autoX tires what are you getting?

[funbeatsfast]

Just got the March 2013 Sportscar/SCCA magazine. There's a comparo of R-compound tires on the FR-S. It's a pretty set up car testing 225/45R17's. Doesn't apply to everybody, but worth the read if you're in the market.

[GTB/ZR-1]

I drove the R-S3s & new Z2s back-to-back today. Not quite apples/apples, as my car has 17x9s/245s/intake/axle-back/pulley/lightweight batt & the BRZ was dead-nuts stock other than the 215 Dunlops. My car was exactly 1s faster

The Z2 is a good tire & lateral grip in sweepers seemed more grippy. I do feel that the Dunlop is not quite as fast as the R-S3s, overall--maybe 2-3 tenths, all else being equal. YOMV...

[Scooby South]

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

I drove the R-S3s & new Z2s back-to-back today. Not quite apples/apples, as my car has 17x9s/245s/intake/axle-back/pulley/lightweight batt & the BRZ was dead-nuts stock other than the 215 Dunlops. My car was exactly 1s faster

The Z2 is a good tire & lateral grip in sweepers seemed more grippy. I do feel that the Dunlop is not quite as fast as the R-S3s, overall--maybe 2-3 tenths, all else being equal. YOMV...

interesting..

[des]

Broke in my new ZIIs today.

Take it for what it's worth, from a midpacker who spent last season on Star Specs: The tire is clearly faster than before. Turn in was great, mid-corner grip tons better. The only thing the car doesn't do any better is accept throttle exiting corners (the little bit of give the old tires had was my favorite thing about them.)

The big surprise was heat tolerance. I watered the Star Specs religiously. Today -- on asphalt, maybe 55 degrees outside, very little breeze -- I didn't water the ZIIs at all.

Then I got a co-driver for fun runs, and still didn't water. After the first two runs both of us dropped quite a bit of time (me about a half second, the other guy well over a second) and backed it up on third runs. The temps (120-ish up front) were well past where I would have been spraying the Star Specs, yet there was no hint the ZIIs were going away.

Not sure how concrete will change things, but I'll get a shot at finding out in a couple of weeks.

[was385]

Down to the RS3s or ZIIs. Waiting for some more feedback from posters here before I make that call.

[Scooby South]

I have RS3's already.. tires have about 100 runs on them. so about half tread.. I also have the Z2's on another set of wheels.. I will be conducting testing in March at the Match tour in Ga .. looking forward to it..


Bill

[was385]

Originally Posted by Scooby South

I have RS3's already.. tires have about 100 runs on them. so about half tread.. I also have the Z2's on another set of wheels.. I will be conducting testing in March at the Match tour in Ga .. looking forward to it..


Bill

I'll have to keep a lookout for that. I want a solid tire for DD and autox.

[neurokinetik]

Interesting post over at Vorshlag, this slide came from Tire Rack's tests. I think I'll be sticking with my Hankooks for now, as they are still plenty competitive, and I don't plan on doing any big events this year.

http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Racing-E...fPFh&lb=1&s=X3

[GTB/ZR-1]

Originally Posted by neurokinetik

I think I'll be sticking with my Hankooks for now, as they are still plenty competitive

Looks like the Rival is just slightly quicker, but... more consistent:

http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Racing-E...fPFh&lb=1&s=X3

[GTB/ZR-1]

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

They recently dropped a good bit in price. I paid ~$600 shipped Oct of last year for the 245s--much less now.

HAH! Did anyone else catch the pricing blunder by Tire Rack for the R-S3s in the Feb Sportscar issue?

I was ready to buy a set for $464, but the joke was on me--they're $153/ea per the website & wouldn't honor the add price, as the price is subject to change.

[colHolm]

I just ordered my dunlop zii's in 245/40R17. I'll be DDing them as well as using them for autocross and a few full track events this year.

[Miniata]

Originally Posted by celica73

Star Spec version 1 - because I already have them. If they wear out, I'll be on Star Spec II (probably). I need a do it all tire. It needs to work in the hot, the cold and the wet - particularly the wet (I'm driving them to events). I don't think the BFG is going to do well in the wet.

My exact situation as well. My (stock size) Star Specs have less than 1000 miles on them, as well as three autocrosses, so they'll likely last the season.

[apexaddict]

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

Looks like the Rival is just slightly quicker, but... more consistent:

http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Racing-E...fPFh&lb=1&s=X3

I would take this information with a HUGE grain of salt as it's being directly provided by BFG themselves... especially since they apparently can not spell "consistent" correctly on a major product promotion. It wouldn't make much sense for them from a marketing standpoint to present data that isn't completely in their favor.

For whatever reason, BFG's data shows that the Z1 isn't even in the same league as the RS3, and my own testing on an STR MX5 has shown that they are really pretty close (within a half a second) on a variety of surfaces and through courses about 60 seconds in length, in pretty warm temps (75+ degrees). There aren't a lot of details regarding those times on the slide, so I'm skeptical as to how they got them.

Also, oddly enough, the Z1 was nowhere to be found at BFG's test event, despite the fact that it has been repeatedly proven to work better on heavier cars than the RS3 for autocross purposes. Which cars were used in the autocross tests? An M3 and an STI. Heavy cars.

In fact, I don't even understand why they bothered with the R1R at all unless it was a 195. I figured most people understood by now - either by experience or passing of information - that most R1R sizes are completely useless on anything heavier than 2000lbs.

I'm not saying the BFGs won't be good, because I don't know. They may very well prove to be the fastest tire this year. But I'm not ready to make the call on what the best tire is based on hype.

[Scooby South]

Hollis checking in with a comparison between BFG Rival and the Z2..interesting read