S-03s ($138) vs P-Zero Russo ($125) vs P-Zero System ($128)

Getting ready to spend some money soon and I can't decide which tire is better.

The tire size I'm looking at is 205/50-16. 16x7 w/ 40mm offset. The car won't see track, just 'spirited' driving in twisty rural roads.

Are the S-03s worth the extra $13 per tire? Is one tire more noisy than the other? I'm not loaded with money, so how long can I expect them to last (assume no to little burnouts)? Rain?


Thanks

 

The Rain King would be the S-03. The Rosso would give you longer mileage, but about the same as the S-03. The P-Zero Asimmetrico will give you the best dry stick and handling. The choice depends on what you expect to drive in most of the time, and what you want in a tire. The $13 premium is worth it for the S-03s. The prices are pretty similar, so it's really not that big a deal...lucky for you, that you have a skinny, 16-inch tire size...real cheap compared with wider and 17/18-inch tire sizes!

On second thought, I see you're from Washington state. Rains alot in Washington (I spent time at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Tacoma, WA). You'd better get the S-03s!

 

Get the S-03s. They are the best street tires available right now, and somehow they aren't even that expensive. They ride nicer than the PZero System, but I don't know how the ride compares to the Rosso. They offer incredible grip for braking and acceleration, and are among the best for lateral grip as well. The sidewalls are not super stiff, which takes a little getting used to if you have been using really stiff tires. I am used to the feel now, and I love the grip.

They are the best tires I have ever driven on in the rain (including all season touring tires on sedans). I got stuck in a massive rain storm right after I put them on and I felt confident doing almost normal speeds on the highway (70 MPH in heavy rain!). This totally blew me away.

-Max

 

I've had everything, Pilot's, AVS, S02 etc......Save your money and get the new ZR Falken's......I haven't tried them but a guy I know (nameless) says there the ****......I going to try them myself

 

This'll be my first set of performance tires, so anything will be stiffer. My current tire size is 185/70-14, so they have humongous sidewalls. The tire I'm using is all-season Goodyear clubs. I used to paying about $250 per set of four tires (mounted and everything) so I'm still adjusting to the perf tire prices.

I think I'll go with the S-03s if they are good in the rain, compared to the others.

thanks for the help, guys!

 

I like the new Kuhmo's they are a great bang for the buck. But if you want the best all around performace tire get the S-03's.

 

I just mounted a set of S-03's for the Type-R rims on my Civic and they Kick some major a$$!!! Get the S-03's!

 

The Tire Rack has some pretty good comparisons with these tires on there website. From my own experience with some of the tires they have rated I found their comparisons to be fairly accurate. I haven't tried the SO3's but the S02's were outstanding in the dry and simply the best I ever had in the rain. I do a lot of track events and they did chunk and wear a lot faster than some of the other tires I have used. That is exactly what the Tire Rack said about them. Their comparison of the S03 sounds like it is equal or better than the S02 in every regard, including wear. I plan on getting a set soon, I like the AVS sports alot to, they wear very well but after a few heat cycles they harden and loose a lot of their grip.
One note, I found the S02's are almost like R compound tires, they work much better when they are warm. The first couple of fast corners on cold tires will feel very loose, once they warm up their hard to beat.
Any road racers with SO3's that could provide feedback?

 

S03s will chunk, too! My center rib has a pretty ragged edge on the front tires. I ran one session on them at Streets of Willow Springs because I was late and didn't have time to swap the race rubber on. They didn't melt, but they were getting a little greasy by the end of the session and the edges of the center rib and maybe some tread blocks lost some little chunks.

They do have the sticky and compliant feel that you probably enjoyed with the S02s. And I mean compliant in the good sense; they don't roll over, but they also don't skate along like hard rubber bricks (as stiffer tires sometimes feel). You feel like you are getting all the grip they offer, unlike some stiffer tires that seem like they won't compromise their shape for stick. They do so without feeling sloppy, and they provide good tactile feedback as you approach and exceed their limits. They don't make any noise, which is fine as all the information you need is available from the steering wheel and your butt. They break away smoothly -- no nasty surprises.

They would be fantastic to have around if it started raining at the track.

-Max

 

the S03s sounds like the ticket. thanks for all the feedback. cant wait to get'em!!!

 

Tell us how you like 'em!

 

Thanks for the reply Max, thats about what I expected to find. What kind of race rubber do you use? I will take a wild guess and say Hoosier R3S03? How much of a difference in lap times did you notice from your S03's to your race rubber?

 

I got some BFG R1As for super cheap after they pulled the plug on that tire model. The regular R1s are too stiff for the RX-7, in my opinion, but the R1As are pretty nice. But they are available no more...

I guess I would be a hypocrite if I chose my next set of tires based on price (as I often tell people not to skimp on their tires), but I am still not sure if my next set will be Hoosiers or Kumhos.

I wasn't timing myself with either of the tires, so I don't know how much difference there was in the times. However, I am sure it was pretty significant as 285 race rubber is much sticker than 245&265 street rubber. It was a very noticeable difference when driving, and my car was setup with a lot of understeer, so the 245 street tires were pushing around all over the place. It was pushing with the 285s in front, too, but the limits were much higher.

-Max

 

In my experience there's 5 seconds difference between either my Bridgestone Expedia S-07s or Pirelli P-Zeros 225/50-16 on 8 x 16 and my Hoosier R3S03 in 245/45-17--275/45-17 on 8.5 x 17--9.5 x 17 SSR Competitions. If you compare 16-inch vs 16-inch there was a 3-second difference between road rubber in 225/50-16 on 8 x 16 and 245/45-16 Hoosier Motorola Cup tires on 8.5 x 16 Kosei K1 Racing. The track test results were taken from my laptime differences at Putnam Park Road Course.

 

Max I'm hearing good things about the new Kumho Ecsta 700s...but they probably won't be as fast as the Hoosier R3S03....BUT the Kumhos's promise to last longer then Hoosier. It's always a trade-off...do you want speed, or do you want longevity...why cant' we have BOTH?!

 

Do a search. I started a thread on this a long time ago. S-03's all the way!!!!

 

We have a timing system setup at my local track, myself and others have also noticed approximately a five second improvement with the Hoosiers compared to a High performance street tire. I haven't used them myself but others have told me that Kumohs are kind of inbetween (2-3 second improvement). With this club,
http://www.motorsportranch.com/ I have the ability to jump on a track almost any time I want, it's less than an hour from my house. With this kind of access I am all about longevity and cutting costs where I can. I only run Hoosiers for special events.

 

what about the toyo t1-s tires? how do they compare to the s03's and rosso's?

 

After some research the S-03s seem the way to go. I just got my set from www.tirerack.com but have not put them on yet. I saved over $300 compared to the local shops.

As far as chunking how many miles where on the tires before putting them on the track? Ive been told to put 3-5k on them before puting them on the track.

 

I don't remember exactly how many miles, but it was probably somewhere between 3-5K. The chunking was not major. I would definitely run them again if I didn't have time to switch to the track tires. And I'd certainly put them on if it started to rain. Street tires fall apart on the track, and track tires fall apart on the street in my experience.

We had our own little Neon Challenge once and ended up destroying a lot of Eagle GA tires. They had flat spots from spins, and the tread blocks around the edge completely separated from the tires, leaving holes with little wires sticking out around them. The one in the picture had less than 1000 miles on it. Now that's chunking!

-Max

 

Eric,

Yes, I've heard about the Motorsport Ranch...excellent facility (pricey, but excellent, from what I've read on their website)...

Perhaps you could rent some space at the Motorsport Ranch facility to store your separate wheels mounted with Hoosier R3S03s on them? It'd be the way to go IMO, especially if you enjoy wiping the floor with the "competition"...

I've found that our humble little Rx7 can easily run with the fastest, most expensive machines out on track...given sticky tires, big brakes, and racing brake pads...and of course a little driving skill

 

Max,

Wow, those poor Eagles got destroyed! Almost inappropriate to use all-season tires for racing FWD cars (can you say UNDERSTEER?!)...

FWIW, my old Kumho V700s chunked pretty badly right out of the box...so for those of you thinking about V700s, I recommend driving around the street for a few hundred miles to heat cycle the V700s, before going to the track...for autocrossers, the V700s should be fine right out of the box...not as much tire heat generated during the autocrosses...

 

I do have space for other tires, it’s just that as often as I get on the track I would have to buy a new set of Hoosiers every 6-7 weeks. Plus its even more fun when you "wipe the floor" of some Porsche, Viper.... running R compound tires, he comes over after the run looks down and sees that your running street tires


Very true, I am an average driver at best but this car is so good it makes me look like Mario Andretti. A good driver in a really hot ride might run me but you would be amazed at how many people are out there on race courses with these awesome cars (some race prepped) and cannot drive for ****. This is a tight technical course, the relatively light weight of the RX7 gives you a definate advantage. I have been able to out run some decent drivers in a fairly new 911 turbo and a 360 Ferrari challenge car on this course. On high speed courses with a lot of fast sweepers the big rubber high HP/torque cars have more of an advantage.
I can take guests, so if anyone ever wants to come down with there ride and play just let me know. This track is on the schedule for the One Lap of America.

 

Keep up the great work, Eric!