RE71 tires

[Leland Pate]

Does anyone have any idea how I might go about finding a pair of 255-40-17 Bridgestone RE71s?
Yes, I know they've been discontinued and all ...but I was hoping that maybe I could still find a set somewhere.

My fronts are almost brand new...my rears are toast.

If I can't find a pair for the rear then I'm going to have to plunk down much more for a complete new set of SO2 poles or something.... I really hate to waste those front tires.

If anyone has any ideas, tips for searching, sources or otherwise...please let me know.
If I can save a bit of money on tires, I can do the 964 Cam grind or pick up a set of SSIs!

[chuckr]

I just put on two Bridgestone RE730's on my front,I have 730's all around but for some strange reason I only got 18,000 miles out of the front.I wanted the RE71's but as you know they are impossible to get as a full set, the 730's are the suggested replacement according to Tirerack.com.

[Leland Pate]

Thanks for the reply Chuck...
I had feared that this thread might be doomed to live the most horrible fate of any Pelican thread imaginable......"THE THREAD THAT GETS NO REPLIES"

I really shrink at the thought of putting missmatched tires on her...

And I fear that it might even be a safety concern at the PCA Parade this summer.... just imagine a Concours judge passing out after noticing my car sporting different types of rubber... ".... oh ...the horror..."


Well if anyone has any leads...please chime in.

[Leland Pate]

I wenf and did a bit of snooping around at the tirerack.

The 730s seem to really fit the bill... if I do end up replacing my RE71s.
Seems an awful lot of people were complaining about the road noise they produce.

I'm just having a hard time telling if "too much noise" is really all that relative...when you are talking about a '98 lexus owner and a '79 911 TARGA owner....


...you don't even experience NOISE until you own a 20 year old targa.


Anyone have any comments about the Brigestone 730s???

[KTL]

Leland,

My friend Rich has a Saab and he put on a set of 730's. He absolutely hates them. He says the performance is good but the noise is too much. He's a little particular about things, but he does have an 89 951 which he auto-x's. He's been racing BMW's and now his Porsche for around 20 years? Meaning, he has a little bit of knowledge about how he likes his cars to handle, and how much noise is too much?

I don't know about the 730's myself, but I had a set of RE-71's (205/50-17 F and 255/40-17 R) on the 911 when I got it and I thought they were a little noisy as well.

FWIW,

[Leland Pate]

Well if the RE71s can be considered a measuring stick... I never ever gave the noise they produced a second thought.

thanks for the imput though.

[Clark Griswald]

Leland

I faced the same problem when I shreaded one of my rear RE71s a couple months ago. With only a few thousand miles on the remaining tire, I didn't want to replace the pair.

Although they didn't list them on the web site, I called tire rack anyway. They managed to find me one in their warehouse in skatmandu. Actually they said they had a few left so give them a shout.

FYI, the 255/40/17 is a little bigger diameter than the stock tire. I went with 245/40/17 which is a better match. And in my opinion it looks better with SC flares, better balanced.

[Leland Pate]

That is exactly the type of tip I was looking for Mr. Chuck!!!
bravo!

Failing that... what would you all propose?

730s?

SO2s?

[JDaniel]

Sorry I can't help with the location of the Re-71 stash. That's a secret that us Carrera owners are not allowed to disclose.

Tire-rack does have some tests of different "similar" tires. The Dunlop 8000's seem to be a good, lower cost alternative.

[Drew_K]

Chuck beat me to it: I was also going to suggest calling Tirerack to see if they could find one for you. The tires on my wife's car have also been discontinued and they aren't listed on Tirerack's web site. However, when I called they actually had them in stock.

I've also heard about the 730's generating tire noise. If you don't want to buy SO3's, then check out the Kuhmo 712's. I've heard good things about them, and they're inexpensive compared to the SO3/SO2.

[steve911]

Leland--
FWIW, I was all set to buy the 730's last summer and even placed an online order with tirerack. got a call back from them, where they talked me out of them due to the noise issue. said they had been getting reports that they 'howl' after 10,000 miles.

I ended up buying the kumho ecsta 712s that Drew K recommended before me. Like them a lot - great bang for the buck. mine is purely a weekend street driver, so can't comment on how they perform on a track if you're so inclined.

[pwd72s]

"...you don't even experience NOISE until you own a 20 year old targa." -Leland


Leland: You want NOISE? Tire noise, exhaust noise, rattles, squeaks, and double roller timing chain noise? Maybe I should let you drive this...as well as an early S? Get your rear home soon, okay? Best, Paul

[Dantilla]

RE-730s? PLEEEZE! DON"T DO IT!

I replaced my RE-71s with these- Never again. I don't care about noise, but I do care about cornering. The RE-730s are impresive accelerating, even in the rain, as long as you are going in a straight line. As soon as you begin turning, whoops! You're on ball bearings wearing banana peels for shoes.

A fellow autocrosser loves his, but compared to his old Dunlop D-40M2s. He agrees that they are no where near as good a tire as the RE-71.

I do know where there is a set of new RE-71s mounted on the prettiest set of 17" Fikses, but I cannot disclose the location of them, because I plan on shredding them myself when my car once again has the ability to move under it's own power.

[wcballance]

I have a set of RE730's on my car right now. I bought them from Tire Rack and was also called back before they completed the order. I was warned about the noise issue, but I told them that was what I wanted anyway. I had them drop shipped to a shop that deals with Porsches and was nearby. I got a nice deal on getting them mounted because I brought in a set of Fuchs (rear 7 x 16" and front 6 x 16") with no tires on them which made their lives a little easier.

So far I haven't put near 10k miles on them yet so I'm not sure if they are going to get loud or not. Right now I don't notice any problems with them. I originally bought them just to autocross and to serve as a spare set of tires. Right now they are being enlisted as spares because I discovered that poor alignment can take its toll. My other set of tires are Michelin Pilot Sports on wider wheels -- the fronts aren't in great shape due to a toe out situation.

---
Will Ballance
'82 911SC coupe

[nhromyak]

I have the RE730s too. I have ~3-4K miles on them. I haven't noticed any such degradation in performance or road noise.

I had Yoko AVS before these, and they YOKOs were much better after they heated up. Yokos sucked in the rain. 730s are OK in the rain. I haven't been much in the rain though...

Before the Yokos I had RE71s on 6 & 7s. They were about the same performance wise to the RE730s. It's been some time, so I am not THAT sure.

If you want performance get the SO2s. If you want a long wearing good price point tire get the RE730s. If you want to keep the one set of tires on there now, get the 730s.

Good Luck.

[MIK911]

Really like my RE730's: 205/55 and 225/50 on my Fuchs 7,8x16's.

Noise?............what noise?

MIK

[chuckr]

I have heard about the "noise" I really do not understand it,
I wore out two fronts with no noise, I have been in other 911's
with 730's... again no noise, I do know of a Boxster owner that sent his 730's back because of noise, but no 911 owners I know that run 730's (3 or 4 ) have issue with noise of performance, I find that they handle very well FOR THE MONEY, yes the S02/S03's are a better performaning tire but at nearly twice the price.One other thing.... they really look good on an SC !

[Joeaksa]

Leland,

Had exactly the same situation with the Tire Rack. They found me a single RE-71 not too long ago when Discount Tire could not help. Its on the car now!

Joe

[stuttgart]

Leland,
what are the gains in doing a 964 cam grind? I'm always looking for a little extra go.....

[Leland Pate]

Well gee... suprisingly enough, the advice on the board reminds me of the feedback left of Tirerack aboyut the 730s.
half the people said "nice tire" the other half said "never again".

I'll try to find something else in my price range. I doubt the irerack will be able to find a "pair" of 255s. But, I'll try.

Stuttgart, with higher compression pistons, and a free flowing exhaust (like pre '74 xchangers/ SSIs), the 964 cam grind gives a bit more umph. I can't remember all of the specifics I've been quoted. Try a search on "964 cam".
It costs about $350 to have your cams ground by a place like EBS.