year. This has been
Hoosiers, Toyos, Kumhos, and BFGs. By the way, the person who posted the
list of experiences with the above tires (except Toyos) was spot on. I
agree with it very much.
Brian M Kennedy wrote:
> But an R-compound tire that is pleasant on the street and doesn't turn rock
> hard from excessive heat cycling would be really nice. In your experience,
> what's the disadvantages associated with street driving R1's?
>
> * Do they pick up road debris and pelt your car?
They pick up road debris, but I have not seen pelting of the car to the
point it was a problem. More noise from small gravel on certain roads
being flung into the wheel wells. Might depends on your cars shape and
how far your tire extends past the outside of the wheel well.
> * Are they horribly noisy in highway driving?
Not to me. Not much different. Noise is more a function of tread blocks,
right? So, little tread equals little noise. 8)
> * Do they get dangerous in wet weather?
Yes, if there is little tread and there is standing water. It's not bad
on damp streets, but lots of water and my tires is a bad combo. I would
not recommend it. I do it since I live in San Diego and there is not
much rain. In Seattle, I would not even consider it.
> * Does street driving greatly shorten the life of your R tires?
Depends on how you drive. Yes, they will wear quicker, but nothing like
a hard autocross lap. Consider I might get 50 autocross miles out of a
tire, and I can get thousands of street miles out of the same tire.
There is a San Diego driver who drives on Toyos on the street and drives
to Oregon and back with, in his words, no noticeable wear.
> (And how does that compare to the fact that AutoX'ing will greatly
> shorten the life of street tires -- my Pilots may make 7000 miles.)
R tires will still probably be shorter in life. I think that in the best
scenario, you have dedicated street tires and separate autocross tires.
I think that autocrossing can kill the streets, and there is still no
way the autocross tires can wear as long as street tires for street use.
But, you do save on mounting/rims/changing tires. And street driving can
be more fun (why I do it).
>
> General question: if you planned to autox and street one set of tires,
> what's the best R-compound tire to choose? the best street tire to use?
I would use Toyos or Kumhos. In fact, for the last 6 weeks, I have had
Toyos on the rear and Kumhos on the front. I would not run Hoosiers on
the street as I think they can get damaged too easily. I don't think I
can afford the G-Forces on the street.
You can get full tread Toyos, and they have quite a bit of tread, and
are very good in the rain.
Randy Chase
'91 MR2 CS
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