Well, I must say, the above post has so much inaccurate information, and statements that are just plain silly, that I'm not sure whether it was posted as a joke, or if it's really serious. I think it's probably intended as a joke, but just in case it's not...
R compound is an R-compound. It's not a track only, nor street-only tire.
Oh, come on. That's the silliest statement I've heard on NSXprime in quite a while. You know as well as the rest of us that R compound tires are intended to be driven on the track, and not for everyday driving. That's why everyone refers to them as "track tires".
This silly statement is what tipped me off that the entire post is a joke. But I'll go on, to all the other misstatements...
R-Compounds can be used on the street.
Any DOT-legal tire, including R compounds,
can be used on the street. But it will encounter all the downsides I mentioned in my previous post.
I fixed it for you :wink:
Please do not change my statements when copying my posts. That only makes you look like a troll.
Full tread depth RA-1s are amazing in the rain.
No, they aren't. Absolutely not. They may be better than most other track tires, but they are worse than just about any street tire on the market.
The reason is due to their tread pattern. The full-tread RA-1 comes with 8/32" of tread depth, but only on the longitudinal tread grooves. The diagonal tread grooves, which are critical to wet pavement performance (because they shed water to the sides to prevent hydroplaning) come from the factory with a tread depth of 3/32", which is about the same tread depth when street tires are normally replaced. (The Tire Rack recently conducted an
eye-opening study of braking distances in rain, comparing new tires, tires worn to 4/32", and tires worn to 2/32", showing how much worse tires are when worn even to 4/32", and how they continue to worsen down to 2/32", when the treadwear bars are flat across and they are no longer street legal.) Combine the shallow depth of the diagonal tread, with the size of the tread blocks (large on the RA-1, and larger to non-existent on many other track tires), and you can see exactly why track tires, including the RA-1, do not grip well in the rain.
I use the RA-1 at full tread depth. Heck, I've gone through about eight sets of the RA-1, on two different cars including my NSX, so I'm very familiar with them. I've driven them (yes, including at full tread depth) in the rain, such as between the track and the hotel nearby. They are indeed a handful in the rain. Again, better than some other track tires I've used, but worse than just about any street tire, with the possible exception of street tires that are intended to also be used on the track, such as the Falken Azenis RT-615.
They grip very well when cold, just as good if not better than most 'street tires' when they are cold.
This statement is absolutely NOT true. I can tell from this statement that you have never used track tires (including the RA-1) on the track. If you had, you would realize that they take a good hot lap or so before they get anywhere near their maximum effectiveness. The first few turns out of the pits, they don't grip well at all. And that's about the same amount of heat, and grip, as they will have in most street use - not much.
I've used lots of track tires on the street, usually for driving between the hotel and the track, including the RA-1. Even on dry pavement, they don't grip well at all, due to their need for warmup.
Many R-compounds are very progressive and give you a lot of warning before losing grip.
Absolutely not true. You are making the mistake of comparing track tires to other track tires, not to street tires. Yes,
some R compounds give
some warning, while others don't - but
all track tires give substantially less warning than
any street tire on the planet. And usually none.
R-compounds are not 'track tires'. They are great performing DOT street-legal tires. "track/race" tires should not be used on the street atall (true racing slicks).
There you go again, playing a game of semantics - or you are just trying to be argumentative. Either way, you are making yourself sound silly.
But I'm still betting you intended your entire post as a joke. If so - good one! You really play the fool very well!
These simple facts remain true. There are a lot of reasons not to use track tires on the street: They wear extremely rapidly, with typically only about a third the treadlife (in number of miles) as most street tires; if you think you have to replace street tires frequently now, imagine doing it three times as often! They are terrible in rain. They need to be warmed up to really grip well, and don't grip well otherwise. And if you explore their limits, they don't give warning before losing grip.
Track tires are great for track use. Not for public roads.
