[X-Factor]

Those of you running Star Specs...how much life are you getting out of them before they are dead? Per Tire Rack they are in a whole other CATEGORY from the Pilot SS so I'm starting to wonder which is better. Can't find any more info on the Tire Rack performance categories.

Apparently the stock Advans are in the same category as my old favorite the KDW 2s, and rated lower lol.

SS - higher treadwear, more expensive, great reviews
Star Specs - lower tread wear, cheaper, great reviews, higher performance category?

Don't care about road noise or comfort at all, price doesn't bother me as long as it's worth it. Care about performance and how long they last. Basically once I find replacement tires for sale on Tire Rack I'm buying them so I just need to figure out what I want.

Edit: Did find a brief definition of the categories, according to them the Max Perf Summer is the highest one, with the Pilot SS being #1. The Star Specs are near the top in the next category down and about $200 cheaper for a set of 4. Guess I'll stick to the SS.

Would love to find someone who has used all 3 (Pilot, Star Specs, stockers)....

 

[HappyMint]

Well, I've never run the Star Specs but I remember looking at them closely. People were saying they were getting ~10k miles on them maybe 15 at best if I can recall. If you want the most performance (track / autox any?) , Hankook RS-3's are probably what you want, but if you're doing Auto X and Track events, don't expect to get more than 8k miles out of some RS3's

I'm in the process of fixing my daily so I can stop raping my RS3s on a daily basis driving to work and back

 

[JimGVT]

I've used the stock tires, one set of star specs, and one set of RS-3s. Haven't tried the Pilots. Out of the three I liked the star specs the best, but in all 3 cases I was using them for weekend track events also. The star specs lasted the longest of the three and provided the best grip for short duration track events. They gripped the best at the start but got really greasy after 5 laps or so. The RS-3's were more consistent after getting hot, but also wore the fastest (cords showing after 3 track weekends with almost no DD). I'm actually leaning towards the Advan AD08's for this year, but haven't made up my mind yet.

 

[trick3d]

edit, I messed up when I read :freak: commented on RS3's not Starspecs

 

[HappyMint]

edit, I messed up when I read :freak: commented on RS3's not Starspecs

That was useful info you posted, I'm surprised your RS3's are lasting as long as they are.

 

[trick3d]

Well I believe that having a good alignment from day one of install and checking psi weekly helps.
People it seem think these tires only last 10k and I'm not sure why.

 

[joshesevo22]

Hmmm i have heard the opposite were as the RS-3's get greasy really quickly and star specs not so much. I just picked up a set of star specs hopefully i like them! ive been on shit tires the last 3 years after my stockers died

 

[HappyMint]

I've never heard of greasy issues with RS-3s and I haven't ever experienced it at auto x or seen anyone else experience it. I do know that the NT05's get greasy after a while.

 

[joshesevo22]

I've never heard of greasy issues with RS-3s and I haven't ever experienced it at auto x or seen anyone else experience it. I do know that the NT05's get greasy after a while.

Maybe it was the opposite as i just typed in star specs greasy and they all say the do get greasy after a couple laps which is not what i wanted to hear oh well

 

[X-Factor]

What is meant by "greasy"? Less traction/more prone to sliding?

 

[trick3d]

I've never heard of greasy issues with RS-3s and I haven't ever experienced it at auto x or seen anyone else experience it. I do know that the NT05's get greasy after a while.

+1 josh has it backwards. The specs get greasy

 

[X-Factor]

Will 255/40 with the Pilot SS be ok on stock wheels/susp? Won't negatively impact handling?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...010&autoModel=Lancer Evolution&autoModClar=SE

 

[Yxd68]

I've got about 2500 miles so far on my StarSpecs set. So far they seem to be wearing just fine.

 

[trick3d]

can you explain what "wearing just fine" means? I would think How they wear woud be more related to Driving style and Alignment specs. Both of which you did not list.

 

[dreamEVOx]

i have the star specs on mine and have about 6k with 2 autox days and they still got plenty of tread left. Awesome tires.

 

[trick3d]

^ good info! How is tire noise after the wear so far?

 

[dreamEVOx]

cant hear the tires over my loud ass exhaust. But its fairly quiet. i'd recommend those tires to anyone that autox's. they are a little suspect in the rain but they still have great grip and they suck in cold weather.

 

[trick3d]

cant hear the tires over my loud ass exhaust. But its fairly quiet. i'd recommend those tires to anyone that autox's. they are a little suspect in the rain but they still have great grip and they suck in cold weather.

Suspect in the rain? supposedly they had great performance in the rain, thats strange. I know my RS3's are good in the rain but never tracked them in the rain so, cant comment on that.

 

[dreamEVOx]

yea for some reason they are great during normal driving, but the one day i autox'd it was raining and it was pretty cold out so that combination probably wasnt good, i couldnt get the tires warm enough to get enough traction. But during normal driving and normal rain, i can still take corners fast as hell. you won't be dissapointed. but if your from cali i doubt u would ever see the shitty ohio weather.

 

[JimGVT]

Suspect in the rain? supposedly they had great performance in the rain, thats strange. I know my RS3's are good in the rain but never tracked them in the rain so, cant comment on that.

I had a very good experience tracking the car with star specs in the rain - they gripped a lot better than I expected. And it was cold enough that we had a little bit of snow mixed in with the rain. Never had the opportunity to try it with the RS3s.

Just to clarify what I had meant earlier - the star specs gripped great for the first 3-5 laps, then didn't grip nearly as well after they got hot. The RS3s did not grip as well as the star specs for the first 3-4 laps until they got warmed up, but were more consistent overall. My experience with them was consistent with the reviews I had read on both.