So I've narrowed it down to two tires for my summer tires and just wanted to get everyones opinion on which one they think is better. I'm going to buy them off tirerack and its about $530 for the KDW2's and $720 for the stars. I'll pay the extra money if those are the better tires so thats not a problem. The thing that is swaying me is the treadwear with the stars being only 200 while the KDW2's are 300. My question is though that tirerack rates the KDW2's as a ultra high performance summer tires while the stars are an extreme performance summer tire. Is there really a difference between the two ?

 

There's another thread which has a link of professional testing between tires which includes the BFG and stars. It was a magazine that did the testing with tire racks help. Star specs rated the best in the test.

 

Are you going to be autocrossing/tracking your car or is it just for the street? If your just going to be driving around on the street get the KDW2's or Hankook Ventus V12's if you want to track your car then the Star Specs or Kumho Ecsta XS's are your best bet. This is what I have gathered from my research (I too am looking at new tires for this season).

 

a lot of people run nittos as well, and they are cheap, im on kumho spt's and they ride like ****, fyi.

 

I ran star specs on my IRL last year and currently have a set for my balt to be put on once the weather gets nicer out here. I'll tell you from first hand experiance that the star specs have AMAZING grip. Striaght line. corners, wet, dry, and braking. My only bad thing with the star specs is that they will only last about 20k with a car that is aligned and rotated properly. Thats just a trade off you get with a sticky tire such as these. I love them though and i'll keep buying them till something better comes out.

 

Mostly for daily driving but I wouldn't mind be able to take it to the track and get a good run in.

 

star specs or re-11s.....end of story. those are the best out atm. kdws dotn compare.

 

me and ryan aka rydesmoto both have the hankook ventus rs3 and there a great tire for the money i got mine for $850 instaslled i was looking at the dunlops but they would have been close to a $1000

 

Get HANKOOK RS3 they are great tires for the track and daily driving.

 

fwiw and i would know, while all the above tires inspire a confident driving experience, and ive tried most of them in the last ten years (of those some have since been revised) but I want to make sure you understand that most of the suggested tires ARE NOT STREET FRIENDLY. They don't last, do not maintain balance, and require rotation more often because of their reduced life cycle. However for that they all have performance that for street purposes is within 10 percent of each other. I personally think the best overall choice is the KDWs. Chances are high you will never exceed the performance of the tires in a manner which could possibly be safe. Just my opinion of course.

 

I'm with you. Conti DW for me when my stockers wear out. I keep trying to kill them, but they won't die.

17k miles with 2 wet track events. They performed very well at 120mph in the rain with 13k miles on them. People have no idea what they're capable of.

 

haha **** my stock contis barely lasted me 11k lol

 

lol Mine only lasted for 10,000 miles... I think that has more to do with my 2nd and 3rd gear rolling burnouts on the freeway though lol...

I love my Hankook RS3s... they are much more grippy than the stockers... and I do drive like an ******* about 95% of the time. I have had the KDWs on and I love bridgestone... one of my favorite tire companies because I always have excellent luck with their on or offroad tires... But the Hankooks came highly recommended so I decided to switch it up...

Between your two choices I vote KDWs

 

Yeah I'd have to vote the KDW's, the tread pattern is badass

I've heard a lot of people like em'

I'm picking up some in the next couple weeks

 

Anybody here have tried bridgestone re-760? I drive too much to justify re-11, star specs, rs3 etc, but I would like to try something different than cheap kumhos for my next set of tires.

 

ive heard nothing but bad things about the 760 lol

 

I have just received my Kuhmo Ecsta LE sports .. reviews were really good so far, but they are a brand new tire.. i'll give my review when I can finally install them .. (cold weather)

 

The 760 is a good tire.

 

KDW's are great they have a little bit of road noise but they are amazing in wet and dry conditions got my for right around 600 at my work installed in a 225/40ZR18.

 

yea but not compared to rs3 or star spec lol

 

I went with the Hankook Ventus V12. While they are a good tire, they are still kinda noisy and they aren't as wide as the stockers, so the rim sticks out a little.

 

Read this it should tell you everything you need to know.

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 - Comparison Tests - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver


You don't sound like an avid racer who wants to shed a few tenths off a lap so the KDW's would be a good choice but IMO the Hankook Ventus V12's are a better choice pricing is great and they will last longer than the Star Specs (280 Treadwear vs. 200).

 

Thats also 2 years old.. They are testing the old version of my tire and i have been trying to find something more up to date with no luck.

 

Just got KDW2's on last week..Love them so far. Like it was mentioned the tread is badass!

 

I really enjoy my star specs and they hold up pretty good for how sticky they are. I autox during the summer and most likely going to be hitting a track this summer as well.