kaj

iTrader: (60)

i've been running 255/40-17 R-S3s for the longest time but wanted to try the RE-71R after reading the reviews.

i drove them from the track to the motel and back, for a total of 30mins, then went right onto an autox course. as the day went on they got faster and faster dropping time by .5sec each lap.

anyway, here's my immediate impression, before trying these on a road course, which is what my car is actually built to do.

i think the 71s are a bit narrower. there seemed to be a bit of a stretch on the 9.5 wheel that i don't remember the Hankook having.

they are a VERY good looking tires, for anyone that cares. the tread is pretty much dead on the Star Specs. "if isn't broke...."

i'm not sure these tires are where they need to be for maximum grip, just yet. that being said, they still did really well. the last time i was on this course i had about 50 or so more WHP, so for me to say i had more traction on corner exit can be taken with a grain of salt. i wasn't modulating the throttle as much i used to and found the suspension having to do more work, since i wasn't sliding out. i need to adjust my driving now.

i could feel what the car was doing much more than i could with the Hankooks. this i like. i'm all about feel and enjoyment of the car. fast is great, but not at the expense of enjoying the drive IMO. i could feel the road and rumble strips which helped me put the car right where i wanted. this alone was worth the price premium over the Hankook.

since it was AX and we were staged in the shade, i can't say how they handle heat. i noticed no fade during 60+ sec runs. like i said: they got faster the more i used them.

here is a vid of one of my runs to give you an idea of what they had to put up with:


i could see these being an AMAZING AutoX tire. they seem to have the response of the StarSpec with the grip of an R-S3. i really, really, really hope they hold up at the race track as well. if they do, i have a new go-to tire!

** edit
When I drove these to and from the motel, they were very noisy over certain surfaces, in case anyone is curious. Not that anyone would be daily driving these tires, anyway. I mean noisy like "WHAAAAA" LOL. It was interesting and definitely woke me up.

azboost92

Super planted.

kaj

iTrader: (60)

I used to over steer out of the switchbacks on purpose. These tires never let me. The front stuck well enough that I didn't need to.
Also, my coilovers, RSB, and endlinks are all different, so...

evo8426

iTrader: (27)

These are my favorite tires since the factory ones back in 2006 haha. I hear the odd noise over certain surfaces such as fresh paint. They are on my 'sorta' daily driver.

Nice review!

88_Pathy

iTrader: (1)

We will see at the next event, RS3 vs. the new kid on the block. I have a feeling the RE71r are a much grippier tire, but handling the heat may be an issue.

kaj

iTrader: (60)

Meh. Probably Not on our short courses and in November weather.
I also don't think we'll see much difference in performance of the two tires.
It will be fun to see how it goes, though. Ill be running a brand new, smaller turbo. That will help.

RJones

iTrader: (5)

Having run the Z2SS, RS3, Rival-S, and RE71R (not necessarily all on the same car), I can say that the RE71R is the tire to have for autox. I didn't find the heat management to be as good as the Rival-S, but they also don't require as much heat to come in as the RS3. The lateral grip of the RE71R isn't much different than the Rival-S, but both are worlds ahead of the RS3 and Z2SS. I felt that the RE71R performed a little better under braking. I'd like to add that I was thoroughly shocked and impressed with the amount of grip from these two tires, even coming from the land of Hoosiers.

Check out the numbers from SCCA Nationals... RE71Rs were on pretty much all of the street tire cars where size would allow. AS was an anomaly because the Corvettes need wider than Bridgestone is able to offer at this time. We brought both Rival-S's and RE71Rs, but ended up running the BFGs due to familiarity. I'd love to have seen what the car would have done with RE71Rs.

Kada__85

iTrader: (4)

hey kaj, what brake pads were you running? If my Ad08R hadn't just came in, I wouldve tried the re71rs since rs3s are always out of stock....

kaj

iTrader: (60)

Carbon Lorraine RC6 front, Hawk DTC-50 rear.
The RS3 is such a great tire and priced well. No surprise they are always out of stock. If I need tires and can't quite swing the Bridgestone, I have no problems going back to the Hankook.

Turndown

iTrader: (2)

Are you using these specifically on road/auto x courses or do you daily drive them as well? Just curious whether you would recommend something like this for daily use, or just stick with something like AD08's or V12's for daily driving... Noise isn't much of a concern, but wear obviously is something to consider as I've heard these wear pretty quick on the track

RazorLab

iTrader: (8)

I think you mean Dunlop Z2 SS, not NT-01. The tread pattern is almost a direct copy from the SS Z2's

RE-71R:



ZII SS:



NT01:

kaj

iTrader: (60)

Good catch, thank you.

I wouldn't daily these. They are too noisy and WAY too soft. Unless you have deep pockets and don't mind the noise.
I don't forsee anyone needing this kind of traction on the street, especially at the risk of wet-weather traction issues.

Turndown

iTrader: (2)

I figured as much... Nice review. Interested to try these on an auto x course in the future

deeman101

iTrader: (34)

Can anyone compare these tires to nt01?

ViciousLSD

iTrader: (2)

A bit pricey but they are indeed great tires. here's my first run with them on damp-ish sealed asphalt on a 50degree day. I used to finish not too well on this lot but this time it fell like i havent reached 'overdriving' it and screwing up my runs. braking is really good even with 4.5degree camber which i tested at highway speeds with zero miles on them (i did scrub them with dishwashing soap first). I think I need to upgrade my front brake pads now