Falken RS-01D?

I'm getting a pair of new (well, well-stored, but still "sticker" ) RS-01Ds and I'm curious as to how well they work compared to more common tires.

They're going on the front of my RX-7, which currently uses Hankooks up there, and I did some pretty heavy cutting to get those tires to grip. I am not going to get a chance to use them before the Big Weekend so I'm going back and forth on whether I should cut the tires or not.

The only other tires I have direct experience with are Michelin ZEs.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2011 11:13PM by Pete.

They're show car tires. Used up Michelins with steel belts poking out of the sidewalls are better on the stage. 10 year old Silverstones are also better. At least that's what I've been told by the drivers in my travels who have used (the same) set.

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fiasco
They're show car tires. Used up Michelins with steel belts poking out of the sidewalls are better on the stage. 10 year old Silverstones are also better. At least that's what I've been told by the drivers in my travels who have used (the same) set.

How many drivers used the same set?
I could see them being like "used up" cause they used, ya know?

But you know me---I nearly always used used tires and sometimes sold them onwarnds so they'd me used used used tires..

Good ol 14-62 x 15s Michelins ( drool---and sniffle)

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John Vanlandingham
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I won a CRS championship on those tires, but they were the only tires I ever ran on that car, so I can't say for sure how they work compared to others, but clearly "show car tires" isn't quite right.

I also remember seeing a significant majority of the non-WRC cars at Rally New Zealand running Falkens when I went there in 2003.

Tires were first used for a couple of stages on a production GT WRX. Brand new in 06 or 07. Went back to the used Michelins. Next they were traded for a case of PBR (or something) to a certain RallyHo SAAB story, where they are the double secret backup tires because the 10-year-old used ex-Groo (or were they ex-Jens Larsen? Or both?) Silverstones he has work better.

That's what I know.

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fiasco
Tires were first used for a couple of stages on a production GT WRX. Brand new in 06 or 07. Went back to the used Michelins. Next they were traded for a case of PBR (or something) to a certain RallyHo SAAB story, where they are the double secret backup tires because the 10-year-old used ex-Groo (or were they ex-Jens Larsen? Or both?) Silverstones he has work better.

That's what I know.

That's the saddest story I've ever heard.....sounds like they need to go to the Island of misfit toys...

The goods news is a proper RX-7 steers with the rear tires so Pete just needs something to hold the front off the ground.....

Are you kidding? Focusing on front end bite was the best thing I ever did to the car. Steering with the rear tires sucks because you gotta let off sometimes. I want to be on the throttle all the time (Flat out. That's how I drive: Flat out) and control where I go with the steering wheel. Let the people who are okay with losing be the ones to lift.

Looks like I'm going to go tire groove massacre on them



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 11:59AM by Pete.

Important note: these tires will be used on dirt (soil) for rallycross cone-squishing, not gravel (rocky) roads.

I think the biggest potential issue will be the need to quickly get dialed in on tire pressures without going too low.

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Pete
Are you kidding? Focusing on front end bite was the best thing I ever did to the car. Steering with the rear tires sucks because you gotta let off sometimes. I want to be on the throttle all the time (Flat out. That's how I drive: Flat out) and control where I go with the steering wheel. Let the people who are okay with losing be the ones to lift.

Looks like I'm going to go tire groove massacre on them

Atta boy, I like your attitude!! How much camber are you running in the front?

Falkens were the worst rally tires I've ever used, and I had a brand new set that still had the fuzzy nubs, although I did buy them from another local guy who'd had them sitting for a while. Put them on the Evo and took it out to our test track, CORE. Felt like I was driving on ice compared to the used 15" michelins with 1/3 tread depth I'd been used to running (were takeoffs I bought from 4*).

For the record I also think Hankooks weren't very good. Back in my GTX days I'd been using the old 14" michelins and finally "stepped up" and bought some new 'kooks. They weren't any better than the probably 5-8 year old michelins.

Of course, both these comparisons were done at CORE and/or hillclimb roads here in Colorado (read: really dry roads) so YMMV.

Dave



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 08:54PM by DaveK.

If we're talking about the Rallycross National Championships in Tulsa...

From when I ran on that site back in July for the MidDiv event, I'd run the softest compound available up front for turn in. The site was very hard-packed, and there was hardly any silt build up, even off line. There were streaks of rubber laid down on course after the event.

Granted, if it rains or something, all that advice is out the window.


-Matt

The CO Springs crew ran Falkens for about half a rally then went back to Michelins. Hankook's were about the most overrated tire I've had. I destroyed a set in one day at CORE. The following year I had Michelin's and I'm still running on the same tires. Have ten Michelin's for the front. At this rate they'll either dry rot or I'll be running on them still in 2020. Miss being able to buy the whole stock of Tanner's take off tires from Flatirons. Bought all their Hankooks one year and all their Michelin's the next.

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NoCoast
Hankook's were about the most overrated tire I've had.

I never heard anybody say Hankooks were good.

They were cheap. Especially with their contingency...I think I paid on average about $50/tire when I was running them after you include contingency payouts. A

nd that didn't include selling off my used up ones for $20/each to rallyx guys.

From what I heard at a post-rally beer-fueled conversation from somebody who should know; the soft Hankooks were like a hard compound Michelin that was pretty worn, and the medium and hard Hankook compounds were like brick and granite, respectively.

That said, because Hankook was doing some decent contingency for rally, I ended up with three sets of summer Hankooks and a set of winters for my cars over the past few years, and I have no complaints about their street tires; they get the job done!

Yeah, I'd rate the "soft" (G70) Hankooks as something like worn medium Michelins. But they fit the front of the car without hitting anything, and the price was right.

Got the tires today. They look and feel brand new, not like they were sitting in a warehouse/basement/attic since 2003. (Ugh.) But they're mediums, and they feel hard like Silverstones (never ran on those yet), so I'll probably do the circumferential grooving thing like what allowed the 'kooks to actually get the car to turn.

Yeah, this is for the National Championship dealy. Already registered (car 9/79) and we're going to have "contingency plans" for if it rains. We're actually hoping that it rains, just so we can try these secret tires out. Never been out there before so we'll have maybe four sets of tires to choose from.

No idea how much camber I've got. Basically, I threw four camber bolts up front and went to max. I started with two bolts, that was good, put in the other two, that was even better. Eyeball says maybe 2, 2.5 degrees, and maybe 5 degrees caster.

PS - One guy here (absurd powerful/lightened WRX) bought a new set of BFGs, ran them for a couple events, then bought a set of Lassa 3s. He is WAY happier with the Lassas than the BFGs. I think I know what I want for Christmas this year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2011 08:45PM by Pete.