Tyre experts: Hankook Ventus RS4. Can you check my thinking ?

[joshinthecity]

Hiya.
2025 Type R

I did a track day (night) here in Sydney recently, and pretty quickly found the limitations of the stock tyres.
On the up-side, they vaporised very evenly across the faces and were trashed both front and rear, showing the basic balance is good. It was a cool night in Sydney and I think I've just driven past the OEM rubber's design brief. I'll get another track day out of them though..
I'm looking to buy a replacement set in a 200 wear rating. and these RS4's are very well regarded and praised by others for (relatively) long life, which means I can try to run them all the time. (Car is not a daily). I don't want to buy a 2nd set of wheels (18's) if I can avoid it by trying this first.
I'm on stock suspension and I will be for some time as I have a driveway with awkward geometry.
https://www.hankooktire.com/au/en/tire/ventus/z232-z232.html

The nearest size the RS4 comes in to to stock is 275/35ZR19W XL
Stock tyre size is 265/30-19

I suspect these will fit-up and work just fine, but it seems prudent to check-in with the brains trust on this one before going ahead.
What say you tyre gurus?

Thanks.

Josh.

 

[J_D]

Your stock tyres look brand new, almost no wear. What you are seeing is rubber from other cars that is stuck to your tyres. I am feeling that you are a beginner correct?

I would just run the factory tyres for a few more events has you build skills and confidence. Keep an eye out on hot pressure after a session. IIRC the PS4S likes 30-35 PSI on track. Others will chime in

For the RS4 get a second set of wheels, 18x9.5 5x120, and 265/35/18 tyres.

 

[joshinthecity]

Thanks JD.
Yes, you are correct, the rubber on the tyre is mostly pick-up.
Novice (always learning) not beginner.

I want and need more grip. I feel on track the tyres are heating up well beyond what they were designed for (fast road driving) in a 15 min session. They are excellent road tyres in my opinion. With an Australian summer about to begin, (40 degree days) this will become much worse and untenable.
The RS4's have a very strong reputation here for holding up against very high temps.
Ideally, and eventually, 100% I'd run 2 sets of wheels / tyres, but in this case, I need to stay with the factory wheels; at least for now.

 

[zymmer4]

My stock Michelin PS4 tires on my 2024FL5 went 5000 miles on the WV goat paths I drive on. They were completely shreaded..eveny across the entire tread face..chunked, bits hanging out of the middle..just worn out. I bought a set of Conti DSW 06, hoping for more milage..I got 15000 miles out of the Conti set..worn out at 15000 miles..the alignment before the next set went on was as built..I have No faith in the PS4 Michelins.

 

[xpystchrisx]

I would avoid trying to use the 19's for track tires and pick up a solid set of 18x9.5 or 10 wheels (whatever passes engineering in AUS I believe) and run a set of 275 Kuhmo V730's. If you're not looking for outright pace, just seat time those tires wear really well and handle heat also.
That said if you're stuck on 19's I would still go for the V730's. The Hankooks are good but the V730's are regarded as better these days.

 

[Cueyo]

A quick Google search tells me that you're not necessarily comparing apples to apples here. The OEM ps4s's are different than normal ps4s's in compound and size (something about being sharper in turns and slightly thinner to fit on the wheels). The RS4s are much much closer to a sport cup 2, but sacrifice some grip for superior heat resistance and endurance. Seems like they would be a pretty good pick, but also expect them to last less in general than the ps4s's. The RS4's will last longer on track, but the actual mileage is ~10k less than a street tire like the Ps4s's because of the material they use.

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