[jhanso18]

I have them already. I bought some because Hankook RS3's were on back order for like 2 months. I will be doing my first track session with these on sunday, then next weekend a 2 day autocross event. Running 255 rear /225 front.

Has anyone tried these? Have any tips? I've been driving on mine for about a week now, and they seem solid so far, excellent in wet conditions. Cant wait to try pushing them!!!

I will have a full write up once I thoroughly test them!!!

FWIW: These are on my 2010 335xi - 6AT car (w/ alpina trans flash & cobb access tuner.) I have H&R drop springs with Koni yellow adjustable struts.

[jhanso18]

also forgot to mention this weekends test is Raceway Park of the Midlands in Pacific Juntion Iowa. (on the short course) Next weekends Autocross is in Sioux Falls with the local SCCS club!

[bNks334]

Definitely interested in hearing a comparison to the R-S3...

I am looking for tires myself. The SUR4 seems to be price'd at the low end of the bracket of Extreme Performance Summer tires. I am tempted to pickup the MPSS again though because they hold up so well for daily driving.

[Cloud9blue]

Why 225 up front? That's gonna be a ton of understeer. Why not just run 255 square?

Hankook is still cheaper than these, at least in the sizes I use. And they have served me quite well.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

Why 225 up front? That's gonna be a ton of understeer. Why not just run 255 square?

Hankook is still cheaper than these, at least in the sizes I use. And they have served me quite well.

Correct, 255/35-18 RS-3 are about $20 less per tire, that is shipping and mounting.

[jhanso18]

Sorry for the delay in feed back. I was out for a 2 day autoX last weekend and the weekend before that I had a small track day.

I feel the need to preface my comments with a little info. I have never raced a car this heavy. There is definitely a learning curve here. I am a moderately experienced racer, but I would put myself in the middle of the road as far as skill level goes. I went with the 225/40/18 size up front and a 255/35/18 rear, because I have stock 18" rims to put them on. Next year I will run a square setup, more than likely with a 255 or wider tire on all four corners.

Initial thoughts upon delivery and mounting. The tires seem to be similar in most ways to your typical 200tw tire. (weight, appearance, etc. Even the mounting process is similar to most 200tw I've done.) Drive quality is good. I ran them at 40psi to start, and driving on a 2.5hour road trip to the track, they were very good. Not much road noise, and firm but not TOO firm type of feel.

Road Course Review:
On track the tires seem to come up to temp nicely. Once at temp, they have adequate grip, and I'm happy, but the car is pushing the front end HARD once past apex. I added some PSI and it helps, but at this point I feel I'm just over driving my car. It is heavy and AWD, both of which I have very little experience with. In my 3rd session, the car goes into limp mode, and I shut it down for the day. (Car is new to me, and I need to do some research on possible solution.) Upon inspection the tires have chopped badly on the outside in front, but I must emphasize I think this is mostly MY FAULT, not the tire. I was able to run down many cars using pure brute force in the corners, and HP in the straights. I'm pretty disappointed in both the myself and not happy with the car, but I'm hopeful for next weekend. I'd be lying if I didn't say my disappointment is mostly in the limp mode cutting my day short. I am new to both BMW, and the Cobb installed on this car, so a learning curve is to be expected.


Autocross review:
At this point I've sorted my issues, and NO LIMP MODE!!! (Too hot of a tune I think. I don't have access to 93 octane.) Day one, I get 6 timed runs and two extra from timing error. Again start at 40psi, all the way around. (added to the front again after 3 runs. 49psi when hot. YIKES!) Similar to last weekend, but with a little seat time under my belt, and some help from experienced racers, I manage to better utilize the car, and the tires. I shaved almost 3 seconds off my initial outing, and I'm VERY happy with the tires. Day two goes very similar and I very nearly hit my target time. With the proper adjustments in both psi, and driving I am delighted with the tires, and my car. Proper inflation makes all the difference. I can't help but think with camber plates, and a 255 square setup, this car will FLY!!!

Over all they are a good tire. I would say a comparable tire to the RS3, but that is based solely on my own personal feel. I think they are a viable alternative, but not anything better than the most of the 200tw selection.

Thanks for reading!

[feuer]

Jhanso18 you are not over driving the car, you are over riding the tires only due to your lack of skills which you could not hide even with H&R, Yellow Koni and good tires as Hankook RS-3 that you unfortunatelly trashed rather quickly.
You are talking about camber plates now? Sure, it will furher disguise your inexperience. It will help your front tires but not you. You need track time to learn how to drive. Period.
Also, tire tread wear index has noting to due with tire mounting in particular and tire tread wear index vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
200tw on Hankook is not the same as 200tw on Michelin for example

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by jhanso18

Sorry for the delay in feed back. I was out for a 2 day autoX last weekend and the weekend before that I had a small track day.

I feel the need to preface my comments with a little info. I have never raced a car this heavy. There is definitely a learning curve here. I am a moderately experienced racer, but I would put myself in the middle of the road as far as skill level goes. I went with the 225/40/18 size up front and a 255/35/18 rear, because I have stock 18" rims to put them on. Next year I will run a square setup, more than likely with a 255 or wider tire on all four corners.

Initial thoughts upon delivery and mounting. The tires seem to be similar in most ways to your typical 200tw tire. (weight, appearance, etc. Even the mounting process is similar to most 200tw I've done.) Drive quality is good. I ran them at 40psi to start, and driving on a 2.5hour road trip to the track, they were very good. Not much road noise, and firm but not TOO firm type of feel.

Road Course Review:
On track the tires seem to come up to temp nicely. Once at temp, they have adequate grip, and I'm happy, but the car is pushing the front end HARD once past apex. I added some PSI and it helps, but at this point I feel I'm just over driving my car. It is heavy and AWD, both of which I have very little experience with. In my 3rd session, the car goes into limp mode, and I shut it down for the day. (Car is new to me, and I need to do some research on possible solution.) Upon inspection the tires have chopped badly on the outside in front, but I must emphasize I think this is mostly MY FAULT, not the tire. I was able to run down many cars using pure brute force in the corners, and HP in the straights. I'm pretty disappointed in both the myself and not happy with the car, but I'm hopeful for next weekend. I'd be lying if I didn't say my disappointment is mostly in the limp mode cutting my day short. I am new to both BMW, and the Cobb installed on this car, so a learning curve is to be expected.


Autocross review:
At this point I've sorted my issues, and NO LIMP MODE!!! (Too hot of a tune I think. I don't have access to 93 octane.) Day one, I get 6 timed runs and two extra from timing error. Again start at 40psi, all the way around. (added to the front again after 3 runs. 49psi when hot. YIKES!) Similar to last weekend, but with a little seat time under my belt, and some help from experienced racers, I manage to better utilize the car, and the tires. I shaved almost 3 seconds off my initial outing, and I'm VERY happy with the tires. Day two goes very similar and I very nearly hit my target time. With the proper adjustments in both psi, and driving I am delighted with the tires, and my car. Proper inflation makes all the difference. I can't help but think with camber plates, and a 255 square setup, this car will FLY!!!

Over all they are a good tire. I would say a comparable tire to the RS3, but that is based solely on my own personal feel. I think they are a viable alternative, but not anything better than the most of the 200tw selection.

Thanks for reading!

So you start off with 40psi cold for track use... I would seriously spend some time rethinking about your setup and driving before worrying about the choosing the best tires...

[r4dr]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

So you start off with 40psi cold for track use... I would seriously spend some time rethinking about your setup and driving before worrying about the choosing the best tires...

Yeah, wtf? If my R-S3s are at 40 psi AFTER a HPDE session I start letting pounds out per tire.

[jhanso18]

A few things guys, I never claimed to be the end all be all of driving excellence. I was sharing my experience with the car and tires. I am a veteran autocrosser who is starting to transition into some road racing. I know I'm inexperienced on course, but I also know how to drive a little better than your average newbie. This was my 5th time on course, so yes I'm learning, but I also had a guided hand from heavily experienced drivers. At the autocross, I was very close to the top of my class, and if not for the AT being a little clumbsy in a couple spots I think I could've won my class for sure. The car is capable of it, I just have to get a little better feel and I will do so in about 3 weeks. ;-)

I started at 40 psi cold and just lightly drove around my first session, not really pushing the car at all. The main reason for not droping the pressure was simply to see where the car was at. I had only owned for 2 weeks at that point. I want to see where the tires scrubbed to under light load, make sure the car was up for a heavy session the next go round etc. After the light drive, I found the tires were already rolling to the indicator mark, with out pushing the car at all. Keep in mind I'm driving an XI. The awd makes for a different animal all together.

As to the mounting of the tires, tires all mount a little different. I was just throwing that info in for good measure. I've had some 200tw wear tires mount very difficultly, and take a lot of psi to set the bead. these seemed about normal for you average performance tire.

Again let me say, I'm not claiming to be an authority in anyway. I know my car worked a HELL of a lot better with the tires up around 49psi hot. The car was more predictable, and easier to drive. If you think that stupid, that cool, but it worked for ME. That's the important part about racing. You an see someone doing something wrong, but if it works for them, it works.

thanks for the insight guys, and I'll share more as I learn more.

[jhanso18]

Originally Posted by r4dr

Yeah, wtf? If my R-S3s are at 40 psi AFTER a HPDE session I start letting pounds out per tire.

My rears were at 39psi hot when I was done. My fronts were at 47. With AWD and skinnier tires up front the car just kept wanting to push. I had a couple peeps ride with me, and after a few driving adjustments, the car still wants to push. The people I trust for advice, advised me to add psi. After doing so a couple times the car felt MUCH better. (This was similar for both the autoX and road course.)

Even I was surprised at how much PSI these needed to feel ok.

[jhanso18]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

So you start off with 40psi cold for track use... I would seriously spend some time rethinking about your setup and driving before worrying about the choosing the best tires...

The 40psi was just a start point to get a feel for what the tires would do on alight run. even on the light run, they rolled over pretty hard. I'm not doubting that my driving needs serious adjustment. But at the autocross the following week, I found my fastest times, and best tire wear at the higher pressures.

I cant emphasize enough I understand I have a lot to learn.

[jhanso18]

Originally Posted by feuer

Jhanso18 you are not over driving the car, you are over riding the tires only due to your lack of skills which you could not hide even with H&R, Yellow Koni and good tires as Hankook RS-3 that you unfortunatelly trashed rather quickly.
You are talking about camber plates now? Sure, it will furher disguise your inexperience. It will help your front tires but not you. You need track time to learn how to drive. Period.
Also, tire tread wear index has noting to due with tire mounting in particular and tire tread wear index vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
200tw on Hankook is not the same as 200tw on Michelin for example

I realize I need more seat time, and I'm over driving my tires. I stated as much in my review. It was my fault, not the tires. I know enough about autoX to make the correct adjustments. I did much better there.

225 front tire will have to go, and soon I hope. I think this will help a lot of the issues I'm having. Camber plates will also help. But more than anything else, SEAT TIME will be the key. Coming from light RWD cars to a heavy AWD car is going to be a bit of a learning curve but I new that. I'll get it down.

Thanks for your input.