315/30-18 BFG Rival S or Falken RT-615K (autocross & HPDE)?

[fleming23]

I tried to find people who have done back to back comparisons with the two tires in question but I seem to only find articles with the older versions. I know either tire is competitive but there is somewhat of a price difference between the two online.

Tire Rack lists the BFG Rival S at $343.25 per tire
Discount Tire Direct prices the Azenis RT-615K at $399 per tire

That is only a bit over $200 for a set but for those of us who don't have corporate sponsors fighting for space down the side of our car, $200 is gas or hotel money! The point here is that I see the top names in the national autocross arena winning on either tire. Are they really a toss up as far as traction is concerned? I tend to do more full-course HPDE track days than autocross but would like to attend a few more regional autocross events next year if time and money allow. I am not sure if I want to try to do road course events on a 200TW tire and have heard the BFG is not really great once it gets that hot. I haven't seen any news or hints of any updates for the 2016 season so I assume these two tires will still be the top players.

Any opinions or sources would be great!

Thanks!

[rchaskin]

Another source for the Falkens.

http://www.vulcantire.com/tire_detail/azenis_rt615k_t.htm_646
$353 ea

[fleming23]

Thanks, that at least balances the price out a bit but then makes the question as to which to run even more of a toss up.

[rchaskin]

Both are "reputation wise" best you can buy.

I have never tried the Rivals, but i can say that the Falkens are good tires.
Lotso grip and ride good, quiet, and wear good.

I am at the 255 size.

[Bad94]

I run the Falkens, Im very happy with them. I ran 5 auto x events and 3 or 4 track days on a set of Falkens. Some people say the Falkens get greasy when hot, But I run my fastest laps on a road course the last few laps of the sessions.

I want to try a set of Rival S just to see how they are.

[Tomswheels]

Well, Mary made the switch this year from Falken to BFG at the CAM nationals and went from losing to Little Al, to beating Little Al. The Rival S is FAR superior.

[nokones]

I just read somewhere that someone did a tire test between the Falkens and the Rival S. They did the test with the 315 and stated that the Rival S were 1 1/2 second faster than the Falkens on an autocross course. I can't remember the source now. I read this 3-4 days ago and the test was done very recent. I think Falken may have a bigger tire than the 315s now. I heard Hobaugh was on a bigger Falken, not sure if it was a 335, last weekend at the AAS event.

[fleming23]

Thanks for the feedback. I posted this on Corvette forum as well and got the same feedback, the Rival S is a better tire than the Falken, even if just marginally so. Looking around online right now for a deal but it seems Tirerack is about the only place to get them.

[nokones]

I got my Rivals from Phil's Tire Service. They were great to deal with.

[SSLance]

Probably the one downside to choosing a Rival S or even a Bridgestone RE71 is tire life. I can get almost a full year out of a set of Falkens while I've seen others get 3 maybe 4 events out of a set of the Rivals or Stones this season.

Granted, I'm also 1-2 seconds slower on my Falkens on an autocross course...you just have to pick your poison.

[j-rho]

The Rival-S or RE71 should last 100+ autocross runs so long as you've given them a decent alignment and pressures. They are much faster than the Falkens today (maybe .4-.5 per 50 sec), but who knows, Falken could update their tire at any time...

[drktrrs]

For autocross the Rival S is way more competitive over the Falken. Even when cold the S does amazing. Get them properly heat cycled when new and they will have a longer life. They also like to run at a bit of a higher pressure. I normally would run my Rivals at 25 lbs (because it works for me) and when I got the Rival S on Kyle Tucker set them up to 28 lbs for our last goodguys and I shaved half a second for the win on that run. Not discrediting how good the Falkens are though.

[Cobra 498]

Probably the one downside to choosing a Rival S or even a Bridgestone RE71 is tire life. I can get almost a full year out of a set of Falkens while I've seen others get 3 maybe 4 events out of a set of the Rivals or Stones this season.

Granted, I'm also 1-2 seconds slower on my Falkens on an autocross course...you just have to pick your poison.

I would bet that you would get the same life from Rivals or RE71's as you did from Falkens it depends on the vehicles ability to abuse the tires along with driving style. We got nearly identical life cycles from Falkens as Rivals and RE-71's. about 10 events with a two driver car. Most of that was on tire eating concrete too.

[icemanrd19]

Bump

My rear tires are getting low on tread so I might replace them with the Michelin ps2 that I have on the rear. I need to check the date code before I buy them though.

In case they are old what are the new reviews out theremm bfg or the falkens? Price wise they look the same for some 275/35/18 and 315/30/18. Main use is street spirited use with 3 or 4 autocrosser a year so roughly 15 or 20 autocross laps. I like my Michelin super sports on the front but autocross traction is average. Again my focus is quite street tire, 10k plus miles usage, and decently quite