DimitrisThess

I would like to know if someone has used both of the tires , cause i want to order some tires for track use! thanks in advance!

gptoyz

you are comparing an awesome r compound tire to a terrible tire in any category.

I mean this respectfully, but if you are comparing those tires I don't think you can maximize an R compound, so unless money is burning a whole in your pocket I would recommend neither one for you.

Normally the tire to get is the Hankook RS3. It's an awesome tire with excellent daily driving characteristics and amazing on track. ...unfortunately we are in a holding pattern and no one has them as they are being refreshed and awaiting delivery to tire rack.

The tires I would consider for you are the following:
Bridgestone RE-11a (this is the tire, I will be buying after my next and final session on my current set of RS3s if the replacement hankook isn't available)
Kumho Ecsta XS (great tire, great price, not very good life)
Dunlop Z2 (great grip, but at the limit it doesn't communicate to me like the RS3)
Falken RT615k (good tire, cheap price, not very good life, terrible in the wet)
Yokohama AD08R (awesome tire that I tried on a friends e92 m3, but pricey)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport - friends with m3s have sworn by them (but then again they have never driven on RS3s or Direzza Z1/Z2)

jpembry

ive never heard the RS-R referred to as a terrible tire. you must be confusing it with the 595SS?

ZDan

Might want to check out this thread to see what people think of the 595RSR (not so hot, even compared to Extreme Perf street tires).

I'm getting semi-streetable R-comps for the FD this year, and I'm not considering either of those tires. I'm probably going with Nitto NT01, also considering R888 and RA1.

flanders

Think you should compare the 595RSR to AD08R instead.
AD08R should be the better tire but it is almost twice the price which made me choose 595RSR instead.
Just got them a few days ago though so haven't tried them yet but there are some good reviews on them out there.

gptoyz

No I'm definitely sure.

Every time rs3s are unavailable I think with my wallet and try and look for a hold me over tire and I search the performance of rsr and always end up realizing It would be a better option taking the money I would have spent on them and putting it on red or black at a roulette table

Even though they are a 140 tire they make a terrible option compared to their track duty counterparts from every other brand I listed in my first response


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s2000Junky

I’ve run the RA1 on the street before, as far as R comps go its probably the best choice for that out of the 3, the tread design moves more, favoring the wet and general road conditions. Its still an R comp though and requires some heat to work. IF you can still get that tire id go for it, I haven’t shopped for one in years though. I thought the R888 was to replace it?

ZDan

Yeah, but it ain't cheap! For 255/40-17 fronts 275/40-17 rears, NT01s are $771 shipped from Direct Tire, while R888s are $888 (ha!) and RA1s are $936 plus $66 shipping from Tire Rack.
So with shipping, $771 for NT01s, $954 for R888s, $1002 for RA1s.
It would be good to have back-to-back track test results! For sure if the RA1 is .5 seconds quicker and have similar life I would spend the extra $$$.

The R888 didn't suit a lot of people who had been running the RA1, so they still produce the RA1. Apparently it's easy to overdrive the R888 and wear them out quickly. The RA1 is reportedly a lot more forgiving of overdriving and also of pressure range. Some claim you have to run really high pressures in the R888, like 46psi hot! But I also have a report from an FD pilot that they work well at stupid high pressures but also at low pressures, but not "normal" pressures!
All manner of conflicting reports on the "correct" pressures for R888s...

Anyway, both the NT01s and RA1s seem to be a lot more forgiving for errors in driving, car setup, and pressure range. I'm pretty sure to be quite a bit off in at least one or two of those areas!

s2000Junky

That’s a pretty large price difference, one I wasnt aware of, like mentioned I haven’t shopped for R comps in some time, I run extremes these days because I still street my S primarily along with lapping days in summer hence the widths I like to run to maintain some higher grip advantage overal. But anyway its good to hear the RA1 is still in production, I hear a lot from some of the old school track guys I know that went from the RA1 to the R888 that were not impressed at all and really preferred the RA1. I don’t have a lot of feedback one way or another on the NT01. NT05 however yes, stay away they turn into slippery bricks fast.

gptoyz

Wait why are we even talking R Compound here?

We have no clue what the OPs intention with the tires are and what their experience in track is.

I'm just assuming based on the fact that he is comparison a very amazing r compound tire to a crap tire that he doesn't have that much experience.

and even at the mere suggestion of an r888 or an nt01, I believe people are running faster lap times on RS3s or Ecsta XS, not to mention the tires will be cheaper and last longer and won't be as finicky with tire temp/pressure range.