[scathing]

Well, after my hill climb my OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE040's were well and truly gone. They were already at tread-depth before the hill climb, but at a point where the cops might let me off with a warning.

Since I was in the market for rally tyres anyway, I got a tip from a fellow competitor to get a set of Falken Azenis RS-V04 tyres. Since it was raining, I knew I needed new tyres so off I went.

Since it was raining I didn't get to push them at first, but I was very thankful that the 350Z comes with a nice Bose stereo. One of my friends has a set of Dunlop Formula-R D01J's and he was complaining about the tyre noise above 90km/hr being intrusive.

With these tyres, you can hear them thrumming at 30km/hr and, at 60km/hr, I thought I was being followed by a low-flying light plane. They are loud. I had a headache after 20 minutes in the car.

The grip in the wet was reasonable. I didn't have any bad aquaplaning moments, and even driving up the Pacific Highway through the North Shore at 80km/hr wasn't an issue.

Tonight, since it was dry, I decided to give them a bit of a proper trial. On a local bit of twisting road, I opened the taps on the car. All I can say is, "wow". I was pushing far harder and far faster than I dared on the OEM tyres, and the RS-V04's soaked it all up without complaint. There's such a positive feel from the car now when I turn. I'm not sure if its because I'm running 245/45 R17 all round now (rather than the wider rears) but turn-in is so crisp the steering feels even more direct.

I managed to squeeze a lot more speed while feeling "comfortable" with my pace (i.e. I was going quick but not trying to drive the **** off it, so there was more pace availailable). I was limited more by worrying about my reactions and ability to turn the car than the actual grip itself. I might take it for a Putty Road or Old Pac run in the near future, where I can really feel them out.

I don't expect the tyres to last too long, but I did get them on the cheap. The price to pay for this kind of grip is an extremely short life. Hopefully I'll be able to get public transport into work, so I won't wear them out wastefully.

Alternatively, its time to save up for those Rays wheels I've been wanting, and get a set of commuter tyres.

 

[Perth 350z]

Yikes, I'd love to be able to run a set of "cut slicks" like that full time - pretty expensive though

 

[davidm]

I got a tip from a fellow competitor to get a set of Falken Azenis RS-V04 tyres.

I am not familiar with these tyres, but from the link you provided they look very much like an R-spec tyre. Also the noise that you describe is very much like what you get from other R-spec tyres. Also, most (but not all) R-spec tyres have incredibly stiff sidewall so the car feels like you have replaced the springs with something a lot stiffer ... R-spec tyres like RE55s and DJ01 like to have less than 30psi in them.

Though, it's hard to tell with Falkens what the R-spec tyres are as I once had the Azenis RT215 (ie. http://www.hiratire.co.jp/hira/photo/tr04-F4azenis.jpg) and that is not an R-spec tyre even though it looks like one. It has the thread design of one, does not last long, but offers only about as much grip as other best of the best road-tyres (ie. S02s, ContiSport2, P-Zero Roso etc). Though, the thread design made them very track friendly and they handled the 'punishment' better than the tyres with road thread design.

So, I'm not sure what kind of tyre the RS-V04 is ... do you know? Is it meant to be comparable with tyres like DJ01, RE55s and RE540? These have incredible grip when hot, and are very slippery when cold. Though, hot here means that they feel soft like chewing-gum to touch, and any rocks that you pick up umbedd themself deep into the tyre. And when I say 'slippery' I mean loss of traction when you're rolling at 40kph in 2nd gear and put your foot 1/2 way down.

Keep us posted on how you are finding them.

ps. Noce looking tyre ... do you mind me asking how much they cost? Or more to the point, would you know how much the 245/40/18" cost?

 

[scathing]

Tempe Tyres only has a few 245/45 R17's left. I paid $175 a corner for them (which is the only reason why I bought them, the Dunlop Formula-R tyres are $450 a corner).

They are a race tyre, like the RE55's and D01J's. The RT215's are still classed by Falken as a street tyre, regardless of the tread pattern, but they're more track oriented for people like me that only own one set of rims.

Cold grip is OK, but if I want to go for a hoon I will warm them up first.

They are pretty soft. I was driving it in the wet slowly, and I still found bits of leaf stuck to the rubber.

 

[mr rizk]

Okay anyone know where I can some tyres at a cheaper price.

Tried tempe for the RS-V04 but they don't have 245/40/18.

Bridgestone RE55's I was quoted $490 each and for the S03's $445/$430

Live in Sydney so if you have any ideas please let me know.

Michael

 

[davidm]

Bridgestone RE55's I was quoted $490

Don't even think about putting these tyres onto your car for everyday driving unless you have a deathwish. On the normall road they feel like you're always driving on oil and it's very easy to provoke wheelspin even in 3rd gear.

Though ask about Bridgestone RE070 - they just became localy available in 245/45/18 as well as 225/45/18. The price should be aorund $380 per tyre, and these tyres are supposed to be very sticky R-spec tyres, but without the handicap of being slipery unless hot. Though, not sure how long they'll last you but I would not expect more than 10,000km out of them.

Ths is what they look like:
http://www.honda.co.jp/NSX/nsx-r/challenge.../02th_img04.gif
http://my.reset.jp/~triton/images/DSCN3918s.jpg
I have not tried the RE070s myself, just read about them so I can't tell you how they really are ... though, if I was looking for new road-tyres, then these would be on top of my list.

 

[mr rizk]

Thanks for the heads up on the RE55's. I had mixed reviews of these tyres when driven on the road and that is why I have been hesitant to buy these tyres.

I thought the RE070 only came in the size for the STi and thats why I never pursued it further.

Well I will let you know what happens.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[davidm]

I thought the RE070 only came in the size for the STi and thats why I never pursued it further/

Until yesterday I thougth the same thing. I did not realize that they came in anything else but NSX and STi sizes ... though, the latest issue of Motor claims that you can get them in 350Z Track sizes (ie. 225/45/18 and 245/45/18) and have the price listed at around $380. I have not followed this with Bridgestone/tyre-dealers myself, but if you do, let us know what you find out.

 

[mr rizk]

Originally posted by DavidM@Nov 11 2004, 03:22 PM
Bridgestone RE55's I was quoted $490
Though ask about Bridgestone RE070 - they just became localy available in 245/45/18 as well as 225/45/18. The price should be aorund $380 per tyre, and these tyres are supposed to be very sticly R-spec tyres, but without the handicap of being very slipery unless hot.

David.

I just rang Bridgestone tech support and they do not have a listing for these sizes. If you can give me anymore insight where you got this info from it would be appreciated as they only have the STi size listed which are 17's. I would pretty much jump on these after reading some reviews from STi owners.

I also checked out the bridgestone.co.jp site and didn't find them listed

Cheers,
Michael

 

[harryw]

They said the same thing when I enquired about SO3's a while ago.

I had to tell that there were available as they are OEM on the HSV 4wd thingy!

Knobs wouldnt know **** from clay!

As always

H

 

[davidm]

I just rang Bridgestone tech support and they do not have a listing for these sizes. If you can give me anymore insight where you got this info from it would be appreciated...

hmmm, interesting. I'm getting my info from the December issue of Motor. They have a tyre guide there and one of the sections there has a selection of track tyres for 350Z (size 225/45/18 and 245/45/18). This is what is says about the RE070:

"Standard kit on the 2005-model WRX STi, the RE070 is designed to handle the abuse of street driving and track work. With its stiff sidewall the RE070 offers enhanced cornering ability and, thanks to three deep channels cut into the tyre, it has fantrastic water-sheding ability, offering excellent traction in all conditions. Each hoop costs from $377, for more information, visit www.bridgestone.com.au."

I went to the site, and could not find the RE070 tyre there at all ... though, this article is sponsored by 'JAX Tyres', so try calling them on (02) 9672 7855, and see if they can shed some light on this. They list Marcus Hofmann in refernce to helping out with this feature, so ask for him.

 

[scathing]

Now that my work patterns have changed, I am getting a work-paid cab home. Which means I'll be driving the car less.

I'll be taking them for a proper "run" in the near future, and I'll report how they go.

As for nice racing tyres for 18's..not sure. The prices you quoted are about what I was looking at. I bought these because of how cheap they were.

You could consider going to Tempe and getting RT215's. They're no semi slick, but on the plus side they take less time to heat up and work reasonably in the rain, as well as being a more track-focused daily-driven tyre.

 

[scathing]

I went for a bit of a squirt tonight, and I'm having second thoughts about the tyres.

When I first started they were still cold, so I got a lot of squirm in them. It took me a fair amount of time to warm them up, but once I did I think they produce too much grip.

Trying to punch out of corners, the car doesn't accelerate like it used to. I think the tyres are so grippy that they're bogging the engine down.

I'll have to try a spirited, longer distance drive to have a look, but I might want to opt for tyres that are slightly more streetable and less grippy. While I can undoubtedly corner quicker on them, its not as much fun or as challenging as when the car feels responsive to throttle inputs.

 

[mr rizk]

Thanks for the follow up scathing.

I have also e-mailed Motor to find out where they got their info from.