brad@tirerack.com

This is an update to the status of the release of Bridgestone RE-71R in OEM 20" GT4 sizes. At the release of these new sizes our estimate was early August for estimated arrival. I was able to speak with our Bridgestone rep yesterday and received the most up to date information we have on the status of both sizes. The front tires (245/35 20) are on the way from Japan to the US now, and the 3rd week of August is the estimate we now have for their arrival to our doors. The rears (295/30 20) are still being produced. At this time they are hoping to have them in the US approximately the first of September. I'll keep you updated as I get more information from Bridgestone. As a reminder, if you would like to pre-order the tires and get your name on the list for them, we will be happy to do so. We do not bill you until they ship.

If you have questions on any other sizes, feel free to ask or shoot me a PM. Thanks.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....affilliate=gf8

Sizes in production, or to be produced:

195/50R15
205/50R15
195/55R16
205/45R16
205/50R16
205/55R16
225/50R16
205/45R17
215/45R17
225/45R17
235/45R17
245/40R17
245/45R17
255/40R17
215/40R18
215/45R18
225/40R18
225/45R18
225/50R18
235/40R18
235/45R18
245/40R18
245/45R18
255/35R18
255/40R18
265/35R18
265/45R18
275/35R18
285/30R18
225/35R19
235/35R19
235/40R19
245/35R19
245/40R19
255/35R19
265/35R19
265/40R19
275/35R19
285/35R19
305/30R19
245/35R20
255/40R20
285/35R20
295/30R20

cox1974

Interested in a set (oem site) if you can ship to Italy at reasonable price

brad@tirerack.com

Sorry, due to our distribution agreements with them, I cannot ship their brand outside of the US.

orthojoe

No oem gt3 size? I'll have to try the 295 on the gt3 then....

Yargk

Thanks for the update! Any word on pricing?

jphughan

I've been looking forward to these, but I'm reading some disconcerting feedback from people who put a fair amount of road miles on them. Even on lighter cars, I'm seeing that people get a few auto-x days and maybe 2500-3000 total miles. That's quite a bit lower than other tires with similar treadwear ratings, including Bridgestone's own RE-11.

I'm not planning to need new tires until early next year, so at this point I'm hoping that people who are DDing their GT4s will have done so on RE-71Rs by then.

Yargk

They should last longer than Cup2s, but less than most tires with 200 treadwear ratings. I have 11,000 miles and two track days on the RE-71Rs on my 3250 pound WRX. (GT4 still has cup2s)

orthojoe

Treadwear ratings mean absolutely nothing these days. Based on what I have seen, the re71r are equivalent to cup2 in terms of wear rate.

jphughan

^ Good to know. I guess for the expected cost savings comparing sizes where both 71R and Cup 2 are available, I may as well give them a shot. And I guess auto-x might be worse than the track on tire wear for a given distance. A friend got them on his M4 not long ago and they do make a sticky noise going over certain types of pavement, but whatever.

I know treadwear ratings across brands have been unreliable at best, but I've always understood that within a given brand they're reasonably comparable, but maybe not always. Kind of defeats the point of having a rating at all....

orthojoe

Yup. Even within a brand they are screwing around with ratings in order to cheat auto cross rules and lure buyers

golfnutintib

glad they will be available in 997 gt3 sizes!!

GeoJoe

I ran a few sets of RE71rs on my Audi S4. Great for dry, smooth pavement. I got 8 track days out of one set! They have some hum, but not as bad as R888s. Kinda sketchy in the rain though for a DD. I'm looking forward to a set of these.

jphughan

Nice! That's what I had been hoping to get out of the Cup 2s based on preliminary information on the GT3 side that owners were getting 6+ days out of them. Then newer information came along that 4-5 days was about the max that could be expected. Honestly if the RE-71Rs last even that long for what they'll probably cost relative to the Cup 2s, I'll be happy. If I can get 8 days out of them (plus the road mileage I'll be doing in that time period), I'll be ecstatic. As for the rain, USCTrojanGT3 says that they're better than Cup 2s in the rain, which I realize isn't saying a whole lot relative to most tires out there, but thus far I've been able to either drive moderately in the rain, take a different car, or just not drive during such conditions, so I'm not overly concerned about that. Thanks for the additional data point though!

jslee225

Based on my experience you'll be lucky to get 4 days at Cota if you are driving HARD with lots of sessions. If I was going for a PB I would probably switch after 2 days. Regardless it's a great ride and would pick it over cup 2 any day.

FYI... I always have these heat cycled by tirerack. Im hoping it helps since I've read that is what all the cool kids do. Im on my 3rd set with only 10 total track days. Maybe I need to switch to the new 700/set kumho

blackmist27

cant wait for these!!!