Hankook Ventus R-S3 vs Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec

[dude8383]

I'm looking at either one of these two.

Quick breakdown of the tire sizes and treadwear:

Hankooks: 225/45 15 - 140AA
Dunlops: 205/50 15 - 200AA

Mounting on:

15x7 Euroweaves

I plan to use these on the track, no R compounds for me because I'm simply to at the experience level. Also, the car will still be driven on the street. More street mileage if anything.

What do you track heads think? I'm leaning towards the Hankooks because they have more meat and lower profile.

These are the only two sizes available for each respective tire.

[e30pq]

I use the Hankooks R-S3's as my street tires. I think they would make a good track day tire.

I'll let you judge your experience level to determine what your track tire is. With that said, if you make the jump to R-Comps I would go with the Nitto NT01's. They last a long time and they get better as they wear down.

[Brew]

I've got the Hankooks in that size, and I love them. Almost at the wear bars after about 10k miles and 100 or so autocross runs and they're still fast.
NOT a very good street tire though- they get very noisy as they wear and wet traction is not great.

You'll be giving up some grip and response with the RS3s if you put them on anything narrower than an 8" wheel though, keep that in mind.

I agree with the suggestion of the NT01's for a track day tire. I had a set and they were very predictable and actually better in the wet than the RS3s, at least when new.

Either tire would be fine for an intermediate level driver on the track, people who say that R-comps are only for experts are full of it. Street tires like the RS3 are approaching the grip levels of some of the lower-tier R-comps now anyways.

[Emre]

For track use, the R-S3 is miles better than the Z1 in almost every way: better dry grip, wet grip, longevity, and feedback. The Z1's might have a slight edge in terms of turn-in (the R-S3's can be a little mushy), but that's about it.

[e30pq]

Either tire would be fine for an intermediate level driver on the track, people who say that R-comps are only for experts are full of it. Street tires like the RS3 are approaching the grip levels of some of the lower-tier R-comps now anyways.

I agree. I don't think you are pushing your skill level if you just start with Nitto NT01's.

They provide noise at the limit (to tell you that you're getting to the limit)

Check these videos out. The practice session (splitter cam) are my 2 year old NT01's. They are faster than my newer set. You can hear the tires in both videos.

http://vimeo.com/21809894

I used my newer (3 races) set of NT01's for the race video.

http://vimeo.com/21678495

[dude8383]

Great advice guys.

I should have mentioned in the original post what I'd be mounting them on..15x7 Euroweaves

I'm not looking for R-comp's because this car will still see plenty of street driving so, I'm looking for something that can do handle both. I know there will be a compromise or two but I'm willing to deal.

So far the R-S3's seem to be the more favorable option.

Those two vid's were awesome man!

[race2win]

In the dry, no question the RS3 is the best choice, but if it's wet...& more importantly cold, the RS3s just don't work very well. So, if you live in an area where it rains often & it's a cooler climate, the Dunlops may be your best bet. If it's dry & warm-to-hot where you live, the RS3s LOVE heat & work great the hotter they get....up to 140+ tire temps IIRC. The RS3s also wear like iron....I think it was the 2nd place car in Street Touring at the SCCA National Championships a couple years ago that had RS3s with over 300 runs on them, & they just kept getting faster!

Unfortunately you will not be able to take advantage of the extra width on the RS3 with a 7" rim, they need at least a 7.5 to work properly & are best on 8-9" wheels. They will work on the 15x7s, but no better than a 205.

[dude8383]

Hm, we do get rain and its rather unpredictable...The Dunlops might be a better choice because of wheel size.

AND I can't really afford to have a dedicated set right now (i.e. 15x8 TRM's).

[Bimmerman325i]

RS3. Ask Bishop, but RS3s are grippier and cheaper. WIN.

[Bishop]

Buy the RS-3s.

That's the simple answer if you've got $$ to burn and you track the car a bit... They'll probably wear fast, faster than the dunlops, but they're stickier. I ran 235/45-17 star specs, and am currently running 225/45-15 hankooks and I've posted in more than one thread my feelings between the two. Did you search, cause I feel between my thread recently + gverelli's thread, this could have been easily answered without a new thread lol. Verelli literally went from the dunlops in that size to the hankooks in that size.

[Bimmerman325i]

here's his post in another thread:

I love em. Hands down, I love them more than the Dunlops, and I'll say that time and time again. I love the Hankook RS-3's.

I love the Hankook RS-3's.

I love the Hankook RS-3's.

I love the Hankook RS-3's.

Now, I went from 17x8 wheels, 235/40-17 star specs, to 15x8, 225/45-15 RS-3's... With the larger star specs I felt they really strained the car and I never really drove all that confidently. Also, it was very notable that the star specs don't talk to you... at all... They're quiet.... quiet.... quiet... scream and then let go... I hated this feeling.... The RS-3s made plenty of noise and were a BLAST to drive on! Instilled so much more confidence than the star specs ever did, felt like there was less strain on the car, and they talked, and talked, and talked, and then RIGHT as they let go (understeer) they got much louder, but were VERY easy to get back under control. I absolutely loved how my car changed... and yes, your mileage may vary, I don't care, between the two setups I've tested, I'd prefer the 15s w/ RS-3s over and over again. I just feel they were better and more fun... GAWD were they fucking fun... For those who wanna defend the star specs, go for it, that's your gig. I got to drive that M-coupe w/ star specs, as well as bimmerman's semi-prepped e36 m3, also on star specs, and pushing those cars I felt the same thing.... More power, still no noise... It wasn't confidence inspiring.. Now, I can't speak on Alex's behalf (cloudbase) but I can speak on David's since i don't think he chimed in, but he rode in my car and instantly said he preferred the RS-3s simply because of how talkative they were... It's nice being able to hear what the car's doing and he said he'd be buying a set of Hankooks when his 2 sets of start specs are dead.

Now, bitch if you want about my review, defend the star specs, etc. etc. etc.... This was my feeling, and I had a set of star specs on my STi as well was the e30 before switching to the RS-3.... Love me some Hankook.

/mini-rant

[dude8383]

I only started a new thread because my requirements are somewhat different. Thanks for adding the info though that is helpful for sure!

[Bishop]

Ymmv

[dude8383]

noted.

[gverelli]

Ya, I jumped on the Hankook wagon lol, I will only have hard info after my first event on June 20th. However, many things have changed since then so for me it will comparing apples and oranges....My Z1's were 195/55 and I was on H&R race springs, now 225/45 and full coilovers. So there will be many different variables going on at once...but will see, theres many positive opinions on them.

Just buy the rs-3s and if you end up not liking them just sell them and buy the star specs, from tirerack the rs3 come to $412 plus shipping, its so cheap for you guys:hitler: I paid $660 to my door, so stop worrying and just buy them:D...if they really turn out to be horrible get rid of them, its trial and error