Tires

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 04/20/2018 at 19:18 • Filed to: None

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It’s time to ditch the meaty winter rubber and swap on some grippy rubber bands. Direzza ZII star specs are discontinued and inventory is basically gone so as I see it, I have two choices. They’re both 200tw. Both same price. One is brand new, one is tried and true... Which do I pick???

Dunlop Direzza Z3 or Potenza RE71R?

Has anybody heard anything about the Z3's yet? The internet seems shockingly silent on the topic. They’re both priced great on tire rack for 205/50/15's ($110 each, with an additional mail in rebate) and they both should have fantastic grip. But the Bridgestones wear out in like a week (slight dramatization) and the new tread pattern on the Dunlops makes me think they sacrificed some of the wet grip I loved so much just to gain on the Bridgestones on dry pavement. Booooooo

Oh and in an act of pure class, the Subaru offered itself up for sale to help it’s injured brother recover. The Outback is sold. The Miata has upgraded versions of the stolen items ordered and on the way... We’ll never forget your sacrifice Blubaru. Mostly because you were bought by my neighbor so I’ll still see you daily!

Nibbles > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 19:27

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If you want a good mix of wet and dry performance, why not Continental ExtremeContact DW, or Cooper Zeon RS3-G1? I’ve heard good about the Contis and have the Coops on my Z28 with, like, 400 miles on ‘em - so far they’re quite grippy

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 19:27

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I’ve heard good about Firestone Firehalk Indy 500's.

Nick Has an Exocet > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 19:29

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I put P ZERO NERO GT tires on my NA and I have no complaints. They’re a little more expensive though. I don’t seem to have any treadwear issues that I know of but I’m 3k miles in.

WRXforScience > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 19:29

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The stones are great for autox and terrible for everything else (well, they wear out too quickly for a real track or canyon tire). The guy who runs the new Dunlops locally like them, but they aren’t as fast as the stones. They work better as a track tire though and don’t wear nearly as fast.

I really like the Falken Azenis 615k+ as a track/daily tire. They aren’t as fast as the stones but are close and they wear soo much better. They also aren’t as loud on the street, but give great feedback and are super predictable. In my sizes, they are $40 a tire cheaper than the stones or zIII and look to last significantly longer.

AestheticsInMotion > Nibbles 04/20/2018 at 19:30

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I really want to test the limits of my car with the best street legal tires and can get. Last year I didn’t do an alignment or dial in my suspension so I feel like there’s still a ton of room for improvement

AestheticsInMotion > Nick Has an Exocet 04/20/2018 at 19:31

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I’ve always wondered what the huge cost increase in the Pirellis is for. Have you tried other tires in the same class? How do they compare?

Nibbles > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 19:34

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Then the Coops probably not so much. They definitely lean toward the wet side than dry performance. I’m gonna get a set of the Contis next and see how they do. Should be in WA by then I’d hope

Nibbles > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock 04/20/2018 at 19:36

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They are good as long as shit is DRY. They have minimal wet grip; at least the set I had on the Z28 did

Frosted > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 20:00

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I have RE-71s on my Cube (it’s comical) and they grip so incredibly well. They grip is decent in the rain though I wouldn’t try any Initial D doriftos. Had mine for roughly a year, albeit the car did sit for about 4 months of that year.

AestheticsInMotion > WRXforScience 04/20/2018 at 20:02

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I loved the ZII’s for daily use, based on what you said I think I’ll end up testing the ZIII’s this time.

Road noise is a bit rough right now but I’m hoping putting all of my insulation back in along with some phat mat sound deadening should help out

AestheticsInMotion > Frosted 04/20/2018 at 20:13

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On your Cube??? That is fantastic.

Frosted > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 20:18

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It’s built for handling. Dropped 2 inches on springs, brace in the middle, RE71s wrapped around lightweight OZ Racing wheels. It’s slow but it’s fun in the twists.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 20:55

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Just get BFGs

AestheticsInMotion > Frosted 04/20/2018 at 21:00

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I love this thing so much. Any other plans for it?

Frosted > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 21:06

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Currently no, it’s halfway for sale but I have a semi-high price and it’s firm so I doubt anyone will buy it. Once my financial situation gets stable again I’ll likely become unstable quickly and get coilovers. I toy with the idea of a engine swap but I’d need my own place with a garage and some friends with wrench skills to even really think about it.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 21:31

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I wouldn’t bother with RE71R for street driving. The wear life is comically bad. I wouldn’t be surprised if a week of hard driving 24/7 wouldn’t ruin them. And I’m not saying do donuts, just Canyon runs nonstop. It is still THE choice for autocross but i don’t care that much about being competitive anyways. I love my z2 star specs, I would have to imagine the new ones are only better. You won’t have an idea on longevity considering how new they are but if you can’t find a better deal on another 200tw, that seems like a good choice.

Also, looking forward to the rebirth of the Miata! I don’t think I’d sell my Subaru to save my Miata. But Outbacks are probably easier to replace if desired.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 21:33

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I second the Falkens as a decent alternative. I have that exact tire on my STi. While it’s kinda hard to compare the two on very different cars, I’m still very happy with them. I haven’t tested them much in wet though because it never rains here lol.

Nick Has an Exocet > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 21:38

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Not yet on this car! I read a lot of tire tests before buying them. They are kind of a middle tire - not good enough for the next class up and too expensive for the class below.

AkursedX > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 21:46

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I have a friend who I autocross with who is an engineer for sumitomo/Dunlop. I had a conversation with him about the Z3 vs the RE71 recently. He said the RE71 is still faster, but the Dunlop is closer than the previous Z2 star spec. It should wear better than the RE71, but it will take some time to see if that will be the case.

I am probably going to buy the Z3's soon as my rt615k+’s will probably be done after 3 consecutive weeks of autocross and Evo-school.

A friend of mine is running RE71's on a very similarly prepped STX RX8 to mine and we are running the exact same size and the exact same wheels. We plan on switching wheel/tire setup in the middle of a couple events to get some data for people wondering about them.

AestheticsInMotion > AkursedX 04/20/2018 at 21:59

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Sounds like some good info could be coming! I think the Z3 will be my best choice too, I’m just hoping that wet grip is still pretty good and that they didn’t screw with the wider temperature range that the ZII’s could handle. I’m a bit disappointed they didn’t add any wider sizes for my diameter wheel like the rest of the manufacturers seem to be doing

AestheticsInMotion > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 04/20/2018 at 22:03

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Yeah I drove my Outback a few times a year so honestly this sale feels like the first time in years where I’ve gotten any value out of the wagon!

It kinda makes me mad that the ZIII’s are priced significantly lower than the ZII’s on “clearance pricing” were. I guess that might just mean Dunlop realized they can’t charge significantly more than tires that are much faster? Or maybe when the star spec versions come out they’ll be priced much higher. Who knows....

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 04/20/2018 at 22:24

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Wait... The Outback is sold? What are you driving until the Miata is back together?

AestheticsInMotion > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 04/21/2018 at 16:00

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It’s quite uncomfortable but I managed to get my S2k seat mated up with the Miata. With any luck my gear will all come in by this coming weekend

ateamfan42 > AestheticsInMotion 04/23/2018 at 09:43

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I’m in the same boat... my ZII Star Specs are likely to be consumed by mid-summer, and if I stay with 205/50R15 the Z3 and the RE-71 are the two obvious choices. I really appreciated the ability of the Star Specs to continue to work on the chilly mornings in spring and fall since I drive my car all year.

I’m hopeful the Z3 turn out to be a similar to the ZII. Even for autocross I’m willing to give up the slight advantage credited to the RE-71 for longer wear and a greater range of usable temperatures.