Falken Azenis RT660

[b_w.]

I need new tires for my f80 and am looking at the RT660. Car is parked in the winter and will be daily driven in the summer. It can be parked on rainy days.

The intention is to do a handful of track events in the summer and at this point I am not interested in looking at two sets of wheels.

Wheels are Apex Vs 5RS in 18*10 et 25 and 18*11 et 44. I am looking at the 275/35/18 or 285/30 18 up front and 315/30/18 in the back.

Car will be getting new motion control coilovers from Bimmerworld with GC camber plates. Stage 2 BM3 so high 400's whp.

Is the rt660 going to be a good tire for mostly daily booting around and a few track sessions? Maybe 4,000 miles per year. Other option is looking at PS4's but they are pricier and sounds like they will get eaten up on the track pretty quickly too. If I will end up replacing tires yearly it doesnt seem like a great choice to go with the more expensive Michelin's.

What do the experts here think on the tire selection and size choices?

[MineralWhiteF80]

This is always the catch 22. PS4S is definitely the better street tire, RT660 is definitely the better track tire.

I'd run the RT660 if I were you with your specific situation. Since you are only driving the car in the summer on dry days, most benefits of the PS4S go away.

A 285/30 front pairs better with a 315/30 in my opinion.

You will have to drive within the limit of the PS4S on the track which is typically a lighter pace than your what your car's ability is with a good MCS suspension setup. I'd rather drive within the limit of the RT660 on the street and really be able to enjoy your track-oriented setup on the track.

If you were stock suspension, or lowering springs only and wanted to do 1 or 2 easy, fun track days a year and this was your 12-month a year daily driver that saw rain, my answer would be PS4S.

EDIT- just to add... I've done two track days this year on PS4S tires and with coilovers/camber plates, and the tires have held up really well and only had a little bit of cupping on the front outside edges (no chunking, etc.), but I was also not scrubbing the tires hard and having them make noise through every corner. I could probably do two or three more track days on them (10-15, 20 min sessions) at that pace. PS4S is a great tire and can hold up quite well if you don't plan on being really aggressive on the track, or trying to outdrive a high performance tire like it was a competition tire. It just might leave you wanting a little stickier tire on the track.

Also, this image is RT660 sizing....

[b_w.]

Am I going to have any troubles fitting the 285s up front?

[MineralWhiteF80]

Originally Posted by b_w.

Am I going to have any troubles fitting the 285s up front?

It will fit, it just depends on a couple things to make sure it fits the best it can.

A standard MCS spring setup should give you inner clearance with the typical MCS spring diameter/spring perch size, but also depends on your ride height.

Depending on how the inner clearance is with your spring and ride height setup will determine if you need a small wheel spacer, and then if you will need to add additional camber to pull the outside edge of the tire more inward away from the fender.

I dont have that exact setup so I can't tell you exactly the fitment, but those are the factors at play that you may need to work with to get it to fit.

I say 285 front pairs well with the 315 rear because it allows the rear tire to be taller than the front tire by roughly the same amount that OEM front to rear tire diameters have. This will be a good thing if you drive with MDM mode or traction control on. A 275/35 and 315/30 means the front tire is a larger diameter and could cause the traction control system to function differently than designed.

[TopJimmy]

I run RT660 in 265 and 315. Stock suspension. They were also fairly good in rain, much better than my Toyos. I haven't tried PS4S.

[M2_MEDUSA]

Originally Posted by b_w.

I need new tires for my f80 and am looking at the RT660. Car is parked in the winter and will be daily driven in the summer. It can be parked on rainy days.

The intention is to do a handful of track events in the summer and at this point I am not interested in looking at two sets of wheels.

Wheels are Apex Vs 5RS in 18*10 et 25 and 18*11 et 44. I am looking at the 275/35/18 or 285/30 18 up front and 315/30/18 in the back.

Car will be getting new motion control coilovers from Bimmerworld with GC camber plates. Stage 2 BM3 so high 400's whp.

Is the rt660 going to be a good tire for mostly daily booting around and a few track sessions? Maybe 4,000 miles per year. Other option is looking at PS4's but they are pricier and sounds like they will get eaten up on the track pretty quickly too. If I will end up replacing tires yearly it doesnt seem like a great choice to go with the more expensive Michelin's.

What do the experts here think on the tire selection and size choices?

Stay away from RT660...

They heat cycle off fast. They wont put the power down soon. But considering your power level you should be fine after they heat cycle off

[b_w.]

Originally Posted by M2_MEDUSA

Stay away from RT660...

They heat cycle off fast. They wont put the power down soon. But considering your power level you should be fine after they heat cycle off

what tires are your preference?

[M2_MEDUSA]

Originally Posted by b_w.

what tires are your preference?

What is your goal? Hooking with power?

[b_w.]

Originally Posted by M2_MEDUSA

What is your goal? Hooking with power?

summer driven with track time.

[M2_MEDUSA]

Originally Posted by b_w.

summer driven with track time.

RT660 will heat cycle off, you dont want those.

I'd recommend MPS4S/AD08R/A052/RS4

[markw10702]

Originally Posted by M2_MEDUSA

RT660 will heat cycle off, you dont want those.

I'd recommend MPS4S/AD08R/A052/RS4

The A052 will have the most grip of this group but will wear the fastest. You can however run them down to the cords. Rated as a 200TW tire, its performance is up with the 100TW tires.

The RS4 will have the longest life at the expense of some ultimate grip. Not as grippy as the A052. Many people run this tire in endurance events because of the long wearing characteristics.

AD08R is close to the RS4 in performance and wear, however more expensive. For this reason I'd choose the RS4.

The MPS4S is a compromise tire that has good wet road performance, better than any of the three above, however you will give up some dry road performance.

Here is a good tire guide from Grassroots Motorsports which may help in your decision.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...-buyers-guide/

[pilotedecourse]

Don't know what your pace is or what you're looking to get out of the tire beyond dual duty, but assuming the goal is not outright pace, consider the Falken 615K+ (mentioned in the 200 endurance section of the grassroots guide posted immediately above). I run them on a track wheelset in 18x10" square in 275 (will do 285s all around next time) and think they do a nice job. Not as sticky as the 660s but I don't really care for HPDE - more important for me is longevity and consistent performance over heat cycles. They may be a bit sturdier in a dual duty application as compared to something a bit sharper like the 660. Sounds like there are some comparable choices listed above but if it were me I would go with something in the Endurance 200s section of the grassroots guide.

Also as MineralWhiteF80 mentioned, the 660s run (significantly) wide. 615ks have normal sizing.

[b_w.]

any thoughts on the Continental Extremecontact Force? Comparing them to the RT660's looks like they are about 4 lbs lighter per tire and slightly narrower. Reviews seems to be decent for wet weather. Available in 275/35/18 and 315/30/18.

[M2_MEDUSA]

Originally Posted by b_w.

any thoughts on the Continental Extremecontact Force? Comparing them to the RT660's looks like they are about 4 lbs lighter per tire and slightly narrower. Reviews seems to be decent for wet weather. Available in 275/35/18 and 315/30/18.

If your fine with them heat cycling off and being useless at 50% tread then get rt660. i cant comment on Continental i've never had them. but for the weight that's enticing

[MineralWhiteF80]

Originally Posted by M2_MEDUSA

If your fine with them heat cycling off and being useless at 50% tread then get rt660. i cant comment on Continental i've never had them. but for the weight that's enticing

how many heat cycles are we talking about here? I haven't seen anyone complaining about that ever, but then again, tire degradation and feel is highly subjective and most people arent really aware of what is happening over a tire's drive cycle or life cycle.

[sly1types]

They are decent tire for the track and street. They will last longer that the old Bridgestone RE71r or A052s by a decent amount, but are at least 1-1.5sec slower. They do heat cycle like others have said. I run the them on 19s for the street and i will run them on the track if its cold out or sometimes the first 1 or 2 session on Friday. Even with them having a lot of cycles, they are still within 4seconds of Pirelli DHs on a 2.5mile track, so they are a solid tire.

[M2_MEDUSA]

Originally Posted by MineralWhiteF80

how many heat cycles are we talking about here? I haven't seen anyone complaining about that ever, but then again, tire degradation and feel is highly subjective and most people arent really aware of what is happening over a tire's drive cycle or life cycle.

Cant really say, I only took them to the track once, Performed well, the rest of the time i used them for straight line roll racing at high speeds to prevent wheel spin, at about 50% tread they were useless. I ended up selling them. Brand new they were about the best tire I have ever tried. But that changed severely as time went on. I recommend trying them. But this is just my experience.

[hellokitty]

I’d try the Nankang CRS over the RT660. Much more resistant to heat cycling.

[b_w.]

I ended up ordering the continental. Will keep you posted how they work out.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by b_w.

I ended up ordering the continental. Will keep you posted how they work out.

Keep me updated. I'm on the fence for the new Yoko AD09 right now as Supercar 3 has been a pain to find.

[djpeetur]

thinking about going with RT615k 275/315 18's for daily driver, for pricing and sizing. Michelin seems like they are out of stock on everything on 18's. Any other suggestion for daily tires 18's ?

[The_Werm]

Originally Posted by djpeetur

thinking about going with RT615k 275/315 18's for daily driver, for pricing and sizing. Michelin seems like they are out of stock on everything on 18's. Any other suggestion for daily tires 18's ?

There is a new tire from continental(extreme contact sport 02) that the bmw performance center is exclusively using. I’m about to order a set in stock sizes for 513m.