Which tire? CR500 or A539

[No_6]

or is the RA1 worth considering?

 

This is for my 1996 Classic live rear-axle, 13" wheels. The A539 is about half the price, but from what I gather the CR500 is a better dry-weather performer.

 

Primary use is spirited drives on back roads in the country (so 20-30 freeway miles to get to the destination) as well as the occasional autocross. Late night drives are a favorite as well, so something that can heat up well when it's 50-60 degrees would be nice. Never in the rain (I have no weather gear :/)

 

Would either of these tires be appropriate? Am I asking too much of a single set of tires?

Edited February 7, 2013 by No_6

[timax]

Have you thought about some AO48's or Toyo 888.

I'm running the AO48s 99% dry road and think they are great. Not too spendy and have lasted well. They do throw some stones up though.

[No_6]

Well, I was fairly happy with the A032's I'm replacing, though I had a couple of scary instances of the back end breaking loose on me. So something that can warm up more quickly on cold road would be really nice.

 

I really don't think it gets warm enough (or stays warm enough--seldom over the 80's during the summer--6 weeks, no kidding) for the 888s. Besides, while I can be... spirited... I've never driven hard enough to drift the 032s, so I think the 888s would be overkill.

 

Love what you've done with your car, BTW.

[Kitcat]

I had Toyo RA1s on the back of my Cat and Avons on the front. The car was very balanced/neutral, even at 10/10ths on the track. So grip was identical in spite of the fact that the RA1's cost about 1/3. And My Toyos (which I still have) have abt 13K miles of mixed street and track use. Doubt you cld get that out of an Avon R500 (and still have any grip).

[twobone]

I bought the A539s for my 89' xflow. I live in Ontario Canada so lots of cool weather driving in the spring and fall. Overall I'm happy with the tires especially for the price. I used midlandwheels in the UK and I had them on my door step for about $125 each all in.

 

I'd recommend them for a street and backroad use car.

[twobone]

I also like the fact that I don't have to worry about "warming them up" in order to get normal grip levels. Not an easy thing to do in such a light car

[JohnCh]

I’ve run the R888 and RA1. The R888 seems to have a touch more grip, but I prefer the handling with the RA1. Kind of hard to describe, but the car just seems more playful and communicative in the corners. According to Toyo, the sidewalls are about 10% softer, so that might factor into what I feel.

 

As for cold weather driving, they are great to a point. When I bought my R888, they were on different wheels, so one morning with the temps hovering around 47F, I took the car out on the outgoing Toyo T1S (a "real" street tire), then came home, swapped the wheels, and retraced my steps with the R888. Even with less than 1 mile of warm up time spent driving at 25mph through a neighborhood, the R888 still had more grip than the T1S. Yes they do grip a lot better when warm, but they still grip well when cold. The RA1 feels identical to the R888 in this regard. Once the temps dip into the mid 30’s, they do begin to feel a bit slick, but nothing dangerous. My old Yoko AO32Rs, by comparison, were a handful when the temps fell into the 50's.

 

-John

[No_6]

I’ve run the R888 and RA1. The R888 seems to have a touch more grip, but I prefer the handling with the RA1. Kind of hard to describe, but the car just seems more playful and communicative in the corners. According to Toyo, the sidewalls are about 10% softer, so that might factor into what I feel.

 

As for cold weather driving, they are great to a point. When I bought my R888, they were on different wheels, so one morning with the temps hovering around 47F, I took the car out on the outgoing Toyo T1S (a "real" street tire), then came home, swapped the wheels, and retraced my steps with the R888. Even with less than 1 mile of warm up time spent driving at 25mph through a neighborhood, the R888 still had more grip than the T1S. Yes they do grip a lot better when warm, but they still grip well when cold. The RA1 feels identical to the R888 in this regard. Once the temps dip into the mid 30’s, they do begin to feel a bit slick, but nothing dangerous. My old Yoko AO32Rs, by comparison, were a handful when the temps fell into the 50's.

 

-John

 

That's very interesting. Yeah, my A032s when cold were a handful. Of slide. Sudden and surprising slide.

 

p.s. one other thing, I currently have 175/60 13's on my car, and with the A539 and RA1's, I'd need to go to a 185/60--would they require noticeably higher steering effort?

Edited February 7, 2013 by No_6

[timax]

Another Tyre ..sorry Tire worth looking at is the AO21 . 185/60/13 though .Demon Tweeks sell them.

Have a look at the Blatchat forum for many great reviews . Would be better on a cold road. If your worried about importing , I ordered 2 tyres from them on a Saturday morning here in Australia and they arrived on the next Tuesday. Very impressive. The Kumho V70A is available in the 175. You could run soft front and medium rear?

Tim

Edited February 7, 2013 by timax

[JohnCh]

p.s. one other thing, I currently have 175/60 13's on my car, and with the A539 and RA1's, I'd need to go to a 185/60--would they require noticeably higher steering effort?

 

I doubt it. I've gone from 195/60-14 AO32R to 185/60-14 AO32R, and later from 195/55-14 TS1 to 205/60-13 R888. Both times the difference in effort was negligible.

 

-John

[No_6]

Hmm... I'm thinking the RA1's might be the winner then. Very reasonable price, and I can get them from IL, so shipping costs are very good.