RE71RS vs. old A052s at Thompson (CT)
 

Did Thompson Speedway road course with COMSCC last Friday/Saturday.
1st sessions day one were on old A052s (one pair totally slick), I did a best lap of 1:22.3 on them with some understeer with the slick pair up front). 2nd half of the day I threw the RE71RS on, but thing is I was having to do lead-follow instructing (in the 1:29s) in the student group just prior to being able to do hot laps in the instructor run group. Tires felt OK with good balance but was stuck in the 1:23s. Next day 1st laps in the AM, did a couple of laps just below 1:21.5 (vs. T50 class record of 1:21.7) on the RE71RS, >1.5s faster, yes! Pulled in and took them right off and set them aside to save them for mid-afternoon time trial. Did next practice on the old A052s and was in the 1:23s on them with lotsa oversteer with the slick ones in back, yee-haw! Mid-afternoon time trial, did a disappointing 1:22.2 on the RE-71RS, just missing 2nd place by ~0.05s, beaten by two NC Miatae :cry: But a tick faster than my fastest A052 lap for the event. But with two of those A052s pretty much done...

My impression is that *for quickest lap times* RE-71RS need to start from stone cold. Then I'd say they might be close to on-par with A052s that are still in their prime, but only for like 3 laps max. I think fresh(er) A052s should be quite a bit faster throughout the day particularly for extended lapping.

Think I'ma get a set of Nankang CR-1 (CR-S now?) before next event. Run them in the AM on day one of the event, then a session on the RE-71RS and if the B'stones are actually faster I'll take them right off and not run them again until time trial on afternoon of day 2.

If A052s were available I'd get a set. But I think the Nankangs are pretty close to them in the dry.

Any other recommendations? Need to stick with 200tw category or have to add significant ballast...

CRS are pretty darn good and require a similar setup to the yokos. Give them a try.

My understanding is that CR-S is unchanged from CR-1, name change only, izzat right? I ran the CR-1s a couple of events last year and honestly the lap times were within margin of error and my consistency vs. the A052s. I ran the CR-1s early session and did same lap times on A052s later when the track was supposedly ~0.5s slower, soI would guess same lap times to no more than 0.5s slower at Palmer...

Marketing based name change is my understanding, not sure why

Yeah CRS is about the same as CR1 and your laptimes and guesses about it vs the yoko a052 have been the similar to mine.

I really liked the A052's for autocross. No track experience. I have a RT660's this year due to the price difference of about $300 and being told the 660's do better on lower camber cars. I liked the Yoks better and my times have shown it.

Haven't seen a ton of people on the RE-71RS yet. Only a few. It'll be interesting once a more people try them. If they're the same price as the Yoks and the Yoks give slightly better times, people will gravitate there.

I, along with a few others in my area did not care for the RT lapping. Most of those guys are into AX and said they worked pretty well there.

Where the heck are you guys finding the Nankangs? I would like to try them and have looked at a bunch of online retailers and even ebay and could never find them.

What about the new Continental ExtremeContact Force or the new Kumho V730? I have heard good things about both, but nothing from anyone running a BRZ or FRS.

The extreme contact is an enduro tire. A bit faster than an RS4 but similar durability. Way off pace for time trials vs the hot stuff 200tw.

RE71RS vs. old A052s at Thompson (CT)
 

I know one guy who has run the v730 on a BRZ. He seemed to like them more then the RT for lapping. For reference he has run a052, 71rs, rt660, rs4, and SX2’s along with the stock tires and some other tires comparable to the SX2. Kid does like 20 track days a year and is very fast.

Phil's tire service in NY will ship you some. The website is old, but they are a reputable retailer and understand racers.

I've been a big fan of the CR-1/S on the twins for autocross. My experience has been at odds with conventional wisdom. They like pretty big slip angles (lots of steering input, keep turning) and work over a fairly wide range of temperatures. I hated them for the first few events because I couldn't get the compound to "turn-on". Then I ran the NJ prosolo (95+ degees) and got them REALLY hot. From them on they were much, much faster. Make sure you heat cycle thoroughly, no joke.

That's easy, some old VP forgot the name, so marketing decided to re-name the tire in their honor.

CRS = Can't Remember Stuff

I've run the V730 w/ my GR86. Very similar to a RS-4, but maybe a bit faster. More of an endurance tire than other tires mentioned (RT660, etc), so it's slower, but longer lasting.
Great for general HPDE, but not so good if you want to set TW200 lap records.

ZDan
How are the Stones for wear rate compared to Yok’s?
The 71RS is billed as more endurance oriented so I was considering them or Conti Force.
I’m getting 4-5 lapping days with A052 which I enjoy. But wouldn’t mind rubber that could extend life for a few more days. Especially now that my commute to the track has increased from 1 hour to nearly 3 hours highway.

You’re reading marketing material for the Japanese RE71RS that came out a few years ago. The USA spec compound is not built for more endurance and is in line with the A052 for pace and wear.

At 60x autox runs my yokes and stones look about the same amount of worn, I’ll hit over 100 runs on the stones this weekend and likely junk them after that. I don’t think it’ll be much different on track.

ContiForce will get you more laps per set of tires, no doubt.

Not sure yet, only have a few hard but short sessions on them. I don't expect any more life vs. A052s though...
I've been driving on them on the street, I don't believe a few hundred miles on the street will wear your tires anything like a track day will.

FWIW I ran a best lap of 1:47.86 at Palmer CCW the Saturday, fastest lap I've done there, with overcast conditions and fairly cool temps. Yesterday though the sun was out all day and track was much warmer, time trialed 1:48.78, 2nd place by just over 0.2s :cry:

Under ideal conditions, I think these tires are faster than A052s. Under hotter track conditions they're about the same.

We ran Palmer (MA) CCW a week and a half ago. Day 1 (Sat) was a little overcast which kept track temps down (ambient temps ~80ish I think?) and I did a best-ever 1:47.86 on the 245 RE-71RS, my only stint on them that day. Did rest of day with new Nankang CR-S up front and borrowed 235 A052s in back. The borrowed Yoks were done though, couldn't put down massive 2.0-liter torque :D

Next day I ran a best 1:49.3 during practice with my own still-good 245 A052s up front and the Nankangs in back, *with a ~170 lb. passenger*. I'd saved the RE71RS set for the time trial, but the sky was clear all day and track temps were a lot warmer. Did a 1:48.78 time trial, losing by 0.25s :cry:

Anyway, it seems to me the RE-71RS are very sensitive to temperature. Cooler the better...

Mighty impressive times with just sways and springs, ZDan. Will be running Eagle Supercar 3R
(100tw) on a gen2 at Palmer (CCW) in a few weeks, will report back if I manage a 1:46. If you don't hear from me, means I failed...haha.

A competitor was faster than usual on Supercar 3Rs two events ago at Thompson, beat me by 0.03s (I usually get him by a few tenths to a second). Last event he was 2.5s off the pace. I wonder of those tires might have just a few awesome laps in them? Anyway you might try to preserve them!

Good luck and report back with times for sure :D

That isn't too surprising for an autox/time trial tire. Kind of the same story for the other super 200s.

RE71RS are more sensitive to ambient temps and track temp, it seems to me. Good news is they seem to be maybe as much as ~0.5s quicker in cooler ambient temps with cooler track vs. A052, vs. only being about on par with them in warmer temps mid-day with a hotter track exposed to sun all day. And for sure they are only good for a few laps before lap times start to fall off significantly, again more so than A052.

Interesting to hear that about track work. The sentiment seems to be the opposite of the two so far for autocross. Yoks are known to be very sensitive to heat. There is yet to be tons of information on the 71RS, but I haven't heard such complaints. Of course, there are tons of variables, most notably that autocross and track use the tires in very different ways.

There is a TT series around here that allows down to 100TW and the SC3R is the go to tire for that series. Haven't heard any complaints about it.

To rehash, at Thompson 9AM practice went out on the RE71RS and after a warmup lap I did two sub 1:21.5s, personal best and lap-record times for my class. *Immediately* came in and took them off to save them for the TT! TT laps early/mid-afternoon with warmer ambient and track temps were 1s slower.

Similar at Palmer CCW. Day one was overcast and track temps relatively low. Did a stint on them early afternoon and ran 1:47.9, again PB and class record pace. Again took them off to save 'em for TT day2 of the event but next day the skies were clear, ambient and track temps were up, again went 1s slower.

In my experience A052s can lose ~0.5s from morning to afternoon, cooler to warmer track, the difference with the RE71RS is much greater.

I'd say they are maybe a couple/few ticks quicker than A052s in cooler temps, just about equivalent in warmer temps, likely slower in HOT temps. And slower after a few to several laps without being allowed to completely cool down.

Did Watkins Glen Monday/Tuesday in wet/dry conditions both days. Did a best 2:15.79 on the RE71RS Monday in the dry, best lap Tuesday was 2:15.81 in the time trial on the Aim Solo2 with 2:15.838 official time. Not bad vs. 2:15.688 TT last year on A052s with more dry practice laps. Calling the RE71RS at least on par with A052s, with some evidence from previous events that they could be a lot better in cooler conditions, and worse with heat in them. They do feel a bit rubbery relative to similarly-worn A052s, car can move around initially on turn in but the grip is there.

My other tires I ran on were two newish Nankang CR-S and nearly-slick pair of A052s. I wound up running most of the wet laps with CR-S fronts and RE71RS rears and had a good time. Kind of expected the CR-S to suck a bit more in the wet but it was no prob. I did one very brief session in the pouring rain with the worn A052s mounted in back and it was hairy!

Just ran NHMS South Oval over the weekend. Day one in the AM, mid 40s (I think?) temps, did a PB 1:13.9 on RE71RS (COMSCC T50 track record was set by me last year at 1:14.7 on A052s).
Day two afternoon temps were ~60F for the time trial with the sun out (warm track). I put bags of ice on the wheels for a couple of hours prior! Still, my TT laps were about my best-driven of the weekend but slower vs. day one in the cold, Aim SoloII said: 1:14.66, 1:14.65, 1:14.81 (despite a small twitch in the oval on my last lap). Official timing had me at a 1:14.46 best though so I'll take it!

Unfortunately my competition went *way* the f faster than practice (1:13.8) and did a 1:13.1 on very coddled A052s (dude has apparently figured out how to get the best laps outta those tires for the TT). :cry: I was able to hang with him in open-track after the TT though (doing mid 1:14s) but only for 3-4 laps.

Long/short: Multiple tracks I've set PB/track-record times on the RE71RS *on a cool/cold track*, but then fell back to my A052 lap times with warmer track/ambient temps in the time trial. Time delta on the order of 0.5s.