I hate cars

I'm about to step it up a notch. The NT05 has long been my favorite street tire. Beside excellent grip, noise is ok, turn in is very sharp without sacrificing much ride comfort. Most importantly the break away after you exceed their limits is very predictable a d easy to control. They have a 200 tread wear and I get about 15,000 miles out of a set. My biggest complaint is they need a little heat for maximum traction and they come with only 6/32nds tread depth.

The RS3 is supposed to be the closest to an R compound you can get that's not an R compound. Traction is supposed to be significantly better than the NT05 and pretty much any other street tire. Tread wear is very low at 140 but the 9/32nds tread depth might completely offset that over the NT05. Working temperature range sounds to be about the same, maybe lower than the NT05.

I'm interested in anyone's experiences, especially in noise and break away behavior. I've been through 4 sets of NT05s because they are the whole package and compromise very little in any category. I'm ultimately chasing better dry traction but I don't want to give up too much in any other category. I like how I can slide the NT05s around even at high speeds with total confidence and don't want something that's prone to snap spins.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

I have some friends who are die hard hankook fans...they love V12's for DD and RS3's for spirited driving and track. should be better than the nt05's in terms of grip. however the rs3 def wont be too good when cold.

I hate cars

Thanks.

Anyone want an almost new set of NT05s? I really want to try these out during the summer months. I guess I can just start commuting the 90 mile round trip to work instead of the 3 mile round trip to the car pool car to wear them out quicker.

Break away is supposedly very predictable and a couple people have matched or exceeded their NT01 track times with this street tire.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

hehe at getting excited over tires!

I hate cars

You know it. I was more excited before I realized the fronts have only 1,000 miles on them.

Atlas.46

In for more... looking for tires right now as well.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

RS3's hands down and they're always a steal on the price. Also the Toyo R1R as a comp to the RS3...I've heard slightly better wet traction compared to the RS3 but more expensive IIRC.

onefastmachine

iTrader: (1)

Im about to order the RS3's not bad for the price, Im running Re-11 that buddy told me was a good tire but eh didn't like em one bit

I hate cars

Thanks for the replies. OFM, I'm looking forward to your results when you get the tires mounted.

Villa, I know that talk in your circles is more valuable, I'm guessing the consensus is that the RS3 is the easy choice for ultimate dry traction?

I'm looking for ultimate dry traction first and foremost whether its for spirited driving or accident avoidance. It rarely ever rains here so as long as they're better than the Hoosiers on the GN I'm fine with that. Most of the tires in this category have better than average wet traction but they have a harder time channeling away standing water. I can live with that too since its usually as easy as slowing down

Tread wear isn't too important. The longer the better but the car sees a 3 mile round trip drive to work and back and occasionally some spirited runs on a weekend. I'm typically doing 5k a year or less so I should get 3 years out of these tires which is fine especially at this price.

Villa, would you say these tires are even remotely comparable to a R compound or is there a huge difference in outright traction. Hell, I would go with an R compound like the NT01 if they didn't need so much heat to work well. I think one of those tires on the street would have less traction on average than one of the ultra high performance street tires that would be closer to their optimal range.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

IHC, your logic is right on. The RS3 is really going to be your best bet. They often lap close to R comps without the absolute requirement of coming up to heat first. They have a stellar reputation, great price, excellent performance and would be a top choice of mine any day.

I hate cars

I'm really looking forward to them. My driving has become a little more spritied lately, trying to wear the NT05s out before summer which probably won't happen. Thanks for the input.