Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec-Anyone running these?

[BillyIdol]

Hey!

Called up Tire Rack. I need 215/40/17 front, and 275/35/18 rear. I'm buying all 4. They recommended these Dunlops. I'm sort of worried that the rear tires will wear out real quick. Anyone running these? I guess my second option is the Yokohama S Drives in my size. Which would you go with?

John

 

[NSXDreamer2]

do a search and you will see how much I loved them... At the price, nothing come closed to the performance of these tires. Don't worry about mileage as you could buy 2 of them.

how wide is your rear rim? I would recommend using 245/40/18 instead, your set up will give you quite a bit of understeer.

 

[johnnymo]

These are the best dry tires I've ever used for the NSX in 13 years of ownership. I'm not know for being gentle on the car either. Predicitable limits and warm up ultra-quick to gumball stickiness. These things will suck the life out of you when you hit the skids, too. :smile:

I use the 265/35/18 rears with the 215/40/17 fronts and feel the car is nicely balanced at the limit.

 

[GT-N]

i heard these tires were made to compete with the falken aeznis rt-615

and i think they both have the same tread wear 200AA

 

[ivanj]

Hey!

Called up Tire Rack. I need 215/40/17 front, and 275/35/18 rear. I'm buying all 4. They recommended these Dunlops. I'm sort of worried that the rear tires will wear out real quick. Anyone running these? I guess my second option is the Yokohama S Drives in my size. Which would you go with?

John

I don't know what the price difference but I like my S-drives after 1600 miles. Seem to handle temperature changes well. Warm up any tire for several miles before getting jiggy on the road.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I don't know what the price difference but I like my S-drives after 1600 miles. Seem to handle temperature changes well. Warm up any tire for several miles before getting jiggy on the road.

Z1 star spec. is a competitor of the AD07, which had higher performance than the S drive.

 

[Onsoku]

Z1 Star Spec for the win. I've had them on since May with no issues. Great in all respects; and will give you an audible warning AT the limit. I have about 10k miles on them, and they are at about 50% wear. I plan to flop them early next week before I drive up to ALMS at Laguna.

 

[tosugrad]

I have about 10k miles on them, and they are at about 50% wear.

10k in FRONTs, I assume? How are the rears wearing??

 

[Onsoku]

10K front and rear... -1.5f/-2.1r camber at revised toe specs.

 

[tosugrad]

10K front and rear... -1.5f/-2.1r camber at revised toe specs.

WOW!

 

[istdercollen]

i can't speak for the longevity of the tire, but when I switched to these at Autocross I went from a consistent 4th place to finishing 1st the last two races against all the same people. I didn't change anything else about the car. Just the tires. another guy had RE01Rs and we got an independent driver to compare our cars and he gave the edge to Star Specs hands down.. for the money, I don't think anything will touch them.

 

[NoLimit]

i can't speak for the longevity of the tire, but when I switched to these at Autocross I went from a consistent 4th place to finishing 1st the last two races against all the same people. I didn't change anything else about the car. Just the tires. another guy had RE01Rs and we got an independent driver to compare our cars and he gave the edge to Star Specs hands down.. for the money, I don't think anything will touch them.

which tires were you running previously??

anyone know if the sport Z1's in 275/35 are still on backorder??

 

[istdercollen]

which tires were you running previously??

anyone know if the sport Z1's in 275/35 are still on backorder??

RE010s... which seem to get real greasy compared to the star specs.. the star specs warm up and stay right where they should be.. there will always be something that lacks,but it's a short list with the direzzas.. they also are quite sharp in the rain.

 

[Osiris_x11]

further insight, pls...

Z1 Star Spec for the win. I've had them on since May with no issues. Great in all respects; and will give you an audible warning AT the limit. I have about 10k miles on them, and they are at about 50% wear. I plan to flop them early next week before I drive up to ALMS at Laguna.

10k in FRONTs, I assume? How are the rears wearing??

10K front and rear... -1.5f/-2.1r camber at revised toe specs.

Can you please offer some further insight in terms of comparing these tires (Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec) to others you've bought/used for your NSX, in terms of dry-grip, steering-response/sidewall-rigidity, 'crispness' in regards to handling, etc'.

Are these particular Dunlops better in those aforementioned traits than the Yokohama Advan A022H, Bridgestone Potenza RE010 & RE040 [all former NSX OEM tires] and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 & Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position [current desired/recommended all-arounders], or even others (ie. S0-3)?

On paper, the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec plausibly seem grippier [sic], therefore their treadwear-rate (treadlife) should also be a lot more rapid than the aforementioned tires. Yet, you've accumulated 10k miles w/ 50% treadlife left, using a grippier/softer-compound tire... is this a miracle of material-sciences/physics/chemistry?!?

Seriously, there has to be more to this tale. . .

There's only one modality in this particular model, correct? You sure you don't have the Direzza Sport Z1, as the 'Star Spec a different model all together...(?)

They gotta grip-less a whole lot less than the aforementioned tires to get ~10k miles w/ 50% tread remaining!?! (or physics be'damned?!?)

The basix'...

- a lot better gripping than tires that cost ~2x as much
- a lot longer lasting than tires that cost ~2x as much

Just doesn't jive, IMHO! ( : puzzled : )

Anyone else befuddled like 'moi?!?

Onsoku, I look fwd' to more insights/info'/personal-comments regarding these queries, thanks in-advance!

 

[istdercollen]

like you said, he should check on whether or not he has "star Specs". I have 2300 miles on mine and I already am noticing a decent amount of wear.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I noticed the Z1 star spec do warm up faster, that, I had driven in rain the whole day on track but never on a dry track day.

I agreed that the price is just low, considering the performance, lets say, if supply/demand on play, the tires weren't selling as high price only because not enough people knowing how good it is.

IN that sense, be however skeptical you want to be, I should start stocking them.

I believed I'm among the first couple guys putting the Star Spec on nsx. (Mine is first batch 215/40/17) I believed they had the regular Z1 for very little time, and I don't recall anyone having them on nsx. Tirerack only had them for a month or so before they ran out of stock.

 

[Osiris_x11]

doesn't add up...

^ there's no denying the potential performance prowess of the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec.

The low-price isn't the major point/issue @ hand. Even if at double the price, they still wouldn't make sense as reported in an earlier post in this thread by another user (tenacious grip for a street-legal near R-compound tire which lasts 10k miles w/ 1/2 tread-life remaining).

For such a grippy [sic] tire (reportedly a lot more grip than the past OEM offerings & other high-grip tires like the G.Y. Eagle F1 GSD3 & B.S. Potentza RE050A P.P.) having potentially MORE than twice the tread-life... that just doesn't jive?!?

Really... just think about it! There's a give-&-take w/ tires: grip/performance vs. tread-life/longevity.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

tire pressure, driving habit, conditions, modification and alignment all came to play.

it's like people compare MPG.

I had consistently getting 10k+ on the nsx tires. (With Kumho MX). I lost track of tire longetivity in last couple years, as my car became a part time weekend car / track rat.

 

[TurboLexus]

What I'd love to see is some insight from someone who's tried the Star Spec vs the GS-D3s. I use the Goodyears, but with them discontinued in our sizes now i'm basically down to the Star Spec or the Yoko S.Drive, which are very different tires. Not sure if I can bring myself to put S.Drives on an NSX, but i'll be heading 6+ hrs upstate to Larry B sometime soon hopefully (new baby permitting)...and the temps up there will turn those Dunlops into Dunrocks. Hit me with some thoughts.

 

[manh3]

I have been running the Star Specs for the last 6k miles and have about 50% tread left. I'm hoping to get 10-13k miles out of them, the fronts still look good. I use my car as a daily driver, no track days.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

when i first putting those tires on, it's in April.08 up in Seattle, and I had hit some very cold weather, these tires just heat up well and grip. No snow/ice experience though...

my cousin had GS-D3, it's a good tire, but even him stating the sidewall is a little bit on soft side.

Z1 star spec wins on performance... I don't really care about ride comfort nor noise... as my nsx is pretty noisy and tire noise is not an issue. and ride comfort on a nsx is.. imo.

 

[Osiris_x11]

simple...

tire pressure, driving habit, conditions, modification and alignment all came to play.

it's like people compare MPG.

But, a general ballpark parameter of consistent tread-life can still be ascertained from actual users.

~10k miles on rears w/ over 50% tread-wear remaining on a very-sticky/high-grip tire is a marvel unto itself, even if it was driven on a treadmill at home w/ minimal load @ 55mph in ambient temperature w/ a plush carpet underneath it.

Long-story short... is it seriously feasible to get ~10k miles (and I don't mean 8k-9k, I mean 10k+) on the rears of a NSX w/ stock-sized wheels & OEM suspension (whether stock, Zanardi, or Type-S... all are relatively the same ride-height w/o affecting camber much if at all), w/ OEM alignment specs' ('93+ to negate some toe-in) while driving average-to-enthusiastic on the street (depending on the moment/situation), being a NSX & all?!?

So far, the longest-lasting max' high-performance summer tire has been the G.Y. Eagle F1 GSD3 for stock/near-stock NSX applications. This can't be refuted nor argued; though some variances may exist here & there for other similarly classed tire offerings lasting longer in a particular instance, but those should be excluded just like w/ prematurely worn F1 GSD3's.

Now, that's the answer I, myself, as well as many others, are seeking!

 

[Doraemon]

First, I want to say, I am new here, so if I say something that is seems stupid and trivial, please excuse me.

I was in just tire to fix my flat (I have the Michillen Pilot as that was what's equipped with the car when I bought it last month). I ask about getting new tires later and what's available, I was told that Direzza is a good choice. However, I believe that he was referring to Z101, not the Z1 Star Spec. I remember he mentioned somethinb about it being 300 and that means it will give me much more mileage. Upon checking the tire rack website, I found that 300 is the UTQG number, and the definition of UTQG is as follows:

UTQG Treadwear Grades are based on actual road use in which the test tire is run in a vehicle convoy along with standardized Course Monitoring Tires. The vehicle repeatedly runs a prescribed 400-mile test loop in West Texas for a total of 7,200 miles. The vehicle can have its alignment set, air pressure checked and tires rotated every 800 miles. The test tire's and the Monitoring Tire's wear are measured during and at the conclusion of the test. The tire manufacturers then assign a Treadwear Grade based on the observed wear rates. The Course Monitoring Tire is assigned a grade and the test tire receives a grade indicating its relative treadwear. A grade of 100 would indicate that the tire tread would last as long as the test tire, 200 would indicate the tread would last twice as long, 300 would indicate three times as long, etc.

Therefore, as I found on the same site, the Z101 is 300 rated, Z1 is 200 rated and the potenza RE010 is 120 rated. This might give you some indication of the tread life between these tire.

just my .02...

 

[Onsoku]

Re: further insight, pls...

Can you please offer some further insight in terms of comparing these tires (Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec) to others you've bought/used for your NSX, in terms of dry-grip, steering-response/sidewall-rigidity, 'crispness' in regards to handling, etc'.

Are these particular Dunlops better in those aforementioned traits than the Yokohama Advan A022H, Bridgestone Potenza RE010 & RE040 [all former NSX OEM tires] and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 & Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position [current desired/recommended all-arounders], or even others (ie. S0-3)?

On paper, the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec plausibly seem grippier [sic], therefore their treadwear-rate (treadlife) should also be a lot more rapid than the aforementioned tires. Yet, you've accumulated 10k miles w/ 50% treadlife left, using a grippier/softer-compound tire... is this a miracle of material-sciences/physics/chemistry?!?

Seriously, there has to be more to this tale. . .

There's only one modality in this particular model, correct? You sure you don't have the Direzza Sport Z1, as the 'Star Spec a different model all together...(?)

They gotta grip-less a whole lot less than the aforementioned tires to get ~10k miles w/ 50% tread remaining!?! (or physics be'damned?!?)

The basix'...

- a lot better gripping than tires that cost ~2x as much
- a lot longer lasting than tires that cost ~2x as much

Just doesn't jive, IMHO! ( : puzzled : )

Anyone else befuddled like 'moi?!?

Onsoku, I look fwd' to more insights/info'/personal-comments regarding these queries, thanks in-advance!

Sorry for the delay of my reply...after going to the ALMS in NorCal, I flew to the Philippines for some R & R.

I've been running the Z1 Star since the middle of April 2008, http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showpost.php?p=965452&postcount=11

215/17 & 275/18 with 33f, 36r. Factory toe and -1.8f, -2.2r of camber. http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104030&highlight=Star

I drive at least 500mi every weekend from Ventura to Chula Vista with some driving to take care of errands while in S.D.

During the week, I avg about 50mi/day. I take PCH about half the time during my drives up and down the coast.

It is the best all around sports tire I've own, and I've tried alot.

 

[omega2]

Just got finished mounting my new wheels and Direzza Z1 tires. All I can say is wow! The car feels a lot better than before. I didn't get to drive too much due to the rain, but if felt a lot more responsive and wasn't too noisy.