+1 I would like to know this. I know that Falken 615s are close to the ultimate track tire. However, if you take the context of a tire that you can drive repeatedly on the street and track, I think the 615 is it. My sources say R888 is worth 1.5-2 seconds at streets of willow over the 615. Thats a good amount of time, but right now, I (and many people) don't do enough track days a year to warrant an extra set of wheels/tires.

 

Ultimate true street tire would be the Neovas or RE-01R. RT615's are a tier below but still pretty good and inexpensive. Depending on car make/model some people prefer the Hankook RS2's over the RT615's. I've tried both and personally thought they were pretty close.

 

Gotcha on that one. I def agree the 615s are the best value. I just picked up 4 in 275/35/18 for $840. Most of the other tires I look at in comparison were in the 950-1100 range for 4 tires in that size. I was close to going with the Nitto N-01s but they were expensive and I would have to park the car if it rained. Haven't tried the Hankook's, but have heard their build quality isn't the greatest.

 

No, they're not even close.

 

meant not close, typo

 

I had driven an RX-8 with the RT615 on the track. They are pretty good tyre if you are comparing with stock radials. I only have 4 laps in it and found nothing wrong, but the owner said they heat up easily and start to skid quickly in the 6th lap. I will say watch the tyre temperature and pressure closely on those tyres, if you can keep the heat to a reasonable temperature it will be a great tyre for road/track combo.

It worth another set of wheel/S tyre for track if you are going about 2 times a year. The slicks in a cool garage and cover with plastic will last for years. There are methods to keep the rubber not hardening up inside a garage.

I found most radials when they are worn half way, they are not good for track use. So most hard core people after 3 track days will put those for street only.

So my instructor told me to get a cheap wheel with good tyres, so I can have more value for money.

I just went for the Wedsports TC105N and the Yokohama A048 haha.

 

^Gob: "I've made a huge mistake."

\/spin: "There is no way around it - R-Compounds rule on track"

See you w/RT-615s at the track one day RPIRX-8 heehee! (R-Comps 500 miles from home...how'd he do it?)

 

Been hearing good things about these tires, at least as far as the entry level street/track tires go...when my Kumho MXs go I may go to these...

 

where is this place and what is it called?

 

Here you go:

John Berget Racing Tires
4985 Highway 50
Delavan, WI 53115

262-740-0180

www.jbracingtires.net

A few guys on the Cayman board vouch for this guy.

 

Sorry if I'm being thick...can you please explain what you mean here, Team?

 

So we know that TRX8 had one set of custom rears that took a dump, who were the others you hint at and did they have a revalved set of Konis like you or were they off the shelf units?

 

You are joking right? The 615s are crap compare to a lot of the other aggressive tires. I personally don't even think they are all that good of a street tire due to the excessive bumpyness and noise. I have a set on my car now, but I will never use them again. They are better than the stock RE040, but they are not anywhere close to the RA1s, let alone the R888. I average 3 seconds a lap faster on USED ra-1s than the 615s on a 1.5 miles course. I drove them to and from the track too with no problem.

Unless you drive in noreaster everyday, I think the good time to toss tires is when they get to the cords.

Also just to let you know, my nearly bald R compounds work better in the rain (even under slight puddles) than my brand new 615s. The RA1s are just better tires than the 615s, I would pick that over the 615s anyday. I got 5000 street miles, 40 autox runs, 350 track miles on a set of nearly bald tires (about 1/32nd when i got it). It's not bad given the bang for the buck

 

i think it might be people or fat people in the back seat..

beers

 

No crap, you're comparing a R comp to a street tire. The RT615 is crap compared to 95% of R comps but is top 75% among street tires. Only the top tier RE01R, Neova etc type tires are better and at a higher price. There are tons of other street tires that are truly crap like the ES100's.

I wouldn't say that bald RA1's are better in the rain, you just can't clear standing water with no tread. The grip on the RA1's is obviously up there but you won't get 8000 street miles out of a set like the Falkens and price is obviously an issue.

That being said I run RA1's on my RX-8 on a set of track wheels, RE040's on stock wheels for the street and RT615's on my daily driven/sometimes autocrossed miata and I think they all do well for what they are. You can't expect a street tire to be the best on the track or a track tire to last a long time on the street.

 

..little harsh I'd say.... your crap critizism of the Falkens that is. Sure they're not the be all end all in tires.... but they are not crap either. What they are - is an excellent high performance summer tire for the street and DE track. They perform in line with others of the same type plus or minus and they do work quite well in the rain, I used them wet and have had no problems whatsoever.

They do a very creditable job on a high speed circuit with great stability, known and easily modulated limits, and from my experience.... they do an 'excellent' IMO job in the daily drive, quiet (if you haven't just shreded them on track w/abuse), very comfortable w/the right pressure, esp compared to the RE04s, and are sold at an honest price, not a jacked up sky high price like some brands because they're the 'in tire' or 18s or the wider low aspect sizes. Value and performance is hard to beat. They're a tire where the 'get what you pay for' meter is registering "super value - excellent performance".

My r-comps are far superior on track, but so what? They are r-comps and say right on them "Not recommended for highway use". They also half the tread wear rating, and twice the traction rating. They should be better, a lot better, and they are - for the track. They'd drive me nuts on the street and I can't drive them to the track if it's more than 1/2 hr away very easily.

But that doesn't make the RT-615s crap.

 

Quiet? Comfortable? Come for a ride in my car, you will get a headache after a trip on the highway. I drive around in my RA1s now because the ride is softer and they are quieter. As far as tire wears, the RA1 wear maybe 25% faster. With the 615s, I have the tendency to spin them. Spinning them is as bad as having a soft compound, I got 10K miles out of the 615s and 7K out of my RA1s.

They are a good performance tire, but prepare to pay the price in ride quality and noise. It's sort of like buying a Toyota Yaris. They are good on gas, but you still get what you paid for. They are almost 1.5 sec faster than the stock RE040, but they are not much faster than the RE050 or the PS2.

 

I can't? What am i running on then? I made two trips to VA for track events when I purchased the tires in Feb when the car had 32K miles. I now have 40K miles, this is between 6 track events and 60 autox runs.

Rain grip works fine for me here. When the tires got really really low, I do have to stay below 60mph. But then even with the Azenis, I can do no better than 70mph at half tread. Also I have a FTD in the rain with the RA1s too. It wasnt a lot of rain, but it was still rain.