[Froth]

Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec, HANDS DOWN. The RS-2 has too much water siping and loses dry traction because of this. Trust me, I've been through a LOT of tires and As far as the best Daily/Track tires you will find the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec will not be beat IMO. Check the reviews, they'll back it up. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...e=Dunlop&tireModel=Direzza+Sport+Z1+Star+Spec I will never use ANY other tires so long as they make these.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

Wide contact patch does not make/break a tire...it can HELP but a wider less sticky tire will perform worse than a skinnier stickier tire. I had the 225/45/15 RS-2's and I sold them after a week to a friend with a Miata, much less grip than the Dunlop Z1 Star Spec's and the Dunlop only comes in a 195/55/15. I work for one of the largest tire retailers in the business outside of Tire-rack and I can tell you hands down you will be hard pressed to find a better all-around tire than the Dunlop. I've been through most all of them.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

how are the dunlop sp9000 tires?

Not even close to anything listed above, they're soft for what they are and for being so soft they don't have nearly as much grip as they should. They're good if you're looking for a comfortable ride and do some slightly spirited driving on a lighter car...but they wear too quickly to be worth the price they go for, they're currently in the process of being discontinued and re-worked if I recall correctly.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

If they're for a daily, I'd say get them. If they're going on a K-swapped car and you're looking for traction look elsewhere. They're on clearance for a reason.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

You say you had two sets, Are you certain they were both Star Specs? Prior to the Star Spec being released they had the Dunlop Sport Extreme Z1 which was the exact same tire with a slight compound change. What type of vehicle were they on and what temperatures were they driven in? I'm not trying to call you out...I've just never heard a bad review on Star Specs since day one. I'd like some more insight to why you come to the conclusion as to how they suck when they work so well for everyone else. I've had the RS2's and the Star Spec's blow them away. I would honestly just like to hear more.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

The NT05 isn't a bad tire in any way but in this instance to me it isn't much of a worthwhile mention as they don't offer any current size under a 17" and even then the smallest 17" they offer is a 235/40/17 which is a rolling Dia of 24.5" and far too large for even an Integra. Without playing to the smaller market of 15" and 16" I think the true "street" tire performance aspect is lost because they're not being used on the most common vehicles used in Auto-X and HPDE's. If they offered it in a 205 or 195 in 15" and 16" i would have to get a set to try for myself. One tire I am awaiting a set of to test out is the new Kumho Ecsta XS...looks like a great DRY tire but at the cost of less wet handling and more prone to hydroplaning.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

225/50/16 is a rolling diameter of 24.9" and they WILL rub unless you raise the car to near stock height. The only two sizes you can really run are 195/55/15's(rolling Dia of 23.5") and 205/50/16's(rolling Dia. of 24.1") and I would STRONGLY reccommend you purchase four tires instead of just doing two on the front or you won't realize the true performance potential of the tire. The only complaint I have heard of the Star Specs is the lack of size choices...but they make a size I'm willing to run so I could care less at this point.

-Froth

 

[Froth]

I run -3 Front camber and -1.5 Rear on my Dunlops, Aslong as you've got good toe angles you won't wear out the tires.

-Froth