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autox/road race/ daily tires!

17K views 114 replies 29 participants last post by  ReDeMoN 
#1 ·
looking for info on tires that can be daily driven but that can be tracked too. which one performs best for it's price.
for the front size: 15" between 205 to 225 something that fits on an EG chassis. price let's say under $130 per tire. as for the rear size could 195/50R15
which one has decent grip & wear
if you guys can recomend other brands & models & give your input, share experiences. that be more than welcome.

Toyo R888
Bfgoodrich R1
Advan AD08
Nitto NT01
Hankook Ventus R-S3
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Hankook Ventus R-S2
Falken Azenis RT615
Toyo Proxes R1R
Nitto NT05
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Kumho Ecsta XS
 
#2 ·
the last 3 are your best bet.....the 615's are ok for dd and autoX but they get greasy on the track and the nt tires are r compound tires...not the best for dd as they are heat cycle senative and will get harder quick if you dd on them.

I'm on the xs's and I am pretty happy with them but you can not go wrong with the re11 or the z-1's....:up:
 
#3 ·
im running star specs, love them. havent tried the re-11's yet. i heard they are better than the re01r's??? but dont know. those 2 get my vote.
 
#4 ·
good info

i added the Hankook Ventus R-S2 to the list any input on that one?
 
#5 ·
I would not daily drive an r-compound. Between wear and risking picking up a nail, not worth it for such an expensive tire.

The rt-615 will work on the street, but does not hold up on track. It gets greasy in warmer temps. (Had a set, I tried...)

I now have dunlop start spec z1's for daily tires. Chose them because I wanted a street tire good enough to run on a wet track.

I use toyo r888's for track use which is very similar to the nitto nt-01 (nitto is a division of toyo).

For all around, the dunlop or nt-05 would be good choices. The new bridgestone re-11 (correct #?) is supposed to be good as well.
 
#6 ·
yeah i'm looking for something that i could track & daily drive.

not looking for R compound at the moment. later i'll get R compound for track days only.
has anyone tested this ones from hankook?

Hankook Ventus R-S2 225/45ZR15 Temp: A200 AA A Speed“W” = 168mph 51 psi


Hankook Ventus R-S3 225/45ZR15 Temp: A140 A A Speed “W” = 168mph 51 psi
 
#7 ·
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
 
#9 ·
good review
the majority said star specs. but if you are sold on the hankooks then get it. cant change a mind thats already made up. :silly: its like asking for advice and not taking it. lol. :p
I'm not sold on the hankook rs2, i was just wondering if anyone had tried them.what caught my eye was the width 225. i was looking at their design. just like forth said is more of a wet tire.
The RS-2 has too much water siping and loses dry traction because of this
i've been trying to get the kumho ecsta xs locally but no one has them in their computer system :down:

if i have time today since I'm installing front hardrace bushings, I'm going to stop in a couple of tire places today & see if they carry the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec.
the other choice is the be Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 205/50/15

i was trying to get something as wide as possible or with a thread design with max road contact because I'm putting down 238whp & 187wtq
 
#8 ·
the majority said star specs. but if you are sold on the hankooks then get it. cant change a mind thats already made up. :silly: its like asking for advice and not taking it. lol. :p
 
#10 ·
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
 
#11 ·
how are the dunlop sp9000 tires?
 
#12 ·
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
 
#14 ·
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
 
#15 ·
:silly:
 
#16 ·
i went to my local tire place & they gonna try to get the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec for me on monday, if i can't get them localy then i'll order them online.

thanks for all the info.:up:
 
#19 ·
You guys are all crazy. The Star Specs SUCK. I have had 2 sets of them now and they are crap, I hate them.They are on my daily right now. I had 2 where the belts broke on me with about 30% tread left. Star specs are loud too. The Hankook Ventus R2S or RS2 (whatever it is) is way better. I had them 3 times and they were great. Azenis are too soft and greasy as mentioned. I flat spotted mine in a minor lock up, really pissed me off, took forever to wear through. I drive about anywhere from 60-200 miles A DAY. I go through tires.

re-o1r's were awesome, potenza pole position S03's are AMAZING!, hankook ventus rs2 are great, and the best cheap daily tire for all season is the kumho ecsta AST. They have been on my girl's a4 for 31,000 miles and have no camber/drag wear, and very minimal wear. They're perfect for my area which has mild rain, light snow on occaision, and hot ass summers. Awesome tires for the money.

this is all just my personal opinion, but I dunno why all the hype over the star specs. they arent even like "ok" in my book, I hate them. Grip from them is better then decent, but there are definitely tires with more grip.I felt even Azenis had better grip initially but have less life.

-Colin
 
#26 ·
You guys are all crazy. The Star Specs SUCK. I have had 2 sets of them now and they are crap, I hate them.They are on my daily right now. I had 2 where the belts broke on me with about 30% tread left. Star specs are loud too. The Hankook Ventus R2S or RS2 (whatever it is) is way better. I had them 3 times and they were great. Azenis are too soft and greasy as mentioned. I flat spotted mine in a minor lock up, really pissed me off, took forever to wear through. I drive about anywhere from 60-200 miles A DAY. I go through tires.
Doesn't sound to me like you had a set of star specs... Sure you didn't have the regular direzza line of tires? If you actually did, then I would question alignment.
 
#20 ·
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
 
#21 ·
CJM, the Star Spec came out during the last quarter of last year and you've already been through two sets? Are you sure you're not talking about the original Direzza Sport Z1's? Like Froth mentioned, the Star Specs have a different compound. The RS2's may be in the same class as the Star Specs; however, they are not in the same league, being the RS2's are at the bottom-end of the spectrum and the Star Specs being at the top. They really shouldn't be compared comsidering price and performance. Meaning, the RS2's cost way less and don't perform nearly as well as the Star Specs which cost much more.

OP, Best motoring did a comparison of a few of the tires mentioned in this thread including the Star Specs. Check it out here: Ultimate Street Tire Showdown!!.

The Nitto NT-05 should be a looked at also considering their performance and cost (a lot less than the Star Specs).
 
#22 ·
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
 
#23 ·
the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec seems to have a more predictable handling they look way more sharp & stable compared to the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 in the video posted by 98specR.
link here to same video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IwzKz_2Who

this video is at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2009 show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bICIXmW2AA

what I'm going to do is as far as ordering the dunlop star spec: going to get 195-55r-15 for now to use them in the front. then buy a pair of 16" wheels & order a second pair of star spec sizes 225/50R16 for the front.

what you guys think
 
#27 ·
what I'm going to do is as far as ordering the dunlop star spec: going to get 195-55r-15 for now to use them in the front. then buy a pair of 16" wheels & order a second pair of star spec sizes 225/50R16 for the front.

what you guys think
Why are you mixing wheels/tires?
 
#24 ·
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
 
#25 ·
Froth, I'm glad you mentioned that. I completely forgot the smallest size that the NT-05's come in is 235/40/17. Tire size is normally not really a concern to me because the smallest size tire I run on my Integra is 235/40/17, which most performance tires offer, my apologies for the confusion.

On that note, in order to maintain near stock gear ratios for k-series transmissions you want to run around 24.6 diameter tires. So as far as the transmission is concerned 225/50/16 would only be about 1% oversized.
 
#30 ·
im just going to throw this out. the 205/50/16 like the one i have is ALOT wider than regular tires. fyi, used it for auto-x and i had a bit of rubbing issues already. my car isnt slammed either. -2.5 and -1.5 camber f/r respectively. car picture can be found in "put face to car " or wutever. put the same rim/tire on my friends eg, and it was non stop rubbing. so the 225's you are looking to get will definitely rub and you will most likely have to roll the fenders.
 
#33 ·
yeah i saw them but decided to go with the dunlops 195/55/15 for autox/road race & daily driving. this guys got me sold on them plus that jdm video Froth posted shows how good the Dunlops are so can't go wrong plus they are really affordable.
so bought the drag radials for drag when i don't feel like swapping wheels at the drag strip to run full slicks.

buying this drag radials put me out of budget so my pic coilovers gonna have to wait a bit longer :(
 
#34 ·
as far as wheel alignment, what do you guys run with the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec? what's the max negative camber they seem to like?
 
#35 ·
i posted mine up in my post. did pretty well. right up there with the cars running kumho v710's and hoosier a6's...
 
#36 ·
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
 
#37 ·
What toe angle (fr & rr) do you recommend?

I need to get my car aligned in the next few days following a major suspension upgrade (raised, front camber arms, rear camber arms, rear toe arms)...

Based on what I've read so far, for a little dd and a lot of track days :

- 0° in front: the steering input gets the feeling you want to the car anyway...
- a little toe-in in the rear: to keep the rear straight in stretches.

Does it make sense?

BTW, ehen I say "a little dd" its because I drive my car occasionally in the street, but mainly to get to the race track: from a 30mins to a 3h drive depending on where the event is located...
 
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