Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R

[dparm]

How's the ride quality on these for street use? My AD08Rs ride pretty bad on the street compared to my PSS. I think it's the stiffer and more squared-off sidewalls.

[FMLYSDN]

Originally Posted by dparm

How's the ride quality on these for street use? My AD08Rs ride pretty bad on the street compared to my PSS. I think it's the stiffer and more squared-off sidewalls.

Noticeably harsher. I have been wary of potholes and cracks. I've already gotten a flat spot in one Apex wheel. I added KW HAS so I cannot say it is totally attributed to the tires. I would say that I notice the difference more now between the EDC settings. I am sure it's a combination of the tires and springs.

[leo95se]

my view after ~10 days on them.
-plenty of meat left, approx 50%.
-shoulder wear is something to manage. i have rotated them on the rims after 4 days.
-they seem happy at ~38psi hot.
-reversing them on the rims makes no difference as far as grip. slight change in noise depending on tread left.
-grip is equal to a take off slick. i am running within 0.5 seconds for all purposes.
-nice heat curve. they dont drop off, act more like a tire where they taper off.
-they seem to taper off after around 15mins of hard driving
-i worry that they will heat cycle out before they wear. since this season is essentially done, i will have to see how they go next year. i say this because the grip isnt what it was when new. (i didnt get them heat cycled when bought, and got them new under the bridgestone HPDE promo tour last year)
-I wouldnt run them in the wet, unless close to new.

[leo95se]

Originally Posted by FMLYSDN

That's only if you're taking them off the rims. If you're rotating the the rims around then the directional orientation holds true. I believe most individuals utilizing a square setup aren't taking them off rims but rotating them.

if youre only rotating side to side you arent helping shoulder wear.. obviously right?
i would consider rotating them on the rims to get even wear, depending on your driving and suspension setup.

[dbyrd]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

I agree with both comments. I wasn't referring to flipping on the rims but rather the more common practice (like with Nitto's and Hoosiers) of just moving tires from right to left and vice versa. In the dry, you'd probably be ok with rotating RE71's, but in the wet (and I learned the hard way) you have to maintain direction.

So...in summary...we are in agreement with each other.

These are directional so if you move the driver's side to the passenger's side, they will be running backwards. Are you guys saying this is okay in the dry?

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by dbyrd

These are directional so if you move the driver's side to the passenger's side, they will be running backwards. Are you guys saying this is okay in the dry?

The true answer to this lies in talking to a Bridgestone engineer most likely, but it's profoundly likely (i.e. essentially 100%) that the tire carcass is not in any way directional (not even sure if such a tire would receive regulatory approval). Hence it's likely only the tread pattern, and if so, would result in marginally decreased wet performance -- particularly as water depth increases (probably worsening,relatively, as tread depth declines).

Many years ago C&D did a tire test including the 1st generation Goodyear Gatorback, and on their tests they also ran it backwards (the Gatorback had the first highly directional swept tread pattern for wet conditions). The result was only a marginal decrease in wet performance (and it was still better in the wet than some other tires in the test). Of course I would guess this type of result is a huge function of water depth which might not have been enough in their test to matter much.

[///Mobbin]

If you are running square I would do an x-pattern rotation (and run them backwards, preferably in the dry). Then I would flip them on the rims next. Then another x-pattern rotation at some point. That should provide fairly even wear as long as you also keep an eye on pressure.

[FMLYSDN]

Originally Posted by leo95se

if youre only rotating side to side you arent helping shoulder wear.. obviously right?
i would consider rotating them on the rims to get even wear, depending on your driving and suspension setup.

I would consider your statement to be true.

[leo95se]

Originally Posted by dbyrd

These are directional so if you move the driver's side to the passenger's side, they will be running backwards. Are you guys saying this is okay in the dry?

The head of product development confirmed this is true when we spoke.
Car and driver did a test and confirmed there isn't a difference in Lap times. I think the full tread comes into play in the wet when directional.

[aus]

Their sizing sucks for staggard 18" setup.
285/30-18 is way too low profile compared to a 265/35-18.

[Richbot]

Why is that? You have data showing your car is slower on the 285/30?

[bigjae1976]

I think a lower profile tire is great. It has the same effect as installing shorter rear end gearing.

I preferred running a 245/40R17 tire on my 330Ci vs a 255/40R17...car just felt a little peppier.

[z3papa]

Originally Posted by aus

Their sizing sucks for staggard 18" setup.
285/30-18 is way too low profile compared to a 265/35-18.

I disagree. I have many stellar results running this stagger. If you want links, those can be provided. I've won FTDi for 17 out of 22 non-Nat'l events this year covering six regions which have included CCSCC, Central IL SCCA, Chicago SCCA, St. Louis SCCA, TSSCC, and Milwaukee SCCA.

[z3papa]

http://scca-chicago.com/wp-content/S...vent-6-pax.htm
http://ccsportscarclub.org/files/201...ocross_pax.htm
http://www.tsscc.org/2016/event_2_pax.htm
http://stlsolo.org/sites/default/files/2016E3_pax.pdf
http://cir-scca.org/results/2016%20C...%20Results.pdf
http://cir-scca.org/results/2016%20C...%20Results.pdf
Edit -- I got lazy and blew away a bunch of the other links.

[aus]

Problem for me is I'm not driving at you're guys level and keep MDM on. That small of a rear tire is going to mess with the traction control.

[z3papa]

Originally Posted by aus

Problem for me is I'm not driving at you're guys level and keep MDM on. That small of a rear tire is going to mess with the traction control.

Take traction control off. If you concerned about modulation, put the throttle input on normal. It's laggy enough to keep you out of trouble. If the car starts to let loose, you are finding threshold of what the car can do. Having traction control on is called a nanny for a reason.....it is slowing your learning process.

[Ggeezer]

Originally Posted by aus

Problem for me is I'm not driving at you're guys level and keep MDM on. That small of a rear tire is going to mess with the traction control.

FWIW, stock sizes on the M3GTS were 255/35/19 F and 285/30/19 R.

[aus]

Originally Posted by Ggeezer

FWIW, stock sizes on the M3GTS were 255/35/19 F and 285/30/19 R.

That's what I'm running on my street wheels.
My track tires are 18", so running a 285/30-18 is tiny.
.

[///Mobbin]

These tires rocked at COTA, extremely glad I got them! Day 1 I thought they were getting greasy towards the end of each session but turns out I was running them with too much pressure, backed the pressure down on day 2 and let a bit of air out between sessions and they lasted until I was ready to cool down each session. Also of note, zero issues with sidewall stiffness, these tires are plenty stiff. Then grip on these tires seems comparable to Cup 2's and they are a good bit cheaper.

We'll see about longevity but for now these are my new favorite tire!

[8600RPM]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

These tires rocked at COTA, extremely glad I got them! Day 1 I thought they were getting greasy towards the end of each session but turns out I was running them with too much pressure, backed the pressure down on day 2 and let a bit of air out between sessions and they lasted until I was ready to cool down each session. Also of note, zero issues with sidewall stiffness, these tires are plenty stiff. Then grip on these tires seems comparable to Cup 2's and they are a good bit cheaper.

We'll see about longevity but for now these are my new favorite tire!

What pressure did you end up finding worked best? I am finding 38 psi hot seems good

[admranger]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

These tires rocked at COTA, extremely glad I got them! Day 1 I thought they were getting greasy towards the end of each session but turns out I was running them with too much pressure, backed the pressure down on day 2 and let a bit of air out between sessions and they lasted until I was ready to cool down each session. Also of note, zero issues with sidewall stiffness, these tires are plenty stiff. Then grip on these tires seems comparable to Cup 2's and they are a good bit cheaper.

We'll see about longevity but for now these are my new favorite tire!

What differences from NT-01s are you feeling?

[///Mobbin]

Originally Posted by admranger

What differences from NT-01s are you feeling?

Unfortunately I haven't even tried NT-01's yet, I kept waiting for the sale and then buying something else before it happened! My last set was 140 treadwear NT-05's and no doubt the RE-71R is a grippier tire. One comparison point, looking back at my track videos I regularly see 1.1-1.2G's with the RE-71R's and that is similar to what I would see with Cup 2's, though I think it's somewhat track dependent. With those NT-05's I was maxing out at 1G typically. Still curious to also try NT-01's at some point.