this man speaks the truth
BFG Rival availability
- Thread starter Nuclear
- Start date
this man speaks the truth
Vorshlag-Fair
Official Site Vendor
Yea, free tires are great and all, but often times not always the fastest. Hobaugh switched from BFG (after winning the 2013 Optima Challenge on them) to Falkens because FALKEN SPONSORED HIM. He ran these 615's at the March USCA event, and while he won the autocross (he beat me by .681 sec), he lost the overall event to a BFG Rival clad car: my 3600 pound Mustang.
Arguably he is a better autocrosser than me, and his car has +300 whp and -600 pounds compared to our TT3 Mustang. The biggest difference was: I was on Rivals
Why? Because I knew better, and had I raced on the Falken RT-615 back in 2004-05 in SCCA's STU class. They were TURRIBLE. We switched to Yokohama (AD07) in 2006 and then Bridgestone (RE-01R) in 2007 and were SECONDS faster (and racked up back to back wins and two trophies at SCCA Nationals).
I also ran back-to-back on Falkens and Rivals at NOLA Motorsports Park in an FR500S last year, and the difference was night and day. We also got to drive on the Hankook RS-3 and Toyo R1R that same weekend (my Rival test write-up is here). After driving on the 615K I quickly realized that the "new" Falken is just a remixed compound of the old 2004 tire - and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice.
The supply of BFG Rival tires is ALL sold through TireRack and there are hiccups in supply for certain sizes from time to time. There is ZERO talk about discontinuing any sizes they have released so far, and the 295/35/18 just got SUPER popular late last year and early this year and they ran out. We probably bought a dozen sets in the Spring here at Vorshlag - we were putting them on everything from street cars, autocross cars, track cars and endurance race cars.
The infamous "Poorvette" racing at Daytona with ChumpCar on 295/35/18 BFG Rivals
The 335/30/18 size ran out in February of this year and they didn't get back in stock until LAST WEEK. We ran the March USCA event on smaller 315mm fronts because I could only find one PAIR of 335 tires in the country. Now that this monster size is back in stock I can take 335s at all four corners to the Optima shootout in November. Even though I'm buying every set, I'm going to buy the best 200 treadwear tire there is - the RIVAL.
Cheers,
Last edited:
Boaisy
Dark Knight
Man, that Camaro scoots.
nice write up again Terry.
nice write up again Terry.
Sky Render
Stig's Retarded Cousin
I reeeeeeally want to try out a set of Rivals.
sheizasosay
Alive
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2011
- Posts
- 1,024
- Reaction score
- 4
Yeah me too. That is exactly the tire I was looking at when I went to earlier this year. OUT OF STOCK!!
Boaisy
Dark Knight
So when I saw this thread the other day, I was able to add 295/35-18's to the cart. Now when I go to look for them, it isn't even listed in the BFG Rival Size list. 
Nuclear
Member
I also noticed that the 295/35-18 Rival is not listed on the Tire Rack website anymore. This is not good....
While TireRack may not list them, they are still listed on the BFG site.
Tire Rack is not the only place to get them. It is the only advertised place to get them. My local tire guy is able to get them (and no he did not order them from tire rack)
I have a pair of brand new 315/35ZR20's if anyone is interested. I need to get some pics and make an ad. But thought maybe someone here would need them.
I have a pair of brand new 315/35ZR20's if anyone is interested. I need to get some pics and make an ad. But thought maybe someone here would need them.
Sky Render
Stig's Retarded Cousin
LOL @ 20" BFG Rivals.
SlowJim
Member
Weight, and cost. Most road course guys will go through a set of tires in a couple weekends or less. Whether you want to spend $1260 or $1432 is up to you
Last edited:
Sky Render
Stig's Retarded Cousin
Yeah I know where I am. I raced GT-1 and GTO for a long time. I owned the GT-1 track record at Nelson Ledges for over 2 yrs. I've been around a corner or two in my time.
But these are street cars with all the inherent street car compromises. And 20’s just look good. I realize they are heavier. But 18’s aren’t exactly light either. I’ve been in this game long enough to have been around when the debate was between 15” and 16” wheels.
If you don’t want 20’s, I can understand that. I just threw it out there for someone who might.
But these are street cars with all the inherent street car compromises. And 20’s just look good. I realize they are heavier. But 18’s aren’t exactly light either. I’ve been in this game long enough to have been around when the debate was between 15” and 16” wheels.
If you don’t want 20’s, I can understand that. I just threw it out there for someone who might.
Last edited:
dontlifttoshift
Member
Then where did he get them? My local tire guy moves 1,000s of tires a month and struck out when trying to source the Rivals from anywhere but TireRack.
I dont know. I didnt ask. I went in, told him what I wanted, showed him the tirerack printout and he said he would check to see if he could get them from his normal suppliers. He said he could and they showed up the next day. I said that I thought they were a tirerack only thing and he said that was not completely true. He didn't offer any more info and I didn't press him because his price including mounting, balancing and tax was about $70 less than if I ordered them from tirerack and then paid for him to mount them.
I doubt it. There is always more to big business than most people see.
Similar threads
Support us!
Support Us - Become A Supporting Member Today!
Click Here For Details