Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

[2wheelsmoker]

So I've been tracking quite a bit and it's about time to change tires. I think extra-terrestrial forces are giving me signs when I find 2 nails in a rear tire during a drive to the grocery store. The Toyo T1-S have been great and yes I did see the very marvelous write-up on tire choice that was linked in an earlier post. I just don't know what sizes fit 17's.

What I want to know is if I currently run 205/40/17 with the T1-S on 17" SSR Competition rims and change to 225/45/17 with the RE-01Rs, will I be rubbing like hell? (Plus what width are my tires? I obviously know nothing about rubber...) I'm still trying to understand the whole aspect ratio thing and need to read more car forums but in the mean-time maybe someone could give me recommendations on tire DIMENSIONS (not brands). And damn, anyone have hookups on cheap Toyos in the bay area? The cheapest place I've heard of is AIM Tires at Infineon.

I'm not a noob to cars but embarassingly technically-challenged when it comes to modifying.

Thanks.

[knowledge]

OK I will break down tire sizing for you...

Example...

205-40-17

Now the 1st # is your tire with- ie the 205
Second # is your tires sidewall highth- ie 40
The third # is the tires radious/or rim size- ie 17

Now you say you have a 17 inch rim, but what is the rims width? I would guess 7" as the majority of wheels that are put on Honda's that are 17" rims are 17x7 wheels. You cannot run an extremely wide or skinny tire on this. Each width of rim will pretty much have about 2-3 width sizes of tire that you can run on it. Now lets say you have a 7" wide wheel...

A 205 or 215 wide tire would be best. If you slap on a 225 wide tire on it your more than likely going to get rubbing on either the shock (Depends on the shock) or outer fender well in the rear, or rubbing on the inner and outer fender well in the front (Due to turning).

I hope I have helped you open up to the world of wheels and tires a little bit more. If you have any other questions I and many others on here will gladly help out or clarify.

[2wheelsmoker]

Thank you for the quick response. I've been playing with various calculators on-line in the mean-time and what you've said has helped me understand my findings a lot more.

Width seems to be the most difficult part for me to comprehend, seeing how the wheel is one width and the tire width have a varying array of compatibility. I'm not quite sure what would be optimal in this case but I think it's safe to say that I agree with you that staying closer to the 205 width that has worked for me in the past is a safer choice. Now I guess my dilemma does take me back to the question of tire BRAND. If the RE-01Rs don't come in anything smaller than 225 for a 17" wheel then should I just give up on that idea and stick to T1-Rs or change to other tires with a 205 width such as S-03s?

In other words, if tire width is king in this decision then what else is there that can't vary when looking for tires? I'm trying to set some guidelines for myself to follow.

[knowledge]

Wear rate, and traction rating!

I always have run falkens for years. I now run the RT-615's, and love them to death...

[Doespike]

I've been seeing quite a few ads for these new RE-01R's. Are they the replacement for the RE-010's that came stock on the ITRs? Does anyone have any experience with these new tires? Opinions?
Hope I'm staying on topic here, I know most of your questions were on sizing.

[Erik95LS]

One thing that wasn't mentioned is that I hope you guys understand is that the second number is not the actual sidewall hieght as a number itself its a percentage.

For example. With 205/40 17, the width of the tire is 205(mm) and the sidewall height is 40% of that, which comes out to 82mm. Now say you have slightly wider tire with the sidewall number staying the same. 215/40 17. This tire is 215(mm) wide and 40% of that one is 86mm. That may seem like a small difference, but its more substantial than it seems. Remember that you have to double that number because there is a sidewall with that measurment all the way around the wheel. So the two numbers are really 164mm (205/40) and 172mm (215/40).

I just wanted to make sure you understood this as this is of key importance when sizing and buying tires. You can only change the width, height, or both so much before they start causing problems. Check out here http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=46 for some more information about tires and tire sizing. They have great info in the tech section of their site.

[2wheelsmoker]

What size tires on what wheels are you guys running on the track? From what I've seen, there aren't any ITRs that show up to the track so I have no one to do a comparo with.

[Erik95LS]

Are you talking about a real track or a drag strip? Either way, I think on your 17in wheels your best be would be 205 40 17 or possibly 215 40 17. The latter might be a bit too tall and or wide, but it should fit depending on how close your offset places the rubber to the suspension and fender.

205 40 17 would definitely be the simplest most effective size for you though. And you will not have any problems as this is very close the stock overall size.

[knowledge]

I run 205-40-16's on my MF10's.

As stated above the 215-40, or 205-40 would probably be your best bet!

[nsxtasy]

if I currently run 205/40/17 with the T1-S on 17" SSR Competition rims and change to 225/45/17 with the RE-01Rs, will I be rubbing like hell?

Yes. Stick with 205/40-17.

If the RE-01Rs don't come in anything smaller than 225 for a 17" wheel then should I just give up on that idea and stick to T1-Rs or change to other tires with a 205 width such as S-03s?

It all depends on what you're looking for. The RE01R is designed to maximize grip on dry pavement. Downsides include so-so traction on wet pavement, rapid treadwear, and high purchase price. If that's what you're looking for, consider getting the Falken Azenis RT-615 instead; it's $93 in 205/40-17. If you want something that does well on wet roads as well as dry, and lasts longer, consider the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 for $128 in 205/40-17. If you're willing to give up a little bit of dry performance, you can get a terrific bargain by getting the Kumho Ecsta SPT, $56 each in 205/40-17, or $46 each after the $40 rebate. That sounds like it's too good to be true or the tire is crap, but neither is true; the Kumho SPT is a very good tire on dry pavement (not like the Azenis, but still decent), awesome in the rain, and lasts a long time.

I've been seeing quite a few ads for these new RE-01R's. Are they the replacement for the RE-010's that came stock on the ITRs? Does anyone have any experience with these new tires? Opinions?

No, they are not a replacement for the OEM tires. The RE01R is a general-application tire (i.e. not designed for a particular car) which, like the Falken Azenis RT-615, is designed to maximize traction on dry pavement, sort of like an R compound track tire for street use. It's a good tire, but it's more expensive than the Azenis and doesn't come in sizes for our cars (in North America, anyway). If that's what you're looking for, get the Azenis.

What size tires on what wheels are you guys running on the track? From what I've seen, there aren't any ITRs that show up to the track so I have no one to do a comparo with.

You should come to the ITR Expo. You can see 60+ ITRs showing up at the track.

I use R compound track tires on the track, Toyo RA-1 205/50-15 on the stock 15x6 wheels. Lots of good R compound tires are available in that size.

I run 205-40-16's on my MF10's.

As stated above the 215-40, or 205-40 would probably be your best bet!

No, it wouldn't. Not on 16's. The best tire size for 16" wheels is either 205/45-16 or 215/45-16. 205/40-16 and 215/40-16 are much too small for an ITR. 205/40-16 is the right size for older Civics, not Integras.

[knowledge]

Well when I got my RT-615's they didn't have 205-45's, only 205-40's. So that is what I got. I have NO problems running these tires now after 8 months!

[nsxtasy]

Well when I got my RT-615's they didn't have 205-45's, only 205-40's.

The RT-615 is available in 215/45-16, which works fine on an ITR. There's no need to get the undersized 205/40-16, which is WAY too small for an ITR (4.2 percent smaller diameter than stock).

[2wheelsmoker]

I decided to go with the Azeni RT-615s over the Toyo T1-Rs due to price and performance. I do know these will wear down faster but I feel adventurous. 205/40/17 is what I'm going with and that's what I had before as well. Is it just me or do the RT-615s have a slightly smaller profile than the T1-Rs?

I'd like to make it to the Expo. Unfortunately I'm located in the golden state and that's a pretty far drive! Maybe if I get a truck that can tow I'll see you guys out there for Expo 7!

Maybe I should've just gone with the RA-1s .

[nsxtasy]

I decided to go with the Azeni RT-615s over the Toyo T1-Rs due to price and performance. I do know these will wear down faster but I feel adventurous.

They are really two different kinds of tires. The Azenis is designed for all-out performance, to maximize traction and handling on dry pavement, period, and the hell with any concerns about wet traction or treadlife. If you're looking for a supersticky street tire on dry pavement, that's your tire.

Sorry I didn't say anything about the Toyo previously. The T1-R and its predecessor, the T1-S, are really not all that great a tire. Their performance is nowhere near as good as the best top-of-the-line street tires from other brands - not the tires that maximize dry traction (RT-615, BFG KD, etc), and not the tires that maximize both dry and wet traction (F1 GS-D3, RE050A, etc). They're about as good as other budget-priced performance tires, like the Kumho SPT, Yokohama ES100, etc. Okay dry and wet performance, but good "bang for the buck". Personally, if you're looking for value (which is the primary reason to consider the T1-R or T1-S), I think you get a whole lot more of it with the SPT than with the Toyo.

Also, while performance is certainly a legitimate reason to choose the Azenis over the Toyo, I'm not sure why you mention price. If you care about value, you should be looking not only at purchase price, but also at treadlife. Since the Toyo lasts 2-3 times as long as the Azenis, you'll pay a lot more per mile with the Azenis than with the Toyo. But again, if you're really looking for value, you would be better off with the SPT, which lasts longer than the T1-R, performs better, and costs less than half as much (the SPT is $57 per tire in 205/45-16 after rebate, vs $103 for the Toyo; in 205/40-17, it's $46 vs $121).

205/40/17 is what I'm going with and that's what I had before as well.

That's the right size for 17" wheels on an Integra.

Is it just me or do the RT-615s have a slightly smaller profile than the T1-Rs?

I don't know about 205/40-17. I know that in some other sizes (particularly 205/50-15), the Azenis is well-known for being significantly larger than other makes/models of tires labeled as the same size.

Maybe I should've just gone with the RA-1s .

If you want tires for the track, like the RA-1, you can always get a cheap used set of wheels for your track tires, and swap them on and off at the track. That's what I do with my RA-1.

[2wheelsmoker]

Well, went to T-Hill on Thursday and man was it a blast. No regrets going with the Azenis. The wear on the tires weren't that bad either. I can optomistically get 4-5 more track days with daily driving in between. Not that much less than what the T1-S were doing with a noob tracker earlier this year.

I was running about 44 psi in the front and 43 psi in the rear hot. Didn't have the necessary tools to check tire temps but with -1.5 camber in the front and -1.0 in the rear with 0 zero toe all around I couldn't get the car to oversteer the way the T1-S did, probably a good thing. On that note, I want to say that "I HAVE YET TO MEET ANOTHER ITR AT SEARS POINT OR THUNDER HILL" since May. Where are you all hiding?

I also met Mark from Opak Racing. He was there with the Spoon Fit! I was too busy working on my brakes to see how fast that thing was going. If anyone else in norcal is hitting the tracks with NASA you'll probably run into the Spoon DC5R as well. I didn't even know they had a shop in SF...

[get RIGHT]

I now run the RT-615's, and love them to death...

+1

[knowledge]

I'm in NORCAL also (Sactown), but haven't taken the R to ANY tracks in over 2+ years now.

Spoon used to work in conjunction with a shop in Auburn, but I know that shop is now closed down. Maybe they moved everything down to S.F.

[kwanjai]

I now run the RT-615's, and love them to death...

+1

+2

loved them from the beginning. Excellent tire

[Lazarus]

Are the Azenis' good for dragging? I know people mainly use them for auto-x and road racing.

[knowledge]

I know A LOT of people who used teh 1st Gen Azenis for draggin'. I haven't been to the track in over 2 years now and the RT-615's weren;t out obviously then. The RT-615's are an improved tire compaired to the older gen Azenis. So i would imagine... YES they are decent at least for drag racing. Better than snow tires. HAHA