new guy tire question

im sure this is a dumb question but i have no idea, I am completely new to ITA and new to setting up my own car. previously i raced some races in the skip barber mx5 cup where i didnt have to prepare/set up anything. I bought a relativly well sorted '90 ITA miata with a 1.6. I was wondering what the best reasonably priced tire is for the class and what a general baseline psi should be in south florida where its very hot. i have already done a quick search and read the rulebook throughly, but i havent really come up with a straight answer. thanks in advance!

You need to decide where "reasonably-priced" crosses over into "too damn much". That crossing point is directly correlated to "not fast but lasts forever" and "shit hot but I gotta replace 'em every few weekends."

For the most part, the most-supported tire in the Miata is the Toyo RA-1. Spec Miata runs 'em, so you can pretty much find all you need to know on those from that group. Plus, they're probably the cheapest within the commonly-used race tires (we tend to ignore outliers like Avon and such).

Next up in performance is the Kumho. Bit cheaper than 'Kooks, and they have a contingency program. Not too much faster than Toyo, I hear.

Next common option is the Hankook Ventus. ~10% cheaper than Hoosiers, similar performance. Their supply chain sucks, though.

Generally-accepted fast tire is the purple glue, Hoosier. Also most expensive. Also tend to tolerate fewer cycles before going "off".

Pick your poison...

Im with Mr. Greg Amy on this one too.

Toyo's are popular with the Miata crowd

Kumho is a good tire, very consistant all the way across the board. I use Kumho's on my ITA Honda Civic.

Ive never tried Hankook's before...

And yes Hoosiers are the best. At tracks around the Northeast, ive heard they're anywhere from a half second to a full second faster than any other tire. They are a lot lighter of a tire, they are also the most $$$.

As one of the few guys to run Hankooks on several platforms, they are a good tire. This season I switched to Hoosier and I can honestly say the Hoosier is MUCH better than the Hankook. It is a faster and lighter tire than the Hankook. I have has the R6's last for 3 national race weekends with all sessions on the same set with no drop off. I have just started to run A6's so I don't have any real data on them yet. I have seen laptimes decrease on average of 1 sec+ on R6's at all tracks that I have run at this year. As far as cost goes I guess the saying goes something about how fast do you want to go. Comparatively to the Hankooks I think the Hoosiers are relatively the same in cost without the supply hassle.

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Originally Posted by ITA_honda

And yes Hoosiers are the best. At tracks around the Northeast, ive heard they're anywhere from a half second to a full second faster than any other tire. .

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Last year I ran the Hoosiers and the Hankooks on two consecutive weekends. I liked the Hankooks MUCH better and since then, have blown away all my fasted laps that I had done on the Hoosiers. Granted, there is some variables with the driver....... :cool:

I would say 3 out of the top 5 in ITA in the Northeast do NOT run Hoosiers.

I would say until you have a lot of experience, go for the Toyo. Spend the money on seat time.

<on edit> I just read John's post. Can you guess there's a lot of personal preference going on here?? LOL

Hoosier.

This is an ITA Miata; you are not stuck with the Toyo because that is/ was the spec tire for a spec class. The consesus is it is a bit slower than a Hoosier. The old RA-1 wears like iron.

Yes the Hoosiers are expensive and they do not wear like iron. However, no one really challenges them as being the fastest, save for some Goodyears--which are also available in a 'Miata "size.

Everything else is for sticking to a strict budget.

cool, this helps a lot. do most of you go through tire rack or local tire dealers to get your tires?

I would say bang for the buck is the Toyo RA-1......shave it to at least 6/32nds...the more you shave it the faster it is.....but if you leave it 5 or 6/32nds you've got a pretty decent rain tire too.

Forget Tire Rack...and I'm a Tire rack dealer for 15 years.....support those who support the events you are at....

If you can't find anyone.....we are happy to help...

205/50R15 RA-1 Full tread $128 shaved $143

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Originally Posted by kyle robertson

cool, this helps a lot. do most of you go through tire rack or local tire dealers to get your tires?

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It is real nice to have at track support so I tend to support them.

okay, ill find out who is the vendor down here. im going to get a set so i can run a couple track days at PBIR before my next event because I'm chaning a lot of things on the car. i was kinda leaning towards the kumhos but I might get a set of toyos first and see how i like them. where are you located phil?

Phil will ship to you. Don't discount the quality of the shaving service. Yesterday I saw two Toyos shaved. One by another company, and one by Phil's. It was actually pretty interesting. Phil's yielded a wider contact patch and you could see the difference. Hey Phil, now that you don't have Ajah. :D

Kyle:
Another alternative is to run the Nitto NT-01. It is made by Toyo and for all practical purposes is basically the same as the RA-1, save for the tread pattern. I've run both these tires on my car and can't tell the difference except in the pocketbook. The Nittos in my size (245-45-17) are about $75/set cheaper...

My two cents:

Choose one path, or the other... in other words, choose a cheap long wearing tire to learn on, or get a fast tire that doesn't last. Only go "middle ground" if you can make the $ really work via contingency money or whatever.

Reason being is that most people chose one or the other, so you'll have plenty of others who can share their thoughts, data and setups with you. Choosing an "odd duck" tire really limits the knowledge, and knowledge is king.

What about Toyo R888?

Although R888's are as quick as RA-1's, and similar in handling characteristics as Hoosiers or Hankooks, but not as fast, they tend not to wear as long as a RA-1, more like a Hoosier or Hankook in the wear catergory

The guys that come to allot of the CFR events is Appalachian Race Tire. They are a bunch of great guys. They are out of Tennessee. 865-681-6622 They have Toyo's, Hoosiers,etc. Have dealt with them allot here in the sediv and great to deal with.

For a given size Hoosiers seem to be wider than everything else. This works for a lot of people but I had a rub against the stock fuel filler neck. None of the other tire's I've run do this, so I'm running Hankooks now from Phil's Tire Service.