The reasons I opted to upsize an inch up on the Pocong is merely trying to get more steering sharpness and a kind of retaliation for Federal RSR 205/45/16 prices that soared from RM350 all the way to RM440 per piece. And having Ah Tee of HupShun Sunway played his party peace of manhandling the calculator played significant role too.
The plan to save tyre replacement expenses on short and long term is going well too when he offered me grippy and ‘potong air’ Bridgestone Potenza RE001 Adrenalin 205/40/17 at RM380 per piece. But 205/40/17 is a tad too narrow for my liking and that have got me insisted on 215/40/17 and boy oh boy the price of that size from the same brand and type is almost RM100 dearer per piece due to the fact that it’s made in Japan and kind of odd size too. Having a long day from attending a long boring meeting between different government agencies and prepping up for conference made me kept my eyes closed and let the magic card to its work.
The end result of this so called engineering enhancement has become a little bit of nuisance I must admit. Even though the SA70 is a lot lighter than BBS buttercups, because of higher rotational mass, I felt somewhere between 5-10% laziness of getting more GGGG from acceleration and it rides 100% a lot firmer than what some Fiesta owners complaining of a harsh ride from their ride. That’s not all, the RE001 Adrenalin has a wee bit softly sprung sidewalls and that’s NOT GOOD AT ALL!
Having finished up done a presentation to GIS professionals and academicians in the user conference held last week, I’ve decided to do shakedown test on how this new setup would be doing using our very own ‘Nordschleife’ – Batu Caves - Ulu Yam – Batang Kali - Genting route today! But before starting to gunning it out, a quick stop to Shell to dial 36psi front & 34psi rear and I accidentally pour in Shell V-Power Racing retailing RM2.70!
Just after turning right towards Jalan Sungai Tua, I gave the Pocong a quick spanking, flat 2nd and 3rd averaging 100-120kmh left-right-left uphill turns and immediately I feels the grip traction is a wee bit nervous and greasy on turn in. Then after passing rest area on my left doing circa 140ish downshift from 5th to 3rd immediately the car went being nervous again this time the rear end getting a wee bit too naughty then only start grip around 70-80 through tight sequence of turns. I’m not sure whether 36/34 psi combination a bit too much for the tyres or the moulding compound still yet to torn out from this donuts.
On the bright side, the steering on the other hands feels almost as good as Federal 595 RSR with lesser flexing throughout the turn. Getting on song with the uphill long sweepers at high speed is surprisingly easy and stable but I must admit a bit bouncy and droningly noisy on uneven surface. There’s also not so noticeable difference in terms of GGG running 17” which is about 2.5% bigger overall diameter radius than stock but the Pocong will get lazy on lower speeds because of the bigger mass inertia.
Upon reaching Batang Kali and line up Pocong for uphill tight twisties, again the turn-in feels nervous then only starting to provide good grip throughout the turns. Not as brilliant as RSR but good nevertheless. And because of an inch up on the rims, the mid corner grip is very good. Just like the MCS, I can almost mesh the throttle out of the corner. Great! And reaching the multiple speed bumps, the car doesn’t need to crawl like turtle to avoid getting bottom up.
That is about some comments I've so far on the tyres on fast road driving but I will try further pushing it once I found the right balance. I’m pretty content with this RE001 but it’s not the sort of tyres that can be in the same league as RSR, AD08 in the enthusiasts/track ready level. Having said that, I’m thinking it would last longer and a bit more friendly when going through standing water on the roads. On another note, I need more power... time to start thinking on new intake, exhaust, fmic and perhaps Shrick cams. As for my tyre preference?? Still RSR!! No question about it!
RM2.70/litre...sekali sekala tak apa la
I would be more pressing you harder on you next time!
Eh.. Where did u find V-Power Racing? I could only find RON97 V-Power which retails at RM2.50...
ReplyDeleteBro, you double Shell stations just before entrance to Lbr Karak from MRR2 (Batu Caves bound)? That's the one
ReplyDeleteWah jauhnye just to get a fix of V-Power Racing..
ReplyDeleteBut good location though before a burst of wangan or touge sessions.. Lol
Bro,
ReplyDeleteHave u tried Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics? How would the RE001 compare?
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteGoodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics don't have for my size otherwise is the better choice as it competes with RE050A/RE050 and S001 which is a step above RE001. RE001 sidewall is too soft, if I recall correctly softer than Azenis ST115 and MXF.
Thanks for the feedback. Am considering F1 Assys from my new wheels which will be 215-45 17". Was originally thinking of the Federal 595RSR but its outta my budget now :(
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteGo for RSR if you can because from what i notice is that the surface footprint is about 10mm more so in your case 215/45/17, the footprint should be around 225
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ReplyDeleteDaus,
ReplyDeleteRE001's sidewall is harder than ST115.. is just that the profile is a bit 'roundish', compared to other performance tires which are 'squarish' in shape.. hence it gives you the naughty feeling during turns. but i'm sure you agree that the RE00001 gives you a sharp steering feedback :P
Arrrghhh... Poison! Heeelllppp!
ReplyDeletenice review....the rsr has gained a lot of popularity and i guess the reason the prices have gone up so much.
ReplyDeletehave you got any feedback on toyo r1r? they also have the 205/45/16 tyres in their range...
Are Hankook Ventus RS3s avail here? I think the 595 RSRs have really balooned in pricing too much since the popularity. Looking for something lighter on the wallet to lessen the big hit from my new wheels.
ReplyDeleteImran,
ReplyDeleteI still think RE001's sidewall is softer than ST115 as I'm running on 35 front and 33 rear psi. But the higher the psi, the higher the nervousness...
Mugil,
Haven't got a chance to try out Toyo R1R and don't think it's available in here as people are mostly ushering us for T1R which is not good also. You can try to wait for S001 or RE11 if got size but then again these two are unexpectedly more expensive.
Andrew,
Not sure about this as well but you can have a look at Kumho KU36 and through the grapevines GT Radial is coming out with almost semi-slick tyres in here. Should be at good price I guess.
Yep, am also checking out the Ecsta XS. Heard the wet weather ride and handling is diabolical though.
ReplyDelete