David S. Wallens said:Our testing has regularly showed that the wider tire is faster in an autocross/track setting.
IIRC 949 racing tested some wide tires (225s or 245s or something like that) on a stock-ish power Miata at a big/fast track (I think it was Willow Springs) and discovered it went slower with the wider tires due to more drag.
But yes, for autox speeds you're going want to stuff as much tire under the car as you can.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
And also depends on the wheel width. And clearance. As usual, the answer lies in some A/B testing...
AAAGH! Now have to decide between 205/50-15 RE71RS and 225 or 245 Falken RT-660 to replace my 225 BFG's. The BFGs are great on the track and good on hot autocross days, but challenging on cool & wet days (which we seem to be having a lot of lately). Mild CSP prep Miata with 15x8s, tracked 3-4 times / year and autocrossed about the same.
245s are going to be too much of a squeezed fit on a 15x8 so you can rule that out, 205 or 225-wide tires can work. Everyone who isn't on some kind of Michelin Pilot Sport tire is going to be disadvantaged on cool & wet days, so you might as well go with a higher-temperature setup that will work well when most other tires are, and will stand up to track use.
Has anyone seen any more info about these tires? I'm ready to buy a new set coming off the re71's. Very big debate between the new RS or the yokes. Quite a big price difference too in the size i need. Hate to buy the rs's and they not be at least equal to the yokes. Although any i buy will be much better than my old re71's. Decisions decisions
In reply to Kenneth Howell :
We're still waiting on a set of RE-71Rs test. Very, very soon, we're told.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
What's your gut feeling on them?
In reply to Kenneth Howell :
Regarding performance or availability?
They're supposed to be landing at the warehouses this week. I'm not usually an early adopter, but I have a set on order. E Street Miata in central Florida, so heat tolerance is going to be important.
Better than yoks is going to be a tall order but so far all indications are that it's at least in the ballpark with the other top 200TWs and almost certainly isn't a *bad* choice especially if they're cheaper than some of the other options. At this point it's probably as much a matter of which tire suits your car/setup/driving style as anything else.
I think the tire rack testing is supposed to be published late next week.
Yeah, based on Bridgestone's previous offerings, I'd expect the RE-71RS to be a contender.
Of course performance is top priority price second. That's my thing do i want to jump first to try them or go with the tried and true. I may hold off just a bit and see. In the size I'm looking at 295/30/18 the Bridgestone is 350 the Yokohama is 411 quite a price difference. Which is kind of surprising and makes me think maybe they sacrificed some grip for longevity endurance side of things.
I was talking to a Tire Rack guy at an event about the new RE71s and he confirmed that they are probably the best choice for TTs/HPDE. The new compound deals with heat from track use a little better.
Still sad about no 225/45-15 and trying to decide between RT660 and Rival S 1.5. Don't think there's a wrong choice there, it will probably come down to price.
jwagner (Forum Supporter) said:I was talking to a Tire Rack guy at an event about the new RE71s and he confirmed that they are probably the best choice for TTs/HPDE. The new compound deals with heat from track use a little better.
Still sad about no 225/45-15 and trying to decide between RT660 and Rival S 1.5. Don't think there's a wrong choice there, it will probably come down to price.
Good to hear that it's a little better, but realistically there's other compounds (most notably RT660's) that deal with heat a LOT better.
goingnowherefast said:Good to hear that it's a little better, but realistically there's other compounds (most notably RT660's) that deal with heat a LOT better
Don't take my "little better" description as gospel - I'm paraphrasing what I heard in a longer conversation. It will be interesting to see some real test results.
No surprise, I guess.
My three year old rivals ( they were two years old when TR shipped them to me) are getting pretty toasted. Five runs and a 250 mile round trip today. Tomorrow it's about 500 miles and who knows how many runs...on concrete.
On the bright side, it looks like the latest shipment of falkens finally landed and almost all sizes of RT660 are showing in stock at tire rack at the moment.
My original order seemed to be locked in to shipping from the indiana warehouse which apparently hasn't been restocked in my size yet. I canceled and reordered and the tires are shipping from louisiana and should be here by thursday. So their shipping/inventory system is getting better but still has some issues dealing with backorders.
dps214 said:On the bright side, it looks like the latest shipment of falkens finally landed and almost all sizes of RT660 are showing in stock at tire rack at the moment.
Just ordered a set of RT660s in 225/45-15 for the Miata. Would have liked to try the new RE71s...
Ours just landed. Testing very soon.
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