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"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel) 07/24/2017 at 16:43 • Filed to: None

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I went to my first autocross yesterday and I am already looking at RE71Rs. Help, it’s getting expensive.

I also want more brakes and even better suspension.

I can’t afford any of this.

Arrivederci > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 16:50

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That’s the problem, but if you’re new, I’d recommend finding the quickest way to drive on stock tires before going to a sticky setup like the RE71R. Then you can use what you learned driving on “crappy” tires and use your newfound skill to kick ass with the RE71R (or similar).

Then with all that grip, you can start to upgrade what you feel the car’s next weakest point is - generally suspension and brake pads.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 16:52

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Find someone who bought a set of track tires and decided they dont have the time/money for it anymore. You can score wicked deals that way and usually end up with a set of wheels and tires already balanced and ready to go. Depending on the tire and how competitive you care to be in your class, its fun to get into the world of sub 200 TW tires instead. WAY more grip and heat resistance than street tires, so I find it more fun. Plus then you can pretty much do any mods you want without worrying about class!

WRXforScience > Arrivederci 07/24/2017 at 16:53

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Seconded, the RE71's will allow you to make lots of mistakes and drive through them because of all the grip. Spend at least a season or a dozen events learning to autox before upgrading anything.

I do love my Bridgestones, I’ve gone through more than a half a dozen sets already, so I know what true autox addiction costs.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Arrivederci 07/24/2017 at 16:54

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Any summer tire will be a VAST improvement over the standard “high performance” all season that most people might be used to. Even if its not a true autox tire, there are plenty that will allow you to learn how to drive fast.

BFG Sport Comp 2 or Direzza DZ102 are great summer street tires that I would use as an example. High treadware and pretty cheap, and would be pretty good for any beginner at autox.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Arrivederci 07/24/2017 at 17:10

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My dad and I quickly figured out that the 500TW Hankooks I have on it now are not fond of autocrosses. They did seem to lose less grip than the higher performance tires in the afternoon when it started to get hot and dusty.

I’m going to keep beating on this set until I get to a skill level where I am a decent set of tires away from class wins. As it is my dad was only .7s off the class win (a 2013 Cooper with RE71Rs) once he determined that one of the slaloms was just just barely wide enough that he could get away without lifting in my car.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > WRXforScience 07/24/2017 at 17:26

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My actual plan right now is to keep doing events on my 500TW Hankooks until I get to a skill level where the tires are keeping me from claiming class wins.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/24/2017 at 17:27

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I second this . . . I got lucky and this is how I started. Bought the wheels cheap from a guy who switched cars and got the tires (pretty well used RE-71Rs) for free, used them for about 40 runs, then got nice new RE-71Rs.

I just got the credit card bill. [sobs quietly]

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 17:48

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You don’t need much in the way of suspension to make these cars awesome. Hell, the stock suspension is pretty fantastic from the start. I’ve got a buddy setting really fast times at HPDE with just Konis, Racecomp Engineering lowering springs, and Raceseng Cas/Cam plates.

The key with adding better handling in these cars is tires and a proper alignment. For camber, most folks are generally running -3 ° in the front and -2.0° to -2.5° in the rear.

Honestly, I’d stick with the stock suspension for now and just add camber bolts and/or camber plates up front, and LCAs in the rear. Get a solid alignment done and it will really improve the car. They are very camber limited from the factory.

That being said, although this isn’t the reason I said what I just did above, I actually have an essentially brand new set of Raceseng Cas/Cam plates in the OE fitment size. They’ll work for OE suspension, pretty much any combination of an OE replacement shock and lowering springs, or certain coilover systems (like the Bilstein B14/B16). I bought them for my SACHS coilovers, but I didn’t take proper measurements before buying them and they didn’t work because my outer shock tube was too big. So now I’m trying to dump them for a good bit less than a brand new pair would cost.

I’ll give you the special Oppo-friend rate if you’re interested! Shoot me an email if you’d like. chris.kelley.fairbanks@gmail.com

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 07/24/2017 at 17:53

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Wait, you have MINI bits? Dad’s BRZ hasn’t gotten through the break in phase and won’t be seeing an autocross until next year.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 17:59

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Ahhh damn. No I thought you were talking about parts for the BRZ. :( lol

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 18:06

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I find there’s always some issue with Bridgestone/Firestone products.

The Bridgestone RE71 tires are great... they just wear out in no time

The Bridgestone Pontenzas I had on a previous car were great, but were prone to cupping... I found out after the fact. After 10,000km, they got really noisy. Grip was great, they wore well... just got really noisy.

Some cheaper Firestone tires I had were mostly worn after 25,000km of use... and then one of them disintegrated on me while on the highway. And I had just check my tire pressures as well.

And other people I’ve known often had issues with their stuff as well.

So my advice to you... get some decent quality cheaper summer tires from Michelin, Hankook with a high treadwear rating and/or a treadlife warranty of at least 60,000 miles.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 18:09

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Welcome to the entrance to the rabbit hole.

Tires

Then camber plates

Then sway bars

Then coilovers

Then bigger rotors and pads

Then LSD

Then seat and harness 

Then motor rebuild

Then Ramen

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 07/24/2017 at 18:16

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I haven’t even gotten to sit in the drivers seat of the new BRZ yet, let alone drive it. It will likely stay stock except for the factory stretched Primacies which need to go.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/24/2017 at 18:17

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It is going to get really expensive when my shocks and brakes wear out because I wouldn’t be able to restrict myself to puting new factory parts back on.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 18:24

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Of course! When my tires wear out I’m going to get my old wheels re-barreled then run some Toyo R888s. That’s only going to cost $1700. I have a laundry list. Stage 2 springs are next because sport springs just aren’t cutting it.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 07/24/2017 at 18:26

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I have Hankook Ventus V2 Concept2s on there now which are good as an everyday tire but they don’t seem to like being beat on in an autocross environment. For super sticky tires the RE71R is your only option in a 16 or 17 inch size. Most performance cars are running at least 18s now so nobody makes small sticky tires.

daender > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 20:09

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You’re going to want a spare set of wheels to mount those REs on. Also a tire trailer or something to haul them to and from events if you want to make them last more than a year (or half a year if you’re autocrossing/tracking every other weekend).

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > daender 07/24/2017 at 20:17

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I wouldn’t dare try to daily the REs. That just sounds super expensive. I’m still going to run on my 500TW Hankooks until I reach a skill level where I am a good set of tires away from class wins. I can fit a set of wheels in the back of my car but eventually I would love to do a hidden hitch with a tiny trailer for tires. That’s really just daydreaming though.

daender > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2017 at 20:37

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Do an alignment and a thick aftermarket rear (or whatever works best for H-Street Minis) sway bar (used preferably, if you can score one off of another Mini owner) at the very least so you have a good setup (and also not wear down the outside of your tires from all the hard cornering). I do recommend getting good on bad tires before stepping up to sticky stuff. That said, if your tires are loosing grip after a run or two, then consider getting a water sprayer (like one of those garden hand-pumping types) to cool down your all-season tires between runs (or every other run).

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > daender 07/24/2017 at 20:54

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I am going to ask around to see where I can go near me to get my car properly setup instead of just aligned to factory specs. I’m currently running on Hankook Ventus V2 Concept 2s (500 treadwear) which are decent summer tires but they don’t give a ton of grip and squeal like crazy at autocrosses. They are also a bit odd in that they lose a bit of grip when they start to squeal but can still be pushed farther before they give up completely. That’s where my dad made a lot of his time on me. I thought I was losing time when they started to squeal but he was pushing right up to where they were really letting go. Yesterday taught me that I need to run higher pressures at events because the 30psi I run on the street was a bit squishy in the corners. My front edges are a bit worse for wear now.

This photo was taken after 24 runs in 1 day.

They also seemed to lose less grip in the afternoon when it was hot and dusty compared to the cars running sticky rubber which were noticeably looser in the afternoon.

I still find the way FWD cars wear their tires funny. My front tires are all fuzzy and worn but the rears look minty fresh in comparison.

Arrivederci > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/25/2017 at 08:07

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I think that’s a great approach - once you become smooth and fast on the Hankooks, then go ahead and splurge on the RE71Rs.

pip bip - choose Corrour > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/25/2017 at 08:26

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you need better tyres than those.