[kuksul08]

I am looking at some new tires for my M3, particularly 245/40-18 and 275/35-18. I just bought some lightweight wheels, so naturally I'm looking at tire weights.

I've basically come down to the Hankook V12 Evo K110 and the Dunlop Star Spec.

For the 245's:
Hankook = 25lbs
Dunlop = 27lbs

For the 275's:
Hankook = 27lbs
Dunlop = 32lbs

So the Dunlops have 14lbs more unsprung, rotating weight, and yet I've heard a lot of good things about these tires. How much difference does it really make?

So, also considering the huge price difference ($600 Hankook, $960 Dunlop), is there any reason to get the Dunlops? They seem to be quite similar, scoring 1st and 2nd in a C&D test.

[BM-Power]

Go with the Hankook's. They are lighter and cheaper, so seems like a no brainer to me.................

[kuksul08]

Originally Posted by BM-Power

Go with the Hankook's. They are lighter and cheaper, so seems like a no brainer to me.................

That's what I'm thinking. I just know a lot of people are pleased with the Dunlops. I'm curious how much difference it really makes, or maybe people focus on wheel weights but overlook tire weights which actually impact performance more due to the weight being further from the center.

[jph28]

Originally Posted by kuksul08

That's what I'm thinking. I just know a lot of people are pleased with the Dunlops. I'm curious how much difference it really makes, or maybe people focus on wheel weights but overlook tire weights which actually impact performance more due to the weight being further from the center.

I assume you're using these tires for street and track driving? Both will be pretty similar on the street (i.e., more than enough performance) but the Star Specs will vastly outperform the Hankooks on the race track if you're driving them hard. Those Hankooks are a good/great DD tire from what I've read, but they are not designed (like the Star Specs are) for track driving.

A big reason the "extreme performance" tires are heavier is the extra sidewall and tread reinforcement that is designed to deal with greater lateral loads, etc. In addition, their rubber compound is designed for max dry grip along with the tread design. Yes the Star Specs (and AD08, RE-11, NT05, etc) are heavier and don't last as long, but for track driving they're worth it.

In fact, a fellow M3F member was at VIR this weekend and he said his Hankooks (same model you're considering) were just terrible on the track

[SG/IRM3]

FWIW the 275 Star Spec weighs 30.8 lbs. As JPH says,if it's intended as a dual purpose tire,go with the Dunlops or one of the other extreme performance tires.

[Mr. Shadow]

Originally Posted by jph28

I assume you're using these tires for street and track driving? Both will be pretty similar on the street (i.e., more than enough performance) but the Star Specs will vastly outperform the Hankooks on the race track if you're driving them hard. Those Hankooks are a good/great DD tire from what I've read, but they are not designed (like the Star Specs are) for track driving.

A big reason the "extreme performance" tires are heavier is the extra sidewall and tread reinforcement that is designed to deal with greater lateral loads, etc. In addition, their rubber compound is designed for max dry grip along with the tread design. Yes the Star Specs (and AD08, RE-11, NT05, etc) are heavier and don't last as long, but for track driving they're worth it.

In fact, a fellow M3F member was at VIR this weekend and he said his Hankooks (same model you're considering) were just terrible on the track

I like my PS2's because they are very light, however when you move from street rubber to track rubber the weight becomes less of an issue because you're looking at thicker/beefier sidewalls, a lot more tread width. The 275/35 NT01 is more like a 285/35 street tire. When mounted on a 9.5 wheel you'll notice the sidewalls look like this: / \

[kuksul08]

Originally Posted by jph28

I assume you're using these tires for street and track driving? Both will be pretty similar on the street (i.e., more than enough performance) but the Star Specs will vastly outperform the Hankooks on the race track if you're driving them hard. Those Hankooks are a good/great DD tire from what I've read, but they are not designed (like the Star Specs are) for track driving.

A big reason the "extreme performance" tires are heavier is the extra sidewall and tread reinforcement that is designed to deal with greater lateral loads, etc. In addition, their rubber compound is designed for max dry grip along with the tread design. Yes the Star Specs (and AD08, RE-11, NT05, etc) are heavier and don't last as long, but for track driving they're worth it.

In fact, a fellow M3F member was at VIR this weekend and he said his Hankooks (same model you're considering) were just terrible on the track

Good info. I will primarily be driving on the street, although I do tend to push it pretty hard at times. I plan on doing more autocrosses and/or track days in the future but that's maybe a few times a year. I did notice my Hankooks (225/255) did not do very well at an autocross I did. The rear tires even had small chunks coming out of the edge of the tread.

When you say they will vastly outperform the hankooks, what do you mean? It looks like they do quite well in comparison:

Originally Posted by SG/IRM3

FWIW the 275 Star Spec weighs 30.8 lbs. As JPH says,if it's intended as a dual purpose tire,go with the Dunlops or one of the other extreme performance tires.

I see. The 32lbs is what Tire Rack says.

Originally Posted by Mr. Shadow

I like my PS2's because they are very light, however when you move from street rubber to track rubber the weight becomes less of an issue because you're looking at thicker/beefier sidewalls, a lot more tread width. The 275/35 NT01 is more like a 285/35 street tire. When mounted on a 9.5 wheel you'll notice the sidewalls look like this: / \

Yeah, I've heard of them running wide. Not really an issue for me since I'm far from rubbing.

[jph28]

^^The primary difference in performance will be how fast their grip drops off as things heat up. The difference in the two tires after a ~60sec autocross was only 0.5 seconds, but they'll probably feel a lot different 15 minutes into a DE session.

All of this said, if you're going to use these tires on the street with a few autox/DEs per year in the future, there's nothing wrong with buying the Hankooks; they'll be better for you 98% of the time (the Star Specs are very stiff and get, ahem, *loud* when they're worn down) and if you start doing autox and track events more in the future you'll eventually see that you need to upgrade rubber (and get a couple more rear OEM wheels)

[Serious]

Don't buy the dunlops for street, they aren't a very good street tire.

They were designed for stock autoX class, they have a very soft compound that comes up to temp quite quickly, which is very important for competitive autox'ing.

The hankooks are a much better street/all around tire, they are very quiet have great grip and are fantastic in the wet. Also their treadwear rating is much higher so they should last longer than the dunlops.

[kuksul08]

Thanks for the input