They are still the best bang for the $$ street tire imo.

 

Can anyone that has owned both hankook rs2s and dunlop starspecs in the same size comment on their opinion of both?

 

Yeah. The RS-2s have a little better grip in wet conditions than the star specs but the dry grip of the star specs just blows the RS-2s away. I've noticed too that the star specs are a little quieter than the RS-2s on a DD basis.

 

That's odd, I've always heard that star specs are much better in the wet??

 

Ya man, I had heard the same thing but my experience was the opposite. The Hankooks wore pretty well and I got about 16k miles out of them. The star specs are good in the wet but I can tell they're a little less able to channel water when you're in some puddles that are a little deeper than average.

 

I just returned from a chilly lunch drive, thought I would report the cold impressions.

Its 57 F outside, and they have noticeably less grip, as expected. They break away fairly consistently, with power oversteer very easy to control and expect. They are not any better than any other tire I've tried when cold. I would guess they have superior fore-aft traction and less horizontal, as braking still is fully composed in the cold.

But some further elaboration on a fun test of the "boingyness" of the tall 50-55 sidewalls that I described before: A fun test is in a parking lot or neighborhood street, about 25mph, completely flat corner, you stab on some steering lock as fast as you can, forcing understeer. Then you wait for the speed to scrub off and them to catch. They catch violently and snap the car sideways. You then giggle, countersteer, and feather in some throttle to keep the slide going. Its the bouncy "world's grippiest bar of jello" feeling that is weird, when the fronts snap and the rears loose it.

I'm amused so easily.

 

Got my second set of Specs yesterday! Two are mounted and two are not. They are way wider than Kuhmo MXs on the same rim, they now stick out past the metal. When feeling the sidewall on the non-mounted ones, they are substantially stiffer, as expected. These are 225/40/18, and I expect them to be excellent.

Its kind of nice getting used to the 55%/16in series tires on the S2K, being so soft. Way softer than both the 45%/17in and 40%/18in tires on the Rex.

Got many laughs and stares on the way home

 

DO NOT GET THESE FOR 16inch WHEELS. They are way to flimsy for that large of a sidewall. Find something with a stiffer sidewall or get 17-18inch wheels to mount them too.

You might be able to get by with them on the back (which is how I intend to do it) and something stiffer on the front.

Went to a parking lot and beat on the 18inchers last night... downright amazing grip! The second thing I noticed was how hard I was pressing the dead pedal! The response speed to steering inputs is great, even tons of feedback though the wheel. Funny how my family sedan has the sensitive steering (18s) and the S2K (16s) is mush now.

 

Personally I'm less concerned about "feel" than I am about ultimate grip. Feel can be adjusted for, but if you don't have grip.

 

What's wrong with getting these for the stock ap1 rims? Aren't they still some of the best tires for that size?