As Carl said, I too have been very happy with the RE71s, although I'd give a
different impression of them.
I'm running 225/50/16s as well, and actually think the sidewalls are very
stiff. Of course the other tires I ran were Michelin Pilot HX luxury
touring tires, which are probably as gelatinous as your Turanzas. Even so,
I'm surprised by how low I can drop pressures w/o rolling over. I've run
between 34 and 37 hot, which on the Michelins would have me running on the
rims. That said, the ride is definitely not bad, and they're very quiet.
As for grip, they actually don't feel like they have much more absolute grip
than my old M's, but there is a *huge* difference in driveability. When I
used to lose the rear on the Pilots, it was all I could do to save the car,
but definitely not the fast way around. With the RE71s, I feel like the car
does slide around quite a bit, but it is just so controllable. It's really
night and day- they really hang on when they are sliding.
I've noticed that even when hot, mine don't have that "sticky" feel that
Yokohamas have, but on the flip side the RE71s are extremely wide (having
been designed in the '80s) for their nominal size, which may contribute to
their progressiveness.
I've had mine for only ~2200 miles, and about 12-15 events counting all
those fun runs for myself, Ben, Jim, Katie, etc...:). I'd say they're
wearing fast. The rears are about 75% gone, and I just cross-rotated the
fronts because the shoulders were bald. I'm hoping to make it through
slush, but no further. A lot of that is probably my novice driving style
though...
I wonder if the differences between Carl's impressions and mine might be due
to the fact that the 225/50/16s I got from TireRack are the Porsche N2 OE
fitment. I've heard sometimes the OE applications are slightly different.
So now that you've heard from the two guys who are *behind* you in Street
Tire, maybe you should ask Mr. Parker?:):)
Peter Thana
SFR AS-ST
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carl Merritt [SMTP:cmerritt@ati.com]
> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 1:25 PM
> To: 'Dave Rowney'; ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: Tires for Street Tire classs
>
> Peter Thana and I have been running Bridgestone RE71s all season long and
> I've been quite happy with them.
>
> Any new tire after just 5 events is still going to have more than enough
> tread left to run in the rain, so I really don't think you need to worry
> about that.
>
> As for dry traction, the RE71 is the softest street tire I have ever used,
> absolutely superb traction. It's only problem is relatively soft
> sidewalls,
> so they will feel a bit mushy compared to the more top-shelf
> ultra-high-performance tires. But when you weigh the sidewall issue
> against
> the costs involved, I'll personally take a very close second best for half
> the price any day. Also, one can consider the softer sidewalls as a
> benifit
> for street driving comfort.
>
> The life of the RE71s aren't bad either, even with such a soft compound.
> I
> bought my set a year ago, just before the last event of the season. Since
> then I've run 15-20 autocrosses and two all day track events, and they are
> just now getting to the wear-bars and providing the best performance of
> their lives.
>
> David Parker has also been running the SP8000s for yet another season. I
> had a set of these before my RE71s. Not quite as good traction, but much
> sitffer sidewalls. Doesn't seems to slow David down much though =P.
>
> -Carl
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dave Rowney [mailto:daver@uclink4.berkeley.edu]
> > Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 5:00 AM
> > To: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Tires for Street Tire classs
> >
> >
> > The Street Tire class has just about consumed our OEM tires.
> > Who would
> > like to express an opinion on good tires for this class (120+
> > tread wear
> > rating)? Our size is 225/50-16.
> >
> > Best in dry conditions overall.
> > Best dry, considering cost and longevity.
> > Best dry and wet combination.
> >
> > We would like something that will go through 5 slush events,
> > be relatively
> > safe in winter rain driving, maybe do 15 regular season
> > events next year,
> > and not make us too unhappy street driving on bumpy roads. And be
> > competitive if the driver does his or her part. Are we
> > asking too much?
> >
> > Dave & Wil
> > ************************************************
> > * Dave Rowney, Hopper Racing *
> > * BMW 328i GS Solo II *
> > * El Cerrito, California 94530 USA *
> > ****** DaveR@UCLink4.Berkeley.Edu *************
> >
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