Autocross tires - FWD Limited Camber Options

The world was so simple for aspiring autocross enthusiasts; find money to buy RE71Rs. I did that last year albeit used ones on RPF1 wheels. The RE71s were great and I probably put over 100 runs on them while getting reacquainted with autox after a 30 year hiatus.

Fast forward to 2021 and the tires have "improved" from a technical perspective with the RT660 and A052. Each is as good or better than the RE71R.

I'm in a front wheel drive (2018 GTI), nose-heavy car with limited camber and there are a lot of stories about them cracking on the center rib, delaminating, etc.

Options? 

• RT660 since it is cheaper than the A052
• A052 where I'd probably go from 225/40/18s to 225/35/18s to drop some ride height
• RE71s. Tire Rack has stock from 2019 but the cost is getting close to the A052s at this point.
• Something else that is more happy on my car
  • Kumho Ecsta V730 is new and seems to look beefer on the outside rib
  • Just go back to the next rung down in a good 300 UTQG tire?

Curious if anyone else has misgivings about the A052 and RT660 for their FWD autocross car? If so what options are you looking at?

the A052 doesn't tolerate ANY lack of camber, you'll destroy them in 40 runs.

RT660 are you go be the best performance bet, but get a good heat cycle in them before you autocross them for the first time.

the #1 thing you need to be mindful of driving a camber limited FWD car in autocross is scrubbing.

the RE71R put up with it a bit better than other tires..

 

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

the A052 doesn't tolerate ANY lack of camber, you'll destroy them in 40 runs.

RT660 are you go be the best performance bet, but get a good heat cycle in them before you autocross them for the first time. The #1 thing you need to be mindful of driving a camber limited FWD car in autocross is scrubbing. The RE71R put up with it a bit better than other tires..

 

Thanks. The RE71s put up with my driving habits and were low maintenance. Sounds like the RT660 is my best bet. 

The RT660s also can be flipped, unlike the A052s, allowing more use/lower cost. I'm about to  replace my RE-71Rs with the RT660s for my 2016 GTI.

I suggest that you also consider getting light 17 inch wheels and putting on 245/40-17 tires on there.

I happen to know someone selling a set (with RE-71Rs that aren't dead yet) in the Charlotte area because of a switch to a Miata. (Although I just realized that he won't ship them, sorry.)

In reply to LimitedTimeOnly :

The falkens will likely last longer just because of the compound, but A052s are flippable they just might not feel exactly the same running flipped.

In reply to LimitedTimeOnly :

I picked up the RT660s and wow they have a noticeable increase in tread width. These are stacked two deep, and the RE71s are mounted, but the 660s are definitely wider. I knew that from the Tire Rack data but it was still interesting to see how big the difference is in person.

You can't really compare the width of mounted and unmounted tires.

collinskl1 said:

You can't really compare the width of mounted and unmounted tires.

This is true.. but the RT660 run wide..

my buddy bought their 275 17" tires... they might as well say 295 on the side...

David Elfering said:

The world was so simple for aspiring autocross enthusiasts; find money to buy RE71Rs. I did that last year albeit used ones on RPF1 wheels. The RE71s were great and I probably put over 100 runs on them while getting reacquainted with autox after a 30 year hiatus.

Fast forward to 2021 and the tires have "improved" from a technical perspective with the RT660 and A052. Each is as good or better than the RE71R.

I'm in a front wheel drive (2018 GTI), nose-heavy car with limited camber and there are a lot of stories about them cracking on the center rib, delaminating, etc.

Options? 

• RT660 since it is cheaper than the A052
• A052 where I'd probably go from 225/40/18s to 225/35/18s to drop some ride height
• RE71s. Tire Rack has stock from 2019 but the cost is getting close to the A052s at this point.
• Something else that is more happy on my car
  • Kumho Ecsta V730 is new and seems to look beefer on the outside rib
  • Just go back to the next rung down in a good 300 UTQG tire?

Curious if anyone else has misgivings about the A052 and RT660 for their FWD autocross car? If so what options are you looking at?

Caster creates dynamic camber vs static camber.  Make the mods to get as much caster as possible.  I run camber plates sideways for caster but there are other ways to get there.

In reply to collinskl1 :

The RT660s are definitely wider and I had to mount 5mm spacers to avoid rub on the fuel filler neck. But darn the look amazing!

Here is how the alignment is set up. I'm wondering if the rear toe will reduce rotation during lift off during autocross.

A quick post-season follow-up. In short the Falken RT660s were great and I got a LOT of runs on them.

After having them mounted in March I ran them for a full five months of both autocross and daily driving. My daily driving is limited since I work from home, so the entire distance on them was about 3,000 miles.  During 2021 I've attended 8 events, but that includes two with co-drivers, several test & tunes, Starting Line school. I'm estimating the number of runs at about 90. 

Details of my 2021 use

• 2018 GTI, stock aside from a 26mm rear sway bar. Tires mounted on 18x7.5 wheels. Front camber is minimal at -/.7 to -.9. I adjusted the rear for some toe out but since we did it by hand with toe plates I don't know the exact amount. One issue with this car is that it does not have a limited-slip differential and has brake vectoring that cannot be entirely disabled. This results in a LOT of heat in the wheel and probably heat cycles tires more quickly. 
• 8 events, ~90 runs (high average since this includes 3 test & tunes plus Starting Line driving school. 
• Tires rotated after 4 events, then flipped on the wheels in early July.

I feel the tires have dropped off after driving school due to taking constant runs with little to no cool down period between them. They're still "good" but I am wondering if they are heat cycled. My brakes and wheel got really hot during the driving school (people came up saying they could smell my brakes all over the lot). I always spray my tires at autocross events once they have heat in them, but didn't do that at Starting Line school.

I am not too ham-fisted in my driving and am still only a beginner in terms of skill level, so take my observations with a grain of salt.

• The RT660s have more grip than my RE71s did, but I feel that the sidewall isn't as stiff. It isn't a huge difference but one I noticed after swapping them on last March. 
• The rear tires have some howl to them after adjusting the rear for toe out, but I don't mind. I swapped the garbage OEM tires back on this weekend and miss the grip. These definitely change the driving experience in terms of response and less one wheel peel action.
• These tires are quite a bit wider than my RE71s were and if I'm still in a GTI next year I will look at moving to 255/35/18 size. 
• There is enough tread to last the season if I'm able to attend 1-2 more events, though one of the tires has a seam visible across the tread
• 

I'll probably sell my current GTI to get one with the LSD but will likely keep using the RT660s as they served my first full season pretty well. Very good bang for the buck and a lot of fun.