Cooper Zeon RS3-S Review

[Kiai!]

The guys at AutoGuide.com changed the tires on their FR-S and saw two-second improvements in lap times, even with the inexpensive Cooper Tires.

It’s at the absolute limit that the Coopers act particularly interesting for a UHP tire. Where many affordable alternatives hold on to their limit, then break loose without warning, the Zeon RS3-S provide a considerable amount of audible feedback before the car gets sideways, and is easily controllable once you reach the limit. In fact, the best way to describe the Zeon RS3-S tires is that they’re like the Michelin Primacy HP tires but with a higher limit.

The Cooper tires whipped the FR-S around the track in 1:26.607, about two seconds faster than the Michelins, and it’s no surprise why. With much stiffer sidewalls and sticky rubber keeping the FR-S planted to the track, the little Scion is able to accelerate sooner when exiting a turn.

The new tires resulted in greater lateral and longitudinal G’s on the aftermarket tires. Even better was how composed the car is when trail-braking (braking and turning at the same time.) In every measurable statistic, the new Cooper tires are an improvement over the Michelins. Even braking feels better, and we ended up braking later for turns than we did on the stock tires.

The extra grip is much appreciated, and it’s amazing how a set of tires transforms the car, getting it around the track much faster than before. It’s also worth mentioning that the Cooper Zeon RS3-S are cheaper than many of its rival UHP tires (a quick online search found them half the price of the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2.)

Check out their review.

[mrk1]

Looks interesting for a street tire, pretty cheap. I like to hear they offer good feedback.

Another review,

http://www.modified.com/roadtests/mo...re-zeon-rs3-s/