Re71r vs rs4
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,841
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From: Illnoise. WAY downtown, jerky.
Initially, I was guilty of thinking that the 71R wears at an alarming rate. Because...initially...it does. And I also initially thought it was good...but not great at handling heat. Because...initially...they don't like being hot.
To explain; I found that mine wore ridiculously fast for the first ~1/2 of the tread. The heat capacity was also lower than others for that 1st half of wear. My (non scientifically tested) theory is that there feels like there is a TON of tread squirm for the 1st half of the tyre life. I think that all that movement creates heat and accelerates wear.
They became a totally different tire after the first half of tread was gone.
1. The car went the fastest it ever has (lap times).
2. The heat capacity went way up. I ran my fastest laps at the end of 20ish min sessions.
I think that about half life was the optimal time for this tire. When it was brand new, I think that the lap times would also have been crazy fast...but you gotta figure it out within 1 or 2 laps.
Mine are still going strong after 5-7K street miles and 7 track days (except for ONE tire, which took the brunt of the wear and is now pretty damn bald). If it weren't for that one tire, I think I could get another 3ish track days out of them.
The grip, at this point has diminished a bit. I think they probably still grip similar to a brand new V1 RS3. But they're super steady with heat now. I could wail on them for 30 mins and they wouldn't be greased up. The ambient temp was in the 80's this past weekend at the track.
My only complaint with them (besides their constant unavailability) is that they run a little narrow. I run my 255's on 10" wide wheels...and I don't like the way they look. I know its a stupid complaint and that slightly stretched out tires work well. But I wish they filled out a little more.
They are, of course, comically loud, and the ride is a bit choppy. But those are not things I complain about with my S2000 since it's not daily driven...and I never drive it because I NEED to.
I'm reluctant to stray away from 71R's. But I'm not sure that I will get one more track day out of the one worn tire.
To explain; I found that mine wore ridiculously fast for the first ~1/2 of the tread. The heat capacity was also lower than others for that 1st half of wear. My (non scientifically tested) theory is that there feels like there is a TON of tread squirm for the 1st half of the tyre life. I think that all that movement creates heat and accelerates wear.
They became a totally different tire after the first half of tread was gone.
1. The car went the fastest it ever has (lap times).
2. The heat capacity went way up. I ran my fastest laps at the end of 20ish min sessions.
I think that about half life was the optimal time for this tire. When it was brand new, I think that the lap times would also have been crazy fast...but you gotta figure it out within 1 or 2 laps.
Mine are still going strong after 5-7K street miles and 7 track days (except for ONE tire, which took the brunt of the wear and is now pretty damn bald). If it weren't for that one tire, I think I could get another 3ish track days out of them.
The grip, at this point has diminished a bit. I think they probably still grip similar to a brand new V1 RS3. But they're super steady with heat now. I could wail on them for 30 mins and they wouldn't be greased up. The ambient temp was in the 80's this past weekend at the track.
My only complaint with them (besides their constant unavailability) is that they run a little narrow. I run my 255's on 10" wide wheels...and I don't like the way they look. I know its a stupid complaint and that slightly stretched out tires work well. But I wish they filled out a little more.
They are, of course, comically loud, and the ride is a bit choppy. But those are not things I complain about with my S2000 since it's not daily driven...and I never drive it because I NEED to.
I'm reluctant to stray away from 71R's. But I'm not sure that I will get one more track day out of the one worn tire.
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Joined: Jun 2007
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,841
Likes: 1,705
From: Illnoise. WAY downtown, jerky.
It was dead consistent though. To the point that the announcers were making fun of my consistency.
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 129
Likes: 38
I figured I'd post since I had RE-71Rs and now moved to RS4s (I also had RS3-V2s previously).
I was very disappointed in the longevity of the RE-71Rs. I kind of knew that going in but I figured I'd give them a shot since so many people had good things to say about them. Discount Tire had a good sale on them and I ended up getting them for $545 shipped for 245s which helped convince me.
I completely wore down the outside of the driver side front and rear tires in one weekend at Barber. I know I'm a fairly aggressive driver and Barber has a few carousel turns that lean on the driver side tires for an extended period of time but I was not expected to have bald tires by the end of the weekend. I did manage to get one more half track day on them at AMP because it was a counter-clockwise track. But even then I got about 5-6 hours of total track time before they were completely gone.
The tires were very forgiving and traction was improved but it wasn't other-worldly. I think they continue gripping decently above their temperature range but their wear increases exponentially as they heat up in that range. That track day had 30 minute sessions so I had to do a few cool down laps during each session but most likely it was not enough.
Anyway, I'll be sticking with longer lasting tires like the RS4 since I am not chasing lap records and I'd like to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on tires every event.
I was very disappointed in the longevity of the RE-71Rs. I kind of knew that going in but I figured I'd give them a shot since so many people had good things to say about them. Discount Tire had a good sale on them and I ended up getting them for $545 shipped for 245s which helped convince me.
I completely wore down the outside of the driver side front and rear tires in one weekend at Barber. I know I'm a fairly aggressive driver and Barber has a few carousel turns that lean on the driver side tires for an extended period of time but I was not expected to have bald tires by the end of the weekend. I did manage to get one more half track day on them at AMP because it was a counter-clockwise track. But even then I got about 5-6 hours of total track time before they were completely gone.
The tires were very forgiving and traction was improved but it wasn't other-worldly. I think they continue gripping decently above their temperature range but their wear increases exponentially as they heat up in that range. That track day had 30 minute sessions so I had to do a few cool down laps during each session but most likely it was not enough.
Anyway, I'll be sticking with longer lasting tires like the RS4 since I am not chasing lap records and I'd like to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on tires every event.
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