should i flip these R1Rs?
 

these are 235/40/17 R1Rs that have seen 13 autocross events, I have not yet flipped them and the inside shoulders are still square. (NEW, UNTOUCHED, VERY GOOD CONDITION)

They were not shaved.

I have two events left this season and maybe a single and very short track session.

Was wondering if I should bother to flip them for maximum grip or if there's plenty of tire left on them to keep going?

Is the amount of rubber currently seen in the picture still worthy of competition?


What bothers me the most is that discolored strip above the sidewall. I've not owned R1Rs before so I don't know how they should wear.

There are quite a few people I've talked to in the "don't flip street tires" camp. A friend asked a few weeks ago if she should flip hers, and was told "You won't like it." I'd tend to agree as I've driven on Z1s (on my MINI) and Z2s (on an S2000) that were flipped, and both felt REALLY weird afterwards.

flipped L to R (to maintain grove direction) or just flipped on the rim?

You might want to look at the inside edge also to see what is going on in there. You might be able to determine if it is worthwhile then.


I've flipped ZIIs (on my GTI) while maintaining groove direction and had no issue with it, but they were autocross only tires, so I didn't get much distance on them for a proper comparison either.

:sigh:


....as I said, the inside edges are square.. ie, fresh, new, minty, not srubbed. My question is more about whether what's left on this side is still usable or if it's dead.

I've edited my original post so that there is no confusion...

Flipped on rim then moved to the other side of the car to maintain groove direction. I plan on just running mine as-is until they're spent.

I drive on all of my autocross tires flipped on the rim and even drive on them backwards so they are pointing the wrong direction. Data shows no difference in tire performance. Its just to save from going to the chords or into a rubber compound that is not very good. (i.e. some of the R1Rs have a 'bad' compound halfway down)

Kind of blows my mind you are running a 235 r1r on a 7" wheel though

Honestly, if you want maximum performance....

Replace.

R1R's heat cycle out much faster than other comparable street tires, and yours look like that, and you got them at full depth, those R1R's are probably .5 - .75 of a second off in performance on a 50 second course.

well, replacement is out of the question since I have nothing to replace them with until spring.


only 2 events left, with one in October.


again my main concern is whether this side right now has usable rubber left or if it's at the limit.

They looked pretty raped to me. If you're not replacing, I'd flip.

The sidewalls of the R1R are pretty soft and while the compound is amazing, they seem to work best when stretched, rather than pinched. I tried the 225/45-17 and got similar results...very accelerated wear on the edges.

Exactly.

it was an experiment


plus I didn't want to run into the issue of running into that "bad compound"


i was considering 215's initially, maybe next season.