RaceTires

For a 97 Miata, 175 rwhp,. I'm trying to decide between Toyo RA1 and Nitto NTO1 size 205x50x15. For track days, so. Cal. Anyone with experience with these two tires and care to give me an opinion? Help me make a decision. Thanks./

Well, RA1s are the tire for spec Miata, so there's a lot of used ones out there for you to try to get your hands on.

I like the NT01s, mainly because they don't need to be shaved to prevent that squirmy feeling you get from new RA1s. If you shave the RA1s (or don't mind the squirm), it doesn't matter.

Unshaved RA1s are better in the wet when new, which probably doesn't matter to you in SoCal. The RA1s are also quieter, which may matter to you if you're going to drive them to/from the track.

I've never put a stopwatch on them back-to-back because I just do HPDEs for fun. Either would be a fine choice. I'd get whatever's cheaper.

In reply to billy3esq:

Re race tires, thank you for your comments. those were my issues, and you were right on with my thoughts. I decided on the nittos, so thanks. Allan