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- Mar 11, 2007
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Grassroots Motorsports Magazine does a good amount of extreme-performance tire tests.
The big difference about this newest test ran in the August issue was that they tested all fastest non-slick street tires at full tread depth. Shaving new tires to the common 6/36" is necessary to be very competitive in racing on a high performance street tire, but most people (racers and non-racers alike) don't shave tires because they want as much tread as possible for the money.
So I'll give some abridged results of the test. They used a newer MX-5 spec Miata race car for the tests.
Dunlop Z1 star spec
Wear Rating: 200 A A
Average lap: 56.621
Average G load: 1.141
Hankook Ventus RS-3 z222
Wear Rating: 140 A A
Average lap: 55.719
Average G load: 1.181
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Wear Rating: 180 A A
Average lap: 56.235
Average G load: 1.188
Kuhmo Ecsta XS
Wear Rating: 180 AA A
Average lap: 56.881
Average G load: 1.131
Toyo Proxes R1R
Wear Rating: 140 AA A
Average lap:56.233
Average G load: 1.171
Yokohama AD08
Wear Rating: 180 AA A
Average lap: 56.150
Average G load: 1.135
As you can see the Hankook RS-3's did the best in this test. Not only that, they were also the cheapest tire tested and both professional test drivers had nothing bad to say about them. They have a UTQG rating of 140 so they won't last too long.
Previous tire test winner, the Kuhmo XS, did not do as well in this test. They were said to have doughy sidewall stiffness. Seems to be a thing with kuhmos. Maybe they really shine at a lower tread depth. All tires, I might add, do not communicate as well and respond to inputs slower at full tread.
This should be good news to those from the UK who seem to have an easy time sourcing Hankooks compared to other brands like Falken. The Falken RT-615K wasn't in this test but I'm sure it would have done as well as the ones tested.
What I take out of this test is that I would avoid the Bridgestones as they were $100 more than the Hankooks but didn't fare any better in testing. They are still a great tire but not for the price. Same goes for the Yokohamas.
If you are more interested in what the drivers said about each tire, as they were all different, you could pick up a copy of the mag. Too much typing for me! I think any extreme performance summer tire will do you well if you're still rolling on some 300+ wear rating tires. It's all a trade-off for performance to price, all these tires don't last long!
The big difference about this newest test ran in the August issue was that they tested all fastest non-slick street tires at full tread depth. Shaving new tires to the common 6/36" is necessary to be very competitive in racing on a high performance street tire, but most people (racers and non-racers alike) don't shave tires because they want as much tread as possible for the money.
So I'll give some abridged results of the test. They used a newer MX-5 spec Miata race car for the tests.
Dunlop Z1 star spec
Wear Rating: 200 A A
Average lap: 56.621
Average G load: 1.141
Hankook Ventus RS-3 z222
Wear Rating: 140 A A
Average lap: 55.719
Average G load: 1.181
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Wear Rating: 180 A A
Average lap: 56.235
Average G load: 1.188
Kuhmo Ecsta XS
Wear Rating: 180 AA A
Average lap: 56.881
Average G load: 1.131
Toyo Proxes R1R
Wear Rating: 140 AA A
Average lap:56.233
Average G load: 1.171
Yokohama AD08
Wear Rating: 180 AA A
Average lap: 56.150
Average G load: 1.135
As you can see the Hankook RS-3's did the best in this test. Not only that, they were also the cheapest tire tested and both professional test drivers had nothing bad to say about them. They have a UTQG rating of 140 so they won't last too long.
Previous tire test winner, the Kuhmo XS, did not do as well in this test. They were said to have doughy sidewall stiffness. Seems to be a thing with kuhmos. Maybe they really shine at a lower tread depth. All tires, I might add, do not communicate as well and respond to inputs slower at full tread.
This should be good news to those from the UK who seem to have an easy time sourcing Hankooks compared to other brands like Falken. The Falken RT-615K wasn't in this test but I'm sure it would have done as well as the ones tested.
What I take out of this test is that I would avoid the Bridgestones as they were $100 more than the Hankooks but didn't fare any better in testing. They are still a great tire but not for the price. Same goes for the Yokohamas.
If you are more interested in what the drivers said about each tire, as they were all different, you could pick up a copy of the mag. Too much typing for me! I think any extreme performance summer tire will do you well if you're still rolling on some 300+ wear rating tires. It's all a trade-off for performance to price, all these tires don't last long!
