S.A.S.C.

Solo => Technical Talk => Topic started by: Midnightsky on February 03, 2017, 06:04:18 PM

Title: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 03, 2017, 06:04:18 PM
I thought I would start up a tire choices thread for the upcoming 2017 season.  What's new and upcoming from various tire manufacturers, what were great tire choices from the past 2016 season, and what is in the works for later in the summer.  Im going to be putting down on a set of good street tires this summer with the hope of coming out to one or two YYC events.  So what has everyone heard? What's going to be "the tire" for the 2017 season? Street or R-comp share what you know and lets all have a wicked season in 2017.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: MurrayPeterson on February 03, 2017, 07:37:27 PM
I have a set of RE-71Rs on order; the only possible contender for this year is the new Rival S "1.5"; same rubber I believe, but different carcass build.

I may try a set of Rivals when they become available, since 2 drivers are an issue with overheating the Bridgestones.

I haven't heard of any other 200TW tire that is going to do anything to push these pair off the podium.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 04, 2017, 12:24:51 AM
Now i guess its worth asking, but do you believe the RE-71R's to be an Alberta streetable tire or best kept as an autocross/track use tire?
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: MurrayPeterson on February 04, 2017, 07:21:55 AM
What do you mean by streetable?

Last summer, we drove across Canada on a pair of RE-71Rs, and autocrossed as we went.  On an S2000, they are good for about 10000 KM of driving and 100 autocross runs.  They handle rain very well (when they still have tread left), and are hopeless on snow or ice.

Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: JamesTCallaghan on February 04, 2017, 08:47:04 AM
I'm planning on going with RE-71R for auto x this year, but I likely will swap them at events and not street drive them. I may try some Zestino tires out for lapping at Castrol if I can get my hands on the size I need. And OEM Bridgestone Potenza whatever garbage comes with the car will have to do for street driving, as I'm not going to just discard some brand new tires.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: nnywg on February 04, 2017, 09:58:18 AM
I've been really happy with RE760 sports; they last but are sticky enough for aggressive street use, and a big ol' water channel to keep them planted when we get those crazy summer rain/hail storms.  They're also pretty cheap, especially if you've got big tires as I do.  But if autoX numbers are your number one, then they aren't for you.

Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 04, 2017, 11:22:49 AM
What do you mean by streetable?

Last summer, we drove across Canada on a pair of RE-71Rs, and autocrossed as we went.  On an S2000, they are good for about 10000 KM of driving and 100 autocross runs.  They handle rain very well (when they still have tread left), and are hopeless on snow or ice.

O wow, ok I will definitely be trying either these or the RE760's this summer.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: MurrayPeterson on February 04, 2017, 12:14:44 PM
I just noticed that you were planning on only a few autocross events this year.  If so, then I think you could find something more suitable than the RE-71R.  They do wear out quickly, and they aren't exactly quiet (or soft) on the street.  You might prefer the RE760 or the Continental DW.


Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: JamesTCallaghan on February 04, 2017, 12:38:51 PM
I just noticed that you were planning on only a few autocross events this year.  If so, then I think you could find something more suitable than the RE-71R.  They do wear out quickly, and they aren't exactly quiet (or soft) on the street.  You might prefer the RE760 or the Continental DW.

I really like the DW for a non competition tire.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Apex Carver on February 04, 2017, 01:08:02 PM
Still holding out to see what the RS-4 brings and also keeping an eye on the Nexen Sura4G as they've done a bunch of testing with Heitkotter and Isley... seems like they put a bunch of work into this tire and it will be interesting to see what comes out of it.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: MurrayPeterson on February 04, 2017, 01:26:52 PM
I really like the DW for a non competition tire.

It is also my favourite.  Noticeable increase in fuel economy, totally silent, and handles even a total flood on the road.

At autocross, it squeals like a wounded pig and isn't all that fast.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: zero10 on February 04, 2017, 10:08:30 PM
I just noticed that you were planning on only a few autocross events this year.  If so, then I think you could find something more suitable than the RE-71R.  They do wear out quickly, and they aren't exactly quiet (or soft) on the street.  You might prefer the RE760 or the Continental DW.

I also have RE-71Rs and drive them to/from Red Deer for events.  I'll echo this - they are not quiet or soft on the street. at. all.  I don't really like how quickly they seem to be wearing, they seem to wear off in chunks and quite a lot at a time.  Other tires have generally been smooth at the end of an overly aggressive run, the RE-71Rs seem to be grinding off big chunks and are all pebbled and uneven.  Maybe it's just my driving style but I feel like they are wearing out at an alarming rate compared to what I would expect on Rivals or RS3s.

Still holding out to see what the RS-4 brings and also keeping an eye on the Nexen Sura4G as they've done a bunch of testing with Heitkotter and Isley... seems like they put a bunch of work into this tire and it will be interesting to see what comes out of it.

There are RS4s coming?... I always liked my RS3s - I kept going back to them even when I was getting old stock just because I enjoyed them so much.  I hope the RS4 is more of the same but better!
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Apex Carver on February 05, 2017, 12:32:08 AM


Still holding out to see what the RS-4 brings and also keeping an eye on the Nexen Sura4G as they've done a bunch of testing with Heitkotter and Isley... seems like they put a bunch of work into this tire and it will be interesting to see what comes out of it.

There are RS4s coming?... I always liked my RS3s - I kept going back to them even when I was getting old stock just because I enjoyed them so much.  I hope the RS4 is more of the same but better!
[/quote]

Yep already on Tire Rack. Just want to see how they perform with some of the early events in mid to late march.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 05, 2017, 11:39:14 AM
I priced out the RE760 sport with Costco and its just over $500 with a refund of $15 per tire for not having them install them.   SOLD SOLD SOLD lol.   Now for those of you who have ordered from Costco, do you have to be a member to get that pricing?
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Stuart on February 05, 2017, 12:04:54 PM
I priced out the RE760 sport with Costco and its just over $500 with a refund of $15 per tire for not having them install them.   SOLD SOLD SOLD lol.   Now for those of you who have ordered from Costco, do you have to be a member to get that pricing?

I believe you need to be a member to purchase from Costco.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Reijo on February 05, 2017, 02:41:58 PM
Membership is $55 I believe ...  Gas is also cheapest in town typically.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 05, 2017, 02:54:06 PM
Not sure i want the membership, id never buy gas there, but i suppose they also have decent deals on furniture and the occasional electronics.  I guess it might be worth the membership in the long run.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: nnywg on February 05, 2017, 04:33:14 PM
You need a membership or someone with a membership to order them for you.  Shouldn't be too hard to find though.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: majormojo on February 05, 2017, 07:14:29 PM
You might prefer the RE760 or the Continental DW.

I really like the DW for a non competition tire.

+1. I have the DW's as my "off-season" tires on the Cayman.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: zero10 on February 06, 2017, 09:07:28 AM
The costco tire pricing is crazy cheap.  A warning - if you are ordering a non-standard size for your vehicle or the tires you are buying are not of the same or higher load rating as what your car came with they won't do it.  The workaround is to bring the wheels in loose - when I spoke to them they said the rule was that they couldn't INSTALL tires that didn't meet these specs, and that technically meant mount on the vehicle.

I had to do that to get the RE-71Rs for my focus since 205/50R15 is not the same as 195/60R15 and the RE-71Rs were 1 lower on the load rating than the stock tires.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 06, 2017, 09:47:44 AM
The costco tire pricing is crazy cheap.  A warning - if you are ordering a non-standard size for your vehicle or the tires you are buying are not of the same or higher load rating as what your car came with they won't do it.  The workaround is to bring the wheels in loose - when I spoke to them they said the rule was that they couldn't INSTALL tires that didn't meet these specs, and that technically meant mount on the vehicle.

I had to do that to get the RE-71Rs for my focus since 205/50R15 is not the same as 195/60R15 and the RE-71Rs were 1 lower on the load rating than the stock tires.

Good to know, but Costco will never be allowed to mount tires for me, Ive got a guy lol.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: nnywg on February 06, 2017, 01:18:21 PM
Good to know, but Costco will never be allowed to mount tires for me, Ive got a guy lol.

This is Key.  I've had multiple bad experiences with their installers and have had to go elsewhere for re-balancing/mounting.  I have it on good authority that Mr. Kyle H at SpecR is excellent to deal with, so will try there next time.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 06, 2017, 05:06:37 PM
Good to know, but Costco will never be allowed to mount tires for me, Ive got a guy lol.

This is Key.  I've had multiple bad experiences with their installers and have had to go elsewhere for re-balancing/mounting.  I have it on good authority that Mr. Kyle H at SpecR is excellent to deal with, so will try there next time.

I have dealt with him many times before always positive experiences.  For me its scheduling conflicts and I ended up finding a retired guy with everything in his home garage.  He does all my tire mounting/patching holes now as I can see him during the evenings or weekends. Excellent service and great pricing so I can't go wrong.  My backup options are Kyle or Vex, cant ask for better backup options 8)
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Dirtyspoons on February 09, 2017, 01:48:41 PM
Not sure i want the membership, id never buy gas there, but i suppose they also have decent deals on furniture and the occasional electronics.  I guess it might be worth the membership in the long run.

when i looked into it a few years ago i found out that costco gas is the same a shell gas just with out the juicy additives. also they usualy have more customers per day so the gas is more "fresh" i diden't have a problem buying gas there for my vehicles but on race day i always used a higher octain from husky or petro, or shell ... but i just have such a hard time buying tires and getting any sort of automotave goodies from them. for some reason it just dosen't seem right to me... kinda like cheating... if i find a car to drive next year i'll just order tires from work or through Spec R.  :P
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Midnightsky on February 09, 2017, 10:53:11 PM
Not sure i want the membership, id never buy gas there, but i suppose they also have decent deals on furniture and the occasional electronics.  I guess it might be worth the membership in the long run.

when i looked into it a few years ago i found out that costco gas is the same a shell gas just with out the juicy additives. also they usualy have more customers per day so the gas is more "fresh" i diden't have a problem buying gas there for my vehicles but on race day i always used a higher octain from husky or petro, or shell ... but i just have such a hard time buying tires and getting any sort of automotave goodies from them. for some reason it just dosen't seem right to me... kinda like cheating... if i find a car to drive next year i'll just order tires from work or through Spec R.  :P

I actually spoke to Kyle at Spec R and made arrangements to buy my tires thru them.  Going with Potenza RE760's and hopefully they meets my needs for a summer tire. 
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: FrozenMarzBar3 on February 10, 2017, 03:00:15 PM
Glad you were able to find something that works for you.

I had a set of very worn RE71r's that were well past the wear bars, and I ran them. A few fun facts:

- Turn-in response with these tires is great.
- The worn RE71r's have more grip then a set of Hankook RS3's mounted on a similar car.
- They have ZERO grip in the rain! If you run them in the wet, you will probably die.  :-X
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: JamesTCallaghan on February 10, 2017, 04:16:41 PM
Glad you were able to find something that works for you.

I had a set of very worn RE71r's that were well past the wear bars, and I ran them. A few fun facts:

- Turn-in response with these tires is great.
- The worn RE71r's have more grip then a set of Hankook RS3's mounted on a similar car.
- They have ZERO grip in the rain! If you run them in the wet, you will probably die.  :-X

And yet you still drove to Fort McLeod on them in a rainstorm lol.
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: Zach S on February 17, 2017, 11:48:37 PM
I ran RE71R's that last rainy almost snowy event in Calgary and they were great haha.

Glad you were able to find something that works for you.

I had a set of very worn RE71r's that were well past the wear bars, and I ran them. A few fun facts:

- Turn-in response with these tires is great.
- The worn RE71r's have more grip then a set of Hankook RS3's mounted on a similar car.
- They have ZERO grip in the rain! If you run them in the wet, you will probably die.  :-X
Title: Re: Tire Choices 2017
Post by: FrozenMarzBar3 on February 19, 2017, 09:02:49 PM
I ran RE71R's that last rainy almost snowy event in Calgary and they were great haha.

Glad you were able to find something that works for you.

I had a set of very worn RE71r's that were well past the wear bars, and I ran them. A few fun facts:

- Turn-in response with these tires is great.
- The worn RE71r's have more grip then a set of Hankook RS3's mounted on a similar car.
- They have ZERO grip in the rain! If you run them in the wet, you will probably die.  :-X

They are a great rain tire if they have tread lol