FFSpecRacer
10-13-2013, 02:44 PM
Most of you have heard the rumors that we may switch to the new TOYO RR tire for the 2014 season. After a successful year for the tire in three series (SM, 944Spec, and Spec E30), Toyo is ready to go into production with our 255/40ZR17 size. However, NASA is not yet prepared to announce that this will be our spec tire for next season. We do anticipate an announcement, one way or the other, by the end of October.
The tire is currently undergoing a couple of testing phases to ensure it will perform as well as the other sizes have. This past weekend, at Putnam Park, NASA had me test set. I'd like to share my impressions of the new tire with you and hopefully alleviate any concerns that a change of this nature usually raise.
Putnam Park is a home track for me and I have thousands of laps there. I ran my best lap ever on the new RR by a full second and many other laps that were below my previous best. While this is true, I am not ready to say that the RR is a faster tire than the RA-1 but rather that the new characteristics of the tires can yield faster times. Let me explain what I mean.
The RR has a new sidewall construction that is stiffer. This was immediately noticeable on the track at corner turn in. Turn in was crisp and the car responded immediately. Mid-corner, the car felt very stable and didn't have that "squirmy" feeling. This new sidewall construction was also apparent off the track when examining the tires. The tires were not "worn" over the shoulders like we are used to seeing on the RA-1. I attribute this to a good portion of the time gain. The other area of time gain came from being able to get back on the power, mid-corner and off, sooner and more aggressively. This probably came from the mid-corner stability of this tire and maximized contact patch.
All of us at some point over the past two season have struggled with the car wanting to push since we added the swaybar. I think this tire will definitely help with that in combination with the swaybar.
Putnam is notoriously hard on tires, especially the left rear. I have ruined an RA-1 in a single day of running. So I kept a close eye on the RR after each session and was pleasantly surprised by what I was seeing. At this point I can only speculate but I wonder if the minimal wear is due to not sliding the tire around so much and rolling it over on the shoulder.
I found that the tire temps and pressures fell in line with what we have become used to with the RA-1's. You can get them too hot, but backing off will bring them back. In a lot of ways they a comparable to the RA-1's but definitely have advantages. Should NASA decide to make these our spec tire moving forward, I am sure you will find them a positive step forward.
The tire is currently undergoing a couple of testing phases to ensure it will perform as well as the other sizes have. This past weekend, at Putnam Park, NASA had me test set. I'd like to share my impressions of the new tire with you and hopefully alleviate any concerns that a change of this nature usually raise.
Putnam Park is a home track for me and I have thousands of laps there. I ran my best lap ever on the new RR by a full second and many other laps that were below my previous best. While this is true, I am not ready to say that the RR is a faster tire than the RA-1 but rather that the new characteristics of the tires can yield faster times. Let me explain what I mean.
The RR has a new sidewall construction that is stiffer. This was immediately noticeable on the track at corner turn in. Turn in was crisp and the car responded immediately. Mid-corner, the car felt very stable and didn't have that "squirmy" feeling. This new sidewall construction was also apparent off the track when examining the tires. The tires were not "worn" over the shoulders like we are used to seeing on the RA-1. I attribute this to a good portion of the time gain. The other area of time gain came from being able to get back on the power, mid-corner and off, sooner and more aggressively. This probably came from the mid-corner stability of this tire and maximized contact patch.
All of us at some point over the past two season have struggled with the car wanting to push since we added the swaybar. I think this tire will definitely help with that in combination with the swaybar.
Putnam is notoriously hard on tires, especially the left rear. I have ruined an RA-1 in a single day of running. So I kept a close eye on the RR after each session and was pleasantly surprised by what I was seeing. At this point I can only speculate but I wonder if the minimal wear is due to not sliding the tire around so much and rolling it over on the shoulder.
I found that the tire temps and pressures fell in line with what we have become used to with the RA-1's. You can get them too hot, but backing off will bring them back. In a lot of ways they a comparable to the RA-1's but definitely have advantages. Should NASA decide to make these our spec tire moving forward, I am sure you will find them a positive step forward.