nuclearnick

It appears as if the Bridgestone RE11 is being phased out soon. Does anyone know if the new Bridgestone 71R is intended to replace the RE11? Does anyone have track experience with the new tires yet?

Thanks...

chetly

This is from Jon's Facebook. These have 40 runs and are around 5/32's. This is all I know. Oh, and Bridgestone paxed 3rd, 8th and 10th possibly more of the top ten. Other cars were on street tires bit not sure what they were.

strano@stranoparts.com

Yeah, it's good, and fast. But like more fast tires, it does wear more. Right now, it's the fastest of these 200TW tires. However, I don't know if it's the best track day tire. And I think I'd shave them to be honest.

Maybe the Rival S has something for it, but I have my doubts having driven this one.

Xian

Assuming that it's just the rears that are at 5/32nd's, that's fast but not horrible wear. That's 3/32nd's at that highest wearing end of the car and with a good number (half?) of the runs on what I understand is a pretty abrasive site.

For comparison purposes, my Z2SS's used up 2/32nds rear and 1/32nd front after 40 runs and maybe 600-700 street miles. Of my 40 runs, 16 of them were the first event in the car for my co-driver and I so they were far from "full-tilt", 12 were on an abrasive site, and 12 were at the Dixie Tour. We probably did another ~25-30 runs with them on the test course but that was only ~24 seconds/lap so it's tough to tell how much wear it would have contributed.

RichieRichZ06

I was interested in the same thing, but until they make them in Big Boy sizes most of us C6Z owners will have to listen to other people's experiences with them.

Xian

Based on sizes, it sounds like the BFG will be the defacto tire for the Vette's unless the narrower RE71R can beat it on compound...

miracle_whip4130

In case you haven't seen it, there's some feedback on that compound on the last page of this thread:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-2015-a-5.html

strano@stranoparts.com

Size ain't everything, and the 275's on my 10.5's aren't super stretched. I am 99% sure the Rival S will use an R1 or R1S compound. But that is in itself much harder than what the Bridgestones seem to be using. What I don't like and have never liked about the Rival is the construction. The compound was always an issue more so at some sites vs. others. It's hard and has very low hysteresis. The tires that go fast have a high hysteresis, and can mold and grab less than ideal surfaces like Lincoln (where Rivals suffered most). R1's have been run for autox, they worked much better on nose heavy FWD cars, not well at all on things like C5's and C6's... and I have a lot of time in such a car on R1S's.

I think this is why Xian is hoping for great things, considering he had a nose heavy FWD car that worked the tires harder, built more heat and could get them to come alive. I suspect the Rival S will close the gap, but BFG had no idea Bridgestone was up to this, and I'm sure were comparing to the old standard R-S3, etc.

We'll see.

Xian

Agreed 10000% on the we'll see thing. I haven't driven on the New hAWtness and nobody has touched the Rival-S since last Sept (and I wasn't part of that anyway).

I'm hoping that over-tiring both ends of the car may cut down on some of your sidewalk stiffness gripes with the Rival's construction. That extra cushion, possibly a new belt package, and wider tread width with the new (better?) compound may be enough to close the gap. I'm thinking 275's in the front and 315's in the rear.

Having said that, if they completely suck it wouldn't be the end of the world since they're by far the most expensive and start with the least tread depth. It could well end up being a case that the cost per run math comes out the same between them and the BStone. I won't pretend to know how it's all going to sort out this season with so many variables in play.

strano@stranoparts.com

I already know that squeezing a Rival on a smaller rim helps it. You just should have asked me that.

But you know how it goes, until or unless someone back to back tests them you never know for sure. And even then there are car differences and driving differences to be accounted for.

Your car is good for me when I drove it 97%, but big me hard when I tried to do what I could do on Hankooks in Moates' car which is set up the same way. Now if someone is not one to flirt with the edge or drive as aggressively as I do, then no big deal. Of course they probably aren't going to win a tough class like A-Street that way either in normal situations, but would likely be really fast in the wet.

So the question becomes, do you use the data from the 97% guy or the 100% guy?

talon95

And on the topic of jamming big tires on small wheels, TR is now showing "back order" on the 315/30/18. Freakin' BFG and their lousy manufacturing.

But TR does show the 335 at 4/1. I'll call them today, but I'm guessing the only option in the near term may be to jam the 335 on to the 10.5's.

Or try the Stones.

I think Sam is exactly right about the hysteresis of the compound. What I realized a long time ago was that at Lincoln with the rough exposed aggregate, a harder tire just tends to skate along the tops of the aggregate. Although like anything else, this can go too far. The other effect is the A6 needs far less heat to work on that surface and does not work as well hot IMO (compared to other smoother surfaces).

Or buy A7's. This was my single biggest concern with the rule change. Hoosier has really been the only company that could supply tires reliably.

Xian

Well, I'm a reasonably smart sorta guy and the idea aligned with what I'd seen previously... and you did mention it obliquely at Dixie when we were talking about the Z2*spec sidewall stiffness

Besides, I know you get folks harassing you 24/7... I don't want to add to that unless i have to.

Yeah, I think some of it depends on driver style and which side of 100% you drive to. Watching your videos (and you in action) it appears to me that you drive from the top-down... basically you're constantly aiming for 100%+ out of the car and then you'll back it down a touch to keep from spinning/coning. This approach works great with R-comps (Hoosiers in particular) and some street tires with similar breakaway and recovery handling characteristics. Unless I'm supremely comfortable in a car, I tend to be a bottom up sorta guy. I'll feel out the limit but tend toward under-driving (generally) more than a top down driver. As a result, the Z2's have worked better for me (relatively) than they probably would for you.

I don't get the constant BFG bashing? They're the only folks who are making anything in the bigger sizes, they're rushing to get them out, and every date you see is going to be "best case scenario". Would you feel better if TR posted a 4/30 availability and then you managed to get them early? They'll be ready when they're ready... personally, I don't see this as a company or manufacturer failure in any way.

Maybe Sam can chime in but, IIRC, someone mentioned to me that it's pretty long odds on getting the 335 to fit well on the rear of the car. Even if you can get it back there, I don't know that I'd want that much rubber... I'd be concerned about goobering up the ability to rotate the car on the throttle.

I may end up trying to Stones... dunno. I still suspect that the Rival-S will be a better fit for me and equally as fast (or faster) but that's entirely conjecture on my part. Until they come out and someone back to backs them, there's no data. And even once they're tested, that's just a data point for that person, that car, that site, and that day.

Christian

talon95

Ok I have to take it back. TR tells me that they sold out all the 315's already but they are coming soon (next week) for those that pre-ordered them. At least for those that got in early enough.

talon95

Well it's not that great when you compare to Bstone for example that had a pile of tires ready to go before the season even started. Having tires trickle in through the spring/early summer is pretty disruptive for folks. I know they're probably doing the best they can but it's still not ideal. I guess I expect more. Everyone's expectations are different. Sounds like they're coming fairly soon though. I was told expect shipment next week if all goes to plan (which is obviously not always the case).

Xian

It's all relative. My pre-season started in Jan (semi-local events a couple hours away) and in earnest in Feb. Bridgestone had ZERO RE071's, Hankook had zero RS3's, and BFG had zero Rival/Rival-S's available. For the folks in the frozen tundra north, the end of April is no biggie (or less of a big deal). For me, I'll normally have done 3-4 local's and a tour by then.

Also keep in mind that all these tires have warnings against use/transport (distribution) in sub-freezing temps. This coupled with their natural focus on winter tire production in the winter means that it's not uncommon to have a delay in early season availability.

strano@stranoparts.com

Is this easy, or fun? It might be cheaper, for now (but has already gotten more pricey). FWIW, you guys with SSR legal cars might want to remember changes to the A7 to the tread pattern and some minor changes in the larger sized to construction aim to wear the tire more evenly across the surface. I always have lots of rubber left of the sides, wear out the middles. If I run lower pressures I wear out the middles faster and beat up the shoulders too.

Just sayin'

conemark

I think the real interest for those of us needing the bigger sizes will be if Kumho does get their act together with the new Ecsta V720. Not that I'm giving up on R's just yet, but it would be nice to know what street tires I can get to replace my W710's for daily use.

With that said, I'm starting to seriously think the Rival S is tending towards vaporware.

Xian

I happen to think that it's both easy and fun... but I don't make a living off cars/motorsports and my days of anything truly SRS BZNS are behind me.

Based on the info from TR, I'm not expecting Kumho to be our salvation.

From TR earlier today:

One of the reasons delivery dates for some tires have been pushing online is that the tires are getting sold out faster than they're being stocked. i.e. just because the date is moving doesn't mean folks aren't getting tires on the original delivery date.

strano@stranoparts.com

Well it's not much fun to answer the same question 25 times a week, especially when people don't like "I don't know for sure" as an honest answer.

Xian

I don't envy you. Despite not even having driven on them, right now my answer would be the RE71R but that could change with the Rival-S. And that's without even looking at the application, setup, driver, etc.