My Rivals are on the wear bars and with the heat at ACS today I can't tell if it was the weather or the tires falling off but I struggled to go any faster than I did my last time there in November. My brakes were getting spongy as well, too many factors. I never noticed the Rs-3's dropping off like everyone else.

 

The V710s are pretty great if you want to be fastish for cheap. I drove on a set once that had over 400 auto-x runs on them and pretty much didnt wear any more. About the same grip as top level street tires are that point but crisper turn in. After they heat cycle out they become the undying tire.

 

perfect, a good starting tire until I actually learn to drive this car like it wants. The tire handled pretty well this weekend and seems to be wearing fine. Not the most grippy or communicative tire but good for the price as you said

 

Yes, and T4 and T11, neither of which are insignificant on a hot lap.

 

Impressions on the Rivals are colored a lot by the perspective the driver is coming from. For those used to R-compounds, they leave a bit to be desired, especially if you're used to Hoosiers, but then isn't that pretty obvious?

For those switching to Rivals from other "high performance summer" street tires, it's a different story. I switched from the RS-3, which is a fast tire for what it is, but it's glaring weak-point is in braking. It felt like you were on a different tire than you had just been on through the last corner, not very much grip and prone to locking/flat spotting. The Rivals blow the RS-3 away in the braking zones and feel nearly if not as fast everywhere else.

My experiences braking into T2 at ACS (140mph -> 50mph) went from "dear tires, it would be great if you would stop me before I run out of track, thanks" to consistently being able to brake with confidence at the same marker lap after lap.

-Ryan

 

are you running similar pressures vs the rs3's? I'm struggling with the rivals compared to the rs3. consistently .5 sec. slower on a 1:20, tight/bumpy track. all else same.

 

I'm having same issues- 1 sec slower on Rivals, although I had 225/45 RS3's, and am now on 205/50 Rivals (8" wide rims).


Either way going to some kind of Rcomps next.

 

the size difference makes sense with your times. I wouldn't be too disappointed.

 

Agreed. On my local track (PIR) best time for 225/45 RS3S on 9's was 1.32.4; best time on my Rivals which are 205/50 on 8's was 1.34.2. Moar rubber is generally good.

 

Fair enough- I still like the feel and breakaway characteristics of the RS3's better.


Also anyone tried the new generation of RS3's? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes


My dad just ordered some for his 350z... $1200

 

Anybody have comparison between rs3s and rivals regarding tire pressures. Rivals needed more or less compared to rs3's?

 

I have experimented with a few tire pressures on the track and from a purely feel perspective they seemed to want around 34-36psi hot. This is 225's on an 8" rim. I have no empirical data to back that claim up. The turn in and grip characteristics just didn't feel right at lower pressures around 32psi.

 

Emilio has posted that he uses 35PSI hot on 225 Rivals on 15x9s on his 95R. Emilio sets his with a Pyrometer, so it would be sensitive to alignment and track temp.

 

What PSI was he running with RS3s?

 

I had seen that. I had rs3s on 30hot and that gave me fastest times @ 1:20.0. Im consistently .5 slower on rivals at 30psi. Will bump up to 35 and check. I just assumed that with a stiffer sidewall the rivals would need less pressure.

 

30PSI is what I have been using with RS3s also

 

UTTER NEWB WARNING-

I swear that with really stiff sidewalls you sometimes need more pressure and not less. My guess is that while the stiff sidewall might make turn in feel good at relatively low pressures, you can get a sort of hourglass shaped contact patch where the middle is not doing much because the sidewall is taking a lot of the load. So great turn in, probably even nice breakaway characteristics, but a fundamental loss of grip relative to a higher pressure because the middle of the tire is just not doing enough.

END UTTER NEWB WARNING-

*This is from some guy who only started watching tire pressures when a guest driver who knows which way is up asked what the pressures were on a terrible car with van tires and I did not even know. Thank god the car owner had a gauge handy LOL.

 

Compared to last year when I was on R-S3s, I've found that the Rivals need to be aired up a few pounds. It's also worth noting that the Rival and R-S3 on the same wheel have a significantly different tread width; the Rival is a huge tire.

 

ok. 1:20.0 on rs3 @30psi, 1:20.5 on rival @30psi, 1:19.9 on rival @35psi. everything else same. just got the rivals so there's more to come for sure as I get used to them. cornering grip seems about the same but braking is massively better on the rivals.

 

Invest in a pyrometer.... you'll gain speed, get fast times and stop trial and error.