Tire Talk Megathread

[MaX PL]

I really hope thats temporary. I have 3 new 285s and need a fourth but no one has them.

Dont know what I'll do if they stopped producing them.

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by MaX PL

I really hope thats temporary. I have 3 new 285s and need a fourth but no one has them.

Dont know what I'll do if they stopped producing them.

rhyary mode

[MaX PL]

lol yah no way.

best I'll be able to do I feel is get two 265s and run 265/285 staggered and then just sell/toss the last as I'm not going rhyary mode. but hopefully they'll produce some over winter and I'll be able to run these this spring.

[fsmtnbiker]

Originally Posted by spxxx

Haven't seen any long term reviews of RE71RS wear characteristics so I decided to be a guinea pig again after running the Nexens (just bummed they don't offer anything wider for our chassis).

Should have them mounted up to my new Titan7s before BW on the 16th (hopefully) and Sonoma on the 24th!!

How do they look after day 1? I have seen really good wear out of the RE71RS but I don't know how well the Lotus translates on tire wear vs the E92. I've got 12x 15min sessions, 40 autocross runs and ~1000 street miles on mine and they're getting low on tread. I'm guessing that's about the same as RT660 or older RE71R, definitely better than garbage A052s.

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by fsmtnbiker

How do they look after day 1? I have seen really good wear out of the RE71RS but I don't know how well the Lotus translates on tire wear vs the E92. I've got 12x 15min sessions, 40 autocross runs and ~1000 street miles on mine and they're getting low on tread. I'm guessing that's about the same as RT660 or older RE71R, definitely better than garbage A052s.

They look pretty much brand new, I only ran 3 sessions as I had to get home to a sick baby but they were fast enough for a PB during the heat of the afternoon. I did notice a little crack in the tread likely from final session sliding fun but overall they look great.

As far as speed, they feel a hair faster than the Nexens but have much worse heat tolerance which was expected... I need to look at data but my butt dyno tells me that they're on par speed wise with the RT660/A052. I like the feedback of the RE71RS much more than both of those tires though and based on one event they'll last 2x as long. Seems like the new ultimate TA tire as they seem to get 2-3 flyers in before getting greasy and that's more gradual than the A052 IMO.

[fsmtnbiker]

My RE71RS have gotten less prone to falling off while hot as the tread depth has gotten lower (and the heat cycle count has gone up). I don't feel like their performance is falling off but I will have to get some new tires soon so hopefully I can run them back to back. I ran 6 laps in a row within 0.6s at the last track event, and it was ~95F ambient. They are definitely more temperature sensitive when they're new and have deeper tread. As far as I can tell they are faster than RT660 (and don't fall apart if you look at them wrong), approximately as fast as A052 and last much longer. I'm a big fan.

[slcook54]

Is this is on lotus? Is the e92 still around? fsmtnbiker

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by b4hand

How long did the heat-cycle'd set last?

1 Session = 1 Heat Cycle

First set lasted 34 sessions which were heat cycled.

The second set lasted 25 sessions. I corded one tire pretty bad...actually went through the steel belt. BUT...this was due to running a track that is hard on the front left tire which is the one that corded. I probably had another 5-10 sessions if I had rotated the tires.

I don't think heat cycling improves how many sessions you get. I would argue that you get more really fast sessions by heat cycling the tires.

For example, at MSR Houston I can consistently run high 1:41s/low 1:42s with fresh RRs. A heat cycled RR would start falling off after about 8-12 sessions. A non heat cycled RR starts falling off after about 4-8 sessions.

Both fell off to a 1:43 after the initial fast sessions. Then after 20 sessions, both started falling off down to mid to high 1:44s. When the tires corded, both were about 3-4 seconds off.

[///Mobbin]

Originally Posted by spxxx

They look pretty much brand new, I only ran 3 sessions as I had to get home to a sick baby but they were fast enough for a PB during the heat of the afternoon. I did notice a little crack in the tread likely from final session sliding fun but overall they look great.

As far as speed, they feel a hair faster than the Nexens but have much worse heat tolerance which was expected... I need to look at data but my butt dyno tells me that they're on par speed wise with the RT660/A052. I like the feedback of the RE71RS much more than both of those tires though and based on one event they'll last 2x as long. Seems like the new ultimate TA tire as they seem to get 2-3 flyers in before getting greasy and that's more gradual than the A052 IMO.

Sounds like you may be leaning RE71RS over the Nexens for future sets?

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Sounds like you may be leaning RE71RS over the Nexens for future sets?

Yeah mainly due to the 285/30 or 295/30 options in the RE71RS right now (until I get my shorter F/D limited slip installed). I'll run a couple more events to see how they wear before deciding but I'm definitely leaning towards RE71RS now, they're also cheaper.

[fsmtnbiker]

Originally Posted by slcook54

Is this is on lotus? Is the e92 still around? fsmtnbiker

Yeah on the Evora. I still have the E92, it's in time out in the corner of the garage waiting for me to have some patience to deal with it. I've been having way too much fun with the Lotus and it has left me with very little motivation to mess around with the E92.

[P1zzaboy]

Originally Posted by tsk94

Any chance anyone has experience with Maxxis VR-1's?

Yes! They don't compare in laptimes with the recent super 200tw tires.

They feel like a nt01 but a little slower.

But in my area they are half the price of most tires, so they are still a great bang for buck for seat time

[b4hand]

I will be trying out the Maxxis RC-1 soon, about 2 weeks. They seem pretty good for the price according to Grassroots Motorsports.

[M eyedoc]

So I have now run a weekend on the new RE71RS. Short answer: I like them a lot.

Longer answer: I did not have fair conditions to make a full review, but I like them much more than the NT01.

Long answer: Ran on NT05 for several years knowing that they were several seconds slower than NT01, but they wear like iron! It also gave me the opportunity to learn the limitations of the car on a harder tire. When they became unavailable, I bought 2 sets of RE71Rs on closeout. Knew the NT05 was slower, but was surprised to drop 5 seconds a lap on the first weekend! Ok, now I understand. After going through those, I picked up the NT01. Hated them! Turn in felt mushy and never gave me the confidence of the RE71. Data showed equal mid-corner grip, and equal laptimes, but never felt comfortable. Couldn't wait to wear them out. Going to Daytona in December and knew I would need new tires for the weekend. Bought set of RE71RS with the intention of heat cycling them at PittRace and finishing off the NT01. Corded the NT01s after the morning and had to switch back to the RE71RS. So here is why my data is fuzzy. Conditions were perfect, 60F and overcast. I had never been to PittRace when it was completely dry. So 4 seconds faster than RE71R from last year in drying conditions is hard to compare. But sticker RE71RS was about 1sec faster than worn NT01. Biggest issue was the incredible improvement in turn-in. Much more comfortable! So, I hesitate to give a full review given one weekend at a track with totally different conditions. I will say I picked up a second set for Daytona as PittRace was harder on wear than I wanted. As this will be my first time there, I won't have anything to compare until spring when I get back to my normal tracks. Just sharing my early experience in case it might be helpful.

[slcook54]

Great to hear. Was going to put my fresh 71RS two weeks ago but had a tuning issue and couldn't run the E92. Running two days at Thunderhill in a couple weeks, will report back. Also transitioning from the NT01.

[M eyedoc]

Originally Posted by slcook54

Great to hear. Was going to put my fresh 71RS to the last week but had a tuning issue and couldn't run the E92. Running two days at Thunderhill in a couple weeks, will report back. Also transitioning from the NT01.

Night and day difference. I felt that the NT01 was good after they took a set mid-corner, but the transition never felt comfortable. RE71RS and the previous RE71R seem much more precise and consistent. I can see how people are drawn to the NT01 as the pace is good. Was just surprised at the difference.

[slcook54]

Totally agree. I posted about their behavior in my track journal. I found them more predictable at a higher psi (37-38) has recommended by my race shop, but found them especially squirmy under hard braking.

71RS will be about trade off on wear. My NT01 corded after 7 days.

[M eyedoc]

I think I probably had a toe issue as I was also wearing the inside shoulder. Since I drive it to the track, I adjust camber at the track so don't know how much toe I end up with. This time I had it aligned with track setup. Going with zero toe, so that should help. Incidentally, managed to get -4.5 for camber with Vorshlag plates! We'll see how that works.

[CinciFRS]

M Eyedoc, any insight (I guess asking an eye doc for insight is the right place to go, ha) on tire pressures for the RE71-R vs. the RS? I loved the feel of the RE71R on my STX FR-S when it was the "hot" tire a few years ago, but now the car is set up for A052s. I ran lower pressures on the old Bridgestones because they had such stiff sidewalls, but I've heard the RS isn't quite as sturdy, maybe needing more air?

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by CinciFRS

M Eyedoc, any insight (I guess asking an eye doc for insight is the right place to go, ha) on tire pressures for the RE71-R vs. the RS? I loved the feel of the RE71R on my STX FR-S when it was the "hot" tire a few years ago, but now the car is set up for A052s. I ran lower pressures on the old Bridgestones because they had such stiff sidewalls, but I've heard the RS isn't quite as sturdy, maybe needing more air?

I've seen the best performance at 32-33psi hot over two sets of them... I ran my first set closer to 34-35psi hot which gave me a better initial hot lap but they'd be greasy by lap 5 and I'd occasionally see them get to 36psi (then the higher pressure would perpetuates itself with more slip/spinning and more heat... And higher pressures). I'd shoot for 33psi hot!

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by M eyedoc

I think I probably had a toe issue as I was also wearing the inside shoulder. Since I drive it to the track, I adjust camber at the track so don't know how much toe I end up with. This time I had it aligned with track setup. Going with zero toe, so that should help. Incidentally, managed to get -4.5 for camber with Vorshlag plates! We'll see how that works.

I'd be surprised to hear if you actually need -4.5*. What made you decide to go that much?
I ran -4* on my E92 at times, depending on tires and a few other setup settings. But often it resulted in too much inside wear so ended up backing it down.

[CinciFRS]

Originally Posted by spxxx

I've seen the best performance at 32-33psi hot over two sets of them... I ran my first set closer to 34-35psi hot which gave me a better initial hot lap but they'd be greasy by lap 5 and I'd occasionally see them get to 36psi (then the higher pressure would perpetuates itself with more slip/spinning and more heat... And higher pressures). I'd shoot for 33psi hot!

Gotcha. Way easier to keep pressures in line for a bunch of 60 second autocross runs than over a 20 minute track session!