Yet another Tire question

[Michael Bradley]

I would like to hear some pros and cons on the following tires.
(from people who have run them)
toyo R1R
dunlop starspec
kumo ventus rs3

[Theo O.]

I would like to hear some pros and cons on the following tires.
(from people who have run them)
toyo R1R
dunlop starspec
kumo ventus rs3

Toyo R1R - the darling of the spec civics, I heard they are awesome.
Star Spec - better with heavier cars.
Hankook Ventures RS3 - horrible tires, I would rather have runflats

Joking aside, I love everything about the hankooks. I heard that they suck in the wet, but I haven't driven them in the wet yet.

[Craig Naylor]

Toyo R1R - the darling of the spec civics, I heard they are awesome. Don't like heat, short life
Star Spec - better with heavier cars. Like heat, long life
Hankook Ventures RS3 - horrible tires, I would rather have runflats He's kidding, appears to be the "darling of the spec miatas" in STS

Joking aside, I love everything about the hankooks. I heard that they suck in the wet, but I haven't driven them in the wet yet.

[Doug Kott]

Theo, take back what you said about the Hankooks!

Michael, here's my experience, and what I've heard.

Hankooks....sidewalls are a little softer than others, but not squishy. A little slower to heat up than the Toyos, but their grip doesn't degrade too much when hot; good for long courses in the summer.

Dunlops...more rigid sidewalls, so a little crisper on turn-in and a little tidier in transitions. Maybe slightly less overall grip than the Hankooks, but I can't say for sure.

Toyos...I haven't run these, but I hear they offer superior grip in cold conditions, and that they wear a little quicker than the others. Some say that the level of grip degrades after 50 runs or so.

--Doug

[Kurt Rahn]

I don't have experience with the other two, but I had Star Specs on the G35, and they were great. Excellent grip from the point I scrubbed them in to the point I traded the car, with about 10K miles on the tires and nine months' worth of autocross. Very predictable and forgiving. Only bad thing I've heard about them is they can chunk f you let them get too hot. I only know one person that's happened to, though (heard about others second hand). Adrian runs them on his Mini, so maybe you want to talk to him at the next event.

[Doug Kott]

I don't have experience with the other two, but I had Star Specs on the G35, and they were great. Excellent grip from the point I scrubbed them in to the point I traded the car, with about 10K miles on the tires and nine months' worth of autocross. Very predictable and forgiving. Only bad thing I've heard about them is they can chunk f you let them get too hot. I only know one person that's happened to, though (heard about others second hand). Adrian runs them on his Mini, so maybe you want to talk to him at the next event.

No chunking issues at all with mine, but with Minis, Miatas and MR2s, we're all running relatively light cars. When you do the thumbnail test with the compound, the Star Specs don't seem as soft as the RS-3s but they grip great. Also, you don't see as much grain on the surface of the tread as the Hankooks.

[Q V]

I like the rs3's the most because of the flames on the tread - and when they were showing off the prototype, it was an orange tire... so maybe I'm a little biased, lol. should be a great tire for you tho, considering you are co-driving & the rs3's prefer more heat (you will want to be the 2nd driver tho, like we keep telling you).

The toyos felt awesome @ el toro in jon's car. we haven't run into any heat issues with them so far. Much better grip than the star specs, but I only ran the star specs when they were @ end-of-life, so can't give a new vs new comparison.

[Doug Kott]

Hey QV!

Yes, the flames are cool! Worth the price of the tire right there! The originals were orange? Talk about a tire with your name on it.

Actually, as they're on the tread blocks as well as the sidewalls, they give an indication of wear, i.e., if the inner ones last longer than the outer ones (on tread blocks), maybe car could use more neg. camber.

--Doug

[Mako Koiwai]

Ask Ken about running the Toyo's at El Toro on a long warm course ...

Oh look ... Ken smearing off the last corner ... again:

[Doug Kott]

Ask Ken about running the Toyo's at El Toro on a long warm course ...

But then ask him about running at Wendover in chilly conditions.

[Jeff Wong]

Street Touring Sport Drivers: 12 Trophies: 4
T 1 190 Geoffrey Chambers 1990 Mazda Miata Wht Toyo
T 2 77 Ian Baker 1988 Honda CRX Slv Toyo
T 3 90 Gustavo Hammerly 1990 Mazda Miata Wht Toyo

Tour Results from Peru in STS
90 Miata + Toyo = Win? Is hell freezing over?

Guess they do work after all?