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245 x17 tires for competition

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6,361
8,183
There's no way I'm running Hoosiers at a local level, I was thinking of the BFG tires for regional races. They have to be speed rated, if Pemberton is around maybe he could chime in.
Product Description

245/40ZR17 BF Goodrich G-Force Comp 2 AS
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
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Blair, Nebraska
Dear Tire Guru of TMO,
Thank you for asking for my expertise concerning this tire , I am not only honored ,Sensai, I will remove myself to the Temple to contemplate on whether this is the appropriate tire for you to use in spirited competition.


Hummm, Hummmm, Hummmm, ..........the esteemed Buddha has come to me in a vision, or actually it could have been Bibendum from Michelin, and he suggested this would be perfect for your car with the weather we have now. Alas , he thought since I was communing from Nebraska , land of the snow covered cornfields , I was inquiring on an all season, semi performance tire and he deemed these well and good. I am afraid I will have to light up the incense ( I am low on matches, so I might just try a shot of Whiskey instead ) and see if I can get a vision again, since I fear these will not do the trick in the land of Sunshine , oranges , and Goofy!

You shall have a spirited answer by morning !
 

Dave_W

Cones - not just for ice cream
984
1,277
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Autocross
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Connecticut
The hot 200TW tires are the BFG G-Force Rival S 1.5 and the Bridgestone RE-71R. Both are available in 245/40-17. Tire Rack is giving a closeout discount on the RE-71R right now. Both are more for autocross & time trial; they'll likely get greasy on a full track session/race if driven hard. The Toyo Proxes R1R is a 200TW race tire that Lemons teams seem to like for decent grip and long wear.

The new Falken Azenis RT660 is available in that size and pretty inexpensive, but some of the autocross & track reviews on Tire Rack talk about the center rib chunking out, as well as less tolerance to overheating than the old Azenis; other reviews have no issues, so could be hit or miss. Seems like the cars that were okay with it tended to be smaller, though. It's a new tire, so not many reviews, so hard to really judge.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
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Exp. Type
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Blair, Nebraska
The other really hot tire for auto crossing is the Yokohama A052, but they are likely to get greasy pretty quickly on a road course like the RE71Rs. The Rivals do seem to take a little longer to get overheated on a road course according to a 21 year friend and source at TireRack.

I do agree on the BFG Rival S 1.5 Blacksheep, that would be the tire for you , since you are primarily autocrossing the car now.
 
1,161
2,116
Exp. Type
Time Attack
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5-10 Years
SoCal
The other really hot tire for auto crossing is the Yokohama A052, but they are likely to get greasy pretty quickly on a road course like the RE71Rs. The Rivals do seem to take a little longer to get overheated on a road course according to a 21 year friend and source at TireRack.

I do agree on the BFG Rival S 1.5 Blacksheep, that would be the tire for you , since you are primarily autocrossing the car now.

The Rival S 1.5 will easily run a 20 minute session without getting greasy like the RE71Rs. While I personally haven’t run the RT660’s, they’re finally showing up at the track and several Mustang guys said they’re really sticky, come in fast and will start getting greasy in a few laps similar to the Bridgestones.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
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Exp. Type
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Blair, Nebraska
Great practical info 67 GTA because it mirrors what I have seen in our NASA Region along with some other track events. The Rivals are a solid tire for our cars at an autocross , but they do seem to last longer before slip sliding away. The A052, RE71Rs, and the new RT660s all heat up quickly but they seem to disappear from the land of consistent grip after a relatively short tour on a road course. The Rivals do seem to take longer to get to that phase, yet they are pretty damn sticky initially too. That is apparent when one views all the CAM-C cars at major SOLO events running them, and winning.

I am sure we will get more and more info on the RT660 this year, as it is fairly new to the 200 TWR tire wars.
 
There's no way I'm running Hoosiers at a local level, I was thinking of the BFG tires for regional races. They have to be speed rated, if Pemberton is around maybe he could chime in.
Product Description

245/40ZR17 BF Goodrich G-Force Comp 2 AS

I don't think that Comp 2 AS (all season) is what you're looking for as they are not very sticky at all and don't have a very stiff sidewall. I ran these a few years ago as a street tire on my old lifted WRX that I rallycrossed and was not impressed with them.
IMG_2999.jpg

I will say that one of my good friends has run through 2 sets of the 300tw BFG Sport Comp 2 summer tires on his street car/weekend canyon carver and seemed to like them, but they are an old design and there are probably better options out there.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=g-Force+Sport+COMP-2


The Rival 1.5S is an awesome tire thats about as sticky as it gets for 200TW and handle the heat fairly well (at least they did at the Bristol Tour events we co-drove in the middle of July 2019). They aren't the cheapest or flippable due to the tread pattern, I've never run them on a mustang so I don't know how much of factor that will be for you.

Have you considered the Hankook RS4? They seem to be popular among the HPDE crowd but are hard to find in stock. Maybe look at some of the cheaper "track day" tires from Federal or Nankang? I have no experience with these but have considered the Federal 595RSR Pro as a cheap local autox tire

Good luck and looking forward to seeing what your experience is with the T4 car
-J
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I will toss out my feelings on Federals as they are the perfect example of you get what you pay for ------ not much. The RS-4s are getting limited on size and are 2 full generations away from the current hot 200 TWR autocross tires, but I would not advise anyone on TMO to go that route as one may have issues getting replacements since they are super hard to find now.

Stick with the Rivals for a solid Autocross tire, solid Road Course fun, and they are reasonably priced. Best of luck and we do want to see you on the track!
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
What’s the weight of the car? I haven’t run anything that size since my SN95 days. Anything in that size is probably gonna be pretty well taxed by typical S197 weights.

Rivals or RE-71 would be at the top of my list, but still wouldn’t expect much from a 245.
 
Have run 245s (stock size/ stock camber)on the Bullitt for a few years.

BFG Comp 2 a/s- good for driving the car to the track in the rain/ running in the rain. Outside edge will chunk quickly if overheats.

Re71r's- Good for driving to the track/ running in mild weather- no standing water. Good wear. Have 10-30 minute sessions on my current pair and have 1 weekend left in them.

Pilot Super Sports- the best all around tire. Period. Great wear. Slightly slippery below 40 degrees.

Pilot sport a/s 3+- same review as BFG Comp 2 a/s

Also might check out Nitto Nt01's, looks like discount has them in 245. My buddy running a boss 302 likes these a lot, have not run them on mine.

With the Re71's going out my next pair will be the Nt01's or Azenis rt660.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Check out the BFG Rival S 1.5 , as price is reasonable and they should outperform the tires you have listed, since they will take longer to get greasy than the RE71Rs. Great tire for when you go to an Autocross also. Not a fan of the Nittos at all , since they are not really a decent street tire ( which it appears you have been using your tires for ) and when it rains they become Olympic Speed Skaters!
 
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