Hankook RS-2 road legal track tyre reviewed
Hi all
I posted this review on the British Rally forum, following our test of these tyres on a couple of rallies. I would honestly say that for the price you can't go wrong. I have personally tried Toyo R888s, Yokohama A048s, and a selection of moulded a cut slicks/intermediate rally tyres so am talking with a degree of research under my belt. However this is still personal opinion.
To say we were pleased with the performance of the tyres is an absolute understatement. So far on the Saxo we have been running Kumho moulded slicks which I couldn't complain about particularly but I'd go as far as saying that these 'track day' Hankooks were as good if not marginally better as a mixed surface option.
Grip was fantastic - the tyres didn't appear to go off, they simply got better the more heat we got in, they responded significantly to changes in psi too which allowed us to get the best out of them from early on. The team actually had the Kumhos lined up ready to fit after SS2 but I told them to leave them!
The grip was progressive, very predictable and a lot of feedback on both smooth tarmac, broken concrete and gravel. We found ourselves catching far quicker cars on the gravel sections and with third in class to show for our efforts without so much as the need to touch the pressures since the first couple of stages that has to be testament itself.
I was advised by Garry Muir to give these a go as a budget alternative following the mysterious air loss issue with our Kumhos so close to the rally and as always I'm really pleased I follwed this advice.
Looking at reviews on the internet, they are meant to be as good in the wet as the dry...anyone want to buy a set of nearly new Kumho Inters?? (lol)
One thing I will say is although we did around 30 miles 'spirited' driving on the road to 'scrub' these tyres in, they needed fair bit more, and we struggled for grip for the first stage. Something to bear in mind if you try them.
Wear rate - well what can I say? They hardly looked used after one mixed surface rally, front or back. After a second rally on them, which was all tarmac and obviously as a result more heat intensive, the front ones are showing signs of wear, particularly on the leading edges showing the effects of running without an anti-roll bar perhaps (?). But still plenty of life left in them, and at £60 tyre can you afford not to give these a go?
A lot of single venue rally competitors use R888s or A048s, and while you'll get some funny looks and comments perhaps like we did with tyres that look more like road rubber than either of the aforementioned alternatives, the price difference speaks for itself.
Hope that's helpful for some people on a budget, and comes as a direct response to some people asking me to feedback following my previous post. I'm no expert, and I'm not exactly Sebastian Loeb. These are simply my views based on my own experience.
If any of you try them on your Saxos, be sure to post up and let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Paul
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