Just a 1st impression not a full review.
Running a set of RE11 on our dc2r atm, on loan from a fren who has an EK. Car has stock suspension set up apart from 25mm rear Cusco sway bar, tyre pressure is 32psi cold all round.
195/55R15 is the correct size for both our cars, but only 195/50R15 avail at the time from tirerack usa so 50 it was.
Basically the big brother of RE001, with a similar pattern theme with much chunckier tread blocks, more rigid sidewall with much less regard to ride comfort and noise than the RE001. It reminds me a lot of the old RE711 they used to sell in Aust in the early 2000s, which was superceded by the RE-01, then RE01R and then the RE11 more recently ( 1.5 years ago? ).
Grip was much better than the S drives we had on the car which was no surprise being a very mediocre tyre in terms of grip though noise, comfort and rolling resistance are very good and better than most tyres in those depts. Turn in is sharp and responsive without being nervous and progressive. The back end of car is more planted than before when trail braking into tight corners.
The RE11 rides firm similar to the Dunlop Z1, and the chucky tread blocks make clattery noises, but no annoying whine or droning harmonics at speed, cruising on street or under braking.
Being a midway tyre between high performance road tyre and semi slicks, its philosophy is very similar to the likes of Z1, AD07/08 and KU36. Compound is softer than Z1 though which would make it more bearable on the street before the tyre has a chance to warm up at the expense of durability and feel at the track. Having seen a VE HDT with 19s at the track on OE RE11 after a few hot laps, they certainly look a lot more stressed and grained than Z1 on a heavy car I've seen before after a few hot laps. Since these tyres arent mine I wont be abusing them on the track till I get a set of our own.
For those who intend to track their cars a lot and intend to have only one set of tyres I Z1 would be the better choice esp you ll get more consistent laps after warm up whereas these ones would start to go off after a few laps and only gets slower by few tenths every lap after. For short sprints/autokhanas the RE11 would be better. Being asymmetrical also means not able to flip tyres L to R when shoulders are worn. These shoulders are a tad more rounded than the the Z1.
No idea how the perform in the wet yet, not expecting any rainy day in Perth any time soon.
As I have an eg that I track a lot, and the dc2r would do the occasional autocross tuning day or casual autokhana event and driven as a daily throughout the year we'll be getting a set of 16" re11 in 205 45 16 from tirerack next year to suit some rims we bought a while back. Will write a detailed review then.
Bridgestone Aust do bring in the RE11 in very selected big sizes ie 18" and 19", the local b/stone motorsport dealer in Perth - Tyreways told me that and I've seen them on their shelves also.
In the latest issue of Motor Mag au ( Jan 2011 issue ) where they had a tyre test this mth it mentioned the RE001 is about to be superceded. Not sure if that meant a new version or RE001 or this RE11.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks