Back After a 2 Year Break

[Mach5Mk5]

Hey guys, it's T.J. Triolo. For anyone who might remember, my stepdad and I used to drive a flat black 1990 STS Miata from 2016-2019. In 2019, I felt like life priorities changed, quit autocross and sold the Miata. I graduated college and moved to California last year, only to find that I didn't have the money there to stay where I wanted long-term thanks to COVID shutdowns for businesses. I eventually started missing autocross, and planned to get into it in California again with my current car; it's a stock 2008 GTI with the DSG transmission. Since moving back to Arizona, I've now got a full-time PR job for a local car wash chain that I start in a couple weeks, and I'm planning to return to autocross for the fall series. Just got a couple questions as far as my car goes. First off, does anyone have a used set of performance shocks from a Mk5 VW they'd be willing to sell, or know someone who has some to sell? Also, what tire is the dominant one now? I checked Tire Rack and found that RE71Rs are on closeout, so I figured they're discontinued. Thanks for the help, and can't wait to get back out there!

[freakin_elrod]

To answer the tire question, Falken RT660s or the Yokohama A052s

[Mach5Mk5]

Thanks, I checked the price on the Falkens and Yokohamas and compared them on Tire Rack for results. I think it's gonna be the Falkens for me when the time comes!

[Matt U]

Falkens definitely seem to be much more competitive with the 660’s over the previous generation. Some people still prefer the Rivals and they seem to still be fast enough to be at the front.

[ribs]

Yeah, I dunno what is up with the Tire Rack RE-71R closeout/discount thing.  Other places have them in stock (Discount Tire, Amazon...).  I just bought my RE-71Rs on Amazon for $20 cheaper than Tire Rack, Tire Rack only had one anyway. Perhaps Tire Rack cannot find them right now.

Edited March 8, 2021 by ribs

[race2win]

4 hours ago, ribs said:

Yeah, I dunno what is up with the Tire Rack RE-71R closeout/discount thing.  Other places have them in stock (Discount Tire, Amazon...).  I just bought my RE-71Rs on Amazon for $20 cheaper than Tire Rack, Tire Rack only had one anyway. Perhaps Tire Rack cannot find them right now.

Bridgestone discontinued the RE-71R in late 2019, and unfortunately the replacement in Japan is not as quick so therefor Bridgestone of America decided not to bring the replacement to the US. Once that decision was made they ramped up production of the 71R in Japan prior to switching all the tooling and sent pretty much ALL of them to the US. Tire Rack got most of the supply, but since they are the largest retailer and sell the most tires their stock is currently lower. However I've heard they are getting more stock of some popular sizes soon...not sure if they are buying up inventory from other retailers or not, but I can assure you Bridgestone is no longer making the tire.

So, just know if you buy RE-71R's they will have 2018-2019 build dates on them, meaning they've been sitting in a warehouse quite a while. However, my testing says even older tires that are still new perform quite well. Most tests say the newer tires (Falken/Yokohama) are quicker than the RE-71R, but the Bridgestone is hard to beat for all around performance, durability, and feel.

[freakin_elrod]

The last of the remaining RE71Rs are starting to dwindle away...

Edited March 9, 2021 by freakin_elrod

[ribs]

Race2Win - thanks for updating me.

[Matt U]

I can say that I feel that the RE71r’s had fantastic grip and could go a whole year on a STX car with a co-driver. Granted the grip started to fall off in the last two months. There is no way that the A052’s will go that long, but I am still waiting to see how long they will last. The A052’s do seem to be more car setup and tire pressure sensitive in the wear department than the RE71r’s. 
 

Driver impressions from my point of view. The RE71r’s take combined loads better, say trail braking, than the A052’s. But, and this is a big but in autocross, the RE71r’s are more unforgiving if you aren’t smooth or if you overdrive the tire. You can somewhat overdrive the A052’s and not loose a lot of time, where the RE71r’s you would be in the marbles. 

[freakin_elrod]

A052s will probably last longer on that STX car with camber vs the GTI with no/weak camber, so not really an apples to apples comparison. The A052s will also likely will wear into oblivion on the GTI before the Toyobaru does.

I'll be testing the RT660s this weekend and hopefully get a synopsis on how they compare to the Rival 1.5S's and the RE71Rs on a FWD with some decent camber. My guess is they will probably wear like the RE71R's, but I'm hoping they can handle a bit of over driving like the Rivals and A052s.

 

[Matt U]

On 3/10/2021 at 11:22 AM, freakin_elrod said:

A052s will probably last longer on that STX car with camber vs the GTI with no/weak camber, so not really an apples to apples comparison. The A052s will also likely will wear into oblivion on the GTI before the Toyobaru does.

I'll be testing the RT660s this weekend and hopefully get a synopsis on how they compare to the Rival 1.5S's and the RE71Rs on a FWD with some decent camber. My guess is they will probably wear like the RE71R's, but I'm hoping they can handle a bit of over driving like the Rivals and A052s.

 

Sid, you’re absolutely right that it’s not an apples to apples comparison. Speaking of tire wear, proper camber, little tow, and a light car it’s almost impossible to beat up the tires. We barely have to spray the tires when co-driving in the summer here. 
 

There is one big draw back to the A052’s on a camber challenged car that I just realized, they are asymmetric. So if you burn off the outside edge, which is common, you can’t flip them to get some more runs out of them.