Hankook RS4 short track review

[mbar]

Took my RS3 to my local track (Summit Point) for a 3 day weekend. Installed new square 18X8.5 with 245/40/18 Hankook RS3.
In short - this tire is the real deal. It feels like a real race tire construction with super stiff sidewall.
Pro :
*These tires wear like iron, no kidding. After 10 session with 90F weather they looked like new. Manage your pressure correctly (39F / 36R) and you have no wear on the sidewall. I had 3X more wear at the same track / 50F weather with Pilot 4S after only one day. (-1.8 camber in the front).
*Solid Grip in dry (did not try wet, but read is not as good as other tires in this class).
*Reduces understeer feel.
*Warm up fairly quick (2 laps and you can go hard).
*Reasonable driving comfort on highway to and from the track.

Cons:
*As much as they are good, they will run about a second slower than RE71R / NT01 on a 2 miles track (1:25).
*Not ideal for AX as you need a little heat to get full grip.

Conclusion:
This is a true endurance race tire. If you go to Hankook's motorsport website ( https://hankookmotorsports.com) they categorize them as part as their race line, not just as extreme performance summer tire.
Several track veterans over the weekend were shocked how good these tires were wearing.
This is a solid pick if you want to have a fun with longer lasting track tire and ok sacrificing a little time.

Let me know if you have any questions
Cheers

[phancd]

Nice review. Yes, I agree with all points. I ran these tires at COTA in 95 deg weather. No sidewall wear at all, great tire and also very streetable as a daily driver. Very little additional road noise compared to some other track-focused tires. I will be running these tires from now on as a daily driver with occasional track weekends. BTW, what wheels do you have? Not sure if you saw my post on 18" wheels with essex rotors, but I got some rubbing on the wheel with Neuspeed RSE11Rs.

[brad65ford]

Currently running them on new rims, so far so good, they do seemed a little heavy. Wondering if they are heavier than say PS4S's in the same size?

[TheContrarian]

All of this jives with what I have heard about the tire.

[mbar]

Currently running them on new rims, so far so good, they do seemed a little heavy. Wondering if they are heavier than say PS4S's in the same size?

I wonder if the stronger sidewalk give you the feel of a heavier rim?
Or maybe your new rims are heavier?

[mbar]

BTW, what wheels do you have? Not sure if you saw my post on 18" wheels with essex rotors, but I got some rubbing on the wheel with Neuspeed RSE11Rs.

I use Neuspeed RSe10 18x8.5

[cseaman]

Thank you for this post. I have a set of 265/35s on hand waiting for a new set of 18x9.5 BCs that are being built. I can't wait to experience serious traction after spending the last 13k miles on Ventus V12 evo2s. That's another tire that will last for an eon, but our cars are too much for them on E85 in a straight line.

[o1turbo30v]

Thanks for sharing.