- Subaru BRZ
- 225/45 R17
- 2,325 miles
After 2325 miles and 3 track days on the BFG Rival+ I am so far very happy with their track performance and find them well suited to driving to/from the track. I was looking for a compromise between the extremes of my previous two sets of track tires, the Bridgestone RE-71RS and Hankook RS4, changing from 215/45R17 on 17x7.5 to 225/45R17 on 17x8.0 in the process. The grip level feels similar to the 215 RE-71RS, but with a far more progressive peak and more forgiving oversteer correction. The Rival+ seems to continue to grip at high slip angles far more than other 200TW tires I have driven, but this capability can encourage overdriving and hurt corner exit speed. The steering effort is heavy immediately from center and builds linearly off-center, providing good confidence for trail braking. This steering effort is slightly too heavy for my preference, feeling less agile and eager on turn-in compared to my previous RE-71RS and RS4 tires.
Consistency throughout a 20 minute session is the biggest advantage over the RE-71RS, with my fastest lap typically possible on the 6th or 7th lap of a session. Previously with the 215 RE-71RS only the tire's peak performance was only available in the first 2-3 laps, although the size increase certainly contributes finding such a significant gain in thermal management. The RS4 had even greater consistency, but significantly less grip and poor feedback during the warmup phase. Considering the slower warmup of the RS4, I think the Rival+ is better for maximizing the number of fast laps possible in a 20 minute session. After 3 track days and ~2000 miles of street driving I have lost 1.0 mm of tread depth with rotations between each track day and alignment settings of -2.5 deg front camber/-2.0 deg rear camber. The RE-71RS had worn twice as much by this point. I cannot compare directly to the RS4's as those had lower camber settings, but do not expect the Rival+ to last as long as RS4.
On-road the Rival+ has a very firm ride with good impact damping and minimal boom noise. Noise levels are high and have increased noticeably with wear, but helpfully has not developed a distinct tread tone or cyclic character so far. On-road handling is a strong point with a very stable tracking feel at highway speeds and relatively low sensitivity to road grooves. In wet conditions the firm steering effort provides feels very stable handling and the Rival+ has good hydroplaning resistance at near full tread depth. I have similar confidence on wet roads as I did with the RE-71RS and much more than with the RS4.
From my early impressions the Rival+ is the best fit I have experience so far for my use case: 1 track tire capable of dry or wet laps and suitable driving to/from track days 300+ miles from home. Faster and more civilized than the RS4, more heat tolerant than the RE-71RS, and far better in wet conditions than the V730 is exactly the compromise I need.
