Bridgestone RE-71R - 255/275 v 265/285?

[S65V8]

guys, another positive review here! these are great on track and shoulder wear isnt as bad as my MPSS for sure. Totally progressive at the limit, at one point I was overinflated and got the car to breakaway on a turn and was easy to counter and get it back in control.

35 hot worked great for me. Did one flip for fronts (left to right), performed just as well too.

These are great for both street & track, highly recommend it!

[S65V8]

Also, would definitely recommend the 265/285 combo, 255/275 will not be enough on the track imo.

[Powerslide]

Originally Posted by SROC5

Also, would definitely recommend the 265/285 combo, 255/275 will not be enough on the track imo.

Just out of curiosity - do you find any (even slight) increased tendency for hydroplaning when driving in heavy rain? I'm sure the 265/285 is somewhat better than 255/275 on the track - but I was hesitant to go up in sizes due to some other posts referencing potentially greater tendency to hydroplane as the tire sizes go up... I'd be curious to hear your experience in this regard.

[S65V8]

Originally Posted by Powerslide

Just out of curiosity - do you find any (even slight) increased tendency for hydroplaning when driving in heavy rain? I'm sure the 265/285 is somewhat better than 255/275 on the track - but I was hesitant to go up in sizes due to some other posts referencing potentially greater tendency to hydroplane as the tire sizes go up... I'd be curious to hear your experience in this regard.

coincidentally on the way to the track that morning I drove through rain. it wasnt very heavy but certainly some puddles of standing water, and the tires were fine. driving anywhere from 70 - 90mph.

but the reality is Id never want to drive fast in rain for any reason in these tires, just not what I bought them for, so this isn't a factor for me at all.

Also, to say theres a difference in hydro because of a 10 series upsize on the same tire is pure imagination imo. maybe fronts from 255 to 275, but 255 to 265 no way that would make any measurable difference in hydro.

[Powerslide]

Thanks for the feedback - I'll probably upgrade to 265/285 next time I need new tires.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by SROC5

Also, to say theres a difference in hydro because of a 10 series upsize on the same tire is pure imagination imo. maybe fronts from 255 to 275, but 255 to 265 no way that would make any measurable difference in hydro.

IMO, sensitivity to hydro planning is more related to tread width and tread pattern that section width. On the RE71R, going from the 255/35R19 to the 265/35R19 only increases tread width from 9.3" to 9.6" with the same tread pattern. I agree that a 0.3" increase in tread width would not increase sensitivity to hydroplanning much.

[Rude Boy]

Just did Watkins Glen with the RE-71Rs on 6/6 with BMW CCA they performed brilliantly!! (255/275) the new pavement helped out also, but noticeable improvement over the MSS which I have tracked with as well def a more durable track tire better grip more traction sus in heavy rain tho so there is a compromise.. 1 track day in the MSS and the shoulders are done these are still fine.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by SROC5

Also, would definitely recommend the 265/285 combo, 255/275 will not be enough on the track imo.

Folks,

Lets not pretend 10mm tire width makes THAT much of a difference!

Remember, you are not "putting more rubber" on the road with wider tires. Keep the weight of the car, the tire pressure, and sidewall stiffness constant, you are just marginally widening and shortening the contact patch:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=10

Changing the relative contact patch between front and rear tires does have an effect on over-/under-steer tendencies of the car. US market cars are sold with a bit of under-steer due to, among other things, narrower front tires. So going square on an M3/4 will tend to make the car more neutral.

Going wider on all four corners will also make contact patch more stable under lateral load, which is a good thing. But I would not declare that 10mm will make a difference between enjoying DEs and "not be enough on the track".

YMMV,
a

[S65V8]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Folks,

Lets not pretend 10mm tire width makes THAT much of a difference!

Remember, you are not "putting more rubber" on the road with wider tires. Keep the weight of the car, the tire pressure, and sidewall stiffness constant, you are just marginally widening and shortening the contact patch:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=10

Changing the relative contact patch between front and rear tires does have an effect on over-/under-steer tendencies of the car. US market cars are sold with a bit of under-steer due to, among other things, narrower front tires. So going square on an M3/4 will tend to make the car more neutral.

Going wider on all four corners will also make contact patch more stable under lateral load, which is a good thing. But I would not declare that 10mm will make a difference between enjoying DEs and "not be enough on the track".

YMMV,
a

Agreed, all else being equal, I'd rather have more rubber / contact patch to give me the best chance for optimal traction. Therefore, there's no reason to settle for the smaller tires if you have the option to get the wider ones I guess is what I'm saying...

[su_root]

Agreed. The biggest improvement from the upgrade is the RE71R compound itself; not the upsize.

I have high hopes for the RE71R set for my trip to Sebring on the 19th.

[d k]

You were able to get 11" wide up front?
What offsets were you using?
Do you need spacers?

Originally Posted by afadeev

I went with 275/35/18's on all four corners.
The car's handling was perfectly neutral during both autoX and DE events.

Now that the front outsides are worn after the first DE of the year, they got swapped with the rears during track/street pad swap routine.

[EDIT] Square 275mm tires are mounted on four 18x11 wheels, making rotation a no-brianer. I'm not sure of OEM wheels can be rotated front/back [/EDIT]



I got exactly 8K miles out of my PSS's, including 1 season of autoXs and 3 DEs. Outside shoulders were bald, with large chunks of rubber torn off on both the tread surface and the sidewalls, down to the cords. Insides and middle of the tread were at wear bars.

After 2.5K miles, 1 autoX and 2 DEs, the front RE71's showed some wear on the outside shoulders (GC camber plates are on order), but otherwise looked like they will last longer than PSS's did.

RE71's grip is a significant improvement over PSS's under all conditions, including the rain (full or mostly full tread experience, so far).

Most importantly, RE71's do not overheat on track. Even during back-to-back DE sessions (one with me at the wheel, the other with my better half), they remained consistent and predictable throughout. So did RS29's, BTW.

PSS's, on the other hand, used to overheat and get greasy after the first 15 minutes of a DE session. Braking distances would grow significantly longer, ABS would start kicking in places where it didn't before. It caught me off guard the first few times. I really would not recommend PSS's on track for that reason alone!

a

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by d k

You were able to get 11" wide up front?
What offsets were you using?
Do you need spacers?

18x10 ET25 wheels on all 4 corners.
Zero spacers.
Love it that way, as I've BTDT with spacers, and 2 out of 3 times they gave me endless vibration challenges (balancing with spacers glued to the wheel helped).

I don't see how 11" wide wheels fit with identical offsets for front/rear application. Would be happy to be wrong on this.
In front, I'm 2-3mm away from the strut tower on the inside of the wheel, and close to rubbing at full lock on the outside with the tire. 11" front wheel would definitely require smaller offset, or spacers, upfront, and then tire clearance will become a challenge.

If you go with different offset front/rear wheels, tire rotation becomes a challenge.
18x10 ET25 delivers square setup very nicely.


Good luck,
a

[d k]

Thats good to know....

Ironically BMW specs ET29 as their preferred offset.

Until I can see a car on the rack, I wont be able to comment but I can say that if you move away from the ideal offset, scrub radius becomes an issue.
So, thats something to think about.

If 10.5's fit at +25, thats very close to ideal.
Theoretically a 18x11 et22 would fit while rubbing, so how much clearance do you need? 3mm? Puts it at 19 which is now 10mm off of what it should be.

I think the 10.5 might be the sweet spot and a 275 R7 up front will grip a lot!

Im not worrid about the rears as there is a lot more room.

Originally Posted by afadeev

18x10 ET25 wheels on all 4 corners.
Zero spacers.
Love it that way, as I've BTDT with spacers, and 2 out of 3 times they gave me endless vibration challenges (balancing with spacers glued to the wheel helped).

I don't see how 11" wide wheels fit with identical offsets for front/rear application. Would be happy to be wrong on this.
In front, I'm 2-3mm away from the strut tower on the inside of the wheel, and close to rubbing at full lock on the outside with the tire. 11" front wheel would definitely require smaller offset, or spacers, upfront, and then tire clearance will become a challenge.

If you go with different offset front/rear wheels, tire rotation becomes a challenge.
18x10 ET25 delivers square setup very nicely.


Good luck,
a

[S65V8]

Great weekend running the RE71 Rs! I was able to get 8 days total (36 sessions) out of the fronts (no camber plates). The fronts I flipped inside out for the last 3 days, and they corded (inside tire edge), probably because I flipped them on the rim a little too late so the rubber was thin already.

Rears look great still, lots of life left, bet I could get 10 - 12 days more, shoulders look fine, some wear, but still very meaty, same with rest of tire.

All in all, I like these tires because they're close to NT-01s in performance but work well on the street for the most part. However, I did get to try some NT-01s today and boy those are sticky tires and very confidence inspiring, more than the 71Rs I think.

[S65V8]

Here they are, corded on one side a tad : )

[Powerslide]

Originally Posted by SROC5

Here they are, corded on one side a tad : )
Attachment 1451513

Man - you definitely got your money's worth out of those tires!!