For AX I went with the A052's for cars with camber. The alternative for cars with modest/factory alignments would be the RT660's. The A052's have softer sidewalls so unless you have camber, it wears much much faster and the tire rolls over easier. This is consistent with GRM's findings.
For Track I chose the BFG Rival 1.5's. BFG's don't like the cold so they're not a great AX tire unless it's a warm day, but on track, they're great. They're pricey though and when I had only one set of track tires it didn't matter at much, but now I have 3 so I have to choose my tires with more thought and purpose. Once this set ends I may move to the slower RT660's. They're just too good a value, speaking of which the Kumho V730 is the best value imo.

 

Good point on the camber. You want plenty if running A052s. I know people on camber limited cars that got 2 autox events on a two driver car (so 24 runs) on their front tires. That is a more extreme example, but the A052 hates camber limited cars. But I would only really recommend A052s for autocross or maybe a time attack for the actual competition runs. Otherwise they just wear super fast and cost a lot.

 

i found the a052s actually excellent as a street tire minus the fast wearing part getting to and from events.
they're quiet, decent in rain, and comfortable
but yes to camber, i have powerflex blacks all around and run -3.4 front .3 rear with a 245 on a 9 and ran a 27 psi hot pressure. managed to scrape by about 9 track days on them. with 3 being competitive, 3 less so, and the last 3 even less so requiring warm up laps to bring them in.

 

Oh I think they ride and drive fine on the street. Just wear fast and would rather save that cash for the competitive events. I sometimes would throw on the A052s for the last session of the day at the track just to compare and run on some stickier tires. But yes, I find the A052 a bit nicer to drive on than the RE71r on the street. But, I dont pay too much attention to noise on the road. I drive top down and my car is basically still riding on an STR setup so there are plenty of other harshness and noise related items going on lol

 

i will say though, if you run nankang ar-1's it sounds like you're driving a helicopter. i'd say without earplugs, i can do 1hr max on the road lol

 

Part of the equation is, how do you use your RE71s now? Are you trying to be competitive on a track with a series? Or just want something grippy and fun

 

If your intended us is generally street use and spirited driving - Falken RT660.

If auto-x competition use - Yoko A-052.

If track day time attack (2-3 hotlap) use - Yoko A-052 or Nankang CR-1.

If lapping track days where consistency and heat tolerance is important (Kumho V730). RT-660 is also a good choice, better heat capacity than the A-052, but still gets greasy; however, faster than the v730 initially for a few flying laps.

 

Bingo.

 

A052's are just converting money into speed lol... I do like that my local TT has given the A052 a point penalty as opposed to other 200TW tires in that class. I dont even know how it was given a 200TW rating.

 

Oh those ratings are a joke I think. Remember back when the ST class rule was changed up to 200TW? The RS4 or maybe it was the Dunlops that were hot back then put out a memo that was on TireRack that stated that they retested the tire and it was actually a 200TW! Lol so they literally just changed the stamp in the mold to say 200TW and it was magically SCCA legal again. I think all the manufacturers take some huge liberties with TW testing.