There is absolutely no danger running them past 'max' pressure, as that is certainly not the maximum. Did you ever notice that most tires it's 44psi? That's because it's not the physical maximum, only the pressure where they measure load rating. On my G-Stock Corrado last year, I had to run my front Hoosiers at 58-60psi to get them not to roll over, and their 'max' was 44 also. I used to work for Toyo, and for road racing we got the best results at the higher pressures that Randy is talking about.

I'd try them in the mid 40's, knowing that you will gain about 4-6psi on a hot day. I know you say that you don't want to adjust the tire pressures at the track, but I would recommend that you check and balance them before each run. Some courses might cause your left front to gain 3 more psi than any other tire. This could cause unbalanced handling. I would not worry too much about cold pressure, and just balance your hot pressure between each run. Don't worry about adjusting you car balance with tire pressures yet, but make sure you check and balance them before each run. That being said, I think you should shoot for 48/46 f/r as a hot target pressure.

Good luck, and most of all: HAVE FUN!

 

Sev, you beat me to this question. I just mounted front Toyo RA-1s to match my rear for autocrossing. I've been running them with front stock 15k mile S02s so I can't really assess what a good pressure would be. The fronts are almost completely bald so no need for a front sway bar. However, the rears are much stickier than stock when I ran them at 36psi cold. I'm going to go with a higher pressure on Sunday and give you an eval. of Jason's recommendation. Good luck!

 

Then I wonder why Toyo would publish a recommended target as 41-43?

Most road racers try to get to the 'sticky' heat range of a tire usually dropping pressures without exceeding about 210F to avoid throwing all the rubber off. In my experience (and reported by others) doing the opposite which is using high pressures makes for a skittish car that wont stay on the track.

I can not relate to your comment when it comes to road racing with today

 

Hey.. thanks for the above props CG.

Use my pressure info or not...but I do probably have more experience than just about anyone I know regards to autocrossing on those tires. I was the only person who tried a whole season of ProSolo on them.

FWIW, I set Fast Time of Day in my 130hp MR2 running on Toyos in San Diego in 1997. I have beaten national champion drivers with my car on Toyos. And if I dropped the pressures, I went slower.

But then I don't pay as much attention to data from the tire manufacturer as I do to my own results, so YMMV and probably will. But these tires work better with a lot of pressure, trust me.

 

Thanks guys, i guess i will try and see how it goes, i currently have 40/38 front/rear ratio cold.

 

Randy, was not questioning your autox advice.. Results say it all and I am admittedly not an autox'er.

I was asking about Jason

 

Got ya. My experience though has also been that what works for me in autocrossing also seems to work for me on a track, with some minor differences, such as a little stiffer front setup to increase understeer to improve high speed transitions, and I generally start with lower tire pressures as I will not be bleeding the tires every lap.

If I was road racing on these tires, I would start around the mid-40s on an average temp day. I do find that the tires might feel a little greasy when over-heated, but there is a compromise at work here. The tire needs the pressures to get them to feel as predictable as I would like.

I highly recommend these tires as a good choice for those who want a value racing tire with good wear characteristics for either autocrossing, track, or even street. I ran these tires on all three for many months, never changing them. I know one guy that drove thousands of miles on the street on his Toyos, something I would not do with my Hoosiers.

 

Aren't you talking about the BF Goddrich R1A tires. The air pressure would be different on different cars and depending on the driver. Air pressures that are best for one car and driver may not work best for the next car and driver.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jim@tirerack
[B]Aren't you talking about the BF Goddrich R1A tires.

 

Hi guys, i ran 40/38 F/R cold today at the school, the grip was amazing compared to the stock tires, however i notice that my back end is a little looser ratiowise as compared to stock. It is obviously from the change in ratio, real size of OEM tires being about 195/245 while i now have 205/225...

I am running the event tommorow, i will see what the new tires translate to in times, my hopes are to be in the upper quartile.

Thanks.