Best tires for aggressive street driving?

[Fendamonky]

Hey all,

I've never been a huge tire nut, so my back-pocket knowledge is, unfortunately, lacking when it comes to rubber.

What is everybody using and how do you like it?

I've heard very good things about the new Dunlop Z1 Star Specs, anybody have experience with them?

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by Fendamonky

Hey all,

I've never been a huge tire nut, so my back-pocket knowledge is, unfortunately, lacking when it comes to rubber.

What is everybody using and how do you like it?

I've heard very good things about the new Dunlop Z1 Star Specs, anybody have experience with them?

The star specs are good from what I have heard as well. I'm running yokohama ADVAN AD08's they are phenomenal.

[j9fd3s]

star specs are good. if you were looking a little more race than street the toyo R888 or nitto nt05 (same compound, different tread) might work for you.

[Redshft]

Is the NT05 the same compound as the R888? I know the NT01, and RA1 and R888 are all supposed to be the same.

Anyway, we've got Star Specs on the MazdaSpeed Protege. Phenomenal dry grip, seem to have good characteristics at the limit with predictable breakaway, enough wet traction that you won't die, but not ideal commuter tires for big miles in all weather.

[josh18_2k]

go with RS3s, of the cheaper good tires, theyre best in rain. dunlop jacked up their prices so screw them.

[Fendamonky]

My only concern with going more "race" specific is that I'm not 100% on their optimum heat range as far as performance goes.

Granted, I'd love to go to the track (I've been holding off until my car is "ready" in my opinion) but the majority of my time is spent on the streets and back country roads.

I'd rather have something that is going to grip better at a lower temperature, than something which is going to need to be heated up and taken to the brink in order to really shine.

You know what I mean?

Also, I figure if/when I *do* get hardcore into tracking the car than I'll probably just have the track specific tires mounted to my second set of rims.


Mike - Thanks for the heads up, I'm running the Advan's right now. They are about 3-4 years old by now They are good tires, but I was able to break them loose at speed pretty easily with only 340-350whp, I'd really like something that may grip better than them for when I go up to the 18-22psi range.

Originally Posted by Redshft

Anyway, we've got Star Specs on the MazdaSpeed Protege. Phenomenal dry grip, seem to have good characteristics at the limit with predictable breakaway, enough wet traction that you won't die, but not ideal commuter tires for big miles in all weather.

How much power are you putting down on the MS Progege, if I may ask? Have you ever noticed any issues with grip changing depending on how long/hard you drive (assuming road condition stays the same)?

[josh18_2k]

all the 140+ treadwear tires dont really need heat. their first autox run may be sub-optimal, but driving on the street or whatever they'll be fine.

[JhnRX7]

Dizerra Star Specs or Advan AD08.... cant go wrong either way.

[Fendamonky]

Cool shit, thanks for the input guys!

[RETed]

Tire ratings are relative to the users experience, unless we're talking about a HUGE sampling (i.e. Tire Rack ratings) which average out in the long run...

It's hard to gauge other member's personal experiences unless you know them well.
(I find it funny that people are talking how good the Nexen and Sumitomo tires are "pretty good" in the other thread; I consider both of them "crap" in my book.)
I only see 2 people in this thread that I would really trust at this point.

It's a really fine line trying to get the BEST "street" performance tire.
You're trying to walk that fine line between "street" tire and "race" tire.
The problem here is that once you cross the boundary to "race" tire, you're playing with a different set of rules.
The problem with "race" tires is getting heat into the tires.
"Race" tires, which cold, are going to be a handful...and that's putting it mildly.
Yes, once you get them up to temps, you get to grow balls of steel.
The problem running them on the street is that you cannot always expect them to be fully up to temp for your situation, unless we're talking about a basically "closed-circuit" course like a canyon run or something.

I haven't messed with the current crop of top performers, but I can only offer you my experience.
I'm old enough to know what a set of Yokohama A008's are...
Anyone old enough to know what they are...knows what I'm talking about.
It was one of the first "cheater" slick tires that was technically "D.O.T. street-legal" (due to the two circumferencial grooves).
Some of the softer compound versions ("R", "RS", "RSII") were two-fisted steering steering on the street until they got hot...then, oh hell did they stick.
I had a set of 1st gen B.F.Goodrich Comp T/A's that I thought were the "sh*t" on the street - this was the first set of serious street tires I bought for my personal car (the A008's were always on other people's vehicles).
I've streeted full-tread Toyo RA-1's on the street.
When cold, they felt like some generic 400 treadwear M+S tires, but once you get some heat in them...did your suspension get a work out.
Bridgestone RE-71's were the king back in the day in terms of street tires.
Very nice stick and worked well even when cold - get some heat in them and traction went up a notch (not as drastic as the above two).
Dunlop countered with the SP8000, which didn't have as much stick as the RE-71, but it gave better tire wear and didn't chunk as bad when pushing the tire to the limit as the RE-71.
I run a set of Bridgestone S03 Pole Positions right now on the FC.
Great stick out of the driveway...wish the sidewalls were a little stiffer (typical of Bridgestone tires - I like Michelin sidewalls myself), but you never feel it's going to leave you hanging in a bad position - lots of feedback.
The S03 PP's breakaway feels familiarly like how the RE-71's did back in the day when you do push the tires past their traction limits.
I've got a set of Yokohama Advan AD07's (replaced by the AD08's) waiting when the S03 PP's wear out.

Now, I realize that pretty much none of that covers the tire models you guys are talking about in this thread.
(I don't think tire technology has increased that much over the past several years, IMO.)
The more important point is that I tried looking for that "ultimate street tire", and I never found it.
"Street" tires are street tires.
"Race" tires are race tires.
Unless you can live with the compromise, it's very hard to find your answer.
Most of us can probably live with the significant drop in tire life from performance tires, but the heat cycling is something that can scare the crap out of me when you least expect it.

If you guys ever do find out the answer to this...please share!
I'm all ears!


-Ted

[Redshft]

Originally Posted by Fendamonky

How much power are you putting down on the MS Progege, if I may ask? Have you ever noticed any issues with grip changing depending on how long/hard you drive (assuming road condition stays the same)?

The MSP is my better half's nice-day toy, and is fairly stock. Upgraded the intercooler and the hard pipes, and that's about it as far as power. So, nothing near your power levels. That being said, the car has a very good chassis, so my opinion is coming form a handling perspective. I have no input on how well they will grip for burnouts are 2nd/3rd gear roll-ons. But, with the car being front wheel drive, it probably alters things a bit from how the power gets put the ground, and these tires don't spin, the car just goes.

I've had 2 sets of Pilot PS2s on my RX8 now. The Star Specs won't last as long, and probably a little (but not much) worse in the rain. They have more road noise when new than the PS2s, but certainly have more dry grip. I've never done any track days with her car (vs. with my 8) so I can't comment on behavior at the absolute limit, but "agressive street driving" on the Star Specs has been very positive. No issues with having to get heat into the tires to get them to grip. They are a "cheater tire" for Autox etc. but they are not a race tire and I don't find they have the characteristics of them. For Autox you need grip from the first corner.

My Pilot Sport Cups I used to use for track days on the RX8 were streetable (they had more than just a couple of grooves) but you could certainly tell they were not happy until they got a few miles worth of heat into them. The Star Specs don't behave like that and their grip seems to be there from the time you pull out of the garage.

Don't get me started on the Goodyear slicks on my FC.. need about 3 laps of the track before they stop throwing some wacky slip angles at you...

[Fendamonky]

Cool beans, thanks for the feedback man! Yeah.. I think I'll be ordering a pair of Star Specs when I get home. It's time for new tires and since my 7 isn't a daily driver I'm not so worried about treadlife.

Cheers guys!

[MaczPayne]

Love my AD07's, went from RT615 to NT-05's then to these. I'm trying out the AD08's when these wear out (great life so far!)

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by Fendamonky

Mike - Thanks for the heads up, I'm running the Advan's right now. They are about 3-4 years old by now They are good tires, but I was able to break them loose at speed pretty easily with only 340-350whp, I'd really like something that may grip better than them for when I go up to the 18-22psi range.

You're on AD08's currently? The AD08's have only been out for about a year, so if you are running relatively new AD08's then I don't think you are going to see much improvement going to the Star Specs.

[josh18_2k]

Wanna know whats best for a car? check autox nationals results under Street Touring. different tires work best for different weight/power cars, as well as different wheel sizes. (direzzas suck in 14/15" sizes for example, but rule in 18's)
http://www.scca.org/documents/result...ook%20file.pdf

ST/STS - R1R/RS3
STR - RS3
STX - RS3
STU - Direzza/AD08