BFG Rival in the rain?

Has anybody had a chance to try out the Rival's in the rain? I've seen some postings speculating that the tread design does not look ideal for standing water, but was curious if anyone with first hand experience could comment. I was thinking of running these as a street tire and autocross on a weekend only car.

Also, from looking at some of the tire specs on Tirerack, it looks like the Rivals run wider than the Star Spec ZII at least according to the tread width measurement. Has anyone seen the two models side by side to verify if the Rival's due in fact run wider for the size?

Thanks, JohnK

the reports from OLOA aren't encouraging ... I've been on the fence as to which of the "new" tires I'd end up with ... good a-x (like the Toyo r1r 195) and good in the rain (for a-x and for TT)

guess I'll wait for the BS RE-11A and more reports from the Z2 folk

With both the clemson hatch and Andy Hollis reporting that they couldn't do any more than 50-55 in a good downpour, I'd say they're pretty horrid rain tires.

with all that dry grip goodness, there had to be a downside somewhere....

I put 140 miles on them in the rain this week, and I'm not dead. 70+ mph highway driving.

If you want sticky + rain, I have never driven better than a Dunlop Star Spec (edit: Z1 version). They are WAY better in the rain than they should be.

Where are you from john and how often does it rain at your events?

If not very often, I would surmise that you should be fine.....just take it easy when it is raining. The others are more likely to be better in the rain though.

Andy told me the ZIIs are better in the rain.

In reply to yamaha: It doesn't rain often enough to be a big concern for the events nearby (CT/NY/NJ) and I was probably more curious how these tires would fair if caught in the rain while on the street.

Thanks again, JohnK

In reply to killeen_john:

They won't be ideal, but as long as you're not driving like a madman in the rain and take caution, you should be just fine. To be honest, even my old Z1's are questionable in heavy rain.

Agreed. The Z1's we had on one of the MINIs would hydroplane at higher hwy speeds after about 5k miles. Still looked good. The g/f always bitched about that, but she was used to the Goodyear F1 GSD3's on her other MINI which are incredible in the rain.

sobe_death wrote: If you want sticky + rain, I have never driven better than a Dunlop Star Spec (edit: Z1 version). They are WAY better in the rain than they should be.

gotta agree there. Even on the lightweight e30 they are actually quite excellent in the rain. Much better than several other "comparable" tires I've owned in recent years (RS2, RE01, RE11 to name a few).

Ian F wrote: Agreed. The Z1's we had on one of the MINIs would hydroplane at higher hwy speeds after about 5k miles. Still looked good. The g/f always bitched about that, but she was used to the Goodyear F1 GSD3's on her other MINI which are incredible in the rain.

I had a set on my redline with 25k miles on them(they looked like groved slicks)......those were really fun in heavy rain.

They really are good tires for autox on a wet course though. I don't expect the zII to be any different.

Update: Drove for ~70 miles following some friends doing 80MPH in heavy rain on a cold morning. Still not dead.

I ran 0/32 RE-11's in the rain for a couple events and downpour street driving and I didn't die. I am sure full tread Rival's will be perfectly fine.

I'm running BFG Comp Sport 2 tires on my E36 M3, and while they won't win any autocross events, they are tremendous in heavy rain---- maybe the best rain tires I've ever used.

Keep in mind these aren't the hot set-up for low lap times, but if you are looking for a great DD tire, I'd give them a look. Nice breakaway characteristics, quiet, comfortable but still with respectable grip.

I was previously running Azenis 615K and while the sidewall was firmer, and they had more dry grip, the BFGs are WAY better for a daily. In comparison the Falken's were downright dangerous in the wet. (at least here in FL where torrential downpours happen nearly daily)

For me survival in the rain does not equal success. The Comp Sport 2 actually makes driving in heavy rain kind of fun. It is also a bunch less stressful.

In reply to Joe Gearin:

I have to second this. The new silica/carbon black mix (the comp2 part) is amazing in the rain. I actually make it a point to take people out in my Miata in the rain just to feel how amazing the tires are. There is a wow factor even above Star Specs.

That said, the wear has been horrible, I'm due for a new set, and my stock NB Miata DD has only seen 12k miles! Stock alignment settings, no track use, no burnouts. I've done a bit of spirited driving in the mountains, but no drift crazyness (stock Miata). They are pretty much silent unless you chirp across road paint or newly sealed pavement.

Warren v wrote: In reply to Joe Gearin: I have to second this. The new silica/carbon black mix (the comp2 part) is amazing in the rain. I actually make it a point to take people out in my Miata in the rain just to feel how amazing the tires are. There is a wow factor even above Star Specs. That said, the wear has been horrible, I'm due for a new set, and my stock NB Miata DD has only seen 12k miles! Stock alignment settings, no track use, no burnouts. I've done a bit of spirited driving in the mountains, but no drift crazyness (stock Miata). They are pretty much silent unless you chirp across road paint or newly sealed pavement.

Wow, good to know about the wear--- I'll keep an eye on that. Mine only have a few thousand on them-- to early to tell.

Joe Gearin wrote:

Warren v wrote: In reply to Joe Gearin: I have to second this. The new silica/carbon black mix (the comp2 part) is amazing in the rain. I actually make it a point to take people out in my Miata in the rain just to feel how amazing the tires are. There is a wow factor even above Star Specs. That said, the wear has been horrible, I'm due for a new set, and my stock NB Miata DD has only seen 12k miles! Stock alignment settings, no track use, no burnouts. I've done a bit of spirited driving in the mountains, but no drift crazyness (stock Miata). They are pretty much silent unless you chirp across road paint or newly sealed pavement.

Wow, good to know about the wear--- I'll keep an eye on that. Mine only have a few thousand on them-- to early to tell.

Indeed. If I had forced induction on my DD, those things would have been gone a while ago. Not enough power stock to break the rear loose in a straight line, not even in the rain.

Bobzilla wrote: I ran 0/32 RE-11's in the rain for a couple events and downpour street driving and I didn't die. I am sure full tread Rival's will be perfectly fine.

the report from OLOA was that in heavy rainstorm during transit on the interstate, the Rivals were undriveable at 65 - 70 mph

In reply to wbjones:

Width and weight affect hydroplaning a lot. A Miata on 245s will hydroplane much faster than an SUV on (relatively) skinny tires. What were they driving?

In reply to Warren v:

Clemson Hatch is a 92-96 Civic with a turbo K-swap. One Lap CRX is a naturally aspirated K-swap. Both on 225./45-15 Rivals on 9" rims.

Heavy water is not the RIval's forte and yes, we were hydroplaning a bunch as we were driving straight south through a huge squall line. Four hours of that was not fun.

That said, prior to One Lap I took the car out during a light rain and the grip was quite good in spots where the surface was merely wet. So the compound is good (probably similar to Comp 2). The tread design simply cannot evacuate enough water at higher speeds and deeper puddles.

Note also that the new ZII has less void than the Z1, so it may also have some issues in deep water compared to the earlier version.

The RE-11A has really good channeling and is merely a compound upgrade on the RE-11, which was good in the rain. We have recently completed both track and autocross testing on all of these. W/o spoiling everything, I can easily recommend the RE-11A as the tire of choice for dual-purpose daily driving, while still delivering quick times on both the track and autocross course. It is not the fastest at the latter, but it is easily in the mix. And it has better street manners than any of the others.

sounds like I've found my answer for a track rain tire (RE11a come in a 195/15) so the "narrowness" of the tire should be a help also

In interviews from the 24h of Nürburgring, I heard that the drivers who ran The Dunlop ZII in the rain were 30-40 seconds faster per lap than their competitors but I'm not sure what the competition was running.

Sometimes, if we are going to get a substantial amount of rain, I will bump up the tire pressures to help prevent hydroplanning.