jonboring

Has anyone run one size wider RE71R's on their 981? Stock is 235/275 40's but I'd like to go wider. Bridgestone doesn't make 245/285 40's,only 35's. I am running 19" wheels so the options are limited.

Also. I am considering 3 tires: RE71R's, Pilot Sport Cup 2's and Nitto 01's. I've been told the Sport Cup 2's will heat cycle out after 20-30 cycles. Everybody raves about the Nitto's but they don't make 245/285 and I am concerned about driving the car in the rain. This is what has me thinking about the RE71R's. Anybody have a different opinion or experience to share?

The car is my daily driver and I track it 6 to 8 weekends per year but I only drive about 4000 miles per year.

Auric

Get RS4's
- Will last at least 2x what Re71s will and cheaper.
- Re71 are an autocross tire, not really a DE tire. Get supper greasy after 3 laps.
- Re71s when they start to let go let go quickly; but manageable
- RS4 are slightly slower, but last like iron. When they get greasy they don't drop off in grip as precipitously as the RE71s
- I drive too and from the track. As long as you have some circumferential channels the tires can evacuate water. Once they start looking like slicks, all bets are off.
- According to the S2K guys running Honda Challenge NT01>RE71>RS4 (if track times are your priority, nitto being the best cheater tire)
- Don't overthink it. Get a second set of light wheels and the cheapest of the above tires or RS4s.

jonboring

I forgot to mention I run the RE71's now - the 235/275 40's. I've been able to get 6 track weekends out of them by swapping them after 3. I've not had any issue with them getting greasy. For me, they held up pretty well from the first couple of laps to the last and from the first run to the last. I run the tires hot between 30 and 32. I'll let them go to 33 but at 34 I am looking to pit.

But you can always have better grip; hence, I was thinking about upgrading one size to 245/285 but they don't make 40's for 19". All they have is 35's so I was curious if anyone had any experience with the 245/285 35's on a Cayman? Will they fit?

I am looking for some good used 18" wheels so I have more choice but I will need tires soon and may have to replace the tires before I can get the wheels.

jerseydevil

I have the 245 40 19's on the front and they fit fine, no issues at all. For the rear I went with the 275 35 19's because I read too many articles about getting the ratios between the front and rear near 1:1 (likely read too much), I am sure I could fit the 285 35's in there without an issue.

jonboring

Thanks jerseydevil. I also heard from another buddy who has run both 245/275 and 255/285 on his Cayman R.

Pep!RRRR

I’ve been running Re71r and NT01s on the track for several years. No way would I consider either of these suitable as an everyday tire. The compound is very soft and will wear very quickly compared to normal summer performance tires. Either buy another set of wheels and swap to the r compound tires for track events, or get some good summer performance tires, such as Michelins and use them for everything.

ghartke

Hi, Jon,

I've been running 245/35ZR20's and 285/35ZR20's RE-71Rs on my 2014 Cayman S since the spring of 2015. This year, I'll finish with something like 16 AX events on the tires (pretty typical for me) and I replace the tires every spring with approx 8000 miles on them. (Also typical for me.) Obviously it works just fine.

My CS 981 came with Pzero 255/35ZR20's and 285/35ZR20's and I tried to race with them before discovering the joys of RE-71Rs. Sure was glad to get the Pzeroes off and the Bridgestones mounted on my stock 20" Sport Techno wheels. The nice thing about those wheels is how easy they are to clean. Immaterial to you, though, as I'm sure you'll buy lighter wheels in the 20" size.

If it's any help, I've found that hot pressures of 29 psi front and 30 psi rear work best for me with the RE-71Rs in that size. I take a Milwaukee battery powered pump with me when I race (great pump, by the way) to pump 'em back up after the event because I don't want to return home (which is usually at least an hour's drive) after the event on tires deflated so much - I keep my tires at 32 psi cold for DD'ing and might drop 8 to 9 PSI during the course of a hot day from the hot pressure that results from the 32 psi cold pressure.

I'm heading to an Evo Performance Driving School tomorrow morning, so that means more wear on my tires than is normal for me. Should be no big deal, but I won't find out for sure 'til I race again each of the next two weekends.

Good luck!

Regards,

Greg

okie981

Not accurate to say RE-17R tires are not DE tires. Go read the GT4 forum posts where very experienced drivers have done back-to-back testing with them versus lots of other tires including Michelin Cup 2.

I run 255/35-19 front and 285/35-19 rear on Forgeline GS1Rs that are 1 inch wider F/R compared to OEM Boxster S wheels with no rubbing and no issues. Balance is excellent on track.

Wray at BGB Motorsports fixed me up with this wheel/tire combo that has been proven to work well on 981 cars with base, PASM, and X73 suspensions. I run GT3 front LCAs and -2.5 camber, stock rear parts with -2.2 camber. Tire wear at DE events on the front is very even across the tire, rear needs more camber. I have X73 suspension.

2XIPA

There’s two Caymans that ax with me. Ones a 981 the other is a 781. They both run on 19’s with 265 up front and 305’s in the rear. And boy oh boy they stick.

Drew_K

I have a 981S as well (2013 Boxster S) and running 255 / 285 RE71's on 19 inch OEM width wheels. I had to go custom to get the offsets right to fit within the SCCA's A Street rules. No issues so far.

9~factor

Do you know if those tires are on the factory wheels?

ramans

I've been running RE71R's on 18" the past two years for Track days in my 981 Cayman S and never had an issue with them getting greasy even running them two drivers back to back. We generally do three or four days worht of events (so two if we're both driving) and flip them as well. We use the stock 18" Tire size (235/45 265/45 18s) I don't think I'd want to go for a smaller rolling diameter on the X73 suspension it'd be too low.

okie981

Correct, going with 18" wheels on X73 would drop the car too much. My 981 BS with X73 running OEM wheels and tires sits about 1/8" lower than my GT4 did, measuring at the recommended Porsche workshop manual points for determiing ride height. I tell people this and they don't believe me. The GT4 when set at OEM recommended ride height is higher than my BS with X73 suspension. Going from 19" to 18" with X73 would be no bueno, IMO.

Code

Stay with 71R's and go 285. Enjoy.

2XIPA

I believe so as they race in the stock class. I'll reach out to verify and let you know.