Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R 305/30R-19 (new size) Discussion Thread

[RKeeton]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

It is possible. Get an ordinary #2 lead pencil. If the pencil can pass you are good to go.

Thanks for the heads up. I will use that. Here is a picture of the left front tire in the garage. It started raining again.

[fzss]

Originally Posted by RKeeton

My impressions of the tire yesterday were mostly positive. The course was a small asphalt lot. The course design had some of the features of a Nationals course on a smaller scale of course. The car transitioned very well in the slaloms and on the faster sections changed directions easily. There was no tendency to oversteer when accelerating out of slow corners. I was getting understeer in the sweepers if I applied throttle too soon but it wasn't a grippy surface at all. We are playing with tire pressure to control that. Air temperature were close to 100 degrees. My co-driver placed 3rd in the PAX and I was 6th. We are looking forward to the concrete at Lincoln.
I will take a picture of the car with the tires as soon as I remove the cone marks. :^)

Thanks for the feedback and congratulations on the fantastic PAX result!

Keep us updated on the pressures you use to control that understeer in the sweepers! What pressures did you guys end up running on your fastest runs?

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by RKeeton

The tire is close to the strut but I did back off on the camber to make sure there was no contact. I could get my fingers in between the two on both sides. I will add more camber if possible.

Congrats on the awesome results on your first event! Looking forward to your impressions at Nationals as well.

RE-71Rs get better as you wear down the tread. All of the compound is good stuff so the more rubber you have touching the ground, the better.

Luckily the RE-71R is known to do pretty well with less camber so whatever camber you get with the pencil trick should be good.

What offset do you have on your 19" wheels. 7mm wider than the stock 1LE wheels?

[RKeeton]

Originally Posted by fzss

Thanks for the feedback and congratulations on the fantastic PAX result!

Keep us updated on the pressures you use to control that understeer in the sweepers! What pressures did you guys end up running on your fastest runs?

Thanks,
The first two cars in pax were an FP Miata and a 4th Gen Pontiac in ESP. The course was very tight in the first part but opened up for us to use some horsepower in the second half.
We were running 32 psi hot all the way around. Just kept bleeding after each run. We are going to increase the rear pressures to compensate. Because it was a local event there was not a 5 minute delay between our runs, so the tires were hot and we didn't bring anything to spray them down.

[RKeeton]

Originally Posted by nilfinite

Congrats on the awesome results on your first event! Looking forward to your impressions at Nationals as well.

RE-71Rs get better as you wear down the tread. All of the compound is good stuff so the more rubber you have touching the ground, the better.

Luckily the RE-71R is known to do pretty well with less camber so whatever camber you get with the pencil trick should be good.

What offset do you have on your 19" wheels. 7mm wider than the stock 1LE wheels?

Yes, the wheels have the 7mm allowable extra offset. That helped on the strut clearance as well, I'm sure.
I hope to do well but my co-driver has been the fastest in the last month or so. It is Nationals so anything can happen. Only 3 runs each day and the best drivers will be there. (myself excluded.)

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by RKeeton

Thanks for the heads up. I will use that. Here is a picture of the left front tire in the garage. It started raining again.

Happy to help out any time.

[DavidCorsaro]

Originally Posted by RKeeton

The tire is close to the strut but I did back off on the camber to make sure there was no contact. I could get my fingers in between the two on both sides. I will add more camber if possible.

You'll definitely want to run maximum front camber allowable using the OEM or Koni strut. You should be in the neighborhood of -2.2° if done right. You'll have plenty of clearance with the wheel you're using. Good luck!

[RKeeton]

Originally Posted by DavidCorsaro

You'll definitely want to run maximum front camber allowable using the OEM or Koni strut. You should be in the neighborhood of -2.2° if done right. You'll have plenty of clearance with the wheel you're using. Good luck!

I will be working on that this weekend. Thanks and good luck to you as well.

[VR Baron]

Bought RE71 305/30/19s and 19x10.75 wheels. Will see how they do in a week at nmca. There will be four of us with them. Should be fun! Sorry about the bad angle on the pic

[ICTsccaCamaro]

Well almost all of the 1LE's at nationals this year were on 305's if that tells you anything and were very quick.

[Nick S]

Originally Posted by ICTsccaCamaro

Well almost all of the 1LE's at nationals this year were on 305's if that tells you anything and were very quick.

What class were the 1LE's competing in then? FS? CAM-C? STU?

I've tried to figure out what class my 1LE fits into best and so far it just seems that CAM-C is the easiest one to default to because I can pretty much do any mod I want and not have to worry about changing classes. But it would be nice to know what class a lightly modified 1LE might fit into.

My mods are as follows:
1. 6-piston front brakes on my car (for bigger track HPDE's)
2. Z/28 CAI
3. Schroth Ralley 3 ASM 4-point harness with OEM Recaro seats I bought used and installed into my 2013.

I don't know why the SCCA had to make figuring out your class so difficult. Why couldn't they at least make an app or an online configurator that you could use by selecting from pull downs and it would tell you what classes you could run in. Enough ranting I guess.

If you or someone else could just let me know what classes most of the 1LE's are running in that would help me focus on the rule book section to read over and find out what mods I can or cannot do.

Thanks.

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by Nick S

What class were the 1LE's competing in then? FS? CAM-C? STU?

I've tried to figure out what class my 1LE fits into best and so far it just seems that CAM-C is the easiest one to default to because I can pretty much do any mod I want and not have to worry about changing classes. But it would be nice to know what class a lightly modified 1LE might fit into.

My mods are as follows:
1. 6-piston front brakes on my car (for bigger track HPDE's)
2. Z/28 CAI
3. Schroth Ralley 3 ASM 4-point harness with OEM Recaro seats I bought used and installed into my 2013.

I don't know why the SCCA had to make figuring out your class so difficult. Why couldn't they at least make an app or an online configurator that you could use by selecting from pull downs and it would tell you what classes you could run in. Enough ranting I guess.

If you or someone else could just let me know what classes most of the 1LE's are running in that would help me focus on the rule book section to read over and find out what mods I can or cannot do.

Thanks.

I believe the 1LE is most competitive in FS. After you max out the car for CAM or STU, it's not really a 1LE anymore with different springs, shocks, sways.

Check out this thread to find out what you can and can't do in FS: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=431921

[Egon]

Originally Posted by Nick S

What class were the 1LE's competing in then? FS? CAM-C? STU?

I've tried to figure out what class my 1LE fits into best and so far it just seems that CAM-C is the easiest one to default to because I can pretty much do any mod I want and not have to worry about changing classes. But it would be nice to know what class a lightly modified 1LE might fit into.

My mods are as follows:
1. 6-piston front brakes on my car (for bigger track HPDE's)
2. Z/28 CAI
3. Schroth Ralley 3 ASM 4-point harness with OEM Recaro seats I bought used and installed into my 2013.

I don't know why the SCCA had to make figuring out your class so difficult. Why couldn't they at least make an app or an online configurator that you could use by selecting from pull downs and it would tell you what classes you could run in. Enough ranting I guess.

If you or someone else could just let me know what classes most of the 1LE's are running in that would help me focus on the rule book section to read over and find out what mods I can or cannot do.

Thanks.

I posted some SCCA classing information a while back for someone else that had similar questions so I went and copied it here for you to help class your car. It does seem confusing at first but there is a logic to it. From your mod list your brake upgrade and CAI will bump you out of FS and you can run in any higher category that the Camaro is allowed, those being STU (Street Touring Unlimited) with a tire limit of 285mm, ESP (E-Street Prepared), Street Modified where shit gets really crazy with weight limits (I think you would have to ADD weight due to the large displacement of the 1LE) so I am just putting this here for completeness, and CAM (Classic American Muscle). I have not seen many Camaro's in STU, it is mostly filled with Subaru Impreza, and Mitsubishi Lancers and I don't think it would be very competitive there. It should do well in ESP, but it is a Race Tire class so you will have to get Hoosiers to be competitive. The best fit once you modify your way out of FS is CAM where you can basically do what you want as long as you are using a 200TW tire.

----------------

For those of you considering SCCA Autocross and would like to get an idea of where your car would be classed with your planned modifications here is a quick reference list of all of the modifications allowed in each of the street classes from lowest to highest. (Street is the least modifications and Street Modified is the most modifications) Keep in mind any modifications allowed in a lower category are also allowed in the higher category, for example Street Modified can perform any modification allowed in Street, Street Touring, or Street Prepared. If the modification is not listed it is not allowed. In addition the Street Touring category has additional wheel and tire limitations with a maximum of 10" wide wheels and 285mm tires for STU where the Camaro would be placed, so the 1LE would need a tire swap to compete there. As you can see from the list a 1LE with a tune and its stock 20x11" rear wheels will instantly be moved to Street Prepared since the tune would bump it into Street Touring but the 11" wheels would be ineligible for STU and it would bump it further on to Street Prepared.

Classic American Muscle (CAM) is another option but is a completely separate class from the Street categories and is basically unlimited.

Street Category

• Air filter element (replace or remove, no “cold air intakes”)
• Battery and hold‐down bracket(s)
• Exhaust, “cat”‐back or axle‐back
• Anti‐roll/sway bar, 1 front OR 1 rear (replace, modify, or add)
• Shocks/struts (replace)
• Brake pads/shoes (replace)
• “Comfort & convenience” (gauges, lights, etc; add, not remove)
• Shift knob (replace)
• Seat belt, restraint, harness for driver (add, not remove)
• Spare tires, tools, etc (remove)
• DOT tires (any size, UTQG Treadwear 200 or higher)
• Wheels (replace; diameter change ±1” allowed, width must remain the same and offset ±7mm )

Street Touring Category

• Anti‐roll (sway) bars (replace, modify, or add)
• Battery (relocate, behind seats)
• Big brake kits
• Bushings, suspension/steering (replace)
• Camber kits/bolts
• Cold air intake, up to throttle body or turbo inlet
• Engine accessory pulleys except supercharger
• Engine and transmission mounts (replace)
• Exhaust headers and high‐flow “cats”
• Limited slip differential, 1 only (none allowed in STS and STF)
• Pedal covers and “dress‐up” items
• PCM/ECU reprogrammed fuel and/or ignition map(s) or fuel pressure
• regulator (no changes to “boost” maps)
• Seats, front (replace)
• Shift linkage kit
• Strut bars, tie bars (2‐point; add or replace)
• Sub‐frame connectors for Mustang, Camaro (bolt‐on only)
• Suspension springs, “coil‐overs”
• Valve timing controllers (add)
• Wheels, any diameter; wheel & tire width determined by class (STU for Camaro is limited to 10" wheels and 285mm tires)

Street Prepared Category

• Update/backdate complete components (engine, transmission, etc)
• Fenders for tire clearance (modify or replace)
• Steering wheel (replace)
• Spoilers/splitters, small (add)
• Radio/stereo removal
• DOT tires (any size, any rating)
• Wheels, any size
• Brake ducts
• Ignition, fuel, and air induction systems (modify or replace)
• Emission control systems removal
• Coolant radiator and fan(s)
• Clutch and flywheel
• Limited slip differential(s)

Street Modified Category

• Engine and drivetrain (engine block mfr must match chassis mfr)
• Fuel cool‐can
• Fuel cell
• Suspension components
• Steering components
• Steering gear and/or quickener
• Fiber engine cover, trunk lid, bolt‐on fenders, etc
• Rear seats (remove)
• Aero wings (add)
• Splitters, large (add)

Classic American Muscle

• North American GM, Ford or Chrysler
• Must be Licensed and Insured and in street legal condition
• "Finished Look" interior
• Body Modifications extensive but see rulebook
• Brake Suspension and Steering unrestricted
• Engine and Drivetrain unrestricted
• DOT tires with UTQG Treadwear of 200 or higher

[Nick S]

Originally Posted by Egon

I posted some SCCA classing information a while back for someone else that had similar questions so I went and copied it here for you to help class your car. It does seem confusing at first but there is a logic to it. From your mod list your brake upgrade and CAI will bump you out of FS and you can run in any higher category that the Camaro is allowed, those being STU (Street Touring Unlimited) with a tire limit of 285mm, ESP (E-Street Prepared), Street Modified where shit gets really crazy with weight limits (I think you would have to ADD weight due to the large displacement of the 1LE) so I am just putting this here for completeness, and CAM (Classic American Muscle). I have not seen many Camaro's in STU, it is mostly filled with Subaru Impreza, and Mitsubishi Lancers and I don't think it would be very competitive there. It should do well in ESP, but it is a Race Tire class so you will have to get Hoosiers to be competitive. The best fit once you modify your way out of FS is CAM where you can basically do what you want as long as you are using a 200TW tire.

----------------

For those of you considering SCCA Autocross and would like to get an idea of where your car would be classed with your planned modifications here is a quick reference list of all of the modifications allowed in each of the street classes from lowest to highest. (Street is the least modifications and Street Modified is the most modifications) Keep in mind any modifications allowed in a lower category are also allowed in the higher category, for example Street Modified can perform any modification allowed in Street, Street Touring, or Street Prepared. If the modification is not listed it is not allowed. In addition the Street Touring category has additional wheel and tire limitations with a maximum of 10" wide wheels and 285mm tires for STU where the Camaro would be placed, so the 1LE would need a tire swap to compete there. As you can see from the list a 1LE with a tune and its stock 20x11" rear wheels will instantly be moved to Street Prepared since the tune would bump it into Street Touring but the 11" wheels would be ineligible for STU and it would bump it further on to Street Prepared.

Classic American Muscle (CAM) is another option but is a completely separate class from the Street categories and is basically unlimited.

Street Category

• Air filter element (replace or remove, no “cold air intakes”)
• Battery and hold‐down bracket(s)
• Exhaust, “cat”‐back or axle‐back
• Anti‐roll/sway bar, 1 front OR 1 rear (replace, modify, or add)
• Shocks/struts (replace)
• Brake pads/shoes (replace)
• “Comfort & convenience” (gauges, lights, etc; add, not remove)
• Shift knob (replace)
• Seat belt, restraint, harness for driver (add, not remove)
• Spare tires, tools, etc (remove)
• DOT tires (any size, UTQG Treadwear 200 or higher)
• Wheels (replace; diameter change ±1” allowed, width must remain the same and offset ±7mm )

Street Touring Category

• Anti‐roll (sway) bars (replace, modify, or add)
• Battery (relocate, behind seats)
• Big brake kits
• Bushings, suspension/steering (replace)
• Camber kits/bolts
• Cold air intake, up to throttle body or turbo inlet
• Engine accessory pulleys except supercharger
• Engine and transmission mounts (replace)
• Exhaust headers and high‐flow “cats”
• Limited slip differential, 1 only (none allowed in STS and STF)
• Pedal covers and “dress‐up” items
• PCM/ECU reprogrammed fuel and/or ignition map(s) or fuel pressure
• regulator (no changes to “boost” maps)
• Seats, front (replace)
• Shift linkage kit
• Strut bars, tie bars (2‐point; add or replace)
• Sub‐frame connectors for Mustang, Camaro (bolt‐on only)
• Suspension springs, “coil‐overs”
• Valve timing controllers (add)
• Wheels, any diameter; wheel & tire width determined by class (STU for Camaro is limited to 10" wheels and 285mm tires)

Street Prepared Category

• Update/backdate complete components (engine, transmission, etc)
• Fenders for tire clearance (modify or replace)
• Steering wheel (replace)
• Spoilers/splitters, small (add)
• Radio/stereo removal
• DOT tires (any size, any rating)
• Wheels, any size
• Brake ducts
• Ignition, fuel, and air induction systems (modify or replace)
• Emission control systems removal
• Coolant radiator and fan(s)
• Clutch and flywheel
• Limited slip differential(s)

Street Modified Category

• Engine and drivetrain (engine block mfr must match chassis mfr)
• Fuel cool‐can
• Fuel cell
• Suspension components
• Steering components
• Steering gear and/or quickener
• Fiber engine cover, trunk lid, bolt‐on fenders, etc
• Rear seats (remove)
• Aero wings (add)
• Splitters, large (add)

Classic American Muscle

• North American GM, Ford or Chrysler
• Must be Licensed and Insured and in street legal condition
• "Finished Look" interior
• Body Modifications extensive but see rulebook
• Brake Suspension and Steering unrestricted
• Engine and Drivetrain unrestricted
• DOT tires with UTQG Treadwear of 200 or higher

Thanks for reposting the info Egon. I guess for me the part that is not logical is having to go from FS to ESP. Why the heck would a car that is modified a little and has more than the allowed 2 points for FS be moved into the E class and then become ESP? Just seems like it would be much easier for people to understand and follow classing if they used the "F" class as the base class and the just move up in that same base class to P and M with modifications.

I did read the tire/wheel limitations in the rule book and they also add more confusion to the STU class because the rear tire width and rear wheel width limitations also depends on if the car is a solid rear axle or a independent rear axle. And in reality in don't know why they limit the rear wheel width instead of just the tire width. The wheel width can change the tire characteristics a little (like the 1LE 285 tire mounted on the rear 11" wheel) but your contact patch won't change that much.

If I did not want to do HPDE events at Road America and hopefull more larger tracks I would not have modified the front brakes on my car. The Z/28 CAI I k ow would also need to come off but that is pretty easy to swap out when needed.