new guy tire question

[Greg Amy]

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...

[ITA_honda]

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 $$$.

[JLawton]

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. .

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

[joeg]

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.

[kyle robertson]

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

[philstireservice]

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

[dickita15]

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

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

[kyle robertson]

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?

[gran racing]

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.