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DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:04 pm

Chad Culbertson wrote:

Dick, thanks for the feedback, i've been looking at these for the Camaro as well and that certainly eases my mind as far as longevity. I didn't want to go through tires once a season, lol.

Note that I have only run these tires once on the Danville cheese grater pavement. If a significant number of your events is on pavement like Danville's expect faster wear. However, that is probably true with any tire.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2015 12:48 pm

So it looks like the RE71R Bridgestone has changed its line up and the 285x35/18 is no longer listed as an option. All I can get now is a 275x35. That also lists the tread width at 0.4" narrower than the ZII's. Now I'm conflicted as I can still buy the ZII at the 275 width and keep my tread width. Anyway I look at it, it's a crap ton of money. Maybe I need to reconsider autoxing the BMW next year and keep the mustang as my track car. Hummmm

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:16 pm

RodneyWright wrote:

So it looks like the RE71R Bridgestone has changed its line up and the 285x35/18 is no longer listed as an option. All I can get now is a 275x35. That also lists the tread width at 0.4" narrower than the ZII's. Now I'm conflicted as I can still buy the ZII at the 275 width and keep my tread width. Anyway I look at it, it's a crap ton of money. Maybe I need to reconsider autoxing the BMW next year and keep the mustang as my track car. Hummmm

Your choice for autox between those two tires doesn't exist.

The 275 RE-71R will run circles around the ZII whether it's a 275 or 285.

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:27 pm

How does the RE-71R hold up on track? I'm guessing not very well, it seems really sticky and i'd guess it will wear down quite quickly.

So I guess it also depends on how long the tires need to last and if they need to do track and AutoX duty.

I agree that either way it's a crap ton of money, i'm looking at 1000-1300 for a set for the Camaro, it's only a few hundred difference between 18's and 20s, the width of the tire seems to be the big price factor.

Aaron Buckley · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2015 3:11 pm

Chad Culbertson wrote:

How does the RE-71R hold up on track? I'm guessing not very well, it seems really sticky and i'd guess it will wear down quite quickly.

So I guess it also depends on how long the tires need to last and if they need to do track and AutoX duty.

I agree that either way it's a crap ton of money, i'm looking at 1000-1300 for a set for the Camaro, it's only a few hundred difference between 18's and 20s, the width of the tire seems to be the big price factor.

For 20 minute HPDE sessions, they will hold up great. A Chumpcar team (with a lightweight @2500# RWD 2nd gen Supra) got nearly 24 hours out of a set by rotating them. - AB

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:16 pm

I'm thinking that same strategy.... So now I'm considering other scenarios to limit my money spend and what I want to accomplish down the road. So a little history on my contemplations....

Before I kick off and while I still have a little driving talent, I want to start hitting up some the top tracks around the country via HPDE events. I want to use the mustang for that, just seems fitting to me to drive that car across country. I'm going to start on my top 10 track runs over the next 5-7 years as money can afford it. So right now I'm faced w/ having to buy new streets and new autox tires. The RE-71R's are $1275 out the door and regular streets are ~$1000. The RE-71R's, from what I can gather, would not be a good choice for track due to heat and short life of those tires. Just thinking out loud here, I think a good set of dual purpose tires (DD and track) would fit the bill nicely.

I was thinking about buying a 4x6 enclosed tire trailer for my track runs, but if I have the one set of tires and buy a spare of the same size to cover any gotchas, I save the price of the trailer. Everything else I need should fit into the mustang w/ no issues.

Now, that would mean I need to bring the BMW back out to play. The RE-71R's are $600 for that car. I would need a seat, but I think I can snag a single seat for under $300. Everything else I need for that car right I already have. It would NOT be a competitive car in STX, but I think my focus now is to just keep my my driving skills up. The older I get the slower I get :mrgreen:

Have to put on the thinking cap and break out a spread sheet and start looking at logical options.

JamesMilko · **Posted:** Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:17 am

Aaron Buckley wrote:

Chad Culbertson wrote:

How does the RE-71R hold up on track? I'm guessing not very well, it seems really sticky and i'd guess it will wear down quite quickly.

So I guess it also depends on how long the tires need to last and if they need to do track and AutoX duty.

I agree that either way it's a crap ton of money, i'm looking at 1000-1300 for a set for the Camaro, it's only a few hundred difference between 18's and 20s, the width of the tire seems to be the big price factor.

For 20 minute HPDE sessions, they will hold up great. A Chumpcar team (with a lightweight @2500# RWD 2nd gen Supra) got nearly 24 hours out of a set by rotating them. - AB

Do you know what lap times they were running? Driving slow makes tires last forever too.

Aaron Buckley · **Posted:** Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:01 am

JamesMilko wrote:

Do you know what lap times they were running? Driving slow makes tires last forever too.

I actually don't know, but I do know that the car has won a couple of Chumpcar events (overall), multiple World Racing League events, so it's at the pointy end of the field. - AB

Andrew Jonell · **Joined:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:43 pm **Posts:** 1350

RodneyWright wrote:

I'm thinking that same strategy.... So now I'm considering other scenarios to limit my money spend and what I want to accomplish down the road. So a little history on my contemplations....

Before I kick off and while I still have a little driving talent, I want to start hitting up some the top tracks around the country via HPDE events. I want to use the mustang for that, just seems fitting to me to drive that car across country. I'm going to start on my top 10 track runs over the next 5-7 years as money can afford it. So right now I'm faced w/ having to buy new streets and new autox tires. The RE-71R's are $1275 out the door and regular streets are ~$1000. The RE-71R's, from what I can gather, would not be a good choice for track due to heat and short life of those tires. Just thinking out loud here, I think a good set of dual purpose tires (DD and track) would fit the bill nicely.

I was thinking about buying a 4x6 enclosed tire trailer for my track runs, but if I have the one set of tires and buy a spare of the same size to cover any gotchas, I save the price of the trailer. Everything else I need should fit into the mustang w/ no issues.

Now, that would mean I need to bring the BMW back out to play. The RE-71R's are $600 for that car. I would need a seat, but I think I can snag a single seat for under $300. Everything else I need for that car right I already have. It would NOT be a competitive car in STX, but I think my focus now is to just keep my my driving skills up. The older I get the slower I get :mrgreen:

Have to put on the thinking cap and break out a spread sheet and start looking at logical options.

You need to have equal protection for potential instructors, but you can buy a used seat and some G-Force belts for dirt cheap. The BMW might be the better option seeing how "reliable" your Mustang has been. Just make sure that you hit all of the trouble areas on the E36 (LCA, shifter bushings, VANOs garbage, etc) and go nuts.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:18 pm

Andrew Jonell wrote:

You need to have equal protection for potential instructors, but you can buy a used seat and some G-Force belts for dirt cheap. The BMW might be the better option seeing how "reliable" your Mustang has been. Just make sure that you hit all of the trouble areas on the E36 (LCA, shifter bushings, VANOs garbage, etc) and go nuts.

All the "trouble" spots on the BMW are mainly sorted. Still need to do all of the shifter bushings, need to drop the drive shaft to get to the parts I need to replace. Everything else is good to go. As for the seat, you're assuming that's going on track which it's not, so I should be able to get away w/ a single seat for autox.

Jury is still out on what I'm doing next year, so there may be no plans to update the BMW for now. Seriously thinking about dropping autox for a while and do some track events. That said I need to make a long term choice between track and autox tires. As part of my bucket list, I'd like to start hitting up some of the more famous tracks across this great nation and sample what some of the pro drivers get to see every year. Simply, I can't afford the time and money to do both, so my focus is leaning more towards track and some occasional autox events. I'd like to do about 2 track events a year. This is something I need to start on now. I turn 60 next year and my bucket list track plans cover the next 5 years or more.

I'm driving myself nuts trying to come up w/ the best plan that maximizes my money spend and keep from going too deep in debt. Mustang is paid off next year, so that frees up some cash. My best working plan is the most expensive though. Working out of a small enclosed trailer would solve a lot of logistical issues along w/ keeping a set of street and track tires. I can put off the trailer purchase until 2017 based on my current track plans. I still "need" to install a roll bar in the mustang along w/ some seats and 5 point harness, but again, the seats might have to wait. The roll bar is a must have for me to move forward. As for the reliability of the mustang, most of the issues are sorted, it's better prepped for track and can pull the trailer w/ no issues as opposed to the BMW.

My internal debate continues....

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:41 pm

RodneyWright wrote:

As part of my bucket list, I'd like to start hitting up some of the more famous tracks across this great nation and sample what some of the pro drivers get to see every year.

I too would like to visit more tracks. One option is to rent a seat in a Lemons or ChumpCar. Depending on the level of prep, you an rent a seat for as little as $600 in a decent car. That way you can just arrive and drive.
I'm working on a deal with a friend to run with his team at Texas next year as a matter of fact.

Just sitting here thinking to myself what courses I've driven over the past 10 years or so and it's been quite a few. Here's my list, and yes I know VIR is technically just one facility, but the multiple configurations make it more like five.

VIR Full Course
VIR North Course
VIR South Course
VIR Patriot Course
VIR Grand Course
Rockingham
CMP
NCCAR
Daytona International
Watkins Glen
Palm Beach International
Barber

Of the tracks I've driven, Watkins Glen is my favorite, and I would highly recommend adding that one to your bucket list. Actually I've enjoyed all the tracks except NCCAR, which really wasn't designed to be a 'track' anyway. Daytona was boooooring by road course standards IMO, so I wouldn't recommend it.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:15 pm

I did an interwebs search and came across this list of the top 16. This pretty much covers all of my interests....

Miller motorsports, Utah
Limerock, Connecticut
Barber Motorsports, alabama
Sonoma, Cali
Mid Ohio, Ohio
Willow Springs, Cali
Road America, Wisconsin
Sebring International, FLA
Watkins Glen, NY
Road Atlanta, GA
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IN
VIR, VA
Circuit of the Americas, TX
Daytona International, FL
Thunder Hill, Cali
Laguna Seca, Cali

I've done VIR full and north, and both were a blast. Now I'm in search of other track graphics to put on the mustang =)

RickyBeam · **Posted:** Tue Sep 01, 2015 4:54 pm

Vincent Keene wrote:

Actually I've enjoyed all the tracks except NCCAR, which really wasn't designed to be a 'track' anyway.

Indeed. I agree with your statement that it's like driving around an interstate ramp for an hour. As I told Lisa (Roger's wife) as her instructor... it's all constant radius turns (which makes it very unlike any ramp in NC), get in the center of the road and stay there. There's only 3 or 4 corners with any real apex.

My favorite has to be Sebring -- it's hard on the car, 'tho. Barber is a close second.

Didn't you do the Lemons race at Charlotte?

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

This is an autocross tire thread, dammit!

Tire Rack is showing a $70 rebate on RE-71Rs today. $1,108.00 for 4 275-35/18 tires plus tax, shipping....

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:14 am

RickyBeam wrote:

Didn't you do the Lemons race at Charlotte?

I did not.

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