[Gary(SF)]

For those of you running RA-1s, do you find the fronts last a lot longer than the rears? Looks like that's the way mine are wearing. How about brake pads?

TIA,

Gary

 

[Sh4rkattk]

Any tire, regardless of make or model. Rear tires always wear faster then the fronts. On my car I have not changed the front tires after 15,000 miles. I am on my second set of rears, they are now on their way out. The fronts still look like they have some nice tread on them.

 

[Icedog_16]

Not if you have a FWD or AWD car. But RWD, yes, the rears will wear faster. Having had multiple cars of each type, the Elise was probably one of the biggest contrasts I've seen front-to-rear. I'd say weight distribution plays a good part in that equation.

With respect to the brake pads, I found my fronts went way faster than my rears.

 

[Gary(SF)]

Interestingly enough, tracking my F430 I find tire wear (and brake pad wear) are essentially equally front and rear...

Gary

 

[LarryB]

Tires on the 048 (or even my MR2 Turbo), strictly on wear it's about 2:1 with front lasting longer. My RA-1's started life at full thread and use them mainly for street and some track duty. Barely getting to the 6/32 mark, they are wearing fairly evenly. What I've heard from a few that have run them down, it's not 2:1 maybe more like 1.5:1.

Pads, just changed out my 2nd set of OEM pads. The fronts were worn to the point that I didn't try to do my last track session on them. The rear probably had enough for at least one full track day and maybe two on them.

 

[carl]

Gary, we missed you today at BW, the rears ware 2to1 some times 3-1. To me the RA1s ware better than the 888s. On pads the fronts seem to go quicker but not by much . The factory says you can go to 2 mm of material I don't go under 4. The fronts start with 9mm of pad and the rears have 7. The backing plates on the pads are 5mm so when the pad looks thinner than the backing plate its time. For street you can go longer but on the track the thinner the pad the more chance you have of boiling the fluid. carl

 

[Icedog_16]

Interestingly enough, tracking my F430 I find tire wear (and brake pad wear) are essentially equally front and rear...

Gary

Weird. Might it be a combination of weight distribution and the difference in front/rear tire width? Does the F430 have any sort of brake proportioning system?

 

[Gary(SF)]

Gary, we missed you today at BW, the rears ware 2to1 some times 3-1. To me the RA1s ware better than the 888s. On pads the fronts seem to go quicker but not by much . The factory says you can go to 2 mm of material I don't go under 4. The fronts start with 9mm of pad and the rears have 7. The backing plates on the pads are 5mm so when the pad looks thinner than the backing plate its time. For street you can go longer but on the track the thinner the pad the more chance you have of boiling the fluid. carl

Hi Carl -

I hope to make one of Jack's events later in the year when my schedule allows. You guys should come up to Laguna or Sears sometime!

Gary

 

[rnr]

I've always had the fronts on my Elise wear out marginally quicker than the rears - nothing too dramatic it just meant that I change all 4 tires in a single shot. The car was used for a lot of street driving (currently at 40k+ miles) but also did about 15-20 track days and 3 seasons of autocross.

This is through 2 sets of AD07s and 1 set of RA-1s

 

[kaz]

Yeah mine have always been like 1.5:1 but just change them out at the same time. On my STi the NT01's (same tire as RA-1) the fronts are bald and the rears look new after one track day.

 

[Gary(SF)]

I've always had the fronts on my Elise wear out marginally quicker than the rears - nothing too dramatic it just meant that I change all 4 tires in a single shot. The car was used for a lot of street driving (currently at 40k+ miles) but also did about 15-20 track days and 3 seasons of autocross.

This is through 2 sets of AD07s and 1 set of RA-1s

Well that's a new data point!

Gary

 

[xtn]

Our cars do have the propensity to wear out the rears faster, but there are variables that might reduce that tendency such as alignment and contact patch loading.

xtn