Any opinions on StarSpec vs. Nitto NT05 vs. Hankook R-S3?

[D. Hitchcock]

I have a set of the Dunlops in 195-14 for my street tires, and I've used them in the wet to autoX once or twice.

The Star specs are great. No vibration, balancing issues or road noise problems. I've had them on the car for five months or there abouts.

Meanwhile, I have the R-S3s in 225-45/15s for my dedicated autoX tires. They do very well when hot. I've run them in the rain and they seemed pretty damn good in the wet, although the Star Specs are much grippier in the rain.

If Dunlop made a 225-45/15 I'd probably go with it.

If Bridgestone made a 225-45/15 in the RE-11, I'd be all over that.

If ANYBODY made a decent 235-40/15 for street touring, I'd be in freakin' heaven.

d.hitchcock

[osuti]

d. Hitch,

Have you looked into fitting the 245/35/17 Toyo R1R?

It's nice and short, but maybe too wide for your STX limited fenders?

[POPS M3]

Just bought a set of SS for rain tries at HPDEs. Last weekend decided to run a few sessions in the dry at Mid-Ohio. Very good grip for about 10-15 minutes then got a little hot and lost a fair amount of grip. They were predictable throughout the sessions.

Ken

[Zesty Bonanza]

I can't give feedback for StarSpec or Hankook R-S3, but I can for Nitto NT05. On my heavy car (e46 M3 with VF stage 2 and no weight loss mods or carbon fiber), I went through 6 track days with the NT05 and -3.5 camber all around. 275/35/18 front and 285/35/18 rear. The wear was mostly in the center. The outer edge still had 4/32" or 5/32" left when the front tire center rib was a gradual grind from 0 to 1/32"; the outside part of the center rib was 0 and the inner would be 1/32". The inner part of the tire was still 3/32" or 4/32" (I forgot and will have to measure it again). I drove mostly in the dry. When the tires were new it handled OK in the wet; when worn (after 5 track sessions) they were horrible in the wet such that sprinkler runaway/puddles on a 55mph slight turn would make the car slip a lot. The NT05 are cheaper than the SS and VS3 so I will buy them again, except next time I'm getting 275/35/18 all around and then putting less camber in the rear. I drive on the street once or twice a week with this car; sometimes I swap with two or four rear OEM wheels and tires when I'm not tracking. For daily driving, I run a little higher PSI to get better mileage; I may have been running over inflated on the street. On the track I was running about 33 PSI semi-cold and no more than 40PSI hot, at which point the tire would be a little slippy.

On Willow Springs Raceway (the big track), the tires took about two laps to warm up to optimum temperature; after about 15 minutes of driving, the tires would get too hot; my best lap time would be the 3rd, 4th, or 5th lap (with the warmup lap counting as #1). In the 6th lap the tires would not be as grippy and it would take two laps to cool down so I could drive another 2 or 3 hot laps.

[nondescript]

When running street tires, I've run star specs. With that said, I would run the RS-3's... I had a student in a camaro on them and could NOT believe the lateral grip they produced. I'm a believer, run the kooks...

[bmwretard]

RS-3 is significantly faster than AD08, SS, and NT05. RS-3 is *almost* an R-comp in terms of lap time when new.

I've tracked all 4 on heavy BMWs. In terms of outright lap time, RS-3 is the easy winner. SS seems to last the best, but RS3/NT05/AD08 are not horrible.

Overall I would say RS-3 > AD08 > SS > NT05.

[Jason5driver]

Good thread!
I was looking for a good daily street tire, that could also be used for some auto-cross events...
I have been looking at the new Michelin Super Sports, and possibly the new Continental DW summer tires...
I thought maybe the Dunlop Star Specs might be another good option, but I have heard their grip dies at 50% tread remaining...

[CABimmer]

ordered a set of RS3s for my drive to the track tires. TR is on backorder. 255s

[murph1379]

heh, 255/17 RS3s are what most STX and STR SCCA Autocross cars run, I'd recommend trying another size if you're set on RS3s, or go with star specs. The 255 RS3 will be on backorder all year.

[BJO]

RS3's probably gonna be in high demand since Grassroots Motorsports just had them as the top tire vs AD08's, Z1's, R1R, and RE11 in their latest issue.

[jph28]

I've run two sets of SS (265/35-18) and now a set of NT05 (275/35-18) on my full weight E46 M3. I agree that the SS have a stiffer sidewall, I think the NT05 are slightly more vague on-center, but nothing "bad".

I'm almost positive the SS will last longer, so the true total cost over time may be a wash between the two. I do think the NT05 handle extended run sessions better, although when working at either tire's "best", the SS is probably slightly faster.

I may snag some pics of the NT05s after going through their 5th and 6th days this weekend at VIR - they definitely appear to wear faster than the Dunlops. That said, most of my SS experience was on stock suspension (now on 4100s) and I am beating on the tires more now that I was then (~2:16 on Full, ~1:48 at North).

FWIW, if I buy another set of street tires for track use it will probably be RS-3 or Kumho XS.

[aus]

RS3's probably gonna be in high demand since Grassroots Motorsports just had them as the top tire vs AD08's, Z1's, R1R, and RE11 in their latest issue.

Thanks for the heads up.

It looks like they used a Honda Civic in 2009. http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/art...-tires-part-1/

What care did they use this time?

.

[BJO]

Thanks for the heads up.

It looks like they used a Honda Civic in 2009. http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/art...-tires-part-1/

What care did they use this time?

.

It was their late model miata with 17" wheels.

[jo3y]

Considering they are for an HPDE, you really should go with the longest wearing tire as they all have comparable performance. The Star Specs and RS-3s are on par with one anther for overall grip. The Dunlops will last FOREVER (we have had them on a car for well over 300 autocross runs and they still have life in them and a little tread). The Hankooks will not last as long and aren't as heat resistant as most people think. Two weeks ago we had a hella hot day here in Atlanta and the Hankooks were going off as much as any other tire when heated up. Kumho XSes will handle heat a lot better, IMHO (though the SUCK in the cold and especially the wet). The Nittos, from what I hear, handle heat well and as a 200 treadwear tire, they will probably last the longest. Since you're not "competing" and you're not looking for an R-compound performance, they might be the way to go.

I run starspecs in STX and am very competitive in my 330ci.

Weird i saw your number is 144, what made you pick that number?
Ive run that number since i raced four wheelers

[m3saloon]

I'm by no means a pro, but i have experance with both SS and Rs3.. I bought the SS for my E36 to use at the track but the car is mostly a weekend driver, so tread life was a consern. they preformed very good for me durring the hpde, but they did get hot ( after about 7 laps i would get the ass to walk out when heavy throttle on sharp turns ) but by no means was it bad and it was very predictable and controlable.
the RS3's are on a S4 and preform just as well but have warn considerably faster.

all in all, it depends on your intended use/ alignment specs / and intended life that will give you your answer, not one of us on the forum can tell you what one is the "best" its your choice.

the SS after a 30 min session. (tires were brand new)

[BJO]

I too have noticed that the RS3's wear faster than the Starspecs. The level of wear is not like an A6, but they aren't as long lasting as the star specs.

[Jason5driver]

It seems that the Dunlop Star Specs are best suited for daily-driving and auto-cross/track...

[andrewlduane]

I used the Nitto NT-01's (not the NT-05) for years, but can't get them in 18 inch any more. So I tried the R-S3's as an inexpensive alternative to the Direzza Star Spec after reading the excellent Grassroots Magazine comparison article.

I just got back from 6 days at Mont Tremblant and Calabogie, and have to say I am blown away by what $160 will buy for tires! The R-S3's will be my standard tire from now on. The grip is almost close to R compound, but they are streetable (1500 miles to/from the tracks). And after 6 days the tread is still intact, compared to a 6 day lifetime for the Nitto.

BTW, a *heavy* M3? Try my 4200 pound E91 wagon! You have no idea what I do to tires flinging that thing around.

[camdinans3]

good luck trying to get RS3's anywhere, hankook hasn't sent any over in months. Tirerack nor anyone knows when they are going to fill any orders.

i had to get star specs and man have they jacked up the price of them A LOT recently.

[chebimmer]

^That is sad news.

[PrinceE30]

^That is sad news.

There will be a shortage for a while too...SCCA SOLO Nationals is coming up at the end of next month and any shipment that comes in is going to be scooped up by STR and STX cars (so think at least 60 sets of 245 and 255 gone).

May want to look into one of the other sets until later this year or early next year.

[lvilleluke]

I looked on tire rack today and said they would ship Rs3's on 8/6 in 245/40/17