Q-AX tire wear question

[993Panzer]

I have a set of Toyo R88's mounted on 8.5 and 10.0 inch wheels. I'm using 245/40/18 and 275/35/18. I've used them on my 993 and my 996. They are currently on my 996, my daily driver. The 996 has the factory alignment. The front tires will hit in the wheel well with full lock on the steering. I did a couple of laps at the PDS with the 996 and the Toyo's and was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled. I'm sure with a good corner balance and alignment it would be very good.

[Irksome]

I'm sure with a good corner balance and alignment it would be very good.

Unfortunately, a stock 996 cannot be corner balanced. But I do have a good alignment!

Suspension upgrades are probably the next item on my list, but probably not for another year or so.

Thanks for the fitment confirmation.

Tom

[Steve Grosekemper]

I'm sure with a good corner balance and alignment it would be very good.

Unfortunately, a stock 996 cannot be corner balanced. But I do have a good alignment!

Suspension upgrades are probably the next item on my list, but probably not for another year or so.

Thanks for the fitment confirmation.

Tom

They can be corner balanced, the procedure is listed right in the factory service manual.
However it is not under alignment or corner balance. You need to be the kind or Porsche Dork who reads these manuals from cover to cover to find hidden factory "Options" that might be an advantage for competition. Or just to see how the story ends...

Porsche has really de-emphasized corner balance as the cars have gotten heavier and loaded with so many driver aids.
They even state this on one of the later service manuals for one of the "standard" cars
But it really can make a difference, and checking is easy...
Adjusting is another story.

I am doing one tomorrow.

[Irksome]

They can be corner balanced, the procedure is listed right in the factory service manual.
However it is not under alignment or corner balance. You need to be the kind or Porsche Dork who reads these manuals from cover to cover to find hidden factory "Options" that might be an advantage for competition. Or just to see how the story ends...

Porsche has really de-emphasized corner balance as the cars have gotten heavier and loaded with so many driver aids.
They even state this on one of the later service manuals for one of the "standard" cars
But it really can make a difference, and checking is easy...
Adjusting is another story.

I am doing one tomorrow.

Holy cow, no kidding? I've gotten the 'can't be done' answer from everyone but you!

God I love this club!

How hard is it? Ie, what kind of cost am I looking at to get a corner balance alignment done on my '03 996 C2? Feel free to PM/email if you prefer to take it off the public forum.

Tom

[4est]

I run a 305 RA1 on my 10" wheels with no problem. Fender clearence will be the defining factor. Narrow body; I have seen a 285 run with the right offset.

[Steve Grosekemper]

They can be corner balanced, the procedure is listed right in the factory service manual.
However it is not under alignment or corner balance. You need to be the kind or Porsche Dork who reads these manuals from cover to cover to find hidden factory "Options" that might be an advantage for competition. Or just to see how the story ends...

Porsche has really de-emphasized corner balance as the cars have gotten heavier and loaded with so many driver aids.
They even state this on one of the later service manuals for one of the "standard" cars
But it really can make a difference, and checking is easy...
Adjusting is another story.

I am doing one tomorrow.

Holy cow, no kidding? I've gotten the 'can't be done' answer from everyone but you!

God I love this club!

How hard is it? Ie, what kind of cost am I looking at to get a corner balance alignment done on my '03 996 C2? Feel free to PM/email if you prefer to take it off the public forum.

Tom

Tom,
"You've Got Mail"!

[Curt Yaws]

Tom:
You can get a 245/35/18 for the fronts and avoid any rubbing issues that will occur with the 40 series tires. When I had 245/40 RA1's on the front, I caught the plastic inner fender liner, ripped it out, and tore out the wiring harness from the left fender. Very costly mistake. I have been running 255's on the front and Steve Eguina fits 285's under the front end of his 996.....I'm not sure how he does it but I got a pair of his old fronts last weekend and will see how they fit.

On the rear of a narrow body 996 you can fit up to a 315. I use that size with the R888's and they only rub when I drive over a gator at 90mph.

If your car isn't lowered much you shouldn't have any rubbing issues, but ask your alignment shop for a suggestion.

I'm a fan of the R888's also. Last weekend at Buttonwillow I ran 2:10 on newer R888's and 2:09 on older R6's, so not much difference. As Jad noted above, the Hoosiers will go away after just a few sessions.

[Mike Cornelius]

my 2 cents on the Nitto NT01 vs. Toyo RA1...

Comparable performance...I have used both in back to back sessions in TT's. My lap times were within fractions of seconds. However, there is a differnece in how they feel. The Nitto's inspire more confidence, they are more stable and very predictable. The RA1's slide around a bit more and just don't feel real comfortable (a big point when going 140 mph around Fontana and the wall is a few feet away).

The Nitto's do not require any shaving or heat cycling, while the RA1's do. All in all, I have become a big fan of the Nitto, and they are a little cheaper. They both get better until they are corded.

MC

[ChuckS]

My experience with the Toyo R888's is a little different. We used RA-1's on the 944 Spec car until the middle of this year when the race rules required a change to R888. Since then, on THAT car, I have had good luck. When new, the R888 is even stickier than the RA1. Cornering is a little crisper as well. The R888 did not wear as evenly as the RA1 and they lost grip with a hint of tread left, unlike the RA1 that only lost it just before the cords started showing (You don't need to ask how I know!).

However, on the 944 Turbo, I had a different result. The RA1's worked the same as on the Spec. They were great until just before the cords came out. The R888's lost grip entirely with about 25% of the tread still remaining. They act as if they died by too many heat cycles - a trait that the RA1's never showed. At our last SE lot AX, I could not get any traction, but blamed it on my suspension set up. When I went to Buttonwillow, the car was all over the place and about 4-5 seconds slower than my times just after I first bought it. It has absolutely no traction. On Sunday, I put on a pair of old, leftover RA1's. They transformed that end of the car. I then bought new set of RA1's that the BW Tire shop had. On my one and only time out on these, I turned my fastest lap ever at BW at 2:09.35. Needless to say, I will not use R888's on the Turbo again. By the time that I took them off, there was only a little of the tread left because I had been sliding and spinning them the whole weekend.

Peter B had a similar experience, so he had tried the Nitto NT01's and found them to be more like the RA1's as far as keeping grip until the end. His experience seems to parallel Mike K's. All three are "supposed" to have the same tread compound.

I would be interested to hear other's comments, especially from those who try to get the full use out of them on more powerful cars.

[LUCKY DAVE]

My experience with 888's aligns with Chuck's.
As far as I can tell, 888's only have so many heat cycles in them, and when that "magic number" is reached, all grip vanishes. It doesn't matter how much tread is left. All tires are like this of course, but 888's seem to give up before they're worn out more than other tires I've tried.
It also seems to me that if you get rambunctious (slide around too much and overheat them) just ONCE.....they're done.
They're at their best when brand new, and go downhill from there.

[kleggo]

Well, I picked up another set of wheels, with Hoosiers attached (about one session of life left), and I'll play with those in November or December. Y'all have me leaning towards a set of R888s, sounds like a good bang for buck option.

Can anyone here give me definitive fitment info for my stock 996? I'm going to be running 18x8 and 18x10 wheels. To keep the diameters the same with maximum rubber, it seems like 245/40/18, 275/35/18 would be perfect, or 245/40/18, 295/30/18 would be close enough to not mess up my computer. But will the 245/40 fit in my front wheel well? And should I push 295 onto the 10" rim, or go undersized with the 275?

R888 does not seem to be the hot setup according to people i talk to.

i think the Nitto tire is the best choice for your application
(drive to the Q and AX)

245's might be too wide for the front, it get's ugly body panel wise if you find this out as you compress the suspension and drive through a sharp turn.
try a combination of 235 and 275 - 285

be safe

Craig

[galis]

I'm thinking about the R888 for my next (street/AX) tire as well, but with some hydroplane experience, I'm concerned about their performance in wet street driving. Anyone familiar with them on wet pavement?

As a data point, the Yoko S-Drive tires have great traction on the street, good grip for second AX lap, but after that they start feeling greasy with the heat. They also are the quietest tire I've ever driven.

--George

[galis]

Well, I picked up another set of wheels, with Hoosiers attached (about one session of life left), and I'll play with those in November or December. Y'all have me leaning towards a set of R888s, sounds like a good bang for buck option.

Can anyone here give me definitive fitment info for my stock 996? I'm going to be running 18x8 and 18x10 wheels. To keep the diameters the same with maximum rubber, it seems like 245/40/18, 275/35/18 would be perfect, or 245/40/18, 295/30/18 would be close enough to not mess up my computer. But will the 245/40 fit in my front wheel well? And should I push 295 onto the 10" rim, or go undersized with the 275?

This is my favorite for calculating sizes.
http://www.tiresizecalculator.info/

In the past, discount tire was pretty generous about mounting different sizes to check for a fit. of course you cannot check the full travel of the suspension in the shop...

-g

[richard]

I hatethe Yokos on the street. They follow every crack. I used them at the last AX just to wear them out.

[galis]

I hatethe Yokos on the street. They follow every crack. I used them at the last AX just to wear them out.

Wow, yes, I think I've noticed that too, only I thought it was my alignment...

I wonder what about them would cause that? I don't get it.

-g