AS Wheel ant Tire combos
 

I've tried the RE71R 275/275 vs RivalS 275/315 combo on concrete and the Rival was quicker. How do the two compare on asphalt?

How does the RE71R 275/305 combo compare?

What model and wheel size do you have? I've got a 2011 Grand Sport, and will be trying the 275/335 Rival S tires soon. 18x9.5 front, 18x12 rear.

I run a C5 Z, 18/9.5-18/10.5. Trying to decide if I should go to a 19" rear to use Re71R 305.

In that case I would try the RE71-R's in 275/305 with 19" rears.

Yes you should. Either that or get an 18" front tire (base c5 rears work) and run the Rival S.

I think he was asking if the 305 19 and 275 18 RE71R is better on asphalt than 275 18 and 315 18 Rival S. I am wondering the same thing.

All 4 of us running AS Corvettes in KCR have elected to go Rival S, nobody brave enough to pony up for 19" rears on a maybe setup...


Christian
'03 C5Z

Exactly, I like the Re71R and it wears better than the BFG. But switching to 19s is an expensive test.

I think it depends on your driving preference too. I like the feel of the Rival on my C5, but I prefer the RE71R on smaller, lighter cars I've driven. I have a STS Civic too and I like the RE71R better on that car than the same size Rival.

To me the RE71s are more twitchy and the C5 is twitchy enough as is so the Rival lets me drive it more aggressively. Size plays a huge part too, if RE71Rs came in 315s or 335s it may be a different story.

I think either one is just as fast as the other and have shown to be winners.

They are the two tires to chose from at this point.
To use the RE71R would mean at least a pair of rear wheels. Tire rack testing shows that they are faster and I think last longer. My wife and I co drove with both tires on her WRX last year and corded the rivals twice as fast.
As far as stagger RE71R 275/35 is .8" smaller in diameter than 305/19 where as the Rival 275/35 is .1 taller than 315/30. I seem to get the car in ice mode if the stagger is correct or not. So not sure the stager in tire diameter makes much difference for ice mode.
The 305/30/19 is heaver and larger diameter than the 315/30/18 I expect the wheel to be heaver as well. The tread width is about a wash as the front RE71R is wider by .2" and the rear Rival is .3" wider.

Is this (wear) a common experience?

I'm most familiar with STX and CAM C cars and in my region the Rivals had been holding up better over a season, anecdotally around the paddock.

If RE-71Rs are likely to last longer I may end up ponying for 19s after the Rivals go off.


Christian
'03 C5Z

Driver and driving style (along with vehicle setup) will have a bigger impact on tire life between the two than the tires themselves.

I currently run RE71Rs in 255/40/17 front and 275/35/18 in the rear on my C5Z. I have no complaints about the fronts and the rears stick really well except when I go full throttle too quickly. I have 24 autocross laps on the tires and less than 100 miles total on them and they look pretty tore up. The edges of all the grooves are pretty worn.


I've been thinking about going to Rival S 315s in the rear and RE71Rs 275s in the front. Is this worth it for just a little bit wider tire? I have extra wheels so that's not a problem


I paid less than $800 for all four RE71Rs and if I buy Rival S 315s that will be almost $800 just for the rears.

The wear on the RE71rs will slow down. They kind of squirm around a lot at full tread and wear a little funny on the center rib. If you're going to run the 315 Rival S in the back why wouldn't you run the 275/35/18 Rival S up front instead of the Bridgestone?

Because he already has the RE-71Rs?

Another thought might be Hankook R-S4s for the rear with your 275 RE-71Rs up front. From what my peers have suggested they offer great straight-ahead traction but less turn-in grip which the BS fronts would address...$0.02, YMMV, some assembly required...


Christian
'03 C5Z

Yes I was thinking about moving the 275 RE71r from the rear to the front and only buying Rival 315 for the rear.

Basically is going from a 275 RE71r to a 315 Rival S rear going to be a huge noticable difference? Is the extra width worth almost $800? Are the Rivals going to last longer than RE71r?

I ran 275 RE71Rs on the front and 315 Rivals on the back for part of a season. Its actually a great combo, gives a bit of the best of both worlds.