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REVIEW: Federal 595 RS-R 215/40/17 tires, 10,000 miles later

jeff

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#1
Hey folks,

It's been over a year now and 10,000 miles on these tires. Someone asked me to do a review so here it is.

A few specs:
* note these are +1 size width
* ~$384 for a set of 4, shipped
* 22.49 lbs each which is heavy (stock RE050As are 19.0 lbs each)
* sidewall is 86mm (stock RE050As are 82mm)
* tread width is 7.5" (stock are 7.6") - actual contact pad measurement
* section width is 8.7" (stock are 8.4") - thickest part of the tire measurement at center of sidewall

I learned a few things about tires from Rick aka [MENTION=636]RAAMaudio[/MENTION] which were very helpful, mainly concerning the measurements above. Just because a tire is this size or that size doesn't necessarily mean it's smaller or bigger or wider. As you see above even though my tires are +1 width, the stock tires actually have a wider contact patch. Who would have thought. Anyhow that's interesting to know when shopping tires.

Ultimately I went with these because I heard they were super grippy and I wanted something that offered better traction with my turbo upgrade about a year ago. And they were cheap. I rolled the dice and decided to give these a shot, if they weren't any good it wasn't too much of a loss. I've been quite happy with their performance both new and now one year and about 10,000 miles later.

From what I've read these are widely used as track tires and perform superbly. I use them as a daily all season tire though, no tracking and only moderate crazy cornering on city roads which may be why they've held up so well (see below).

Thoughts:

DRY PERFORMANCE/TRACTION
Here these tires shine...I was spinning in 1st and 2nd on 93 octane with the X47 on the stockers (keep in mind though they did have 20,000 miles)...once I installed the Federals I gained instant traction. Depending on the road and weather, sometimes complete traction. I was pleasantly surprised and it really allowed me to enjoy the turbo upgrade all the more as the stock tires were spinning like crazy. With a higher octane tune they do lose grip though. But these tires are so sticky, they grab and toss rocks like no other. Look at the pics below, they pick up everything even a year later. When new they even wicked pieces of tire onto my mudflaps, I'd have to peel chunks off. That's how sticky these are. But as I said traction is outstanding and they offer a good bit of grip. To be fair, any new tires probably feel amazing after riding on a set of old worn out ones.

WET PERFORMANCE
No issues here, and it's been a wet year in Georgia. I've never had a problem. Interesting to note is that if you look at the Federal website these DO have a wet traction rating whereas the RS-RRs do not. Something to consider if you plan on using an high performance summer tire as an all season. Weather doesn't get cold here so it works for me even in the 30 degree winter.

SNOW PERFORMANCE
I can't comment, it rarely snows where I live.

NOISE
They are noticeably more noisy that the stockers but it's not a big deal, after a few weeks I forgot about it.

COMFORT
I have so many suspension mods I can't comment too much on this but I will say they are no less comfortable than the OEM Bridgestones.

TREADWEAR
This is the area I was concerned about since they have no treadwear rating. For reference my stock Bridgestones were nearly dead at 22,000 miles of normal daily driving use. These tires are 10,000 miles in and they have quite a bit of life left. See the pics at the bottom. I have no doubt they'll last 1-2 more years or more. Very nice!

OVERALL
Overall I am quite happy and highly recommend these even as an all-season so long as you don't live in colder temps and/or where it snows regularly. I didn't mention this before but they also look awesome, especially the tread pattern. My little girl calls them "sport tires" because the tread design is so crazy and different from normal tires. Interestingly I cannot get any tire shine product to stick to these; once applied the shine vanishes within a few minutes. No big deal but interesting, I've never had that issue and I'm a fan of tire shine.

[coolsmile]

Thanks for reading!!!

Pics when new:



Pics after 10,000 miles:

 


TyphoonFiST

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Rich-fizzield
#2
Hey folks,

It's been over a year now and 10,000 miles on these tires. Someone asked me to do a review so here it is.

A few specs:
* note these are +1 size width
* ~$384 for a set of 4, shipped
* 22.49 lbs each which is heavy (stock RE050As are 19.0 lbs each)
* sidewall is 86mm (stock RE050As are 82mm)
* tread width is 7.5" (stock are 7.6") - actual contact pad measurement
* section width is 8.7" (stock are 8.4") - thickest part of the tire measurement at center of sidewall

I learned a few things about tires from Rick aka [MENTION=636]RAAMaudio[/MENTION] which were very helpful, mainly concerning the measurements above. Just because a tire is this size or that size doesn't necessarily mean it's smaller or bigger or wider. As you see above even though my tires are +1 width, the stock tires actually have a wider contact patch. Who would have thought. Anyhow that's interesting to know when shopping tires.

Ultimately I went with these because I heard they were super grippy and I wanted something that offered better traction with my turbo upgrade about a year ago. And they were cheap. I rolled the dice and decided to give these a shot, if they weren't any good it wasn't too much of a loss. I've been quite happy with their performance both new and now one year and about 10,000 miles later.

From what I've read these are widely used as track tires and perform superbly. I use them as a daily all season tire though, no tracking and only moderate crazy cornering on city roads which may be why they've held up so well (see below).

Thoughts:

DRY PERFORMANCE/TRACTION
Here these tires shine...I was spinning in 1st and 2nd on 93 octane with the X47 on the stockers (keep in mind though they did have 20,000 miles)...once I installed the Federals I gained instant traction. Depending on the road and weather, sometimes complete traction. I was pleasantly surprised and it really allowed me to enjoy the turbo upgrade all the more as the stock tires were spinning like crazy. With a higher octane tune they do lose grip though. But these tires are so sticky, they grab and toss rocks like no other. Look at the pics below, they pick up everything even a year later. When new they even wicked pieces of tire onto my mudflaps, I'd have to peel chunks off. That's how sticky these are. But as I said traction is outstanding and they offer a good bit of grip. To be fair, any new tires probably feel amazing after riding on a set of old worn out ones.

WET PERFORMANCE
No issues here, and it's been a wet year in Georgia. I've never had a problem. Interesting to note is that if you look at the Federal website these DO have a wet traction rating whereas the RS-RRs do not. Something to consider if you plan on using an high performance summer tire as an all season. Weather doesn't get cold here so it works for me even in the 30 degree winter.

SNOW PERFORMANCE
I can't comment, it rarely snows where I live.

NOISE
They are noticeably more noisy that the stockers but it's not a big deal, after a few weeks I forgot about it.

COMFORT
I have so many suspension mods I can't comment too much on this but I will say they are no less comfortable than the OEM Bridgestones.

TREADWEAR
This is the area I was concerned about since they have no treadwear rating. For reference my stock Bridgestones were nearly dead at 22,000 miles of normal daily driving use. These tires are 10,000 miles in and they have quite a bit of life left. See the pics at the bottom. I have no doubt they'll last 1-2 more years or more. Very nice!

OVERALL
Overall I am quite happy and highly recommend these even as an all-season so long as you don't live in colder temps and/or where it snows regularly. I didn't mention this before but they also look awesome, especially the tread pattern. My little girl calls them "sport tires" because the tread design is so crazy and different from normal tires. Interestingly I cannot get any tire shine product to stick to these; once applied the shine vanishes within a few minutes. No big deal but interesting, I've never had that issue and I'm a fan of tire shine.

[coolsmile]

Thanks for reading!!!

Pics when new:



Pics after 10,000 miles:

Can I buy your stock wheels Jeff?


Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk
 


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#3
Another +1 for the Federal 595 RSR tire. I have them on my 16in Sparco wheels and really like them. In my experience though, they are terrible in active rain/standing water on the ground. After rains or just wet road is fine. But when on the highway and you have to go into a tropical thunderstorm (South Florida) you must go into granny mode. I have hydro planed albeit slightly and never complete loss of traction, but enough to make you slow the fuck down.

I had one set develop some bad dry rot in between the tread grooves, but the car at the time sat out in freezing temps for months (at DHM right before they went tits up) which I believe caused them to dry rot to fast.
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #4
Can I buy your stock wheels Jeff?
Those wheels were well loved you take care of them bro.

Another +1 for the Federal 595 RSR tire. I have them on my 16in Sparco wheels and really like them. In my experience though, they are terrible in active rain/standing water on the ground. After rains or just wet road is fine. But when on the highway and you have to go into a tropical thunderstorm (South Florida) you must go into granny mode. I have hydro planed albeit slightly and never complete loss of traction, but enough to make you slow the fuck down.

I had one set develop some bad dry rot in between the tread grooves, but the car at the time sat out in freezing temps for months (at DHM right before they went tits up) which I believe caused them to dry rot to fast.
Good thoughts man....how long have yours lasted???
 


Dpro

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#5
Another +1 for the Federal 595 RSR tire. I have them on my 16in Sparco wheels and really like them. In my experience though, they are terrible in active rain/standing water on the ground. After rains or just wet road is fine. But when on the highway and you have to go into a tropical thunderstorm (South Florida) you must go into granny mode. I have hydro planed albeit slightly and never complete loss of traction, but enough to make you slow the fuck down.

I had one set develop some bad dry rot in between the tread grooves, but the car at the time sat out in freezing temps for months (at DHM right before they went tits up) which I believe caused them to dry rot to fast.
Lots of people in Cali have run these in the 240sx community and the general consensus was good in dry crap in wet. On the other hand Feddys performance all season tire the 595 EVO is considered a great performer. I ran them on of my M3ā€™s and was not dissapointed. On my current M3 I am running Hankook Ventus v12 evo k110 and those are sticky as hell and quite but they do not last long lol.

Anyways my experience with Feddys was while the stuck well and were oversized they developed sidewall bubbles over time. Not sire I would buy another set because of that.
 


Jerickson88

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#6
Iā€™m on Federa Formoza FD2, 215/40-17. To me even that was an improvement over the stock Bridgies. I was under $300 mounted and balanced. They are quieter than stock but they are also an all season. Little more squirm in a corner, which I guess is due to the intricate tread pattern, and small tread blocks. Rarely snows here either, but I hope we get a little so I can at least attest to their capability. We have a trip or two planned this winter so we will really get a good feel. Iā€™m 6k in and have ZERO regrets.
 


TDavis

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#7
Curious on more opinions on the Federal RSRRs too but from what I hear they're good. I want either those or the RSRs.

BTW the treadwear should be 140 for the RSRs
 


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#8
Has anyone tried RSR's and Hankook Ventus RS4's? I'm thinking of going with the RS4's next summer but I would go for Federals if they are comparable. I have a hard time thinking they would be comparable just based on the price difference but the treadwear is similar so they may be.
 


M-Sport fan

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#9
Curious on more opinions on the Federal RSRRs too but from what I hear they're good. I want either those or the RSRs.

BTW the treadwear should be 140 for the RSRs
I have the RS-RRs on my summer 17x8 1.2s in a 215/40-17.
Singing like a canary at anything above 35 MPH, and not being good for DEEP standing water on the roads are their ONLY disadvantages/drawbacks.

I have not had them on a track yet, so cannot comment on that use.
 


green_henry

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#10
Has anyone tried RSR's and Hankook Ventus RS4's? I'm thinking of going with the RS4's next summer but I would go for Federals if they are comparable. I have a hard time thinking they would be comparable just based on the price difference but the treadwear is similar so they may be.
I had RS3s on my previous car and they were fantastic, particularly on the track at high temperatures; I plan to get RS4s for the FiST for next track season. I'm not sure they do as well in cooler temps, so if you're in NH, they may not be ideal. I'd like to hear how the RSRs hold up to the heat -- do they get greasy?
 


alexrex20

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#11
Thanks for the review jeff. I look forward to your reviews because you're always objective and very detailed.
 


TDavis

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#12
I have the RS-RRs on my summer 17x8 1.2s in a 215/40-17.
Singing like a canary at anything above 35 MPH, and not being good for DEEP standing water on the roads are their ONLY disadvantages/drawbacks.

I have not had them on a track yet, so cannot comment on that use.
Got a picture on how the 215 RS-RR fit on a 17x8? I heard Federals run wide
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #13
Got a picture on how the 215 RS-RR fit on a 17x8? I heard Federals run wide
I've seen the RS-RRs on a 17x8, they are a bit more squared than the RS-R on a 17x8 rim, just a bit.

For reference:

RS-R in 215/40/17 size
Section width = 222mm
Tread width = 190mm

vs.

RS-RR in 215/40/17 size
Section width = 216mm
Tread width = 196mm

As you see in the data above, the RS-RR is a bit more square - it loses some section width but gains some tread width (contact patch).

Find it all here, click the tire you want and then click the download global market to the right:

https://www.federaltire.com/en/products.php?class=UHP
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #14
Made a vid upon request:

[video=youtube;jCLWdZp51pg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCLWdZp51pg&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 


Clint Beastwood

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