Will R-compound tires work with street suspension

[CurtiSS 69]

Hello All,

I need to know if the high grip tires R-compound tires will work with the setup I have now.

Which is:

Olds Cutless front springs with one coil removed

Toikico twin tube gas shocks (all around)

Gulstrand Mod

five leaf multi's in the rear from a '73 Nova

1" front anti roll bar with poly end links

All other bushings are stock rubber

Will high grip tires work with this, or would they be a waste of $$$ with this level of suspension.

Regards

CurtiSS 69

[Project69]

I dont see why it would be a waste. Tires improve traction, braking ability etc. I feel even with a street suspension tires only improve it that much more. im running Hoosier Auto x tires on my 69 with hotchkis TVS system, and poly body mounts. Theres a huge difference in those then my Falken street tires. I would say go for it.

[M-bird]

Hoosier r-comps will heat cycle out before they run out of tread.

Figure 60 1-minute runs for A-comps and a dozen heat cycles for R-comps.

The tires will overwhelm the suspension, just the opposite of when a racing coilover (stiffly sprung ) suspension is paired with street tires - mismatched, and the grip of one system overwhelms the lack of grip of the other.

Having tried this and found it a waste of $$, I would run B'stone RE-01r or Yoko Advan Neova for the grippiest street tire that has hydroplaning resisitance and will not heat cycle out.

Plus using any r-comp tire on the street, you'll never get them up to proper operating temperature (most like to be ~180 degrees) without making the local news or craziest police chase videos, but they'll still heat cycle out anyways. Even a "durable" R-tire like a RA-1 or a Pilot Sport Cup is going to have the same issues.

Street tires generally have 10-12/32 of tread and much better hydroplaning and puncture resistance.

just my $0.02

[fast Ed]

Modern R-compound stuff generally needs lots of negative camber, and stiff suspension, to work properly. I've run used Hoosier Grand-Am Cup tires on my T-Bird SC at open-track days. They work better than street tires, especially under braking, but I'm quite sure that I'm not getting the most out of them, with the basic Konis & Eibachs in the car. There were 3 reasons I used them ... they were free, I didn't want to chew up my full tread street tires, and they were free.

IMO, you're better off as suggested, going with street tires in the "ultra-high performance" category, such as the Yoko or Bridgestone already mentioned, or Falken 615, something like that.


cheers
Ed N.

[y5e06]

there are a lot more R-compound tires out there other than Hoo-Hoos and GAC tires.
if you want sticky tires that will work for you you should look into Nitto's and maybe toyo RA1's (I think NT01's are same compound as RA1 but diff carcass/pattern). you can get FULL tread toyos, you have to get them shaved for dry weather racing. These aren't the fastest r-compounds but they last waaaayyy longer than Hoosiers, Kumhos, or real slicks.
Of course, I'd be hesitant at using any of these if you drive in the rain much. if this is mainly a street car it would probably be a waste of money little real gain (competition etc)

[Steve1968LS2]

there are a lot more R-compound tires out there other than Hoo-Hoos and GAC tires.
if you want sticky tires that will work for you you should look into Nitto's and maybe toyo RA1's (I think NT01's are same compound as RA1 but diff carcass/pattern). you can get FULL tread toyos, you have to get them shaved for dry weather racing. These aren't the fastest r-compounds but they last waaaayyy longer than Hoosiers, Kumhos, or real slicks.
Of course, I'd be hesitant at using any of these if you drive in the rain much. if this is mainly a street car it would probably be a waste of money little real gain (competition etc)

Unshaved Toyo RA1s are fine for the rain.. in fact that's what some race teams use for thier "wet" tires (shaved for dry)

I ran NT01s on my daily driver and got 10K miles out of them.

The Toyo RA1s, Nitto NT01s and the new Toyo R888s all have about the same compound. I've heard that they don't get hard like the Hoosiers and people they generally wear pretty good (for an R-compound tire). They certainly stick better than regular tires.

[MonzaRacer]

If they come in your size you might even consider Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS very sticky and they are more oriented to street driving and a lot cheaper.

[CurtiSS 69]

Thanks for the responses,

I'm getting the idea that the R-compound tires will overload the rubber bushings and performance street suspension, and I will go with a performance oriented street tire instead. I'm really looking for a tire that won't overheat and chunk under extreme use. I'm already signed up for Laguna Seca 20 January, so I need to get the wheels and tires soon.

Thanks

CurtiSS 69

[6'9"Witha69]

The grippier the tire the more you will expose the weaknesses in your suspension especially with rubber bushings.

[yoboy sawyer]

Ihave a stock with the nitto555 and you the feel the improvment in brake and ride