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No experience with the Hankook but my Miata is taken apart in my garage and I needed a car for Sebring this past weekend, so I decided to press my 964 back into service after 3 years in retirement. I was replacing my pads and bleeding the brakes when I looked at the Yokohama street tires on the car that I previously had thought would be good for the weekend and I decided that, with rain in the forecast, I better not chance it. I should try to get new tires. Only problem was that it was late Thursday when I finished the brakes and I needed to be in Sebring on Friday. I did some online research and found that the local Firestone store had RE-71Rs in stock and they were rated well but I had no previous experience with them. So, Friday morning, I put the old tires in my truck and was the first customer at the Firestone store at 7AM. I got the RE-71Rs and drove the 964 on track at Sebring this past weekend with Chin. I was very happy with the way they performed. You can't push them as hard as the Nitto NT-01s on my Miata but they have surprisingly good grip and are very predictable in the dry. I also got to experience a couple of sessions in the wet and they were still very predictable. Overall very happy. And now for some cell phone video...

 

Our endurance team has run both on our E-30 and find the RE-71's about 1-2 seconds per lap faster but the Hankooks will last 3 times longer.

 

Good info. How do the rs4s hold up temperature wise? Do you find they get greasy if you push them hard or over drive them?

 

Like deadeye, we have used both on our endurance boxster. RE71 are faster but won't last a weekend (2 8 hr endurance races) whereas we get 3 weekends and practice out of the RS4. Yes RS4 get greasy if you really slide them or over cook them, but straighten out with a single controlled lap and you are back in business. Works well with different drivers on the team as a reminder to stay calm and be smooth.

 

We have used both the RE71 and the RS4 on our endurance racer (924S), and I agree with the above observations. RE71s are a touch faster overall but the wear rate of the RS4 is remarkable.
If you're running anything other than sprint races or time trials, the durability of the RS4s make them the easy choice.

 

I wish they made the RS4 in my size--I love the 71R for open track/lapping days but with my stock suspension settings on a fwd car I'm lucky to get 3 days out of a set, and that's with flipping them on the rims as needed. They are SOFT, but what grip.....I HAVE used the later StarSpecs (when the 71Rs were unavailable) and in my experience they also wear quite well but the grip doesn't compare.

Gary

 

How does the wear of the rs4s compare to the NT-01/RA1 as those have always seemed like the gold standard for long lasting track day tires

 

The NT01s are on another level performance wise, but will wear and cycle out in half the time than the Hankooks. The RS4s will perform very well in the rain. The Nittos, ahhhh, not so much.

Apples to oranges, really. The NT01s are really a dedicated track tire, whereas the Hankooks are "high performance" summer/street tires.

 

How would you compare the NT01's to the RE-71R's? I have heard that they are very similar, but I have not first hand experience with the NT01's.

 

I've run both tire types multiple times, but never back to back nor even on the same car. The NT01s are excellent for dry track performance, wear exceptionally well, and will really only be out-done by Hoosiers (at the sacrifice of longevity and increased cost). Performance/$ they really can't be beat.

The RE71s will run farily close times to the Nittos, have remarkably good wet performance and are reasonably priced. They feel slightly more "max performance street" tire than R comp and are more progressive with traction loss. They have soft shoulders, though, and their wear rates might not be worth it compared to what else is available on the market, such as the Hankook RS4s & Michelin PS4s.

 

Thanks, that's very helpful.