civexspeedy

As most already know, the big tire companies are coming out with their new tires. Dunlop ZII, Bridgestone RE-11a, word of a new Toyo, and now BFGoodrich is stepping into the ring with their new Rival.

Word on the street(aka Facebook) is that this new BFG Rival has tested extremely well. Seems like BFG has taken a number of the top level drivers to test their new tires against a couple of the other big shots out there. Andy, Jr, Ian, Shelly, and I don't know who else have been out in NOLA testing the BFG's and have been posting about their tests on Facebook. They all seem to have similar impressions which all have been good so far.

Here is the BFG Rival


I just noticed TireRack has just offered these tires to order on their website. I know people will be grabbing these asap to test out before the season really kicks off.

Here is what Mike "Jr" Johnson had to say about the new BFG Rival after testing.

"OK, I've got a little bit of time before I jump on the plane and head back home. My first disclaimer is that I have zero dog in the "road tire" fight, as I'm an R-comp fan, and currently have no bias towards any brand of "road tires."

Test One Low Speed Auto-X - Cars Stock STI's - Tires BFG Rival, Hankook, and Toyo.

First impression of the Rival, was turn in like a R-Comp with a comfort zone to match. The tire gave great feel, and enough audible feedback to know exactly what you, or it needed at all times. For those that may tend to over drive, the tire will allow you to get away with more than the other tires within the test for sure.

Impression of the Hankook was much more squirmy at the limit, as well as a slow turn in. It was surely better than the Toyo, but gave nothing close to the feel of the Rival.

Impression of the Toyo, was similar to that of the Hankook, but with much more roll to it. In short, the competitors tires just feel sloppy.

Test Two Skid Pad Comparing the three BFG Tires - Cars MX-5 Cup Cars - BFG Comp 2, BFG Rival, and BFG R1-S.

Comp 2 average Lat g's were approx .95. The tires felt pretty good, but had a harder fall of once over the limit. Meaning that the driver would need to be very careful to not go "over" the edge.

Rival average Lateral g's were right around 1.0, and the tire had a very large comfort zone, with the ability to stay at, near or over the limit without huge penalty. This to me is a great advantage in a sport where .001's of a second are the difference between winning and losing.

R1S average Lat g's 1.2, and the tire felt very good at the limit, and much like the Rival, had a fairly large happy zone. Keep in mind I have more testing in the Corvette on this same tire, and the Miata has a much larger margin of error than the Corvette does just based on the lack of horsepower the MX-5 has.

Overall thoughts on this test - Rival and R1S are very similar in feel and have a great comfort zone. What I want in a performance tire!

High Speed AutoX - Cars E46 M3's - Tires BFG Rival and Hankook.

Once again the Rival gave incredible feedback just as I would expect from a R-Comp. It put power down very well, as well as gave great feel during braking. The tire also transitioned quite well in the higher speed off-sets.

The Hankooks once again felt squirmy to me, and were absolutely horrible in the off-sets. With Autocrossing being so transition intensive, there is no question in my mind which tire I would use for the RT or ST categories.

Track Test - Cars Mustang FR500's - Tires BFG Rival and Falken

First two laps on the BFG, once again I was so impressed with the handling characteristics of this tire. Braking was great, turn-in was great, power off was great, and steady state was so easy to maintain.

Second two laps on the Falken. First corner it was so obvious that I was not going to get the same results. As we entered turn one the braking was nowhere near as stable, and at turn in, where I like to use the curbs, the Falken was NOT happy at all. Honestly the tires felt like the they were over heated from lap one.

Got to jump plane now, but more when I get to my connector. For now, in short RIVAL IS CONFIDENCE INSPIRING!! A Winner!!! I'm out..."

Jr did not mention how they stacked up against the Dunlop ZII's, but, others like Andy Hollis have hinted towards the Rival's being good bit better than the ZII's already.


Don't think anyone has tested the 15" sizes. Sooo I'm still up in the air as to where that leave me going with my STC Civic. I wonder what Toyo will have next.

Thoughts?

Jackson

The Rival certainly has a great selection of sizes. Any idea what the treadwear rating is?

civexspeedy

Tread wear is 200 I believe.

civexspeedy

Here is Strano's take on them

"Ok, my take on the BFG G-force Rival tire event, and compared to the other tires and on other cars. Remember this is subjective, and many factors come into play when it comes into things people like and don't like. Driving style, car types, stability controls, etc, etc, etc.

First, it was a first class event. Very well run, super nice folks. And it was greatly appreciated that we weren't told to drive the car to any less hard than we felt was right.

We started with the Mustangs on the road course. This was clearly a better tire than the Falken RT-615K, not that I'm surprised by that. Better at.... well, everything. More stable, more grip, better under braking and power down.

Then moved to the "big" autocross and the E46 M3's. This was vs. Hankook R-S3's which I own a set of for my FR-S. Overall as a pacakge, I give the nod to BFG here. It has more power down than the R-S3 on that car, but it wasn't like they sucked. Braking I found to be about the same. Never blew a zone in either, and was running as hard as I could. Now, to be honest I could point the car better with Hankooks and use the throttle to better point the car. This is my hardcore competitor coming out, and I'm also going to say that getting is right is not as easy as it is on the BFG either. So it depends on your motivation for buying tires, AND how you drive. M3's are more similar to what I drive with some power and RWD. Without times to compare directly it's hard to say which was faster. That said, I know that myself and another 4 time Champion felt the R-S3 might have been every so slightly better.. but again without times.....I think for most folks, the BFG is the easier tire to drive quickly with a bit bigger sweet spot and it more forgiving. Add colder and/or damper conditions and I think the BFG is better for a lot of folks.

Skidpad... eh, is anyone shocked the R1-S is the stickiest? But hey it's a skidpad that was off camber both ways. So...

STi's 'small autocross': Forget the Toyo, I think most of us with knowledge of Solo knew what would happen with a bigger front heavy, more than a little front wheel drive car on full tread R1R's. So, yeah. Also not sure if it was an oversight or not, but the stability control was full on in those cars (full off in the M3's). Maybe there was some confusion about the Intelligent, Sport, Sport Plus **** doing things with stability, but it doesn't turn it off. Consequently, anytime we got near the limit and the car was wiggling, the fun ended. So it's hard to get a true read of what's what on that car between the R-S3 and the Rival. But, overall I find the dry speed to be very slightly better for how I drive, but who knows what, if anything might have been different had the stability control been off.

To summarize: I think the tire is really cool addition to the RT/ST ranks. It certainly wears amazingly well. I feel it's a more capable all around tire than the R-S3 (which IMHO was the main competitor there for my world). I think the BFG trades a touch of speed for a bigger sweet spot. Faster tires do tend to be more edgy. The Rival is probably the least edgy tire I'd actually be happy to own. Once again, I don't run these tires. I don't own a car these tires fit (well I do, and I might well buy a set of these as think they are a perfect summer tire for how I drive my FR-S and for how I like to drive). Is it better than the other RT/ST tires? Hard to say, there were not times, all the other competitors weren't there (not realistic after all) and no cars setup for actual competition except the Mustangs kind of .... but they typically run R1-S's and a 245 on a 9.5" wheel isn't typical of what an autocrosser would run anyway.

I can say this. BFG certainly put a lot of work in. I certainly appreciate the opportunity to join in and experience the newest in the trick street tires (make no mistake any tire molded at 7/32" is not a general use street tire for the average bear). I'm glad BFG is coming back. I'm glad "one of us", an autocrosser, is involved.

And what I REALLY think? You guys running street tires now have even more testing to do. Sorry, if it sucked I'd say so. If I thought it was way faster, I'd say so. I think it's a great new competitor to the market, as the ZII likely will be, and the upcoming RE-11A's too.

Once again, props to Peter Calhoun, and BFG for stepping up. Considering this is their first go around after a long time away, seriously anyway, from Solo it's a great opening salvo."

nsxforme

Andy Hollis didn't just hint it. He's outright saying the g-Force Rivals are 1 second quicker than the ZIIs around NOLA. That's pretty significant considering who's saying it!! http://www.onehotlap.com/2013/01/bfg...-thickens.html

civexspeedy

My concern right now is how these, in their 15" sizes, stack up against the R1R's. It seems like these Rivals may fair better with the slightly heavier cars which may mean the R1R's might keep their edge with the lightweights. Really wish they could have tested on some smaller cars. Either way, I think it's safe to say the R1R's will still be a better rain tire just by looking at the tread pattern on these Rivals.

nsxforme

Agree. The Direzza II will probably be the best rain tire of the bunch, though. The ZI already had great rain reputation and the ZII has vertical channels that should be able to evacuate water even better.

FlewByU352

RE-11's doe... I seriously hate owning 16's because you get boned on tire choice and size. 17's offer awesome tires but 17x9's don't fit that well on pre 2002 FWD Honda's. 15x8's are a nice choice but severely limits brake size and the idea of large sidewalls makes me eh.