Bridgestone RE-71R Initial Review

abm89

I swapped my tires from RE-11s to RE-71Rs to give me more performance on the track. After at least 1000 miles and a track day, I urge you to believe the hype.

Sizes:
F: 265/35R18
R: 275/35R18

Street Driving:
So far, these are good tires. The first thing i noticed was an improved ride quality....although I think that was because my RE-11s were pretty much done as far a wear is concerned. There is increased road noise, but for those who buy this tire, that probably isn't a concern.

The funny thing about this install is that it started raining when I left the shop to make an hour drive home! With moderate rain and no standing water, there's plenty of traction and stability. When the rain started chucking it, it's just like any other performance tire...you cant do $hit about it. I also did some brief cold weather testing since winter finally arrived in Houston, and the RE-71Rs have adequate grip, at least at 40F ambient. They do not behave like RS3s.

Track Driving:
I basically had to re-think how fast I could go around some corners. I found myself needing to increase corner entry speeds, and I still haven't found the limit. The steering response is a major improvement over the RE-11, and the tire doesn't require much heat to achieve the stellar grip levels. Below is a comparison video of me running the RE-11 (a tire I was very used to) and the RE-71R (after only two 20 minute sessions):



The way to tell the performance difference is how fast I'm entering the corners and the amount of steering lock I'm using. This was by no means a scientific test and I don't consider myself that good of a driver, but based on having little experience with these tires and managing a 2 second per lap difference with traffic, the results are obvious.

RE-11 Review

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ban25

I'm a fan. Endless grip, especially in long sweeping turns like you see in Willow Springs Turns 2 & 8/9 and Buttonwillow's West Loop. Good tire life too. I've managed 6 track days on a set and that should improve with a bit of negative camber up front.

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zpower86

Thanks for sharing. I agree, best 200tw tire for 2015 and maybe 2016. I'll be ordering a second set in a few months.

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Charles K
2011 Nissan 370Z, Black, 7BS
youtube.com/rotarypower86

abm89

It's good to get some feedback on the wear. I'll be bold enough to daily and track these tires.

Those RE11s I had before lasted 6 track days and 17k miles.

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YzGyz

Zpow, how many miles did these tires last you? I burnt up my rears and considering all 4 tires. I might end up just buying the rears as the front have plenty of life in them.

YzGyz

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YzGyz

zpower86

Mine are 275 square. My fronts wear much faster due to autocross.

If I'm remembering correctly, I have about 55 autocross runs on them and under 700 highway miles.

Here's a pic 6 runs ago. I'd say 40% useful tread life left...maybe more. Rears prob are probably at the halfway point.

So according to this, the fronts are good for about 100 aggressive autox runs Ina 3300lb car.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Charles K
2011 Nissan 370Z, Black, 7BS
youtube.com/rotarypower86

abm89

That's pretty good wear. I've seen a few of your autocross videos on YT. That definitely takes a toll considering this car is heavy.

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