Bridgestone Potenza RE 71RS

1992 camaro
18x11 S71 Forged wheels
295/35r18

Autocross:
no a good tire to use as a single driver
warm up is semi slow compared to the A052
unless it's 80F+ out a A052 user will beat you
they have turbo stiff side walls that make them a good choice for FWD cars or cars that can't add a lot of camber
I run -3.2 camber and could probably get away with -3.0
hot days are pretty good
tire likes be be around 120F-125F with a pyrometer


Track:
they warm up quick, and go 2-3 Hero laps
then fall out 1-2 seconds
but they stabilize and you can drive flat out from then on out
wear is pretty good

These re71RS have more lateral grip than braking and acceleration.
they don't seem to like combining both acceleration and turning
A052 and Hosier A7 seem way more tolerant of that.
steering is very quick
feedback is good

I drive my m2 competition to and from the track here dry Arizona. The Bridgestone re71 rs has lasted 2500 street miles and three track days. I do time trials so I am driving very hard doing about 2 time trials and 3-4 open track rounds per event. So in total the tires still are useable after 60 track laps and the 2500 street miles. Not to mention I improved my lap times by 4 seconds compared to the Michelin sport 4s. I highly recommend these tires if you're someone that drives to the track and wants to put in competitive lap times.

There's a very short half mile paved course (lap times around 45-50 seconds) near me that has lapping but no passing. The warm grip in the dry is second to none. They take a small amount of heat to really turn on, and have a few laps in them at peak grip before falling off to a more common grip level (but not bad by any means). I've compared them with the Kumho V730's at the same course and the Bridgestone's are ~1.5 seconds faster at their peak but near equal once *hot*, whereas the Kumho's are happy to put the same lap time down start to finish. I switched to V730's for my next set as the Bridgestones did wear appreciably quickly on the front of my FWD vehicle and are one of the more expensive tires in the class. However, I just bought another set of the Bridgestones as for now they seem to be the fastest 200TW that fits on my car and I missed that few extra % of maximum grip. These tires, like many 200tw, take a moment to respond to your steering input, but once they hook up, it feels as if you're on rails.

Driving to-and-from the track as well as a few commutes I was extremely impressed with the composure and livability of the tire. I also found myself in heavy rain with only ~50% of the tread left and hydroplaned very little considering the intended use of this tire. The RE71RS is NOT a rain tire, but it can safely get you to and from events if you're driving rationally in inclement weather.

In the category of "Super 200's", the RE71RS are a pace-setter for a reason. I purchased another set for time-attack style events and will strongly consider a set as a dedicated summer set when my Bridgestone Potenza Sports wear out.

These tires are specifically for my autocross/track car. My first impression was that they were instantly on, very compliant regarding the weather (40-95f). They perform amazingly in all facets. I would drive hundreds of miles to and from my events ON THEM, and I put on thousands of miles on top of the laps I was doing. They performed excellently. I didn't even realize they had gotten worse until one cold lap I ended up looping my vehicle. Turns out I had 1/32nd of tread left, but it gave it all up until then. I liked them so much I got them again for this season. Will swap them out half way for either the RE71RZ or the A052.

Tires last about 5 track days over the course of 7 months and 1,842 miles. Overall, they give you about 5 good laps before they become greasy, but are still very manageable after laps 6-7. They do become slower though. Fastest lap needs to be achieved early on in the session. Second half will not yield a personal best, even if you are driving faster/better.

The Potenza RE-71RS perfected suits my NA Miata autocross car and has several advantages over the previous RE-71R. I did not expect such a significant improvement in comfort and noise compared the RE-71R, but the result is a very pleasant on road driving experience. Wet grip is excellent, it feels comparable to Conti ECS now and very confident. Heat tolerance also seems better based on a few autocross event - the Miata is too light to give stress these tires but I feel they are faster with each run whereas with 2 drivers the RE-71R could become slightly greasy feeling on a hot day. Dry grip is incredibly strong although it feels like more slip angle is required than the RE-71R. Steering has traded some of the instant response of the RE-71R for a more progressive limit behavior and improved on-center tracking. I prefer the slightly more relaxed steering response and stiffer effort buildup for street driving. For autocross I preferred the immediate response of the RE-71R, but have been able to quickly adjust to the RE-71RS. Overall this is a solid improvement on the RE-71R. I have only done 3 autocross events so it is too early to rate wear, but so far this is looking like a longer wearing tire than the RE-71R.

The RE-71RS's track pace lives up to the reputation, but it's also a very intuitive tire to drive with good steering feedback right up to the limit and forgiving recovery. On the BRZ consistency has been decent. It's definitely quicker in lap 2-3 on hot days than at the end of a 20 minute session, but after the peak it is still precise and stabilizes at a pace still quicker than the Hankook RS4 tires I previously ran. On a cooler day (50-55F) I set my quickest laps on the 5th or 6th lap and consistency felt good through the whole 20 minute session. After 3 track days and at -1.6deg camber in the front the center rib is down to 2/32nds on the front tires. The outer shoulder still have 4-5/32nds, so I'm hoping with more frequent rotations to get 3-4 more track days from this set of RE-71RS. Even if the wear slows down, I'll change back to a more endurance focused tire since these are just too expensive to consume multiple sets a season. They're well worth it if lap times are a high priority.

Some other high points of the RE-71RS include great wet grip and surprisingly decent comfort for a 200TW tire. It feels stiff, but not punishing and has a very controlled feel after impacts. It's still an enjoyable tire to drive on the street as the precise steering is noticeable at street speeds too.

A tire that can do autocross and track days.
the 71RS warms up fairly quick and has good grip, more temp has a small drop off in grip, but it levels off.
Means you have 1-2 flyer track laps then times will drop 1 second or so.
but it levels off and you can PSH hard without any lap time increases.
track days do increase the tire's hardness, and that makes warming up for autocross harder.
the RS71RS at 75F sitting are about 55 on the durometer
after 113 autocross laps and 15x 20min track secessions, the durometer at 75F is about 70.
A BIG increase in hardness. at that point it's a track only tire or you need LOTS of temp to get any grip back.
113 autocross laps and 15x 20min track secessions and not corded yet, a durable tire.
-3.5 camber +6.0 caster Zero toe on a 1992 Camaro.
Rear end is a Solid axle
wet grip is bad unless you can get the tire warm
the A052 will still win out in low temps and rain conductions
the RE71RS tend to work better on heavier cars, 3,000lbs+
The lightweight cars like Miata 's tend to favor the A052

Was wondering what was all the rave about the re71rs, so i decided to get these tyres for my daily after my AD08R had worn down to 40% (4 years of use). After breaking in for 500km and turned it down to 30psi, I had my first chance to hoon around. I was gobsmack, the dry grip is just unbelievable. I cant say how much lateral grip this tyre holds, the tyres were just begging for me to push. If i was on my Michelin PS5, the car would had wrap itself around a tree. Turn in was crisp and sharp. I would expect it to be loud too, but it wasn’t. The comfort and tyre noise was comparable to my PS5 (winter set). I would highly recommend this tyre, even for your daily. The tire has transformed my Type R to a complete street weapon. I cant say much about wear or wet review yet, but will update this as it go. I don’t mind the wear tbh (even if it last only 10000km with aggressive street driving), as I have already committed/able to replaced these tyres every year. So Im not too fuss about wear. If you want downright GRIP. This is it, bar-none.

I race a 370z in time attack up in Ontario, Canada and these tires get overlooked by a lot of drivers that solely run CR-S and I can’t understand why. Over my last two years, 13 races, with about a handful of lapping days I’ve went through two sets and have already bought my third set. The tires in the dry, handle phenomenally!! The cars becomes very predictable pre corner and in corner and you can really put the power down on exit! I have never had issues with heat soaking. They do like higher hot psi, I run fronts around 35psi and rears around 34psi (depending on air and track temps as well). They build up speed and hold consistent lap times once at full hot operating temps, usually my first lap is slowest and 3rd lap is fastest. Tremendous amounts of grip as well throughout a race day.
Wet driving on road and track are amazing as well! On the wet road they’re just any other ordinary tire with lots of grip (provided they have tread still), on a wet track (which I haven’t had may wet track days) they held up better than I could have imagined, held grip throughout the wet until the track started drying off and never once encountered any under or oversteering. I was about 3-5 seconds slower in the wet vs dry time. On wet tracks I’d run 37psi front and 36psi rear.
Overall amazing longer lasting tire for a great price.

I went from a 340 treadwear year-round performance tyre to the RE71-RS on my E36 and they blew my mind right from the first trackday. The level of grip is just so much higher. I did run the pressures a little low at the first trackday and they got a bit hot after 4 hotlaps, but I bumped the pressures up slightly and they felt even better. In the damp and patches of standing water they are so good, no noticeable aquaplaning. I managed to better my PB around our local circuit by 1.0sec in the damp vs my previous PB which was in the dry. Super happy with them!

I love these things, super 200 but they last pretty good too

This tyre is like a RE11 with a firmware update. Was on PS4S for years but after changing to RE71RS, i knew the tyre is way better than the former.

And although the wear on the RE71rs was really bad, i will purchase this again. Only complain is the price increment.

Dry grip is one of the best available. Stiff sidewalls make corners a breeze and on point. Soft compound makes the tyre very easy to pick up nails so patching the tyre was a frequent affair. The surprise was it's wet grip. No aquaplanning at all over standing water. Grips the same up to about 100kmh. Only downside of this tyre is it's wear. Tyres lasted 30000km. Would have gotten this again if the prices for this tyre didn't soar so much

I bought these tyres as my go to track tyre (Yokohama AO52) was out of stock and at least 6 weeks away and I needed a track tyre for my new GR Yaris. I have had these tyres on for a year now and have done 4 track days and around 7000km with the tyres still ok. They maybe have a couple of track days left. I will be buying these again as I find them much better than the Yokohama in the wet and the.perormamce on track is just as good with good wear characteristics. On track they get up to speed very quickly and I find they last for longer stints than the Yokohama as well. A lit bit noisy on rough or course chip bitumen and being a track focused tyre not the most comfortable but still ok for daily driving. Highly recommended.