My RS3's almost have no tread left right now, and I have determined for sure that they need to be really cool. I experimented with different temperatures (unfortunately my thermometer was out of batteries so subjective) and found that they performed best throughout the run when they were warm to the touch, but not at all hot, like maybe 100 degrees. If they were hot at all then they would feel greasy by a couple turns in.

I was thinking about it and they weren't this way before - I didn't even bring a real water sprayer until now. So my theory is when they get near the end of the tread it's a little different compound that really doesn't like heat.

Now I'm really not sure what to do about tires. For next year I'd like to have the RS3s as well as a cold/rain tire (probably dunlops), so I'm thinking about getting those cold/rain tires now if I can find one that's decent in normal conditions too like the dunlop. I'm not doing nationals so I've really just got one autocross per month from now through october, and probably everything past the next one will be cooler.

So here's a question. I have 3.0 degrees camber up front, 2.1 in the rear, aka really high since the hankooks like that. How do other tires do with that alignment? I'd like to be able to swap back and forth depending on if it looks like it might rain or be cool, without realigning. I'm also considering those yokohamas instead of the dunlops for cold/rain tires, but I have no idea how they'll compare. Knowing that they can't deal with heat is helpful, but if I'm using them as cold/rain tires they might be good. Hoping I get the next issue of GRM soon, haha.

 

In whose BMW did you get RS-3's to 169? The Yokohama AD08's were 255/40-17's and are much sharper in turn-in than the RS-3's but don't tolerate as great a slip angle or feel quite as grippy. There are cheaper places to buy them than Tirerack. My current set ran $195 per tire and do seem to have more grip in the rain than my RS-3's.

 

I'm down to impressions of tread blocks on mine. The car handled quite differently from day 1 to day 2 at the Div this weekend. I was wondering if it was the loss of the treadblocks due to the abrasive surface. Your hypothesis of a compound change (and subsequent temperature preferences) might also explain it. We were running the tires up to their typical 140-150*F temp via a probe with day 2 getting there much faster than day 1. My first runs with "cold" tires felt great and the car would get more and more loose under throttle as we brought the temps up. I had assumed it was driving related, not temperature related. Most tires are falling off by 150*F.

As to your camber question, I can't say definitively. Dunlops and Yoks will have similar camber preferences, due to their stiff construction. The Hankooks will run at lower camber numbers but I haven't determined what the ideal camber range is for the Hankook and what time is lost out of the happy place. If you are trying to keep the tread flat under load, wear indicates it needs more camber. Pyros are telling me they work with roughly the same camber as my Dunlops, however. -2.6F/-2.4R on concrete had the inner shoulders 5-10*F hotter than the outer shoulders.

 

174 Pages, STR needs its own forum!

 

Has anyone run Bridgestone Re-11? I was thinking about them for next year. Autocross season starts around March here in the North East. No fun running RS-3 until June. So it's like 3 months of frustration of not getting enough heat on the tires. From research they are pretty good around 50 degrees, just worry they will overheat in 90 plus summer temp.

 

They are great when it is cool outside. I never felt like I was losing time on my first run. They would overheat in hot weather but this was on a 3100 lbs STI. I think as long as you spray them in hot weather you should be just fine.

 

Weight difference between shortened Bilstein PSS and Penske 8100 (dampers only) -

Bilstein front with 8100 canisters = 7.44 lb

Penske8100 front = 4.55 lb

Penske8100 rear = 3.76 lb

Will weigh the Bilstein rears when they come off. Not much of a difference, just thought I'd document it.

 

Maybe about 10 lbs over all. That is significant if you are trying to lighten up!

 

Hold on you're including the canisters with the bilsteins but not with the penskes? Just want to be sure I understand.

 

In whose BMW did you get RS-3's to 169? The Yokohama AD08's were 255/40-17's and are much sharper in turn-in than the RS-3's but don't tolerate as great a slip angle or feel quite as grippy. There are cheaper places to buy them than Tirerack. My current set ran $195 per tire and do seem to have more grip in the rain than my RS-3's.
[/quote]
128i super quick turn around in the heat and that was after a re-run that I did not get 5min. ground temp was around 120 something

I ran them. I don't think they are worth the price. Turn in was super sharp, but I don't think the 100$ difference was there. Overall grip seemed better with the RS-3.