putting on a set of these next week.
they are one of the autocross favorites (main objective) but I'm told they're noisy, harsh and wear faster than most other 200 treadwear tires. I'll either tolerate them everyday or swap back and forth with all seasons between events.
will post some driving impressions week after next.
Okay so put these on last Thurs.
re-71r size 205 50r15
previous tire was Federal 595 EVO 195 55r15
nvh wise, definitely louder. Between 20 to 55 mph, noticeable drone. Turn up your radio. Seems to blend in with wind noise above 55mph.
sidewall stiffness did not add much in the way of harshness. it's there, but less than I expected. Tolerable.
sidewalls are indeed stiffer. on the federals, which were stiffer than all seasons, I could grab the GSW roof rail and rock the car a little due to sidewall flex. Now, just just barely.
Yesterday, tried them out at autocross.
Oh yeah! On the first run, it was obvious that car had more grip. No butt dyno here. Closed the margin on my times and other benchmark cars by almost 2 seconds.
My car is set up to rotate but avoid snap oversteer. With the re71s, it was quite easy to cause lift rotation that was easy to control and stabilize. Couple places where I would likely have to brake for smooth exit (with the Federals), I could turn, lift and get on it smoothly and stay right on the cones.
If you hate tire noise, you'll definitely notice the tradeoff...but I really like them so far.