So I finally hit the Track.....

[TDC]

Sorry if I missed info OP about how much track experience you have but in my opinion a downside to choosing a tire like RE71R if you are fairly new to the hobby is it takes a lot for that tire to start getting 4 wheel slip angle. Meaning, if you are newish to the hobby it is likely you will be under driving the tire substantially and it will take very high speeds to get used to the car moving around under you.

Great tire BTW. One of the better I’ve driven on especially at ambient temps from 45 - 80 deg.

Wet traction is decent enough.

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[BmacIL]

Sorry if I missed info OP about how much track experience you have but in my opinion a downside to choosing a tire like RE71R if you are fairly new to the hobby is it takes a lot for that tire to start getting 4 wheel slip angle. Meaning, if you are newish to the hobby it is likely you will be under driving the tire substantially and it will take very high speeds to get used to the car moving around under you.

Great tire BTW. One of the better I’ve driven on especially at ambient temps from 45 - 80 deg.

Wet traction is decent enough.

While true, it communicates its grip level well and does not breakaway without telling you both in your seat and by sound. If they're just making a little bit of squeal noise, then you're near/at the limit. If you hear big time squealing like most street tires, you're overdoing it.

 

[NightmareMoon]

While true, it communicates its grip level well and does not breakaway without telling you both in your seat and by sound. If they're just making a little bit of squeal noise, then you're near/at the limit. If you hear big time squealing like most street tires, you're overdoing it.

both are good points, RE71R is ver communicative and is not punishing or intolerant if you overstep it’s limits.

in my limited experience, for most new drivers, its most important to pick a tire thats well behaved at the limit.

Some timid drivers are very uncomfortable at speed and Wont approach the limits of an RE71R, and might even learn faster with tire that slips earlier and doesnt need to be driven quite so quickly to reach the limits, but most people are ’ok’ enough with speed and really need a forgiving tire, which the RE71R is. The PZero for example actually has quite high limits, but is a bit peaky at it’s limit and while it makes plenty of noise, grip falls off quickly after the peak, leading to the opinion that its not that grippy. It is grippy, its just not as easy to drive as some tires.

 

[2015Etrac]

Those are the Steeda 2 piece.

Nice. I still wish I would have bought a set when they had that group buy for like $750. Having a GT Premium with just about every option and adaptive cruise control makes for a heavy car. I need to save as much weight as I can.

 

[2015Etrac]

Sorry if I missed info OP about how much track experience you have but in my opinion a downside to choosing a tire like RE71R if you are fairly new to the hobby is it takes a lot for that tire to start getting 4 wheel slip angle. Meaning, if you are newish to the hobby it is likely you will be under driving the tire substantially and it will take very high speeds to get used to the car moving around under you.

Great tire BTW. One of the better I’ve driven on especially at ambient temps from 45 - 80 deg.

Wet traction is decent enough.

Still new to track driving. I was looking at the R888 also, but I drive 120+ mile round trip to the track and besides wearing the down quickly I don't think I'd want to be stuck in the rain with them. I drove my stock summer Pirellis in 265/35/20 on the track and they did OK once they warmed up (in a beginner group), but I'm looking for a better track oriented set of wheels and tires. Most likely SVE R350 19x10 with the 285/35 RE71R. I realize the SVE aren't exactly a track wheel but I'd be about 14lbs lighter per corner with that wheel/tire set as well as having a wider tire with more grip. I figured the RE71R will be good since I won't have to keep upgrading to better tires as I improve (hopefully). So, thank's the the advice I got on here I'll probably start saving some $$ and get that wheel/tire set, Steeda camber plates, and eventually the PP underbelly and spoiler. I feel like with those changes, along with the GT350R items I've added, it should make for a pretty good track/daily driver car. If/when I have any cooling issues I'll address them at that time.

 

[o-man]

I'm a little late to this party. I agree with most of what has been said. I have a 2015 50th anniversary premium non PP car; heavy. Have been using it on track for about two years. Have been doing HPDE's for about 25 years before in mainly low hp FWD Honda's. I know EVERYONE hates the base GT brakes. I've been able to use them without much fade nor any other issues unlike many others on this forum.. Car does eat a set of G-Loc's in two weekends.
I am currently running suspension very close to eTrac's; see signature. Tire wise, I'm running these https://philstireservice.com/shop/federal-595rs-pro/ sized 275-35/19 on a 9" rim. Also running -3* of negative camber in front with a little toe out. Street tires show very little camber wear; but car isn't daily driver. Put about 7k miles a year on it.
I'm fond of don't overthink your track stuff, especially if you are new at it. BMAC and Nightmaremoon give excellent info to follow

 

[shogun32]

I'm running these https://philstireservice.com/shop/federal-595rs-pro/ sized 275-35/19 on a 9" rim.

huh, Taiwan tires of indeterminate origin. True, they are half price of PS4S but that's a bit of an ask for driving at the limit? How many track days do you get out of a set?

 

[o-man]

huh, Taiwan tires of indeterminate origin. True, they are half price of PS4S but that's a bit of an ask for driving at the limit? How many track days do you get out of a set?

Doing 3-4 track weekends and 6-8 autocrosses, tires last a year. They hold up well and are about three seconds a lap faster than continental DW’s

 

[bnightstar]

Doing 3-4 track weekends and 6-8 autocrosses, tires last a year. They hold up well and are about three seconds a lap faster than continental DW’s

Wait a second 275/35 fit on 9" wheel does this mean you use OEM wheels without spacers ?

 

[BmacIL]

Doing 3-4 track weekends and 6-8 autocrosses, tires last a year. They hold up well and are about three seconds a lap faster than continental DW’s

FYI they'll handle a lot better on a 10.5-11" rim, given that they are 10.5" tread width. That's a lot of tire stuffed onto 8.5" wheels (if using on your stock 50th anniversary wheels).

 

[NightmareMoon]

T

FYI they'll handle a lot better on a 10.5-11" rim, given that they are 10.5" tread width. That's a lot of tire stuffed onto 8.5" wheels (if using on your stock 50th anniversary wheels).

The 595RS is a budget tire, for when you need to drive hard more than you need to drive fast. Why spend 2x as much for a ‘fast’ tire? You can’t ‘win’ and hpde.

If you can’t drive a slow tire fast, a fast tire won’t help you. That said, I’m addicted to stickier tires

 

[BmacIL]

T


The 595RS is a budget tire, for when you need to drive hard more than you need to drive fast. Why spend 2x as much for a ‘fast’ tire? You can’t ‘win’ and hpde.

If you can’t drive a slow tire fast, a fast tire won’t help you. That said, I’m addicted to stickier tires

Budget tire should still last longer and perform better on a properly wide rim

I'd be interested in giving these a shake given the cost and also now that they've reduced road noise to similar levels as its competitors.

 

[shogun32]

I'm tempted as well. What is the 'rule of thumb' between tread width and wheel width? at least 1:1?

 

[o-man]

Wait a second 275/35 fit on 9" wheel does this mean you use OEM wheels without spacers ?

FYI they'll handle a lot better on a 10.5-11" rim, given that they are 10.5" tread width. That's a lot of tire stuffed onto 8.5" wheels (if using on your stock 50th anniversary wheels).

I am using a 9" wide PP knock off wheel. Here is a picture of the older 595 RS/RR mounted on 9" wheel

The new RS/Pro appears to have a little more squared shoulder and are a LOT quieter. No, they are not the fastest 200TW tires out there, but the price and longevity work for me.

 

[BmacIL]

I'm tempted as well. What is the 'rule of thumb' between tread width and wheel width? at least 1:1?

Yes, and 1/2" or so more wheel width is good.

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