Is today’s hot tire tomorrow’s also-ran?
While our regular tire tests usually feature new rubber, we also cycle through the faster ones for our own track days and competition–just like we all do.
Over the past year, however, we added something special, periodically checking in on those tires with measured testing so we could monitor their life cycles: What happens …
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So, what tires are we running next year?
And anyone have any of those spicy 195/50R15 Toyos laying around? :)
Potential typo in the article, in the section "Top 200 Treadwear Tires: A User’s Guide" the table shows the RE-71RS twice. Presumably the second instance of it (last entry in the table) should be the CRS?
Also a question about the photo: I noticed that the CR-S shows heavy wear on the side that's to the right, while the P1 shows heavy wear on the left. Is that an actual difference in how they wore in real life, or are the tires just flipped relative to each other in the picture?
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
Actual wear. P1 was a bit more inside and CRS outside. P1 prefers less camber than CRS.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
You would be correct, that should be the CR-S.
All fixed now, and thank you for catching that. 
Were heat cycles recorded for this test? Would be interesting to see how heat cycles correlate with pace on these tires.
“Ideally suited for track days and time trials.”
The Vitour P1 delivers the fastest laps when new, the longest life of the group, at the best cost-per-lap -- making it the most consistent and economical Super-200 track tire.
If that’s not a win for Vitour -- and for grassroots racers -- I don’t know what is.
Vitour is coming in 2026 with new product lines, aiming to bring that same “ideal” performance to even more segments of grassroots racing.
JaredFloyd said:
Were heat cycles recorded for this test? Would be interesting to see how heat cycles correlate with pace on these tires.
While I did not count them up, the cycle count is pretty linear with the laps accumulated.
My typical non-test day is 3-4 10-15 minute sessions, bookended with a 45 mile drive to/from the track.
This is the stuff the manufacturer’s don’t want us to know 😉. Thank you for the hard work Andy and team!
In the chart of the user's guide, why is the A052 given a C and the Vitour an A for tread depth sensitivity when the Yok is quickest at 5/32 -2/32s and second quickest at 1/32 while the Vitour is the fastest at 7/32 and the slowest at 1/32? I would think that an A means that the tire relatively is not sensitive to tread depth.
In reply to Zink11 :
Yea, I'm also confused.
In relative-pace vs tread-depth graph RE-71RS and A052 lines look the same, yet their TDS scores differ B vs C.
Zink11 said:
In the chart of the user's guide, why is the A052 given a C and the Vitour an A for tread depth sensitivity when the Yok is quickest at 5/32 -2/32s and second quickest at 1/32 while the Vitour is the fastest at 7/32 and the slowest at 1/32? I would think that an A means that the tire relatively is not sensitive to tread depth.
If you read the actual story, the P1 doesn't really change pace at all throughout it's lifetime. This is verified twice at two different tread depths -- new vs worn. So that gets an A.
The A052 is highly sensitive to tread depth. Slow at first and then gets a lot faster. So that's a C.
cck said:
In reply to Zink11 :
Yea, I'm also confused.
In relative-pace vs tread-depth graph RE-71RS and A052 lines look the same, yet their TDS scores differ B vs C.
In addition to pace changes at various depths, heat soak tendency is also baked into that score. A052 is like an entirely different tire as it gets lower in tread. You can run continuous laps wihout soak. Whereas when new, it's terrible at that. RE71RS is somewhere in the middle in that regard.
Andy Hollis said:
In addition to pace changes at various depths, heat soak tendency is also baked into that score. A052 is like an entirely different tire as it gets lower in tread. You can run continuous laps wihout soak. Whereas when new, it's terrible at that. RE71RS is somewhere in the middle in that regard.
Could this explain why my RE71RS sets have seemed to wear to like 4/32" and then stop wearing out for what seems like forever?
