Great Minds think alike.

Seems like a good choice based on ratings and price. Did you see the $50 rebate? I was going to suggest the Bridgestone RE960AS, but they're more expensive ... and um, nevermind - not so good in light snow, but wait, better than the Goodyear Eagle F1 if snow's a factor.

I vow to never again buy all-season tires. At least not for any of my cars--the wife drives an SUV so that's another story.

Hah! Indeed.:cool:

We had a nearly 3-week solid bout of below-freezing temps here in Portland last winter. The RX-8, on Star Specs, stayed parked in the driveway and I drove the Outback around instead.

So, I know the feeling, but I've found that I care less about ultimate grip on the street. While autocrossing, that's a different story. But on the street I want fun more than pure speed. And, with the autocross tire-budget always looming, I need tires that will last a little longer for daily driving. So I will probably compromise next time around.

I think the funnest car I ever had on the street was a '95 miata with a very stiff suspension (JICs setup for R-compound autocrossing) running 195 section Toyo T1-Rs. The JICs were too much spring for the Toyos, and grip was compromised. But oh-man, control was fantastic. Gentle drifts were trivial to execute and quite addictive. Not the fastest setup, but very fun.

One of the illuminati over at Miata.net is telling me that he's driven his Star Specs in 18 degree weather without problems ... as long as he drives carefully at first to warm them up. I've done that with my T1Rs and SPTs but, I dunno, don't want to crack the rubber. I have a set of Wintersports on my stock Miata wheels so it becomes my beater when it snows.
I compromised last time and got the SPTs (not all-seasons, mind you, but the SPTs) and I regretted it from the very first day. Don't do it, George. LOL.

Thanks for the feedback - perhaps I should get a set of the 040s while they are cheap.

And, to add a bit of clarity, the reason the RX-8 stayed parked was the huge (for us) amount of snow that built up over that period. We had some nasty driving conditions. Saw a Camry high-centered on a berm created at a railroad crossing, and the manhole covers built up these silos of ice that were just plain dangerous. And the ruts on Christmas day on the secondary road gave the Outback issues, even on studs.

Most likely based upon their high cost ($200+ per tire our size). I would definitely pick a different UHP tire if that was my budget, and based on their cost vs comparably priced tires would also rate them lower no doubt. 37 out of 39 tires deserving to be ranked higher (exclusive of price)? No way.
Tire retailers like to label many tires UHP, doesn't mean that they are. For example, 6 or so years ago a salesman at a local retailer tried to tell me that he would put the Bridgestone 750 up against any other UHP tire; I was in there asking for pricing on the Potenza S-02s and was totally dumbstruck at his "knowledge".
Could be that you're comparing a worn/aged tire vs fresh set. Not a fair fight, because as you know tires' grip fades immensely when they're close or down to the wear bars.

I totally agree with your logic! The ol' all(true HP tire) or nothing(dedicated snow tire) adage holds true --- at least for performance cars.

Btw, I've heard that the Star Specs sidewalls may be a bit too soft. What's your take since you've owned 'em before?

George has owned them before, not me, but I'll probably be buying them next week.

I wouldn't say the Star Specs have a soft sidewall, like the old Toyo T1-S. I wouldn't say it is an overly-stiff sidewall either. It seems reasonable in that area.

Again, my only complaint is that they feel a little "wooden" or dead. That's the only criticism I have. Beyond that, they are fast, don't heat cycle out, do well in the rain, and are a good bit cheaper than the Bridgestone or Yok equiv. Honestly, most people probably won't even notice/care about the feel. The Kumho XS is cheaper still, but rain performance would keep me away, based on what I've heard so far.

Though I'm not a big Kumho fan I'll admit the XS does look interesting, and if GRM's ranking of first holds true a price of 160 something each seems pretty good relative to the competition. Hopefully its sidewall is considerably stiffer than what I've heard about its predecessor.

RE040s are awful in anything other than dry weather.

Don't get too hung up on the tread wear rating on tires of different brands. These are subjective ratings and only valuable when comparing tires of the same company. A 340 rating on brand A "may" wear out faster than a 280 rating on brand B.

I recently replaced my RE040's with the General Exclaim UHPs. I chose the Exclaims mainly because of price and the survey ratings on the TireRack site. I've only had them for 2 weeks but so far have found them extremely quiet compared to the RE040s. They are also fantastic in the rain. The Exclaims are rated as "all season" tires, but are not meant to be driven in snow. So in reality they are "3 season" tires. One area the RE040's shine in comparison to the Exclaims is feel. With the RE040's, the 8 had fantastic handling, best described as knife edge handling. The Exclaims feel very soft compared to that; the knife edge handling is gone, which is the best attribute of the 8.

So far I am not unhappy with the Exclaims. They are a good compromise tire, and for the price, they can't be beat.

wow,

i am going to make a simple star spec point.

i have about 8 k miles on a set.. and 5 track days. they are very very good tires.. and also very good in the wet.

they surprised my instructor when he drove my car..

the point is if you live where it gets below 50 deg. not the tire for you. period..

if you dont track dont bother.. but great tire..

it is a waste of money.. if you dont track the car.. simple.

beers :beer:

It's true that tire companies do their own UTQG testing or pay to have it done by independent labs so there is some variation in test implentation and interpretation or even spin (no pun intended), but it is not purely subjective. Furthermore, there can be consequences for false ratings. A difference between 140 and 340 cannot be fabricated and is meaningful.

I wasn't trying to start a huge argument on whether the RE040s are quality tires or not, but the bottom line is $125 a piece for these is a steal in my opinion, especially if you live in hot as hell states like me. This deal couldn't have come at a better time for me cause I just finished my S-03s.

That's what I've missed for the last year. My SPTs just are not comparable in the dry.
Would you recommend a cheaper tire that really handles as well in the dry as the stock RE040s? I think it's an extravagance, perhaps, but not a waste of money, at least not to me, but that's pretty subjective and I have a great 'mountain' commute and hardly ever drive on boring Interstates.

With a mountain commute get fun tires! I wish I was so lucky.

As long as it never snows or ices over on those roads, anyway.

On those days I drive my Miata with Wintersports. Lightweight cars are better in snow--don't need as much traction. Sir Isaac Newton would drive a Miata.

i think the star spec just for the street driving is a waste of money. you cant really get enough heat in them to make them yummy..

at least and be reasonable person driving on roads with others. but i will say they are just fine on the street.. they have not got loud. and lord knows i have got the rain test out of the way the last three days! :(

i think the for sale tires mentioned in this thread are a great deal.. but i would choose something different for the street. they just get to loud to fast.

have not decided it i am just going to burn the rest of the star specs off, street and track. or mount some old kumho spts that i have for the steet. and use the 01r that i have for the track..

beers :beer:

SPTs don't compare with the RE040s in the dry, not even close.

that is correct.

but for me as a daily driver tire it is more than enough for the streets of fla.. :)

beers :beer:

As others have noted, I too think the Star Specs are very loud. Even brand new. I had seen these comments ahead of time, but I was still surprised at how loud they are, much louder than the RE40s were when old and worn. I can live with this since the traction is fantastic. I am really enjoying these tires but don't recommend them if you want a nice quiet commuter tire. Maybe I still have them inflated on the high side and they will be quieter when I try some lower pressure.

The Star Specs were a great tire for AutoX. Since cording those (and having to buy a new set of street tires) I switched to the Ecsta XS and I really like it. The sidewall seems a bit stiffer and it retains most if not all of the star spec grip. Granted my Dunlops were greasy as hell by the time I was finished with them so I am trying to compare the XS to what my Star Specs were like months and months ago.

As for the RE040's I did not like them even new. I actually managed to snag a set new from a friend of mine's 2008 RX-8 because he immediately upsized but ended up getting rid of them because they really are a tired old tire (ha ha, don't mind the pun). I replaced them with the S3s and am much happier. My girlfriend has the Exclaim UHP on her 8 and I gotta say they grip hard and are smooth but the turn-in response is akin to an econobox. I don't really know why Tire Rack has them rated so highly. So for this price point I would definitely go back to the stock 'stones but only if I couldn't afford a newer tech tire.