Track Rims/Tires

[F0J]

You don't need high-grip in a good practice tire, however.... a good practice tire should break away smoothly and show mistakes in a progressive manner, not suddenly. I want to learn from my mistakes, not be punished for them. Lots of street tires are NOT forgiving at the limits. This is my primary concern when picking a tire to use for HPDE.

This is why I like the RE71R. Its absolutely grippier than I need for HPDE, but its very forgiving to drive hard. I'd easily prefer a less grippy tire that lasts longer, but still tolerates heat and pressure differences as well and is as forgiving at the limit, I just don't know of any.

This is the first thing I noticed with the RE71Rs: they feel like an elastic band that gets stretched as you load them up until they gently scrub away speed in a predictable manner. They're not "oily" or "hoppy". You want less grip? Get a narrow version (like I did).

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[Brent Dalton]

Curious as to why you run the Bridgestone's for AutoX and not the R7's?

Josh (jhols) hit the nail on the head. I run in the CAM class at the AutoX, which requires a 200 tw tire. Also, the R7 is a road racing tire. You generally can't get enough heat in them at the AutoX to make them stick well. THE A7 is the best AutoX r compound if I ran in a class that allowed them. The A7 is also the best time trial tire for the road course, but it will start to fall off after a few laps.