Hankook RS3 in Canada

[Canehda]

lol so 245 40 and 235 are in stock everywhere... I guess the original thread topic is redundant now xD

[engsr]

Originally Posted by Canehda

And for competitiveness, I really have no idea how I will fair this year and I dont plan on doing a ton of autox or track days, but I don't really want to undercut myself from the beginning by compromising on something like tires which really make a huge difference.

If you're not fighting for those last tenths for FTD, then it doesn't really matter what tire you choose. All have their different characteristics which benefit certain driving styles and set ups. At the end of the day they are only within tenths of each other (given equal scenarios).

If you research all the comparisons, you should be able to get a general idea which tire may work for you. But again, if you're a mid pack driver or worse, then it doesn't matter what tire you choose as there is no tire that will magically put you on top. The driver is always the limiting factor.

With that said, I'm a fan of the R-S3s but I've read a lot of good things about the RE-71R and how it may be the "it" tire for this year. If I can get my hands on a pair, I'd like to do some direct comparisons to the R-S3 to see the difference, but it's too bad it doesn't come in the size I want.

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by engsr

If you're not fighting for those last tenths for FTD, then it doesn't really matter what tire you choose. All have their different characteristics which benefit certain driving styles and set ups. At the end of the day they are only within tenths of each other (given equal scenarios).

If you research all the comparisons, you should be able to get a general idea which tire may work for you. But again, if you're a mid pack driver or worse, then it doesn't matter what tire you choose as there is no tire that will magically put you on top. The driver is always the limiting factor.

With that said, I'm a fan of the R-S3s but I've read a lot of good things about the RE-71R and how it may be the "it" tire for this year. If I can get my hands on a pair, I'd like to do some direct comparisons to the R-S3 to see the difference, but it's too bad it doesn't come in the size I want.

Going to disagree with you on that one. Now if I was total crap and had absolutely no experience then yes I would probably be better starting off with some low grip tires to learn with. However if you are even somewhat competitive then why undercut yourself by going in with something inferior to the norm, especially when you are only talking about a few hundred dollars difference. I don't want to finish a track day and say "I wonder how much further up the leaderboard I could have been if I invested in better tires for my class".
It may be the inner golfer in me but when I enter in a golf tournament I go in with 14 clubs even though I really dont use certain clubs that often, but I dont want to put myself in the position where I am saying "I would have had a better round if I had brought my 60 wedge"

[engsr]

Honest question - how much experience do you have where you can say, "I was X seconds behind first and if I had Y tire, I would be at the top of the class"? If you are already a second or more behind the fastest time the decision between a Z2 or R-S3 (for example) is only going to be a few tenths, at best.

Let's look at it this way and I'm not a golfer, so don't shoot me if I mess up the terminology. You have driver A that's rated for (for argument's sake) 120 feet, and you have driver B that's rated for 125 feet. The experienced golfers are likely to use the B driver and if they are consistent enough they will probably get their shot within that range. But if there's someone that has less to no experience (like me lol), the choice of club doesn't matter. It's not going 125 feet and most certainly it's not going straight ahead.

So again, even if you have the same tires as the top person in your class, and you're still a second off, a "better" tire won't make up that difference. There's a delta there that's determined by your experience and a better tire only closes that delta (experience closes it more). And I was of course talking about the Extreme tires, like the R-S3, Z2 Star Spec, Rival, etc. since that's what you had mentioned initially.

I know this much, whenever I get bested in my class by a few tenths, I know it's not the tires or car for that matter.

EDIT - forgot the 2 in the 120 there.

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by engsr

Honest question - how much experience do you have where you can say, "I was X seconds behind first and if I had Y tire, I would be at the top of the class"? If you are already a second or more behind the fastest time the decision between a Z2 or R-S3 (for example) is only going to be a few tenths, at best.

Let's look at it this way and I'm not a golfer, so don't shoot me if I mess up the terminology. You have driver A that's rated for (for argument's sake) 100 feet, and you have driver B that's rated for 125 feet. The experienced golfers are likely to use the B driver and if they are consistent enough they will probably get their shot within that range. But if there's someone that has less to no experience (like me lol), the choice of club doesn't matter. It's not going 125 feet and most certainly it's not going straight ahead.

So again, even if you have the same tires as the top person in your class, and you're still a second off, a "better" tire won't make up that difference. There's a delta there that's determined by your experience and a better tire only closes that delta (experience closes it more). And I was of course talking about the Extreme tires, like the R-S3, Z2 Star Spec, Rival, etc. since that's what you had mentioned initially.

I know this much, whenever I get bested in my class by a few tenths, I know it's not the tires or car for that matter.

First of all yes I believe that I am able to tell the difference in how different tires react on the track, whether it be initial turn in, longitudinal traction, sidewall stiffness, these are all things I can generally feel while driving. Am I able to say that I am x seconds faster with one tire over another? No of course not because I haven't tried every single tire in an experimental setting. However there are certain tires that are more consistent and are generally liked better because they give the optimal balance of pros and cons to a majority of people, for someone who has experience with only one model of tires I pretty much have to rely on what other people say works.
Second, its easy to bring up the arrow vs the indian debate, at the end of the day its the same as the nature vs nurture debate, they compliment each other. In a competitive environment I understand my spot as simply an amateur but personally I like to give myself the best shot I can in being successful, whether or not that is the best way go about in amateur racing I don't know, but I've found that so far in my life that mentality has seemed to work for me.

[Canehda]

I have all the information I need from 7thgear so there is no need to continue an argument over which mentality is right, because there is no right answer.

[engsr]

Originally Posted by Canehda

I like to give myself the best shot I can in being successful

I'm not saying the contrary. But what I've seen with a lot of drivers they put themselves in that position (in their minds) and get seriously wallopped by "slower" cars. These drivers get frustrated, become uncoachable, and never come back.

Originally Posted by Canehda

I have all the information I need from 7thgear so there is no need to continue an argument over which mentality is right, because there is no right answer.

I wasn't arguing but if you want to believe that, then that's your choice.

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by engsr

I'm not saying the contrary. But what I've seen with a lot of drivers they put themselves in that position (in their minds) and get seriously wallopped by "slower" cars. These drivers get frustrated, become uncoachable, and never come back.



I wasn't arguing but if you want to believe that, then that's your choice.

loving the passive aggression

[pushrod]

Last word.

[7thgear]

engsr is an experienced driver, I wouldn't dismiss his thoughts.

And he is right, unless you star appearing in the top 10 of any given day's results, then you can be sure that any micromanaging of your equipment is still secondary to simply learning to drive better.

We have a dozen guys who finish high while driving underprepped cars... some with delaminating tires.. :o it's almost scary sometimes how good they are.

[Canehda]

I know he seems to be very involved with the PITL which I totally respect. All I want are good tires that I can daily, autox and track with :P

[drewbot]

You can do all of that with just stock tires, and still learn lots and have tons of fun

[Canehda]

This forum has me in awe

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by Canehda

This forum has me in awe

it's just that we've all been through the same things and looking back see the truth of the matter


anyway, I hope to see you bright and early in Picton! We need more FRS/BRZs to make an appearance to elevate us to the same level of marquee popularity as the Miatas.


vroom vroom!