(2015) 200+ Treadwear Autocross Street Tire Thread

[celica73]

Anyone track the RE71R yet? Curious to know if it will hold up for 30 minutes at a time.

[xwd]

I have not but all the anecdotal evidence of how fast it heats up and wear, I'm going to say neither it or the Rival-S is the tire you really want on a track for a 20-30 minute session.

Danny Kao posted a picture from his 40-mile Rival-S and when he measured the tread depth there wasn't a single spot which actually measured 7/32nds, the minimum allowable depth for Solo2. Of course there is no rule about measuring it at all, it's kind of left up to the manufacturers. Same thing happened when the Rival came out, and they managed to measure one to 7/32nds.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by dwx

Danny Kao posted a picture from his 40-mile Rival-S and when he measured the tread depth there wasn't a single spot which actually measured 7/32nds, the minimum allowable depth for Solo2. Of course there is no rule about measuring it at all, it's kind of left up to the manufacturers. Same thing happened when the Rival came out, and they managed to measure one to 7/32nds.

For what it is worth, this is my brand spanking new Dunlop ZII in 235/40/17 guise. According to Dunlop / Tire Rack, the tread depth is supposed to be 9/32" when new. I might be reading my tire gauge wrong, but that doesn't look like 9/32" to me at all.



According to a very knowledgable local motorsports veteran friend, this should really be attributed to moulded VS measured depth. At the time of manufacture, the rubber is poured into the moulds and the tread depth is precisely what they list. Once the tire is out, it cures and in doing so, the rubber actually shrinks and hardens. So we end up getting a finished tread depth that is smaller than the advertised tread depth on pretty much most tires.

I suspect that is what happens with the Rival's case as well.

[xwd]

Yeah the rules are based on the molded depth, not the actual tread depth. So they are all within spec given that.

There were some comparisons done yesterday between the RE71R/Rival-S in ~50/55 degree weather on the east coast. Eric Simmons (used to have a STX BRZ) now has a STX RX-8 and the RE71Rs were faster on his car with his driving and current setup. He said the car will need to be setup differently to work well with the Rival-S and he'll try to do so at a test and tune.

Danny Kao has a 2015 WRX in DS and ultimately he ran the same times with both.

So jury is still out but there should be much better comparisons out within the next couple weeks. I still have concerns over the RE71R overheating too easily in warmer weather.

[Simmons]

Originally Posted by dwx

Yeah the rules are based on the molded depth, not the actual tread depth. So they are all within spec given that.

There were some comparisons done yesterday between the RE71R/Rival-S in ~50/55 degree weather on the east coast. Eric Simmons (used to have a STX BRZ) now has a STX RX-8 and the RE71Rs were faster on his car with his driving and current setup. He said the car will need to be setup differently to work well with the Rival-S and he'll try to do so at a test and tune.

Danny Kao has a 2015 WRX in DS and ultimately he ran the same times with both.

So jury is still out but there should be much better comparisons out within the next couple weeks. I still have concerns over the RE71R overheating too easily in warmer weather.

Yes it definitely needs a different setup between the 2 tires.


I actually decided to Not change the car for the BFG and just keep running the Stones for now. I don't want to screw it up with the NJ Pro coming up so fast.


Simmons

[sillyboybmxer]

Any of you know of any places to get the re71r or rival S in short notice as tire rack is out obviously of the popular sizes.

[renfield90]

235/45/17 'stone is in stock if you can live with the taller gearing. Cheaper than the 225 too...

[sillyboybmxer]

I should have been more specific. Looking for 245 40 or 255 40.

[xwd]

I guess people have been able to get the RE71Rs through other avenues like Costco even. Ultimately most tire shops though don't get near the supply as TR and many end up buying the tires wholesale through TR anyways.

I read about guys buying extra sets of the RE71Rs just in case they are going to be in short supply this summer and fall... crazy.

[KevinK121]

Why no mention of BFG sport comp 2's for autox tires?

Ive seen nothing but good reviews at a great price point. Good for DD. I appologise if the treadwear dq's the tire. At work and shouldnt be typing this as is >_<

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by KevinK121

Why no mention of BFG sport comp 2's for autox tires?

by BFG's own admission, the Rival is an improvement of the Comp 2s, which are more of a street/DD orientated tire.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfg-n..._G-FORCE-RIVAL

They probably fall into the PSS camp. "Good and durable, but not best"

[KevinK121]

[xwd]

So it looks like TR will have the 245/40/17 RE71Rs back in stock on 4/17 now.

I have yet to actually hear of too many tests on the twins, but the RE71R seems to be the fastest tire right now, but the Rival-S isn't far behind. I guess the Bridgestone rep at the Texas Tour said the RE71R in their testing is approximately .5s faster on a 30s course which is pretty huge. Almost everyone has flocked to the Bridgestones at this point.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by dwx

I guess the Bridgestone rep at the Texas Tour said the Bridgestone is faster

FTFY. And the tires have not been tested head to head in Lincoln yet. The Bridgestone could easily have the same issue that plagued the original Rival.

Signed,
Someone who won a free Rival S, and is still holding out hope