[olegd]

Nexen N FERA SUR4G

Has anyone used Nexen N FERA SUR4G? Tirerack tested them and they seem competitive with the big boys...

Got a chance to test Nexen N FERA SUR4G at Mosport with total track time of about 2 1/2 hours with sunny weather during the whole time (Morning 12C, afternoon 22C). Here is what I observed in comparison to my previous track tire: Bridgestone RE71R. Note that the Nexens I used are F:245/40/18 and R:275/40/18, while the RE71R's were 235/40/18 and 255/40/18.

Getting to the track: Nexens are very comfortable during highway cruising but a bit noisy, just about as loud as the Bridgestones.
On the track, with cold pressure of 32 front and 34 rear, I felt good level of grip and control with these tires initially, less so once they got hot. Checked tire pressure after the session,
42+ on front and rear. Let some steam out down to 35,37. Next session felt good with slightly greasy feeling in the the second half of the session. I like that these tire will squeal when at their limit.
Noticed more under-steer, as expected with wider tires. Time will tell but I think Nexens will wear out faster than Bridgestones, judging by what they looked like. However there is less "bubble gum" deposits on the tread than what I saw with Bridgestones, however the edges look pretty worn.

Aesthetically, Nexens look better than Bridgestones, I know this is not the most important track tire characteristic but some people do care about looks

Overall, good tire for DE use. I want to try Yokohama's ADVAN Neova AD08 R next, but will have to wait until next spring as our track season is ending

 

[ledbette]

Mike_in OH: I bought Firestone Indy 500 245-275/35-R19's to try out because they were cheap. These are fine for novice or if you're just out to have fun for low $$, but I wouldn't recommend them for intermediate-to-advanced drivers trying to improve lap times. The grip is manageable, but not great. During turns they have more slide than you would want for optimal speed, but are fun nonetheless because you drive at the edge of grip more frequently during fast sweepers and you can generally feel where it is. Braking is where they don't really hold up well. I have a lot more brakes than tire grip, even running stock pads. It's difficult to threshold brake with these because they seem to lose traction quickly under heavy braking from 100mph+. I end up in ABS a lot more frequently with these tires.

This year I bought a set of 18" rims and I'm planning to switch to a stickier tire and put RS29 pads on the front. I've been debating whether to try RS4's, NT05's or NT01's in 245-275/40-R18 or do RE-71R's in the stock 235-265/45-R19 size. I'm leaning toward the NT01's, but I'm all over the place on this. I need to make up my mind some time this week to get them before my next track day.

 

[Mike_in OH]

Mike_in OH: I bought Firestone Indy 500 245-275/35-R19's to try out because they were cheap. These are fine for novice or if you're just out to have fun for low $$, but I wouldn't recommend them for intermediate-to-advanced drivers trying to improve lap times. The grip is manageable, but not great. During turns they have more slide than you would want for optimal speed, but are fun nonetheless because you drive at the edge of grip more frequently during fast sweepers and you can generally feel where it is. Braking is where they don't really hold up well. I have a lot more brakes than tire grip, even running stock pads. It's difficult to threshold brake with these because they seem to lose traction quickly under heavy braking from 100mph+. I end up in ABS a lot more frequently with these tires.

This year I bought a set of 18" rims and I'm planning to switch to a stickier tire and put RS29 pads on the front. I've been debating whether to try RS4's, NT05's or NT01's in 245-275/40-R18 or do RE-71R's in the stock 235-265/45-R19 size. I'm leaning toward the NT01's, but I'm all over the place on this. I need to make up my mind some time this week to get them before my next track day.

Many thanks for the review on the Indy 500 tire; sound like a good street tire but a step down for the track.
I think once the NT01s are done I'll go with the BS RE-71 in 235/265 45/18 sizes to get back to a stock OD and provide a tire you can drive back home on in the rain without holding your breath.

 

[gremlin]

What are those of you running 18" RE-71Rs doing for pressures to start out with, just trying to figure out what I should start at.

 

[ledbette]

NT01's in 245-275/40R18 or RE-71R's in 235-265/45R18 are my two most likely targets.

Gremlin: Are you running RE-71R's in this size on your Cayman? My main concern is the 45's may have too much sidewall height and roll over too easy. I'm running stock PASM with -1.5deg camber in front and -1.75 in rear.

Mike_in OH: Are you getting out of NT01's mainly due to dicey experience w/rain on the drive home? My last two outings had rain and I don't trailer my car, so it is a concern as well.

 

[khoahtran]

I just put NT01 245-275/40R18 on, heading to the track this weekend.

Will report back on how it feels

Anybody have a recommended tire pressure for this setup?


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[Mike_in OH]

NT01's in 245-275/40R18 or RE-71R's in 235-265/45R18 are my two most likely targets.

Gremlin: Are you running RE-71R's in this size on your Cayman? My main concern is the 45's may have too much sidewall height and roll over too easy. I'm running stock PASM with -1.5deg camber in front and -1.75 in rear.

Mike_in OH: Are you getting out of NT01's mainly due to dicey experience w/rain on the drive home? My last two outings had rain and I don't trailer my car, so it is a concern as well.

I'm looking at an alternatire for 2 reasons:
1) Rain soaked roads on the way home, especially when the tread has worn down; the tire isn't terrible at full tread in the rain, but at 3/32 you really have to be careful.
2) I have the X73 suspension and it is 20mm lower than stock. Change over to a 275/40/18 tire and you drop it at least another 10mm. I have a gravel drive and with a fully loaded car head for the track it's everything I can do to avoid scrapping the bottom. Likewise, I can barely get a racing jack under the car when changing tires--that is low.

Other than that, these are perfect track tires for the 981--long wearing, heat resistant, wide and sticky.

 

[Mike_in OH]

I just put NT01 245-275/40R18 on, heading to the track this weekend.

Will report back on how it feels

Anybody have a recommended tire pressure for this setup?




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Mid-30's (HOT) are a good place to shoot for; once they into the high 30's they start to get greasy. I try to keep the front and rear pressures even for balance.

 

[khoahtran]

Mid-30's (HOT) are a good place to shoot for; once they into the high 30's they start to get greasy. I try to keep the front and rear pressures even for balance.

I started them at 27 cold and ended up between 33-35 all day.


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[gremlin]

ledbette I've got 235/45 18 on the front and 265/45 18 on the rear of the car. This is the factory size for 18" tyres on the car.

I have not yet had it at the track as I picked up the car last fall, and have been just driving it over the winter. I have the rubber in my garage now and just got the car back from Cantrell with the seats, rollbars and harnesses installed, plus track alignment done. I'm anxious to get to a track day now, so I was looking for thoughts on pressures to start at.

 

[ledbette]

Of course now that I bought the NT-01s for my 18's, there's a 100% chance of rain all day Saturday on what is a really slick track in the rain. We had rain my last HPDE on this track and it was really slick on street tires. I'm guessing save the Nittos for dry and go with my street tires again on my 19's? Supposed to dry up for Sunday.

 

[joshuaj]

Of course now that I bought the NT-01s for my 18's, there's a 100% chance of rain all day Saturday on what is a really slick track in the rain. We had rain my last HPDE on this track and it was really slick on street tires. I'm guessing save the Nittos for dry and go with my street tires again on my 19's? Supposed to dry up for Sunday.

There's always the Hoosier Rains...


I run R6s, now R7s in the dry and R888s in the wet. I wish the RA1 was available in more sizes..

 

[gremlin]

How do people feel about colder wet weather and RE71Rs vs using say Super Sports that are on the car as street tyres? First track day with the PCA is coming up in early april which could be wet here, wondering what I'd be better off running

 

[popcornten]

How do people feel about colder wet weather and RE71Rs vs using say Super Sports that are on the car as street tyres? First track day with the PCA is coming up in early april which could be wet here, wondering what I'd be better off running

We had cold rain in January and the RE71s were fine, just be sure you have tread. Speeds were so reduced that my tire wear was pretty minimal over the weekend.

 

[BillL223]

If its wet I'd leave the SS on. I tried RE-71 in poor slippery conditions and they and everyone else's tires were poor. Back in the day I loved wet races and ice time trials.

 

[cajundaddy]

I have had good luck with RE-71 in the wet as long as they have fresh tread. Not quite as good as RE-11 but very predictable traction and hydroplane resistance. Looks like rain this weekend and my RE-71 tread is pretty thin so I may just run the street tires, not a points event. I will save the sticky stuff for our next TT event out in the desert in late March.

 

[eland]

Anyone running Sport Cup 2's?

 

[joshuaj]

Anyone running Sport Cup 2's?

I'm considering these for street/rains. The have sizing that I like.

 

[superhighperf]

For reference I am an occasional DE driver in Blue, I think I'm reasonably quick but driver skill is I am working on, I'm not looking for a tire to make me faster - I just want one that will hold up and is durable and provides consistent performance.

i think the Hankook rs4 is a good choice but it is about the same price as the Bridgestone Re71-r. the Hankook might get you 1 or 2 more events than the Bridgestone but the Bridgestone should be a better rain tire.

one tire not mentioned is the Federal 595rs-r. the performance is not quite as good as the Rs4 but the Federal is better in the rain. it is about $50 less per tire than the others, is directional like the others and is easy to find the limits of the tire. at the limits it makes a loud squeal and will still hold, if the other tires make noise you are pushing too hard. the downsides of the tire are limited size options, looks like 245-35-18 and 265-40-18 would be the option for the cayman/boxster, and it does not do well with extreme heat. i did an event at Big Willow when the temps were 110 deg F the tires got greasy and had lots of wear. at the end of the day all the groves in the tire were filled with rubber and i was shooting chunks off all the way home.

 

[joshuaj]

Good call, I ran the 595 RSRs on my previous track car and liked them for transit/rain.

i think the Hankook rs4 is a good choice but it is about the same price as the Bridgestone Re71-r. the Hankook might get you 1 or 2 more events than the Bridgestone but the Bridgestone should be a better rain tire.

one tire not mentioned is the Federal 595rs-r. the performance is not quite as good as the Rs4 but the Federal is better in the rain. it is about $50 less per tire than the others, is directional like the others and is easy to find the limits of the tire. at the limits it makes a loud squeal and will still hold, if the other tires make noise you are pushing too hard. the downsides of the tire are limited size options, looks like 245-35-18 and 265-40-18 would be the option for the cayman/boxster, and it does not do well with extreme heat. i did an event at Big Willow when the temps were 110 deg F the tires got greasy and had lots of wear. at the end of the day all the groves in the tire were filled with rubber and i was shooting chunks off all the way home.