I can't get front tires... closest performer to RS3?

I berkeleyed up my Fiero's front tires at Buttonwillow Raceway on Saturday, and went to the tire shop today for a replacement.... nobody has the 215/45/17 Hankook RS3s, not even Tire Rack or Hankook. Apparently a new compound is coming out so they stopped making them for now.

I have brand new (just installed Friday.. so like 15 laps on them) 275/35/18 Hankook RS3s on the rear of my car and I have a full weekend of NASA HPDE in 5 days, so I need something fast and I'd prefer to not have my rears go to waste..

What's the closest equivalent to an RS3 from another brand that I can put on the front?

I can run a 215/45/17 or 225/45/17 up front, but I definitely don't want to go wider because I need to keep my tire stagger close to my weight distribution.

...Or do I try to sell the RS3s and just order a full matching set of something else? My choices are Rivals or Dunlop ZIIs if I go that route.

UPDATE: I went with the Rivals. See my latest post below for an update on how they compare to the RS3s, now that I have a few track days on them.

I'd say dump the rears and get a new set of Rivals.

+1 on the Rivals.

Rivals or Z2s are both good choices.

Thanks for the recommendations!

My only worry about Rivals was that there's rain on the forecast for Friday, which could spill into Saturday... but that's a pretty rare occurrence here in SoCal, so I think I'll go with the Rivals.

Z2s look excellent for rain but I hear they're peaky tires and sensitive to pressure.. I tend to run long sessions (not competing in time trials yet) so I like to have something that doesn't peak for only a couple laps.

... or should I get Toyo R888s? Only $80 more. I do have to drive to and from the track though.

Rivals aren't nearly as bad in the rain as some would make you believe. I DD on mine for a few weeks between events, several hard downpours (standing water in the roads hard) and never had to slow my speed.

series8217 wrote: ... or should I get Toyo R888s? Only $80 more. I do have to drive to and from the track though.

If it's just driving to and from the track R888s would be fine. If this is a mixed street/track car I'd go with Rivals or Z2s.

My concern for rain isn't on the street, it's at the track this weekend :-)

series8217 wrote: My concern for rain isn't on the street, it's at the track this weekend :-)

I always ran them for rain events too. I've never seen the big deal about them in the rain. Sure, they're no R1R, but what is besides the R1R in the rain?

The R888 will heat-cycle out much faster than a Z2 or Rival, that's why I wouldn't recommend them for regular street use.

Ordered placed for a set of Rivals. Thanks!

I'll add another vote for the Rivals, now that its too late. Having run both 888's and Rivals, though never on the same track at the same time, I don't think the BFGs leave very much on the table for performance, and treadwear is massively better.

Lol worried about rain when replacing RS3s with Rivals. I've raced in the rain on 225 RS3 and 275 A6s, I'll take the A6s unless its raining on the surface of the sun, then maybe it'll be warm enough for the RS3s to do something. I dont think you can get any worse rain racing performance than the current RS3. They do work fine on the street in the rain, they dont hydroplane.

In reply to Leafy:

Good to know I'm getting an upgrade on wet performance by moving away from the RS3!

Just thought I'd update this after having driven on the Rivals for a few track weekends (Buttonwillow and Auto Club Speedway).

1) The Rivals absolutely suck in the rain. I was hydroplaning at 55mph on the freeway. ANY standing water is problematic.

2) I can't get any heat into them on a damp track surface (even though the temp is above 50*F), or maybe they just don't grip on a damp surface at all. I'm not talking about standing water, just a surface that has drained but is still moist.

3) The sidewalls on the BFG Rivals are so soft I thought my shocks were blown when I pulled the car out of the garage after putting them on. When I come to a complete stop the whole car wobbles on the sidewalls for a couple seconds. I can also push the car when its parked and watch it wobble around like its on stiff jello. The tire pressure doesn't seem to have any effect on this; I ran them as low as ~32 psi and as high as 40 psi.

4) The Rivals heat up slower than the RS3s, and maintain their grip over a wider temperature range. They don't peak like the RS3s. When they do overheat, a few cooldown laps brings them back. The RS3s were done for the session once they got too hot. This is the best thing about the Rivals. I get a lot more useful laps out of them per session. I don't know if they have better grip than the RS3s or not. They're very close. The soft sidewalls make them feel slow and sloppy though.

5) The fronts are wearing in a "wave" shape. Each section of tread blocks has its own wear pattern. I first noticed this after the first track weekend with them. I was running -0.8 deg camber up front. Before the last event I changed to -3.0 deg up front. They are still wearing funny. This may be related to the soft sidewalls. I did not see wear like this with the RS3s when I had -0.8 deg camber.

6) The RS3s could be flipped from side to side to even out camber wear. The Rivals can't because they're assymmetrical (outside/inside instead of directional).

I have read (I don't remember where) that the Rivals were intended for cars with limited camber. That could explain the soft sidewalls and assymmetrical design. Perhaps the outer sidewall is softer than the inner sidewall, so the tire is more tolerant of positive camber.

Anyway, once these Rivals are worn out I'm switching back to RS3s now that they're available in the new compound.

Bobzilla wrote: Rivals aren't nearly as bad in the rain as some would make you believe. I DD on mine for a few weeks between events, several hard downpours (standing water in the roads hard) and never had to slow my speed.

deep water, they're death traps … but so are most "non HoHo wets" …. damp track the Rivals should be fine

damp track the Rivals should be fine

They were pretty awful on the damp track. I couldn't get any heat into them.