I drive them in the fall as well and there is a distinct gradual loss of grip as the temperature drops. Maximum tire grip for this tire is when the rubber is in the 100-140F range which is generally possible when the air temp is above 70 degrees. As the air temp drops, grip gradually fades away as the rubber stiffens and it gets difficult to put any heat into the tire. So air above 70 is ideal, between 50-70 is ok, 40-50 it takes a few miles to warm up the tires, below 40 use caution.

For normal driving, I don't think it does anything. I drove on bald RA1s in the winter for 2 years (when it is not snowing)

Sure, you can drive just fine as long as you don't expect maximum grip.

oh yeah, last time we did an autox below 38f, a prius took ftd.

I'm no all star record breaking driver, but my times at Road Atlanta are only 1-2 seconds slower than full R compounds on Yokohama Neova AD-08s. Awesome dual purpose tire. 1:46 vs 1:48, but that could also be my wing, as I wasn't able to exceed 138 on the long straight, and should have hit 145 at least.

Nope. you are not that far off. I ran a 2:23 on old R888 and 2:25 on new Direzza Z1 SS in my RX-8 at VIR. If they were the Hoosiers or R1s, then the gap should be bigger.

The new street tires are surprisingly quick, even though they don't feel like it. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth all the extra effort and money to run multiple sets of tires

That's about what I expected to hear I suppose. I hate tire shopping.

you cant go wrong with re11 if you track or autox car, probably a little pricey for daily drivers

me too, My difference was R1s and AD08s. I'm going to Road America in October and have decided to drive up on my street tires instead of towing the car with r compounds. 27mpg vs 10-11 on an 1800 mile trip will be a much larger difference than the 1-2 seconds per lap.

Now, if you are doing time attacks, that would be a different story, because every bit helps, but I'm not, I'm just out to have fun.

Here is the funny thing. The street tires might not be much slower than the R comps, but they feel absolutely TERRIBLE against them. I did a test last week where I ran the car with old slicks vs street tires. The times were nearly identical, yet the car felt dramatically different in terms of feel. It's weird.

I have RE11 now, I don't really have a full set of slicks. I am still trying to find a set of 275/35/18 BFG R1 for <$500 used since they last longer than the Hoosiers.

I will be heading to VIR next weekend, can't wait to see how it compares to my Corvette, 350z and RX-8.

I have only heard good things about them but some of my track buddies suggested I stay with the stock tires until I'm making them scream...

In the end though the price difference is pretty small so I may just end up on RE11s.

I have similar experiences with RE-11's vs NT-01's. The NT-01's felt like they were faster because they turned in harder but the lap times said there wasn't much in it. It felt like you had to really push it to the limit to make the most of the NT-01's where as the RE-11's even though less sticky were easier to drive on.

agree 100%, its amazing how far these tires have come along. i will get another set of re11 next year, i might hold off on the slicks as they might not be worth the cost.

if you can afford it, definitely get it. i removed my stock tires at 700 miles because i knew i would run the car at track and autox. i was lucky and got nearly 750 dollars back on the stock tires

But, with the AD-08s, they feel exactly like an R-comp and nothing like a street tire at all, especially not the bridgestones that came with the car.

the re050 are jokes. i have never driven the ad08, but i believe the re11 is faster based on what i have seen. the re11 feels like a street tire, except they grip a lot better than the hankook