Better check it out before buying your next set of RX8 tires...

Signed,
SecondplaceMike....

 

Have not seen it yet, but heard a little about it from one of the people involved..... Does it match the BS natls results?

Seems like after three years it is clear as mud. Or is that the RX-8 just does not care what you put on it.

 

G I G O .... any test is only as relevant as the conditions under which it was conducted

BTW, shouldn't that be "Gotmy@sshandedtomebyBSMike"

 

Yup...the baby 245 seems like a good choice.
Guess it wasn't the tires that caused my problems..
At least I could say I was leading on Day(s) 1 of 2 at both big events.
Then I got my ing.
Hey! I would love it if my car gets moved to BS especially if the courses stay at such a bullsheet level of speed!
LOL!
FM

 

Anyone want to share the final outcome of the GRM test?

On the RX8, we've come away from Topeka with the opinion that it's not about the tire...it's all about the driver...the car was great on Kumhos and great on Hoosiers. The turn in was nicer on the Hoosiers, though, in both Matthew's and my opinion.

Once you throw the wear element into the equation, it's hard to argue with the Kumho as the "tire of choice" for the '8.

 

It is worth buying the mag but the K tire won fast time and average time at all the tests I think.
Kind of takes my Nats excuse away....
FM

 

There was one thing radically different about the Kumho than the other tires, it was only a 245, whereas all the others were 280s. I would consider a 245 seriously pinched on an 8-in. wheel. The 280s looked silly. I didn't see how you could expect a 285 on an 8" wheel to have the communication of a tire 40mm narrower.

I was disappointed there wasn't any temperature data taken.

I've been involved in testing a 315/30-18 against a 295/30-18 on a 10.5-in. wheel. The 295 made less noise, went faster, and had lower temps all the way across. Pretty much every indication it was working better.

I would like to have seen the test include a 245/35-18 Hoosier. Then the comparison would actually tell you how a 245 Kumho compares to a 245 Hoosier and how a 285 Hoosier compares to a 245 Hoosier, which would be a much more useful data set than a 285 Hoosier and a 245 Kumho, IMHO.

And remember the way the article ends, they took the tire that seemed to work the best to the next real event, and the setup was all wrong.

 

those clowns at Tirerack can barely mount a 245 K on an 8" wheel, let alone a 285

in 2005 I made the mistake of letting them mount 245s on new Kodiak 3-pc wheels on my way to the Oscoda Pro. Took them 3 hours to get them mounted, then when I got to the event one was flat and wouldn't hold air because they broke the inner bead seal. Totally f'd us up that weekend. I assumed they were pros, but after watching the guy decided their people are no better than some guy at a gas station, he had no clue.

Got screwed on this year's Nats tires; sent me tires made 49th week of 2004 and did a sh-tty shaving job, then basically told me to go blow. I suppose they didn't appreciate all those wheels and tires I've been buying from. I hope they can make up my lost future business with someone else.

 

The winners in my class were on Hoosiers and I was on Kumhos, way back in 9th place. Therefore the Hoosiers are better on HPT's surface.

I am an engineer, so you know I use the scientific method of problem solving and stuff.

 

thats really surprising about TR. who was your contact at TR? obviously its a little late now, but did you try asking chris or jon (the BS guys) to help you resolve it? they've bent over backwards for lots of people in the past to help them out.

 

Chris and John were the ones involved with the story that said you cant mount a 285 V710 on an 8", they even had a pic. We have seen it done, and know of two shops that can do it, VetteSport in the east and Carl Coleman in the NW.

We tried back in 2005, before the 245 was on the market, and could not do it. I have heard what some of the tricks are to get it done, but I see no reason to bother.

 

when was that story? they told me this year that TR wouldn't officially do it, but it was possible albeit a PITA. To do it, TR mounted the 285 V710 on a wider rim to "break in" the tire, and then unmounted it and remounted it on the 8" rim.

they also saw no reason to bother since they liked hoosiers anyway.

 

It is in the currenty GRM.... Good story other than I think they blew it by only testing the biggest fing tires they could cram on the wheel, except the Kumho. imho they should have tested the right size tire for the wheel in every brand, the 245. All I got out of it was that the 245 V710 was faster than the rest, but they leave the question what about the other 245s because they did not test them.

 

You might want to go back and check out those East side times.... (ok...barely)
West doesn't count imo since it was raining on and off on us poor little CS'ers..But I think my car would have held up well on a dry West course against BS.

Signed,
FasterthanBSontheEastcourseMikebutwaytooslowforCSo nthatcourse

 

Don't worry...Kevin and I did the 245 H thing.
Stick with the Kumho.
I find it interesting about how the tires felt thing. I have noticed a lot of H tire drivers hitting cones both this year and last.
FM

 

I dont plan to change.

I just read the story again... Funny how they say "That's what the fast guys are running on this car" about the 285 Hooiser. I have to ask what fast guys? In the last three years how many RX-8s have won a tour or pro on the 285 Hoosier? Maybe one event in three years. Someone gave these guys some poor information. Far as I know the fastest H guy has been EDJ on the 245 and every other event has been won by a K car.

 

Oh Jason, Don't you know? ALLLLLLL the fast guys with 8's are running on TeamH.
FM

 

I know all the fast guys in CS are in Mazda's.

 

Yup..them well driven 99's are no joke.
MSR is looking good too.
QUICK! Move the Solstice to BS under the 12 month rule!
LOL!
Seriously, I think all 3 of those cars are a great fit even if one of them is a trunk kit.(oops! did I say that?)
FM

 

IMO Tirerack won't ever be able to provide the personalized services that racers need, as opposed to people buying general street tires that could care less about anything other than the lowest cost. It's beyond resolution now, I moved on already.

If you want quality shaving, buy from or send your tires to Vilven.

 

hmm maybe I should switch to H tires and see if it gives me the opposite affect 4 out 6 runs coned at san deigo and topeka

 

Yep, I read that too. Ridiculous.

 

We should all use DBA 5000 rotors ($$$$$) so that we don't experience brake fade. Lol.

 

Yeah, it seems that TR has gotten big enough that they no longer care about the hard core racers that bought tires from them. Super weak.

 

Most of the specialty race tire places will go out of their way to get you the freshest build dates

Funny thing is the build date I got from TR for this year's Nat's was the same I got in early 2005, but the build date from last year's Nats was newer. It's clear that somebody isn't rotating their tire stock properly ...