Dunlop Direzza Star Spec or Hankook RS3

[islandmon]

Time for new Subbie tires and we have really loved the Star Specs for both street and autocross. The Subbie is her daily driver so having a tire that is good in our summer rainstorms in a must. I'm leaning towards ordering another set of Star Specs tod ay but have been hearing a lot about the new RS3's and they're a little bit cheaper. Has anyone made this switch? Your help and comments are appreciated.
Jim

[Loren]

The RS3 is an amazing tire. Even better than the Star Spec. My only experience in the rain with them has been at autocross, but I don't recall them being "horrible" in the rain.

Liz knows how to drive, let her decide where she wants to be on the curve. The RS3 will give her more of an edge for autocross. The Star Spec is probably better in the rain and might last longer.

[tdinfl]

I really like the Star Specs we just put on the Miata (haven't raced it yet though). But, in the Grassroots test that just came out the Hankooks finished first and the Star Specs finished in last place! I don't have it here, but there was over a half second average lap difference as I remember.

TD

[Blacknot]

I had 3 sets of star specs and just switched to the RS-3's this time around. The RS-3 definately handle better which is amazing considering how well the star specs perform. The star specs are a better tire in the rain over the RS-3's. The RS-3's are not terrible by any means in the rain though. For autocross i would definately run RS-3's. For an everyday tire on the street i would go with Star specs.

[twistedwankel]

Might be apples and oranges in helping you decide.

My 180 rated 225/45/18 Bridgestones were "good to excellent" but wore out BALD in 10k miles (totally unacceptable).

I replaced them with 140 rated 245/40/18 Hankooks for 1/2 the money ($696 delivered from Discount Tire.com/ebay) and drove in one heavy rain storm no problem. One autocross in 98F temp indicated in car 9 runs including 4 reruns). They appear to like the heat (to a point) and actually get a bit sticky picking up sand in the grid. I got them a little cheaper off EBAY as they are one year old instead of hot off the mold. Same Company.

It appears they only come in 4 sizes. I was fortunate they manufacture one size I can use.

Have no idea how long they will last? I think I can flip them on the rims once to keep them going twice as long? BUT for me they are the ONLY game in town. Cannot afford any other sticky tires!!

Would have to go with harder 300+ all season tires for price of these.

FYI: Tire rack will shave any new street tire for $25 each. 4-6/32nds. This could be a good deal if you need ONE replaced on your AWD. BUT they charge $55 UPS to ship 4 to your door. Something to think about. In theory a shaved tire will last longer under racing conditions.