xBoostx

Cant speak for AX but on track the A052 delivers. I have always run re71 i have switched to A052. the tire is very different. when on the edge, so still feels in control. I cant really explain it. The re71 at the limit will kinda just give out when over it. but the a052 slides under control. So pretty much the falling of point of the a052 is much smoother. It does wear much better. especially the center rib which in my evo i always detroy on the re71. the a052 is much more well rounded IMO

i dont mess with any other tire. im out there for outright speed.

thomsbrain

I've driven the Trofeo R and some ancient Hankook TD semi-slicks in Hard compound (currently on the TDs, which are like a billion years old at this point).

The Trofeo R is R-comp fast and still retains normal (for performance tires) driveability, so it isn't super loud or uncomfortable, and it offers some rain traction. It is a very soft compound and will grip immediately, but fall off after a few laps in hot weather. It also heat-cycles out after a few days and gets pretty hard, but it will be starting to wear out by then anyway. If your only use is track days, I think this tire is too expensive and isn't much faster than other R-comps. But if you require normal street manners from your track day tire, it is a good option, and that's why you see it spec'd on factory cars like McLaren and Acura. You are paying extra for that ability to be every tire for every situation.

The TD is perhaps a smidge slower in max grip than the Trofeo R, but it can maintain that grip for a full session, wears like iron, and maintains grip over a lot of heat cycles. I have like 5-6 days on mine, plus highway miles, and I'm still settings PBs on them even though they are so old. But they are deafeningly loud, ride very harsh, and have zero wet grip, so they are a one-trick pony. Perfect for a track car that is driven to the track. I wish they still made them!

My next set of tires will be either Toyo RR or Federal FZ-201. The Miata guys say the RR grips till the cords, though I'm sure it is fastest at first, like all tires. The FZ-201 has very little info out there, but it is so cheap I wouldn't risk much by trying it. The A052s look interesting but are pretty pricey.

Xene

All this hype about the AO52 makes me want to get them lol, once my RS4s eventually wear after 5 years .... lol

Do the AO52 handle poorly in the rain though? There doesn't seem to be much thread lines in the tire.

usafstud

Are you talking about the Hankook TD C30s? If so, I found my with 2013 production date to be trash. I know of others that had good luck with them, but they were trash for me. It may have just been the tires I got that were trash.

I don't consider myself to be fast but I found them to be hard, no grip in the wet, and min grip in the dry. I stopped using them after 3 weekends. I felt I wasted track fees driving on these tires, but good learning experience on how to drive on tires you don't trust. I will never buy ancient production date tires again.

thomsbrain

Yeah mine are 2013 production date, they are ancient. Still work well, though I'm sure there are faster tires these days. Perhaps my set was better stored than yours? I went straight from the Trofeo R and found the old TD to perform very favorably. They do need heat though, you can't just go 10/10 on the out lap. I have been tending to set my best times 10+ laps into a session on the TDs. The harder you drive them, the more they grip.

Carbon Blue

any of you guys got any input on the new dunlop Z3? Thank you anoerexic poodle for your input! I try to search as much of your content

Nate Tempest

Thinking about tires again, so bumping this while answering a question! I haven't run the Z3s myself, but from what I've read they're marginally slower than RE71R / Rival S, while possibly wearing marginally better.

BlueBarchetta

I’d echo most of what anorexicpoodle posted above with one slight difference. We have found that the Rival S will take heat better, gets less greasy, and lasts longer than the RE71. We have been using them on a very fast e30 endurance car. We can get full 8 hour race out of them at Road America, and barely usually make them last 8 hours at Mid Ohio. They’ll go 10+ at Daytona, but that place is easy on tires. Road America tires will look ok after 8, Mid Ohio tires will be real sketchy after 8. Can’t get anywhere near that with RE71.

now, maybe this won’t happen in typical DE scenario where you heat, cool, repeat. And maybe this won’t happen on an s2000, but we’re not using crazy large tires on the E30, just 225 on 15”. YMMV

if you just want to go out and track the car, and turn a bunch of laps on a good tire that’ll last, then RS4 is the way to go. A little slower for a whole lot more life. We can get 2, 8 hour races out of them. But 1.5-2 sec a lap slower

Chibo

I am also curious what people are seeing out of tires in our cars. I've gone through four sets of NT01s in 8-9 hours each and toss them when you start to get the little cracks you can see the cord through, rather than running to cord.

I've heard people say they get faster all the way until cord, but I have not had that experience. I feel like they drop off pretty heavily after 4-5 hours and are pure slide mode in the last hour or two.

HawkeyeGeoff

Echo that. RS3/RS4 will basically last me a whole season of tracking the car; it will still have tread left but heat cycled out. Get ready for a noisy ride home though.