Ready to shell out for new tires and I've been doing a fair amount of research on these tires. I'll be doing a number of autox events as well as some street driving. Thinking of purchasing 245/40/18 of either tires and running them with the oem rims.

The general consensus seems to be -

Dry Grip : Hankook
Wet Grip : Dunlop
Tread wear: Dunlop
Heat Resistance : Hankook (although it does take more time to heat up for grip)
Hot weather: Hankook
Cold/average weather : Dunlop
Responsiveness/Turn in : Dunlop

However, I have also read that lighter cars (Miatas, CRX) find more success with the Hankook while heavier cars (Sti, E46) like the Dunlops. Now our cars are more in the middle compared to those cars weight wise, does anyone have experience with both these tires?

 

I think you got everything right.
IMO Hankooks best in the hot and dry but really suck in the cold and wet.
Toyo R1R best in cold and damp.
Dunlops not the tops in anything, but close....so I would say they are the best
all-around pick.

 

This is true. The RS3 sidewall isn't as stiff as the star spec, so lighter cars aren't affected by it as much.

 

Only data I have..

The 8 with the RS3s is un freaking holy fast at Roebling. Now, driver is really good, and car is S2 with coil overs. Only other car, non-8, was a BMW 318 flew as well.

I have not been as surprised by cars with the Dunlops.

But, this is all road stuff.

Stuff you probably already factored in is the warm-up cycle. Auto cross is different from road course.


Sorry to mess with your plan, but...

Did you look at the Kuhmo Ecsta XS? Might have dropped it because the wet performance is supposedly really bad.

I went with a separate set of rims for track tires (17", used, ebay, with half worn Yoko Advan 06, shipped, $800), even though I do not run slicks. At $200 to $300 a set savings per set, plus the benefits of a shorter lighter wheel, it was the right decision for me. And, keep your factory rear sway bar...

 

I am in the same boat as you right now and from what i've found the Toyo R1R's are the best price point with the dunlops a close second personally.

 

Yes I've considered the kumho as well but the problem I've read about these are that they take a while to heat up even significantly longer to heat up than the rs3. I do like the fact that it's about $100 cheaper.

I was ready to go with the rs3 but leaning towards the Dunlop now considering weather here in jersey and I might be doing events until September. They might also serve me better as a beginner and tread wear seems to be significantly better in the long run. However, the grip of the hankook still makes me wanna go that route haha

 

had the rs3s for about a year now, love it, the sidewalls are definitely soft and you can feel it, but once the tire warms up the grip is awesome. I've only tracked with them tho, i've never autox-ed before, so don't know how these would perform, I've put about 10k miles on the tire and they're pretty much done, will need new ones very soon. Here in so cal the weather doesn't get as bad and the few times it rained I've just driven slow haha

 

You can't go wrong with either.

 

Surprised you were able to squeeze 10k miles, I've read people complaining it lasts them about 6-7k. 10k miles sounds good to me, as I'm only looking to keep the tires for around 2 years, probably around 15 autox events and minimal street driving as the 8 isn't my daily anyway.

 

Not sure you can really go wrong with any of them.

Your best bet does seem to be the Dunlop. I did a quick search for 17x8 inch used wheels in 5x114.3, and really got nothing..

And, I am really interested in how you like them. I am likely 2 to 3 events behind you on this decision..

 

I had the Star Specs on my DD when they first came out a couple years ago, and obviously they didn't last long. I think If I get stickies again I may go with the RS3, I've read that they're better in the wet, can anyone back that up?

 

According to several forums and reviews, the star specs are much better than the rs3 when it comes to rain/wet. Two guys I have autoxed with says the same thing as well, then like the dunlops better overall but then again they drive heavier cars (e46 m3, 350z).

 

You can't go wrong with either. In the summer heat management becomes key with Dunlops, and in the fall Hankooks might have trouble heating up.

I've got around 15 events on my Dunlops along with about 10k miles. They are just above the wear bars.

 

Oh also saw you don't daily with the RX8, so something else you might need to know. The Dunlops are dual compound, and the harder compound underneath becomes exposed right at the wear bars.

I don't believe the Hankooks are like this, so you may be able to run them lower. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on the Hankooks.

 

Ok I was ready to click "checkout" and get the Dunlops in 245/40/18 for about $930 on tirerack. However, I decided to see prices a size down to 245/40/17 or 255/40/17 and noticed I save almost $280 by going with the RS3 in either of these sizes. Now I'm thinking why not get get some cheap/used 17 inch rims for about $300 to go along with it considering I'll be saving so much.

Now I was looking at these threads about downgrading to 17 inch wheels https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...e+17+inch+rims
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...e+17+inch+rims

I'm horrible with comprehending rims, but if i understand it correctly from those threads 17x8, 17x9, or 17x9.5 rims with 255/40/17 is the best all around fit for our cars.

This has become completely off topic but I'm leaning towards this route as its the most ideal budget wise so please if anyone can explain to me which rim size/offset is optimal like for example "17x9 +45" I don't understand what the "+45" is.

 

this may help you, +45mm means the center of the rim is 45mm away from the hub,

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

factory rx8 rims are +50mm offset, i would suggest staying close to this number for optimal factory style handling

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...F40%2F17+autox

That pretty much summed my dilemma with the wheel sizes.

I guess it'll come down to this if i get an extra set of rims, I'll go with the RS3. If not, I'll get the Star Specs.

 

^ and to add to that, just make sure your used, cheap rims are not 25lbs, or you'll negate the whole purpose.

 

Well I was considering ordering the RS3 in 245/40/17 unless someone here can sway me into 255s (I noticed most people here with 255s have it on 17x9.5) with these mounted on from tirerack

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...nt&showRear=no

-Kinda like the looks (On a BMW)
-Cheap
-Weighs about the same as OEM

Total is $1,130 shipped and mounted opposed to 245/40/18 Direzzas alone shipped for $928 or the 18 inch RS3s alone for $896.

I tried looking around Craigslist and For Sale threads here for cheap 17x8 rims but they were all quite expensive unless they were 17x7. My only concern is whether or not these will fit properly and won't have issues with the brake calipers. What do you guys think?

 

don't cheap out when it comes to wheels
choose a quality, lightweight wheel...or just keep the OEM ones
18s, 17s...doesn't matter...I wouldn't go under 8" though
as for the tires both are nice choices
stay with the more narrow tire and learn on that before you add more rubber

 

Familiarize yourself with the scca solo rulebook if this is for autocross. There are tire and rim size limits. If you plan on running in STX, then you're limited to 9" rim width and 265 tires.

My suggestion...get the 255's.

 

I don't know its hard to justify paying $928 for the 18s when the 17s are only $655. I'll keep looking around craigslist for rims until I make a final decision, so far the only ones i seen decently priced on craigslist are OZ ultralegerra for $500.

 

17x9 rims are out of the price range at the moment, maybe in the future when I get better I can justify shelling out for 17x9 lightweight rims. As of now I've only done 4 autox event including the EVO phase one but I certainly need new tires as I'm still on the stock Potenzas from 2006. For 17x8 rims, you still suggest 255's? 255's are actually cheaper than the 245's for RS3's which is a plus if i go that route.

 

Try to find some used RPF1's in 17x9, look on other forums like the EVO one to find these. They are some 4 lbs. lighter than the ones you have shown. I would concentrate more on this, then the tires IMO. Get the wheels first, then worry about the tires.

 

I like this idea. Lots of used affordable time come up all the time.

255 on an 8" rim is most likely too much, 245 would probably be better.