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Tire life (street use only) of Dunlop ZII or Falken RT-615K?

M-P

M-P

Experienced Member
Joined
8 March 2009
Messages
388
Location
Raleigh, NC
I have generally gone for mid-level tires in the 280-320 treadwear range for my NSX which aligns to most of Tire Rack's "max performance summer tires." Since those are all but dried up (Kuhmo Ecsta LE Sport is the only one available), I'm looking at moving into something stickier....namely either a set of Dunlop Direzza ZII's or Falken Azenis RT-615K's.

Anyone have experience running these on their street car and have an idea of life (esp. the rears)?

FYI...tire sizes are 215/40-17 front and 265/35-18 or 275/35-18 rear. Would love to try the 235/40-17 up front, but don't want to remove my fender liner.
 
I got 20,000 miles out of Z1's. I have the toe links and bushings in the rear beam so I have a little less than stock toe in on the rears. I am pretty low so the camber is at 2.5 degrees in the back also. The nice thing about the Dunlops is that you can swap the tires from one side to the other since the tread is uniform on both sides. I switched mine over at about 11,000 miles. The fronts still had about 5-7,000 more on them, but I put all new tires on at the same time.
 
I can give you a data point, but it's not very informative. I've got the ZII on my Integra Type R. I have almost 3K miles on them (I know, not much) and the measured tread depth is 8/32", the same as the spec for brand new. So I can't extrapolate to their full treadlife but I can tell you they're not wearing all that fast.

Compared to a longer-wearing summer tire like the LE Sport or the S.drive, I'd expect the ZII to wear faster, but not by all that much, maybe on the order of 20 percent. This is strictly a guess.

I don't have any experience with the RT-615K. I know its predecessor, the RT-615, was notorious for rapid treadwear.

BTW, I wouldn't expect to get 20K miles on ANY rear tire on the NSX. :)

v-tecpwr said:
The nice thing about the Dunlops is that you can swap the tires from one side to the other since the tread is uniform on both sides.
Click to expand...
Yes, if you flip them on the rims. Which should only be needed if your tires aren't wearing evenly (i.e. symmetrically) from one edge to the other.
 
On the Falken's I got 7k on the rears before the wear bars were visible. You may get more, I don't cruise that much, if you know what I mean. I've got three times that mileage on the fronts. I am lowered on Tanabe springs and am running your same tire sizes. Fantastic sticky tire (once heat cycled) but not long lasting.
 
Yes, if you flip them on the rims. Which should only be needed if your tires aren't wearing evenly (i.e. symmetrically) from one edge to the other.[/QUOTE]

I need to do more track days. I only had one day on my last set of tires. :smile:
 
Here is my last alignment specs that I used on the Z1's.

Camber:
Front: -1.5*
Rear: -2.4*

Toe:
Front: .06* OUT
Rear: .06* IN
 
Cant give you accurate info for street only as i track the car often but i have had both those on my car and the Dunlop is not only stickier but lasts longer
 
v-tecpwr said:
Here is my last alignment specs that I used on the Z1's.

Camber:
Front: -1.5*
Rear: -2.4*

Toe:
Front: .06* OUT
Rear: .06* IN
Click to expand...

I'm surprised you got that kind of life with that much negative camber. I guess your lack of rear toe helps substantially. Thanks.



scammy said:
Cant give you accurate info for street only as i track the car often but i have had both those on my car and the Dunlop is not only stickier but lasts longer
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
 
I have used both and the Dunlops are much better than the 615k from what I witnessed. The Falkens were greasy tires that did not hold well at all in the wet. I believe those will be the last Falkens I ever buy unless they completely revamp their tire compound. A huge disappointment.

I'm holding off on buying any tires until I buy wider fenders for the front. 215/40 is a dinosaur size and 235/40 is where it is at honestly.
 
So I know there is a lot of debate about it, but everywhere I see a reference to the 235/40-17, I see that people are removing the fender liners (something I don't want to do). But every once and a while you see that this isn't necessary. Is there any consensus on this?

The most the car would ever be lowered is 1.25" all around with Dali (Eibach) springs and Bilstein shocks on the upper perch. Wheels are 17x8 +35.
 
M-P said:
So I know there is a lot of debate about it, but everywhere I see a reference to the 235/40-17, I see that people are removing the fender liners (something I don't want to do). But every once and a while you see that this isn't necessary. Is there any consensus on this?

The most the car would ever be lowered is 1.25" all around with Dali (Eibach) springs and Bilstein shocks on the upper perch. Wheels are 17x8 +35.
Click to expand...

The only reason why you need the liners is due to how soft the aluminum oem fenders are. Once you change them out then the liners are honestly not necessary. If you feel like you want to add some kind of extra protection to new fenders then you can always apply multiple coats of a bed liner such as raptor bed liner. I have applied it to the inside of a few muscle car bare metal fenders before and with a thick coat works very well at stopping rocks from denting fenders.

You also can still keep the liners if you upgrade to the downforce fenders from what I have read. Pretty sure about that.
 
jrd95nsx said:
Is the rear camber set up on the NSX standard or can you adjust it to get the rear tires to sit flatter? I ended up with the Direzza II for my tire change.
Click to expand...

Generally the issue isn't the camber, it's the rear toe-in that chews up tires.

Also, picture of my new tires and wheels since I'm here posting :)..

14553986411_cb7f3c2075_c.jpg


14553993431_eebc0a2cd6_c.jpg
 
I picked up the Direzza's also and think that they are a good choice. Last year I ran my S2000 on the track and always ran the DZ I-a very good tire. Talked to you and gave great feedback for when you were pushing the limit. With the S2000 I ran BF Goodie slicks but determined that I spent a lot of time changing tires. With the NSX I've determined I am going to run the best street/track performance tire that I can and not go the flat out race slick like before. I may still want to invest in some Hoosier wet tires for those rainy days.
 
jrd95nsx said:
I picked up the Direzza's also and think that they are a good choice. Last year I ran my S2000 on the track and always ran the DZ I-a very good tire. Talked to you and gave great feedback for when you were pushing the limit. With the S2000 I ran BF Goodie slicks but determined that I spent a lot of time changing tires. With the NSX I've determined I am going to run the best street/track performance tire that I can and not go the flat out race slick like before. I may still want to invest in some Hoosier wet tires for those rainy days.
Click to expand...

If you are a track guy a good Rcomp will still be faster that the direzza and there are a few that you can drive to and from the track /and in the wet if you only shave to 6/32. Ra1 come to mind nto1 if you are willing to use a 205 front width,which runs wide anyway..kinda like a 215.
 

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