thoughts on Hankook RS3?

[Alex 2550]

Hi everyone,
ill be sticking some new rubber on the 5 shortly.
my car isn't my daily, i enjoy twistie roads (who doesn't?) and im hoping to get some track time in shortly
i currently have RE002s and i was thinking RE003's because the 002s have been pretty good but the Hankook RS3 is apealing to me.
i believe they call the 003 an s-spec and the RS3 is an R spec but i could be wrong.
i can get a set of Hankook RS3 for $540 fitted in 195/50R15 which sounds pretty good and thats fresh stock.
i was wondering if some people that were using them could let me know what they think.
thanks in advance.
Alex

[ManiacLachy]

I can't speak to them from personal experience, but their reputation is really good. Great grip and excellent wear (for a 200 treadwear tyre).

However, I'm not sure they're "fresh stock", the RS3 has been discontinued, the RS4 is the new kid on the block in the US but I don't think stocks have made it here yet.

[Guran]

I have a set of Hankook RS3 tyres on my stock NC right now. They are NOT R-spec ... they are S-spec. I have done several supersprints and regularities on them and rate them highly (1:12.14 at Wakefield Park). Faster than Yokohama AD08R for a fraction of the price. A bit faster than the old Kumho KU36 which are no longer available, and they tend to wear more evenly than the Kumhos. I've not pushed them in the wet so cannot comment on that. But they have a good tread pattern for dispersing water and they should be fine.

A couple other similarly priced tyres you might consider are Federal 595RSRR and Kumho V720. Both are S-spec tyres with around 200 UTQG. They're quite noisy for street use though.

[plohl]

They're ok. That price is a pretty good deal and I doubt you'll get anything better for less.
I've found AD08r's quicker on the track and they last longer than the RS3s as well, but they'll be like $800 fitted.

[Alex 2550]

thanks for the replies so far everyone,
thanks for the heads up ManiacLachy i was aware the RS4 was out but my tyre guy confirmed there not here yet.

Great to hear you are running them Guran as i respect your opinion and driving abilities, its also wakefield that they will see the most torture. im dying to give Marulan a crack also as i have never dríven it and i think it could be fun in a MX.
maybe you can tell me if they grip when cold at all, i have read that they are woeful when cold yet others say they are ok, obviously they want to be warm like any performance tyre but basically are they a complete dog cold?

thanks for the reply Plohl, i seem to agree that for that price they will be hard to beat and don't get me wrong i know there is better out there but i don't think in that price bracket.

im running the Ventus model under the RS3 on the Wifes CX5 GT diesel its got 19s so a little harsh and the sidewalls are firm which add to it but im fairly impressed which kind of made me look at the RS3 for the MX.

[StanTheMan]

what size will you be fitting?

[Alex 2550]

what size will you be fitting?

hey mate!
195/50R15 is what will be going on. this guy sells quite a few tyres to me and sells the size im after for $150 each but i get them for $135. he has actually told me he looks after motorsport guys as he is one and he himself took his FD to WTAC this year, he also has a modded M3 and a GT3 Porka.
195/50R15 and 225/45R15 is all that is listed on Hankooks website in 15 inch and i don't need 225s.
the plan is im having the RS3 on my Peaks and will be my street/track day tyre, my 70% worn and hard RE002s will be put on my NB8A rims for when i want to be a bit looser in the rear at wakefield.......basically so when i get bored and just want to slide the car around a bit more and have fun but also to be a bit of a flog and get to know the mx a bit more without the worry of wrecking good tyres.
i had a set of "drift" tyres for my FC that usually came out at the end of the day to just have a play, they were on ghetto black R33 GTS rims
i also have a set of federals on my NA8 14s that are like rocks but have gone on before while i was waiting for tyres.

[StanTheMan]

looks like I may need to go back to 15"

[lightyear]

I have used the RS3, they don't have the grip of an R spec, but very predictable tyres. For the money you can try Nankang's full R spec tyre. They will be cheaper and faster than your RS3's most likely.

[Magpie]

For the money you can try Nankang's full R spec tyre.

I have been running the AR-1's in 205/50/15 on 6.5" rims and these are faster than AD08R's on 8" rims. I'm waiting for the AR-1's to come out in 225/45/15 (a few months) and will test these on 8" rims.

The AR-1's, in my case, run at about 36psi hot and are capable of at 1.4g in a corner.

[StanTheMan]

I assume AR-1 are a R spec tyre.?

Alex's use is for daily. Being a daily & R spec are not compatible. Although grip at first will be magnificent.....heat cycles of daily driving will destroy that benefit very quickly. and no amount of sane driving around corners on any mountain will heat those tires enough to get the full benefit.

Being a daily & getting some track time will be a compromise. It really does sound like the RS3 will be the ducks guts. (hello Daffy )

It will most likely get you about 10-15k km will not be affected by heat cycles. And after 2 years you get some more......just before the compound starts to deteriorate. or which ever comes first.

[StanTheMan]

The RS3 sounds like its similar to the old Falken 215 & 615.

The Falken 215 was the most exiting street Tyre I've had the pleasure of driving on Patchy. It needed 2 or 3 corners to warm up. Grip was sensational. Mid corner you could just feel them starting to give way. You'd just be able to back off just that little & it was sweet.

The 615 was more refined but like the 215 is now seriously old technology. 615 didn't need warming up and it was also a fraction faster on the racetrack. According to reports at the time.

The 615 although ever so slightly quicker just didn't have the excitement or drama I loved on the 215

neither of them stood a chance against proper R compound tires at the track. Were talkking 2 or 3 seconds at least around Wakefield. Probably more

But for the road.
the stopping power. the dry grip. together with good geometry. You're going to have a ball with a super sticky street tyre.

there is always the option of having a separate set of R compounds for the race days.

But also don't forget, One mans dream in tires, is another's nightmare

[Magpie]

Yes the AR-1 is considered to be an R Spec.

If you want tyres that last and good for the track then the AD08R's would have to be considered.

[Lokiel]

I can't speak to them from personal experience, but their reputation is really good. Great grip and excellent wear (for a 200 treadwear tyre).

However, I'm not sure they're "fresh stock", the RS3 has been discontinued, the RS4 is the new kid on the block in the US but I don't think stocks have made it here yet.

Does the treadwear value actually mean anything other than a VERY rough wear guideline?

When the RS3's came out the treadwear was quoted as 140 and they were the preferred choice of many as the "bang-for-buck" tyre.
Hankook made them in batches and they ran out very quickly as racers snapped them up - those who missed the batch had to wait between 3 and 6 months for the next ones to be produced (I ended up buying Toyo R1Rs because there was no ETA om when they would actually be produced).

After they'd been around a few years the treadwear value was changed to 200 despite no changes to the tyre (probably in response to competitors with a 200 treadwear rating).

[Magpie]

After they'd been around a few years the treadwear value was changed to 200 despite no changes to the tyre (probably in response to competitors with a 200 treadwear rating).

Yokohama did a similar change in treadwear rating on the AD08R's from 180 to 200. When you see the times done on AD08R's it does not reflect the wear rating!

Consider that a car on AD08R's has gone around SMSP in 1:39.274!