Track only tires?

[TDC]

The RE-71Rs work great with this vehicle on the road courses. I am running the 305/30/19 square setup and have completed two events (four days) in the Texas heat (average ambient temp was 97~99F). They do not get greasy if properly inflated nor do they wear quicker than the Sport Cup 2s if the car is aligned correctly.

At the moment, the RE-71R will surprise you. ;)

Bingo, have you noticed any ill affects running the square setup on a GT350? Reason I ask is the tire circumferences are different from stock. I figured maybe the stability control might get screwed with the computer reading the diff. circumferences as tire slip.

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[Stuntman]

The RE-71Rs work great with this vehicle on the road courses. I am running the 305/30/19 square setup and have completed two events (four days) in the Texas heat (average ambient temp was 97~99F). They do not get greasy if properly inflated nor do they wear quicker than the Sport Cup 2s if the car is aligned correctly.

I have been traveling, but will post up a non-scientific time comparison between the PSS, PS Cup 2, RE-71R, and R-S3 v2 on the stock wheels on the same track on the same weekend in a couple of days. In two weeks I will be running the PS Cup 2, ContiForceContact, NT01 and Trofeo R on the 6GR wheels. At the moment, the RE-71R will surprise you. ;)

Looking forward to your findings. How are you going to test all of those tires on the same car/weekend?

I never said RE71s weren't fast. Just that they tend to overheat on heavy cars on road courses on hot days. I have not tried them on a GT350 which might have wide enough tires to not overheat them as bad as an M3 does, which RS3s hold up far better over a 20-30 min session.

 

[chedder]

I run the MP Cup2 tire and achieve 1.28 g turns on a regular basis. I can drive the inside line on P cars and BMW M4s w/o any problems. Great in the wet. 9 days with 41 heat cycles. Also recommend Nitto 01's.

 

[chedder]

Playing nice with others SEP. Ó9

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[Stuntman]

I run the MP Cup2 tire and achieve 1.28 g turns on a regular basis. I can drive the inside line on P cars and BMW M4s w/o any problems. Great in the wet. 9 days with 41 heat cycles. Also recommend Nitto 01's.

Nice! Any pics of the tires current condition?

 

[snaproll]

I was going to comment about how much the racers hated 888's and the Ra1 and RR were preferred (albeit not available in GT350 size) but the truth is, the shittier your tires are, the faster you learn how to drive. Cracks me up when people show up to HPDE with Hoosiers. That's exactly what you don't want to do. I guess old race tires are ok because they can be economical. Some of the best dynamics lessons I learned were using different tires front and rear or even side to side for variable grip. My .02 to save you money

 

[Bingo13]

Bingo, have you noticed any ill affects running the square setup on a GT350? Reason I ask is the tire circumferences are different from stock. I figured maybe the stability control might get screwed with the computer reading the diff. circumferences as tire slip.

Actually, I find the car to be more neutral and can accelerate earlier coming out of the corners. So far, no ill side effects that I have experienced in track mode. To be honest, the car has more in it than I am able to take advantage of at this point. So on the very edge there might be something I have not experienced yet, but I do not think it will change based on the last two events with the car. After driving either a '00R or '03 Cobra for the last 12 years, it has been a completely different experience on track so far.

 

[Bingo13]

Looking forward to your findings. How are you going to test all of those tires on the same car/weekend?

I never said RE71s weren't fast. Just that they tend to overheat on heavy cars on road courses on hot days. I have not tried them on a GT350 which might have wide enough tires to not overheat them as bad as an M3 does, which RS3s hold up far better over a 20-30 min session.

I have never experienced overheating with the RE-71R and have been running them for almost two years on what we would agree are very heavy cars for the track, between my '00R, '03 Cobra, '07 GT, '12 Boss 302 and now the GT350 TP. I have friends with '15 Z/28s and ZL1s who are running the RE-71R without heat issues at the same tracks.

I am not saying this is the be all end all street/HPDE tire, but I do not understand all the comments about it getting greasy on track with heavy cars. The last two events had ambient temps at 97~99F and no issues on this car and the Camaro's I was running with at the same time. I have run in higher temps on the other cars and no issues with 275/35/18 or 275/35/19 sizes.

However, I know the car has some time left in it and I have not pushed it to the very edge yet, so those comments might be fully justified with a better driver than me. I will find out shortly.

As for testing, I have two sets of the stock wheels and two sets of the 6GR wheels. I have the next set of tires/wheels to be tested stored in a facility at the track I am visiting. All of the tires were heat cycled before delivery and the Contis and Trofeo R are already installed. I will arrive a day early, install each set on the car and put about 50 miles on them. I will run the first two sessions with the Contis and the next two sessions with the Trofeo R.

After the first day, the shop will install the NT01s and MPSC 2 on the wheels and I will put about 50 miles on the NT01s that night. As for the MPSC2, I will only get 10 or 15 miles on them before the last two sessions. Like I said, a non-scientific method of testing, but it gives me a good idea of what I want to run on the car for the near future. I did this with the other cars and ended up running the RE-11, AD08R, R-S3, ZII Star Spec, R888 and Rival S before deciding to go with the RE-71R across the board.

I have driven the RE-71R with ambient temps in the upper 30's all the way up to the low 100's and it behaves in a very similar manner once warmed up until coming off the track. It is the consistency that I like about it. It also works well with my driving style and maybe that is the key to temps. To be honest, I thought the MPSC 2 was the better overall tire at my last event, but not worth the extra money. I will work up a post this weekend with my thoughts on what I experienced.

 

[Stuntman]

Kudos for doing such extensive a d condensed testing. Most people dont so half of what your doing so thank you for your work and sharing your findings.

On the same set of tires, how much do your lap times vary between the first run in the morning and the worst part of the day in the heat of the afternoon (~3--4pm)? Do you have any in-car videos?

 

[nastang87xx]

Put my Hankook R-S3's on Road America yesterday. They were great.

 

[Bingo13]

Kudos for doing such extensive a d condensed testing. Most people dont so half of what your doing so thank you for your work and sharing your findings.

On the same set of tires, how much do your lap times vary between the first run in the morning and the worst part of the day in the heat of the afternoon (~3--4pm)? Do you have any in-car videos?

I am not the fastest driver around, by far as a matter of fact based on my instructor times in it. But, I am very consistent, in open traffic, usually a few tenths between laps at most. That said, keeping track of air pressures is critical between the first and last session. I have not noticed more than a few tenths of a second difference between sessions and usually run my fastest laps in the afternoon. I tend to concentrate more on driving when I am tired, which is something I am working on doing all the time.

I will have video at the next event. I refrained from video and images until I adjusted to the car and had an understanding with my dealership that the car will be in several HPDE events each year. ;)

 

[sigintel]

Can you post up tire temps cold n hot?
Have have size and spec numbers off your mpss?

 

[Stuntman]

I am not the fastest driver around, by far as a matter of fact based on my instructor times in it. But, I am very consistent, in open traffic, usually a few tenths between laps at most. That said, keeping track of air pressures is critical between the first and last session. I have not noticed more than a few tenths of a second difference between sessions and usually run my fastest laps in the afternoon. I tend to concentrate more on driving when I am tired, which is something I am working on doing all the time.

I will have video at the next event. I refrained from video and images until I adjusted to the car and had an understanding with my dealership that the car will be in several HPDE events each year. ;)

Thank you for your honesty. Depending on the track and conditions, in most cases an experienced driver can lose well over a second between an early morning session and one in the early afternoon due to the increased track temps. This is where the difference between a more heat tolerant MPSC2 or RS3 and a softer RE71R becomes apparent. On lighter cars, cooler days, and less experienced drivers not pushing the limit of the tire consistently through corners may not experience the same difference.

 

[Rainier42]

I run the MP Cup2 tire and achieve 1.28 g turns on a regular basis. I can drive the inside line on P cars and BMW M4s w/o any problems. Great in the wet. 9 days with 41 heat cycles. Also recommend Nitto 01's.

What size(s) do you run?

 

[Bingo13]

The RE-71Rs work great with this vehicle on the road courses. I am running the 305/30/19 square setup and have completed two events (four days) in the Texas heat (average ambient temp was 97~99F). They do not get greasy if properly inflated nor do they wear quicker than the Sport Cup 2s if the car is aligned correctly.

I have been traveling, but will post up a non-scientific time comparison between the PSS, PS Cup 2, RE-71R, and R-S3 v2 on the stock wheels on the same track on the same weekend in a couple of days. In two weeks I will be running the PS Cup 2, ContiForceContact, NT01 and Trofeo R on the 6GR wheels. At the moment, the RE-71R will surprise you. ;)

Just a quick tire update on my results from the last two track events.

Notes -
1. This is non-scientific testing. Conditions varied slightly between each session and this was the second visit on this particular course direction and layout with the vehicle. I am not here to recommend one brand over another. I tend to favor certain tires based on my driving style and it means a different tire might work better for another driver.
2. I am not the quickest driver, but turn very consistent lap times rarely varying more than a few tenths of a second in open traffic conditions.
3. The car has more in it than I capable of extracting at the moment. I hope that changes as I become more familiar with it over the next couple of months. So results could, probably would vary with a better driver.
4. Each set of tires tested were on the stock TP wheels with each set having a run in the morning and afternoon sessions.
5. Each set of non-OEM (PSS) tires were heat cycled before delivery and had an average of 50 miles of driving on them before track time. I realize additional mileage would make a difference on the tires tested, but all started equal as delivered.
6. Car Setup -
a. 2016 GT350 TP / Track Mode setting
b. Modifications - Steeda 2-point G-Trac Front Brace, MM CC plates, Steeda IRS subframe braces, Steeda IRS subframe alignment kit, Steeda Ultra Light Jacking Rails, FTBR IRS Vertical Links, FTBR IRS Toe Links, and FRPP differential bushing Kit. I will upgrade the IRS upper/lower control arm and subframe bushings next month with the FTBR parts.
c. Front Camber: -1.9, Front Caster: 7.00, Front Toe Total - 0.05 In
d. Rear Camber: -1.3, Rear Toe Total - -0.30 In
e. Car was corner weighted during the alignment process.
7. Tires tested included the stock Pilot Super Sports, Pilot Sport Cup 2, Bridgestone RE-71R and the Hankook R-S3 v2 on the stock TP wheels. Sizes are listed with the time differentials.
8. Test Conditions-
a. Ambient Temps - 97~99F
b. Took the afternoon times and averaged the three best laps in clear traffic conditions.
c. Course was a 1.7 mile layout with 11 turns. Testing next week will be on the same track, but a 3.1 mile layout with 16 turns in the opposite direction. I was able to secure some guest time the day before the event and will test the MSPP and RE-71R on the stock wheels as baselines against the next setup, but more importantly to compare the time differentials on a longer track. Once again, non-scientific as the wheels, rear tire sizes and brake pads will be switched along with the new tires at the next event.

Times -
1. Lap differentials are based off a baseline of Zero with the stock wheel/tire setup, but with the suspension mods listed above.

A. Michelin Pilot Super Sport Ford OEM, F-295-35-19, R-305/35/19 - Baseline
B. Hankook R-S3 v2, Front/Rear 305/30/19 -1.97 seconds
C. Bridgestone RE-71R, Front/Rear 305/30/19 -2.24 seconds
D. Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, Front/Rear 305/30/19 -2.41 seconds

Hot Tire Pressures -
1. Based on fine tuning over the weekend.

A. Michelin Pilot Super Sport, F-36 R-35
B. Hankook R-S3 v2, F-34 R-33
C. Bridgestone RE-71R, F-35 R-33
D. Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, F-34 R-33

General Comments-
Add tomorrow.

Bridgestone RE-71R Images-
1. After eight track sessions over two course events and 1100 highway miles.

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