The Best Tire for Winning Autocrosses in 2019!

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Hi, everyone. I hope you find this video helpful. Feel free to leave feedback or questions below! I wanted to add an additional note on this topic. The widest Bridgestone in 17" diameter is a 255 and the widest 18" diameter Bridgestone is a 285. So if you need to run a wider tire such as a 315 or 335, the 18" diameter BFGoodrich may be your best option. I welcome your comments.

[@Zewerr]

I'm honored to be mentioned on random autocross videos I'm watching on KZbin. As for the Nexen SUR4Gs, they just straight up work really well on my co-driver, Dan's STI. We mainly switched to them because we didn't enjoy how quickly the Bridgestones heat cycled out and their lack of Pro contingency. People have had mixed opinions on them. I think most people who don't like them run camber challenged street classed cars. We're around -3.7 degrees on the STI up front. I absolutely love them on asphalt on the STI as it allows me to add aggression to my driving style to my benefit, allowing to the car to rotate just the right amount when tackling medium to higher speed slaloms and offsets. When you can keep the temperatures down, they feel like they have the same steady state grip as the RE's. But they absolutely do not like excessive heat. They don't fall off quickly as they get hot, but they do get slower, and if it's 90+ degrees with dual drivers, it's nearly impossible to keep them cold enough. Day one of 2018 Nats was very wet, and we had a brand new set of Nexens which worked extremely well and gave me a giant lead going into day two. I was third fastest for day two behind Talha Sadik on REs (I think) and John Hale on BFGs. I'll also note Bryan Heitkotter won STU in 2017, also on Nexens, and I was third on Nexens. Of course, all this info is already dated with the A052s now running around and the Falken RT660s that we're not supposed to know about.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Hello, Bill. I'm glad you found this video! Thank you for adding in such great detail on the Nexen tire. What do you think caused you to go from fastest one day to third fastest the next day? Did the weather dry up? It sounds like the Nexen has an advantage in the wet - but becomes a problem when it gets hot. Are you at nationals this year? Thanks for watching, I hope you subscribed, and do you have any requests on what topics you'd like to see covered in the future?

[@Zewerr]

Day one was totally wet, so I was able to run the entire course in second gear and take advantage of the STI's stupid low gearing. Day two's course (west course) was completely dry (and cool, heat wasn't the issue) and it put the STI right in that dead zone between second and third gear. I thought the best decision was to run the entire course in third. John Hale chose to run it in second in his STI on his first run, and that turned out to be the correct choice. He attempted to perform multiple shifts between second and third on his other two runs but was never able to match his first run. In retrospect, I think I should have mostly ran in third, but downshifted into second on certain key points on the course. I took this year off to recoup from buying and building my 370Z for STU. But, I'll be back next year with my new car. I subscribed to your channel a few months back. I was interested in your instructional videos, breaking down your runs into fine details, similar to how Kinch Reindl (Autocross Talk) does in his videos. I have already ran my runs 95% on instinct, so for the longest time, I never really thought what the exact reasons I was able to be as fast as I was. This made it hard for me to really critique and instruct people in the past. Over the last few years, though, I have been identifying the minor little details about my inputs and such that gets me through elements quicker. My biggest question that I have yet to fully answer is why do some people hit a talent wall, while others do not? I don't remember it being a thing for me. But, I know a majority of autocrossers improve immensely in their first few years, but struggle to get better beyond around their third year or so. And if someone does hit that wall, how do they overcome it? Is it even possible?

[@RyBegz44]

I had all season tires that came with my '15 Genesis R-Spec 3.8 two events ago and felt like the car could do a better job with cornering and grip. Took the plunge and purchased Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. Little did I know the thread wear was 180 so it put me out of a street class. After that I went all out and got a custom cat back exhaust system, custom tune, front sway bars, and rear sway bars and am in the ESP class. Still novice until the season is over.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Uh oh! Man once you cross in to the "race tire" classes winning becomes an expensive arms race. It's fun and and gives you an excuse to make the car faster and handle better but my gosh it can take a lot of money to keep up when the competition is strong. Let me know how it goes!

[@berkeleygang1834]

I know this is an old post, but maybe my experience may be helpful. When I was getting back into Auto-X, it happened that Nexen was upgrading the SUR4 tire to the SUR4G. As a result, Tire Rack had the SUR4s on close out at a substantial savings. I knew that as I was relearning the sport (and my car at that performance level), I wasn't going to be a class leader, but that I could still learn and develop as a driver with these tires. Here we are about 2 seasons into them, and I'm still learning, and the tires still have some life in them. So yeah, if you're class leader stuff, go for the 'stones, or whatever tire ends up as the most promising tire for 2021. But if you're a budget minded beginner, you could do a lot worse than picking up a more economical 200TW tires. Like, racing on your 400TW all-season tires. LOL I could have bought the RE71Rs, but I would have just spent more money doing the same thing. I haven't gotten to the point where my old SUR4s are what's holding me back. No, my problem lies about 18" behind the steering wheel.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thank you. You make a good point. If you're still just learning to autocross or aren't in the running for a regional or national trophy, then just run on whatever tire you have or can afford and save the big dollars. My first few years of autocross I just ran regular street tires. It was slow and I did terrible but it was a great learning experience and it didn't cost me anything extra. Thanks!

[@ronchang9791]

@@EvolutionAutocrosser Hey Jeremy, love the channel and the info you provide! I have a question regarding durability of street tires in autocross. I have heard horror stories and seen pics of severely worn UHP or max performance summer tires post auto-cross event. For those of us who are using daily drivers, are there any UHP or max performance summer tires that hold up better to the abuse of autocross? Thanks.

[@waltersmith3165]

I think the tire discussion is a bit bigger of a conversation than stats and a few driver opinions. Tire personality/working range, chassis characteristics, and skill plays a large role in what's a good tire or "the best" tire.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thanks for your comment. The more reading and research that I do, the more I believe this to be the case. The new information I'm finding will warrant a part 2 to this video in the future.

[@VirtualMayhem]

Agreed! If you have a heavy camber-challenged car, you probably want a tire that is beefier in the sidewall, able to handle a higher load. Lighter cars without suspension challenges won't have to compromise in that regard. Ambient temperature and surface being run on affect tire choice. There's also whether the tire model is available in a size you can use. Rain is another factor (particularly at 2018 Nationals, hah!).

[@cdres74]

In my experience I learned the following regarding the current gen tires (Yokos not included) RE71R - faster "IF" you are a clean smooth driver BFG Rival 1.5S - faster if you are a driver that likes a lot of slip angle (aka: you slide your car around a bunch) Also, factors such as car weight, temp, surface, etc... all come into play with these two tires. The Yokos in Lincoln (at the National Championships) seemed to be the tire to have. However, I was not sold on that idea. At this point... I am going back to Hoosiers for a year and playing in SSR.

[@3rdGenGuy]

that's what the experienced guys told me. Rivals will slip more before biting you in the ass.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thanks, Chris. Your analysis certainly has reminded of the reasons why it's not so easy to pick just one tire as the definitive winner. But maybe I can safely say "in most cases" lol.

[@theitsguy]

A point to consider is the RE71-R tends to be considered a better tire in wet conditions (I can't cite test results, only opinions of friends). The 2018 Nationals were at times extremely wet conditions.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Good point. Had the nationals been run in dry weather, maybe there would have been more BFGoodrich tires in first place. It's possible that both tires are equally good but respond better to some cars and driving styles. I just ran RE71Rs for the first time today and they felt great. I won first place in a class of 19 drivers. That said, my evo is kind of a cheater car :D

[@ClaytonYatescarenthusiast]

Have you tried the new Falken rt660? I've won 3 local events on them and one optima event that I placed high in on them and going to run one more entire optima event on them. Mainly because I can't get a new set due to back order. Guess they won't be available in my size until 8/19 or something like that. Sad. I'll probably have to go down to 18s just to get a fast tire and run the Yokohama

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I've never tried the RT660. Last year I ran some fat Yokohamas and they were pretty fast.

[@endless_touge]

I wish i can find Re71R where i live. The best street tire i ever had is S02 . They are fast but slide is kinda hard

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

TireRack appears to have a variety of sizes for the RE-71RS in stock. They are my go-to for autocross tires.

[@endless_touge]

@@EvolutionAutocrosser in eastern Europe they don't sell these unfortunately

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

@@endless_touge Oh sorry. I thought you were in the US. My mistake for assuming.

[@TougeTime]

Re71r is great. I want to try advan a050/52 soon

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Let us know how it goes. It's always good to hear about new tires and new tests.

[@shiftintohigh5564]

They were calling you about your car warranty!😂😂 Good intel here. Especially since I have RE 71s. 👍

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

shift intohigh After filming this, they sent me a postcard that said they have been unable to reach me. Glad you found the info informative.

[@mas921]

Thanks for the summary!! Its interesting that you mentioned the Nexen tire as some Gridlife racers are using that. Nankang NS2R is also a new contender thats been doing reallly well in tests against the re71r (tinnnny bit slower but grips from stone cold temps and lasts much more), am planning on trying them out up next.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thanks for the feedback! Please do let us know what your testing uncovers. There are a few new tires coming out this year and any one of them could be the new top tire!

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I just looked up the Nankang NS-2R. Unfortunately the street version of that tire is a 180 tread wear which makes it ineligible for the street tire classes. Anything lower than 200 is considered a race tire and will put you in a class running against cars on Hoosiers where the Nankang tire would get spanked. LOL.

[@alexhise968]

They supposedly changed the ns2r to a 200TW

[@PQR5CHE]

I’ve been told that the Hankooks have a much longer tread life compared to the Bridgestones. Opinions?

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I haven't heard that. I'll ask around.

[@gwcrispi]

A lot of LeMons teams run the Falken Azenis RT615K+ because of treadlife. While they give something up in flat-out speed, they can get a whole race out of the tires.

[@Rasheedamcclintock77]

I heard that the Firestone Firehawks are Rebranded Potenza RE1 because Firestone owns Bridgestone?? This allows you to get the RE1 s super cheap

[@jeremyaultcybersecurity]

I'm definitely going to look in to this. Thank you!

[@Rasheedamcclintock77]

Which explains why the Firehawks are so good outta nowhere

[@gentry1014]

@@Rasheedamcclintock77 I've been running and they're great for price

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I'm just now getting around to looking in to this - LOL. It turns out that the Firehawk indy500 are rebranded Bridgestone Potenza re003 tires.

[@pontiaco]

Any comments on the SC3 tires??

[@slocavky]

Great video sir. I'm getting the RE-71RS. I'm currently running pirelli p zero on my Veloster N and they are awful.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thank you for the positive words. It's funny how so many performance cars come with Pirelli and the brand has such a reputation for performance. But take them to the track or autocross and they're not even close to being competitive.

[@slocavky]

@@EvolutionAutocrosser agreed. They are ok on the street. But track... No. It's sad really though. I always heard pirelli p zero use to be great. Not so much.

[@Ammo461derful]

Hey Tony where are you getting the new RE71RS tires. They are only available in Asia?

[@metalmandoman]

Great videos. One suggestion: mount your GoPro inside the car so that those watching can see the steering inputs. The video lags slightly and thus it is difficult to determine the time of initial turn in. Additionally, the inside view would allow those watching to see the driver "looking ahead" since it is not possible to capture the whole driver's field of view within the frame of the camera.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Great ideas. I think my ultimate setup would have 2 cameras - one on track and one on me as a picture-in-picture. Plus a data overlay showing pedal inputs so you can see braking/throttle points and speed carried through the corner.

[@restlessperformance]

I've been considering jumping ship from CAM-C over to SM. In your experience can a Mustang be competitive in SM or do the AWD cars dominate? Locally I think I can be very competitive but I'm not optimistic at the national level the way the car currently sits.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Hello, Casey. Taking a look at the 2018 Solo Nationals results I see the CAMC winner was a 2019 Chevy Camaro with a 142.642. The CAMC second place was a 2015 Ford Mustang with a 143.877 . Compare those times to the times of SM where the winner was a 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution with a 126.775. Second place was a Nissan GT-R with a 127.816 Bottom line - the SM car ran combined times that were 15.867 seconds faster than the CAMC car. That's an enormous difference. While there are many factors that could contribute to these drastic results - namely the advantages of AWD in pouring rain - which is what happened at last year's nationals, it's my opinion that even in dry conditions the heavy RWD muscle cars will struggle to keep up with the AWD turbo cars. Locally, however, you may be able to do just fine - depending on how strong the local SM competition is. As long as you don't have any well prepped Evos or GT-Rs driven by seasoned drivers showing up, you should be fine! lol. Thanks for the question and let me know how it goes.

[@restlessperformance]

@@EvolutionAutocrosser Wow, I hadn't compared the nationals times between the two. I would imagine Hoosiers vs 200tw tires can explain at least some of the difference but that is a big time gap nonetheless. Thank you for the reply. I went to follow you on Instagram and noticed you're already following me! Win Win.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

@@restlessperformance Oh yeah - I forgot that CAMC was running street tires. That definitely makes a difference! But even with Hoosiers, the CAMC would surely be seconds slower unless some serious and expensive mods were done.

[@bassmaestro1628]

Any idea what you're running next year? I saw A LOT of Yokohama's on this year's solo nations list.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Not yet. I need to look at the 2019 nationals results, the most recent tirerack test results, crunch the numbers, and make a part 2 video. Coming soon.

[@joshuahayes6778]

Thanks for sharing! What size rim did you mount the 255/40/17 on? Do you think they'd be ok on a 9" rim?

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Hi, Joshua. I mounted my 255/40-17 tires on an 8.5" wheel. I'm sure they would fit fine on a 9" wheel.

[@randomtoyotadude8952]

Where is ur video for 2020 & 2021???

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I never made one. I suppose I should make one for 2022 now that autocross season has started.

[@gwcrispi]

FWIW, the new Falken Azenis RT660 is testing just as fast as the Bridgestone RE-71R. That being said, I'm sure the next Bridgestone will leapfrog the Falken...

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I've heard VERY GOOD things about the new RT660 tire. But there's also now a new contender in town - Yokohama! More to follow in a future video once I find out what the new winner is.

[@realweston]

Awesome video jeremy! I did really like your sign off. I realize that my channel might not even know my name. Lol But thank you for the autoX knowledge! I recently got my Miata started with the intention of drifting with my friends, but was recently invited to bring the old Miata out to a auto X for a shake down. To which I obliged, but now need to find a good and cheap set of tires. I might just end up with a set of federal tires if they are available, Because they are cheap and familiar. If you have any suggestions for a good tire for around the $60 mark please let me know what you would pick in my position

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Hey, Jocko! Thanks for the positive words. I'll go check out your channel. As for a cheap tire that's good - sorry I have no idea. When I first autocrossed I ran on $80 General Exclaim UHP tires. They were terrible but it was all I could afford. It didn't matter because I was hooked and autocrossed every chance I got on those crappy tires. I didn't win but I had a great time.

[@realweston]

That sounds like a win to me!

[@rickyrick8417]

Capital kings

[@heathatkins2837]

Thank you, You are great!

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Happy to help!

[@randomtoyotadude8952]

Wish u made this video for every year.. its none who did in YT

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I’ll do my best to make one for the new autocross season - spring 2023.

[@dickydoodle8454]

My miata went from being one of the slowest on our track to the fastest with the BFGs

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I have yet to try the BFG but I hear good things about it. What tire were you running before?

[@dcarden3031]

As soon as he said bfgoodrich rivals are a better tire overall is built for autocross for Mike dusolds,Danny popp,ken twaits and many others in the optima ultimate street car challenge plus there is a better rival 2.0 s and a full dont take no shit bad ass bfgoodrich. Force r1 tire with 3 different compounds

[@randomtoyotadude8952]

Nice info -:)

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thanks!

[@mikewoo7999]

Hello from Winnipeg!

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Hello from McKinney, Texas.

[@iboopthesnoots5284]

bruh that voice. Smashed subscribe

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thanks for subscribing. Just don't boop my snoots - mmkay?

[@realweston]

You got me, I slammed that subscribe button

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

I greatly appreciate that. More informative videos coming soon!

[@EatMyPropwash]

You must live close to me. I’m in Keller.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

YES! I filmed this in McKinney. Thanks for watching!

[@jbl212]

Love it!! Thank You!!

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thank you!! More to come.

[@Skirk84]

How the fk are you running a 315 section tire on an evo? Modified guards? Ive got 265's with pumped guards, touching the strut and the outer lip at the same time.

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Good question. I'm about to make a video on this topic. The answer is - they won't fit inside the fender. They will extend beyond the fender. Therefore, the only logical solution is to..... you'll see.

[@Dungusbungus710]

I live in Nebraska so lucky me ehh? Lol

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

If I lived closer to nationals, I probably would have already been a few times. But alas, I have never made the pilgrimage there.

[@tacobagcharlie9298]

Not to be that guy but this sounds a lot like trying to make up for driver short comings with better tires. . .

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Well, I get the spirit of what you’re saying, but in this game tires really are everything. It’s not uncommon to see top-tier drivers show up to nationals with multiple sets of fresh tires. It’s a literal arms race where the best equipped drivers have the biggest advantage. Showing up with anything less than the best tire for your class is like taking a knife to a gun fight. When I first started autocrossing, I asked a national level driver if they ever autocrossed with a lesser expensive tire. The answer was “no, because I didn’t come all the way out here to lose on purpose.”

[@Pippy1]

My first autocross i just sent it on my daily all seasons

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

There ya go! Run what ya brung is a real thing. My first season was on very cheap crappy tires. Don't let it stop you.

[@nathandyck242]

Another good article with data: grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/summer-tire-test-bfg-rival-vs-bridgestone-re-71r-v/

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

Thank you for the link. Great Article. I just read from start to finish. The more I research, it starts to become clear to me that either tire can be a winner based on personal driving style and car setup. That said, the Bridgestone is probably faster for the majority of drivers. Still, I wouldn't mind trying the BFG for myself to see what I can do with it.

[@dcarden3031]

If you want to win. Own that dam pocket book and Get the super cup 2s fuck Hoosiers save money and get the hankook or maxxis track tires and out perform your class

[@dcarden3031]

Nankang Ar1 cheaper and quicker

[@EvolutionAutocrosser]

The Nankang AR-1 is a 100 treadwear semi-slick that makes it ineligible for street tire classes. That tire would bump you in to a class running against cars on Hoosiers.