(2015) 200+ Treadwear Autocross Street Tire Thread

[Biggins]

Originally Posted by travisb

Out of curiosity, what is the life expectancy of ZII SS on a daily driver with only 1 deg camber in front? I just got 215/17 SS and I would like to use them for daily (7-8 months of the year) and autox.

How many autocrosses? My ZIIs from 2012 are past the wear bars at well over 200+ runs and 11k street miles. I drove to and ran yesterday at a practice event on them, and they were less than a second off my normal pace with my good tires.

I think they should last at least two years (15k miles) if you don't autocross every single weekend... unless the new compound wears significantly faster?

[travisb]

Originally Posted by Biggins

How many autocrosses? My ZIIs from 2012 are past the wear bars at well over 200+ runs and 11k street miles. I drove to and ran yesterday at a practice event on them, and they were less than a second off my normal pace with my good tires.

I think they should last at least two years (15k miles) if you don't autocross every single weekend... unless the new compound wears significantly faster?

So I am planning about 10 events a year. Each with 5-6 runs of less than 60 seconds.

I've had them on my car for a little over a week. One of the reasons for me asking is that I have noticed a lot of tire dust on the side of the car running from the front tires to the rear bumper. I did not notice this with the stock tires.

[Jawnathin]

I have some feedback to share on the RE71Rs after the SD tour. This is on a CS car.

1.) Qualcomm Stadium Surface is very slippery and rough. I hadn't run here before, and I was surprised on my first few runs on how slippery it was. I think the RE71Rs were a better tire to have on this surface, but I think the loose surface helped neutralize some of the inherent advantage the RE71Rs have over 'lesser' tires. In other words, they would still have more grip relative to another tire but not to the same degree like it would on a good surface.

2.) The TnT was held on a different lot, the surface was better there. I was impressed by their level of grip and thought they held on better than my RS3s did. It was just a TnT, but raw times were better or very competitive with STR and STX cars on Z2*/RS3s.

3.) I would like to see how they do on a surface I have more experience with and have driven my RS3s on for a better comparison, but based on my experience from the TnT site, I expect the RE71Rs to be faster.

4.) Turn in is good, way better than 245/40 RS3s that are pinched on a 7" wide wheel. I hated the floppy RS3 sidewall.

5.) The wear on these are horrible. Easily my biggest disappointment with these tires. My co-driver and I put on 24 runs this weekend, 12 on the TnT (30~ seconds long), 12 during the NT (50~ seconds long), and the wear is incredibly poor. I think some of it has to be attributed to a fast course with a rocky surface cutting into the rubber, but looking at other cars in grid with Z2* and RS3s, they didn't look nearly as bad. Pictures of my front driver's side are below. Yes, that from just 24 runs, maybe 30 street miles. I took the photo with the tire in the wrong orientation. The right is the outside, left is the inside. The rears had the same surface texture, but wasn't as cut up. I will need to rotate them for the next event.






So with all of this said, I'm a bit conflicted. We are still waiting for the Rival S and V720s, but from the tires we have today, the RE71s look to be the fastest 200+ TW tire. You'll want them if you want to compete, but because they wear out so quickly, I don't think they are right for everyone.

If you want to be on the very edge and forefront of competitiveness, these are the tires you'll need. But be warned that if you attend multiple events per month, you may have to buy another set before the season is over. If you have a co-driver, then you may be looking at multiple sets a year. This part frustrates me the most since the whole point in moving to street tires was to have cheap but competitive options. I don't know how long these will last, but the wear on my set was significant after just 24 runs. Hopefully they'll wear better on a different surface and as the tread blocks wear down, but 'Street tires' only capable of 100 runs is no better than where we were with Hoosiers.

For reference, my first set of RS3s V2s were grippy until about 150 runs, then they heat cycled out. But they still had tread for another 150 runs. We tossed them once we hit about 320 runs and about 2k street miles.

If you are just starting autocross or just doing it for fun, I have a hard time recommending these. I think you're going to be better off with a Z2 or RS3. They are still plenty fast, you'll still be competitive, and they'll last you twice as long.

For me, who already has these tires, I'll use the RE71Rs for 'special' events and won't burn them up on local events. They wear far too quickly for that. I am fortunate that I have two sets of competition wheels, one with RS3 and another with the RE71Rs. The RS3s are going to be our 'practice tire' and we'll use those for locals until they're dead. We might try a Z2SS in 235/40 next time around. Once the RE71s wear out, we'll know more about the Rival S and V720 and I may try them out if they are competitive and wear better.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by Jawnathin

Good feedback. Maybe someone who's better at reading tires can tell, but this looks like a classic case of graining, which suggests the tires didn't reach their optimal temperature.

Construction is symmetrical so you should be able to flip as long as you're not running in the rain, but that is some pretty crappy wear.

[Wepeel]

^Damn.

[AustinTX]

OMG - There goes the street class...

[MPot]

Thanks for the details.
Just to be clear, these are the 245/40-17s, right?
Thanks again,
Mike

[Scooby South]

Originally Posted by Scooby South

Ok .. for those keeping score on Street tires from this past weekend at Dixie data taken from all Street tire classes that had over 5 competitors:
Dunlop had 4-1sts, 5-2nds, and 5-thirds
Hankook had 5-1sts, 5-2nds and 5-thirds
Bridgestones had 4-1sts, 3-2nds and 2-thirds
BFG had 2-1sts
Toyo had 2-2nds and a 3rd..

ok..San Diego Tour had:
Bridgestones had 5-1sts, 5-2nds, and 2-3rds
Hankook had 3-1sts 3-2nds and 5-3rds
Dunlop had 2-1sts, 5-2nds and 4-3rds
Falken had 1-1st, 1-2nd and 2-3rds
BFG had 1-3rd

Total so far:
Bridgestones has 9-1sts, 8-2nds and 4 3rds
Hankook has 8-1sts, 8-2nds and 10-3rds
Dunlop has 6-1sts, 10-2nds and 9-3rds
BFG has 2-1st and 3rd
Falken has 1-1st, 1-2nd and 2-3rds
Toyo has 2-2nds and a 3rd

Interesting data on the Re71r's.. hmmm they are still cheaper than r-comps..

Bill

[Jawnathin]

Originally Posted by renfield90

Good feedback. Maybe someone who's better at reading tires can tell, but this looks like a classic case of graining, which suggests the tires didn't reach their optimal temperature.

Construction is symmetrical so you should be able to flip as long as you're not running in the rain, but that is some pretty crappy wear.

Yeah, I can get them flipped, but that is another $150 and a hassle. My tire guy hated mounting these too.

You may be right about the temps. It was around 75F with a breeze. My co-driver ran in a different heat, so we were was basically single drivers. The time between runs were so long that my tires were cool to the touch when it was our turn to go out. It got so cool that one of the drivers put tire blankets on their Z2SS to try to keep them warm .

This could be a worst case scenario of our driving style + rough surface + fast course + cool temps, but this what my front tire looked like after the weekend was done. The rears are better, the shoulders aren't worn and the center bar isnt tapered. They will be rotated for the next event.

Originally Posted by MPot

Thanks for the details.
Just to be clear, these are the 245/40-17s, right?
Thanks again,
Mike

Yup, 245/40/17s.

[Scooby South]

hmmm ^^^ I wonder if they will wear better on a wider wheel and more camber *STX*... ?? ordered but won't be available til april.

Bill

[SeanRTR]

Originally Posted by travisb

One of the reasons for me asking is that I have noticed a lot of tire dust on the side of the car running from the front tires to the rear bumper. I did not notice this with the stock tires.

Did you change the brake pads?

[travisb]

Originally Posted by SeanRTR

Did you change the brake pads?

Stock pads (about 14,000 miles). Besides the wheels/tires the only other thing that is different is -1 front camber.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by Jawnathin

Yeah, I can get them flipped, but that is another $150 and a hassle. My tire guy hated mounting these too.

$150? You need a new tire guy! I flipped mine last week for $32 without balancing...maybe $40-$50 with balancing depending on who I'm using. Maaaaybe $60 if my tire guy hates my fat tires on skinny rims.

[AyJay]

Originally Posted by Jawnathin

Holy schnikes!! I use my tires as double duty for both AutoX and track tires. By the looks of the wear in these pictures I think I could probably destroy a set of these in a scant few weekends.

NO bueno!