Miata Mailing List: May 1998, Message #84

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At 10:02 +0000 980501, D.  Engelhaupt wrote:

No comment on the U1's and while I did drive a '99 with the OEM Pilot SX's,
it was on a dry track, so I have no idea what they're like in the rain.

>Here's where people start talking about the RE-71s, but
>I heard that once they start to wear a little, they suck in the rain
>from a guy in the local Miata chapter.

I couldn't disagree more. I have something like 12,000 *hard* miles of
mountain commuting (and I'm something of a maniac) and two track events on
my 195/55-14 RE71's. They are still better in the rain than my D60's ever
were. It is true that they were even better when new, but the difference is
small. They don't exhibit any of the low-temperature nastiness I've heard
ascribed to the SP8000's, either. That said, they were useless in even a
light dusting of wet snow. Most California drivers are too, so it wasn't a
big deal. ;)

In fact, they did quite well on the track at Thunderhill in the
post-hailstorm rain, and I wasn't exactly going easy on them.

-Zandr and Starbug, who will continue to run RE71's until the Toyo T1's are
available in a rational 14" size.


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Aleksandr Milewski                                              N6MOD
n6mod@amt.org                               http://www.amt.org/n6mod/
'90 Crystal White "Starbug"         MClub #220, BAMA #733, MCA #66238
Ben Lomond, CA              Editor, BAMA Backroads; Admin, Miatapower