Unfortunately, I can't answer why there is a change being made, as I don't know the answer. I can only speculate that Toyo wants to move their product line "forward", if you will, and the RA1 might be considered "old" in terms of technology. Again, nothing more than speculation on my part.Originally Posted by ShadowBolt
NASA was adament the replacement tire had to cost close to the same as an RA1 (with shaving costs included), provide similar, if not better performance (longevity, grip, wear, etc), and require minimal setup changes. They (NASA) were also adament to include NASA racers in testing the new compound to get feedback from the very people they were selling their products to.
NASA, and Toyo, were aware folks were not always thrilled at having to shave tires to get better performance out of them. Not having to shave them will be very nice - nothing like spending ~$200 on a tire, then spending $20 to shave off ~$30 worth of rubber and throw it away.
I totally dig the RR. Excellent corner exit grip, outstanding braking grip.....AAMOF, for the first time, EVER, I was able to really use my StopTechs. As in, they were hot and stinky coming into the pits, something I'm not able to do with the RA1. I really wanted to test brake lock-up with the RR, but had to be mindfull not to flat spot them as they had to be moved to another car after my session. Even so, I really hammered the shit out of both compounds, going wayyyyy deeper into some very high-entry speed braking zones, and never got them to lock up.
For example - T2 at BW, called the Buttonhook IIRC (Race #13, running CW) is a sharp right that has camber on the far inside, is slightly uphill, but as you exit, it flattens out/is slightly off camber. Coming out of that turn, I've always had to feather the throttle, and provide some additional steering input because I can't put ALL the power down. Never could. Most CMC and AI cars can't. If you do, you'll spin the inside tire, and/or come out way too loose.
Ah.....yeah, forget that with the RR. Brake hard, turn in, get over the slight hump in the track, and go balls deep into the throttle, plenty of grip, upshift, WOT all the way to the braking zone of T3. Getting through the bus-stop, then the fast, high-speed right sweeper? Ooooo, yeah.
They came up to temp about the same time RA1's do (within ~2-3 laps), were very consistent throughout the session, and never felt like they dropped off. My fastest laps came at the end of each session, although it's entirely possible much of that had to do with the fact that I was able to "figure out" the tire, recognizing where it was working well, and able to take advantage of it. Usually, my car drops off in lap times the warmer ambient temperature gets. Not with the RR's.
I even told NASA, and the Toyo engineers, that I'd fun run CMC the entire rest of this season (we did the test in June) if I could get a set of the RR's and run them for the remainder of the year. Yeah, I liked 'em that much.
I'm going to hang out on a limb here.....my guess is we'll see a ~1-2 second per lap drop in times/track records, maybe more once people really learn the tire, and make changes. Only time will tell.....I'm may be completely wrong (wouldn't be the first time, and likely won't be the last).
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