I loved the Star Specs on the Saturn Art Car we ran at the Beaverun ChumpCar event last summer. I'm considering a set as non-winter tires for the Mazda6. So my question is, is anyone out there DD'ing them? if so, on what kind of car and how long have they lasted / did they last?
Tuning into this.
I have them on both the '90 900S that I drove to work today and my '94 Protegé that my girlfriend drove to work today. The ones on the 900 have a couple thousand street-driven miles, two track days and two trips to Deal's Gap on them. They're probably 75% dead, but I doubt much of that is from the daily driving. The ones on the Protegé have about 1500 miles and one trip to Deal's Gap on them and they still look new. The heavier 900 is inherently harder on tires, obviously.
I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread to see what kind of life I can expect on my lighter car.
I haven't DD'd Star Specs, but I have had the same ST-category type tires on my nice day cars for the last four years (1 year with the R-S3's on the 944, 1 year of Rt-615's on the Miata, and 2 years with Rt-615's on the RX-7). They wear a little fast (at least when you autocross 1-2x a month, too) but they are a joy on the street. Wet weather performance degrades as they wear down due to less void area, but dry and even cold (not snow, just cold) performance is very good.
Maybe not exactly the tires you're looking at, but imagine all of the ST tires would behave similarly on the street for DD duties.
What I have heard is that the next step down from the full-on ST tires provides the best 3-season performance with an acceptable wear rate. So Ventus V12's, ESCTA SPT's, DZ101's, etc. Might be worth a look.
Coupla local guys will say that the Star Specs will heat cycle out before tread is gone. You should easily get a year out of them on the Mazda6, maybe two depending on how much driving you do. They're saying 20-30k miles before they're totally dead.
I was getting 20k miles out of RS2s, and from what i hear, the Star Specs last longer.
Javelin wrote: What I have heard is that the next step down from the full-on ST tires provides the best 3-season performance with an acceptable wear rate. So Ventus V12's, ESCTA SPT's, DZ101's, etc. Might be worth a look.
I'd also add BFG's new G-Force Comp-2 to that list. They offer impressive grip (especially in the wet) and will last much longer than an ST tire.
I have them on my ti.. I do about 7500 miles a year... I am probably at about 12000 miles on them and still going strong
Yeah if you're DDing and performance isn't critical SPTs are probably a much better choice. They'll give you most of the performance of the Star Specs for a much longer time, especially on a heavy car like that. Remember, Star Specs are made for light cars and designed to heat up quickly...
I'm going on 2 years on my S2000 with no discernable drop in performance.
My tread is getting short enough I'm worried about spring storms but so far that hasn't even been an issue.
I've had them on 3 cars (2.5RS, S2000, Saturn), all of which have seen autox time. They wear very well for a tire with that much grip. The STX WRX I co-drove was on them for approx 20k miles and probably 200+ autocross runs on them and still had some life left (although the shoulders were dead).
We have a set on our supercharged 2006 Miata. We ran them through the Targa Newfoundland (about 1400 miles), drove the car part of the way home (2000 miles) and just finished two full days at Laguna Seca, running in two groups so the car was seeing 2.5 hours of track time a day. They're still looking pretty good. Maybe 50% left? Laguna chewed them up a bit, but I don't see us changing them any time soon.
99 Miata, 225 Star Specs on 15x8 wheels. Running ~1.5deg camber front and 2.3 (max) rear, zero toe. Stock Hard-S suspension, stock power.
I've got 4 track days (Sebring, Homestead) ~2hrs each, two autocrosses, and just over 20k mostly highway commuting miles on them in just under a year. I've rotated pretty regularly (only front-to-back, haven't flipped on rim). The two on the rear right now are about done, just at wear bars. The two on the front have a little bit left. At my mix of driving and alignment, they wear pretty evenly side to side.
I don't have any kind of data on heat cycling or how they have gone off over time, as I don't have any way to repeatably test. My last track day was my fastest, but I would attribute that to the driver getting better and more comfortable at the track.
MattGent wrote: 99 Miata, 225 Star Specs on 15x8 wheels. Running ~1.5deg camber front and 2.3 (max) rear, zero toe. Stock Hard-S suspension, stock power. I've got 4 track days (Sebring, Homestead) ~2hrs each, two autocrosses, and just over 20k mostly highway commuting miles on them in just under a year. I've rotated pretty regularly (only front-to-back, haven't flipped on rim). The two on the rear right now are about done, just at wear bars. The two on the front have a little bit left. At my mix of driving and alignment, they wear pretty evenly side to side. I don't have any kind of data on heat cycling or how they have gone off over time, as I don't have any way to repeatably test. My last track day was my fastest, but I would attribute that to the driver getting better and more comfortable at the track.
Sure those aren't RS3s? There's no 225 width 15" star spec as far as i know.
About three years and ~15k miles with a few autox events on a Mini. They are starting to get a little sketchy in heavy rain, and some vibrations from sitting over the winters, but otherwise still good.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Sure those aren't RS3s? There's no 225 width 15" star spec as far as i know.
Correction - 205/15. They are really wide for a 205 though.
MattGent wrote:92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Sure those aren't RS3s? There's no 225 width 15" star spec as far as i know.Correction - 205/15. They are really wide for a 205 though.
Heh yes they are. My 205s measured across at 217mm unmounted if i remember right. 
ProDarwin wrote: I've had them on 3 cars (2.5RS, S2000, Saturn), all of which have seen autox time. They wear very well for a tire with that much grip. The STX WRX I co-drove was on them for approx 20k miles and probably 200+ autocross runs on them and still had some life left (although the shoulders were dead).
How well will the Star Specs work for the street in 40-50 degree weather, including rain? We're in the Philly-Baltimore metro area.
My daughter Speed Racer autocrosses her 2002 Impreza wagon. Sunday (hot day, long open course) she was complaining about the current tires, and they are getting due for replacement. We've got stock WRX 16" wheels on it. If I could get 7 months of safe use out of the Star Specs (including rain), I'd put those on for DD and autocross from April-October. We've got the original 15" steelies with something round and black and all-seasonish on them, so I can switch down to the bagels for the rest of the year.
EDIT:
RS-3s are $20 a set cheaper, but I've heard they really don't like cold. I need something that can not get scary for street driving in 50 degrees and moderate rain.
What about Hankook V12 K110 or the Star Spec's baby brother the DZ101? These are both in the $85 range, though the treadwear rating jumps from 140 up to 280-300.
I'm actually VERY interested in the V12s because they are currently on special at TR and they look to have an $80 rebate on 4.
Duke wrote: How well will the Star Specs work for the street in 40-50 degree weather, including rain? We're in the Philly-Baltimore metro area.
Again, not Star Specs but their direct 140-tw competitors here, but if they perform the same, then they should handle that easily. I'd put snow's on the steelies (studless, the General's and the Hankook's are both amazing) and put an ST-class tire on her car for the summer for sure.
Javelin wrote: Again, not Star Specs but their direct 140-tw competitors here, but if they perform the same, then they should handle that easily. I'd put snow's on the steelies (studless, the General's and the Hankook's are both amazing) and put an ST-class tire on her car for the summer for sure.
Thanks!
Duke wrote: What about Hankook V12 K110 or the Star Spec's baby brother the DZ101? These are both in the $85 range, though the treadwear rating jumps from 140 up to 280-300. I'm actually VERY interested in the V12s because they are currently on special at TR and they look to have an $80 rebate on 4.
Actually, less interested now, after reading TR's test results. Doesn't sound like a great tire. Nice'n'cheap, though.
The v12s are a nice street tire.
The dz101s suck.
Duke wrote: How well will the Star Specs work for the street in 40-50 degree weather, including rain? We're in the Philly-Baltimore metro area.
I am in the Philly region.. (outside of Atlantic City) the Star Specs handle chilly weather ok.. but they do lose a fair amount of grip by the time you get into the 40s or lower. Not dangerous.. but it is noticible
Yeah, I drove Conti DWs all winter 2011-2012 and felt fine, but I've been driving half again longer than she's been alive. Her base Impreza is not a scary car, but I don't want to put her in danger, either. I an switch to other tires after October. Thanks for the tips!
The other half of the equation is I need to get some negative camber in her car, STAT.
Duke wrote:ProDarwin wrote: I've had them on 3 cars (2.5RS, S2000, Saturn), all of which have seen autox time. They wear very well for a tire with that much grip. The STX WRX I co-drove was on them for approx 20k miles and probably 200+ autocross runs on them and still had some life left (although the shoulders were dead).How well will the Star Specs work for the street in 40-50 degree weather, including rain? We're in the Philly-Baltimore metro area. RS-3s are $20 a set cheaper, but I've heard they really don't like cold. I need something that can not get scary for street driving in 50 degrees and moderate rain.
I live outside of D.C., so my weather is probably quite similar to yours. 40-50 degree rain is fine for the Z1s. I've autocrossed them in those conditions... they were no R1R, but predictable, and had as much or more grip that you would expect any tire that obeys the laws of physics to have.
In my experience, it is absolutely not fine for the RS3s. Driving those things cold or in the rain is like a death wish.
Try Dunlop SP Sport 01. They're stock on the newer WRX's and are actually outstanding summer DD tires (surprising, since most stock tires suck). I have star specs on the e30 and I'd say the SPS01's have 85% of the performance, better wet handling, and about twice the wear life. I'm a total tire snob so I was surprised when I bought a second set of SPS01's after 25k miles on the first set (and they still had some life left, I just changed sizes).
ProDarwin wrote: I live outside of D.C., so my weather is probably quite similar to yours. 40-50 degree rain is fine for the Z1s. I've autocrossed them in those conditions... they were no R1R, but predictable, and had as much or more grip that you would expect any tire that obeys the laws of physics to have. In my experience, it is absolutely not fine for the RS3s. Driving those things cold or in the rain is like a death wish.
Cool, thanks to both you and Celica for the input. The Star Specs sound like where to look.
irish44j wrote: Try Dunlop SP Sport 01. They're stock on the newer WRX's and are actually outstanding summer DD tires (surprising, since most stock tires suck). I have star specs on the e30 and I'd say the SPS01's have 85% of the performance, better wet handling, and about twice the wear life.
You know, I think I have those on my Grand Caravan!
She doesn't drive more than about 10k a year (more like 5) and so I'm not excessively concerned about the wear - they'll be rocks before they're worn out. Thanks to everybody.
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