Dunlop zii Star Spec... who's trying them?

[Model Citizen]

i bought them about a month ago, did one small autox day, then first run of the next one blew out my front cat and missed 3 events with the car till the issue was pinpointed.

probably wont have any real time with them till next year now.

[Churg]

I had the original ZII's, switched over to RS3 v2's after they wore out. I won't go back. I've driven a Fiat 500 Abarth and an STi with the newer ZII Star Specs, and they are an improvement, but the RS3's have so much more grip, especially out in the SoCal heat.

I did feel like the RS3's were missing that "precision" that I've seen people talk about with the ZII's. I don't know if that's the stiffer sidewall or what, but hey! That's the only downside to the RS3's I've seen.

[troek]

plus one on the rs3 vII. cant compare to the ZII, but this tire is amazing.

[chucky12012]

I had run the ZII for two years, switched to the RS3 for nationals and a couple of local runs recently and will be going back to the ZII. The RS3 has grip, but just doesn't seem to work well with my driving style.

[xwd]

Tirerack has dome some comparison tests and will be publishing some data in the next couple weeks. They tested the ZII Star Spec, Yoko AD08R, BFG Rival and RS3V2.

One of the Tirerack guys (Chris Harvey) autocrosses a MX5 (which took 2nd at Nationals this year on ZIIs) and his feedback on the ZII* is they do not overheat as bad as the ZIIs and they maintain more grip when pushed hard. So overall easier to drive since they don't penalize you as much when exceeding their limits. The old Star Specs and ZIIs typically require more precise driving than the RS3 and the Rival. HOWEVER, he shaved them to 6/32 so they had comparable depth to his ZIIs. Some early feedback from people with new tires is they may need to be broken in a bit. On that car they liked the ZII over the RS3v2.

On a track I still don't think they'll be able to take heat like the RS3, but I expect the ZII* to still be better in the wet than the RS3.

I was going to order a set for STX next year but will probably just go with the RS3v2 for price alone.

[wparsons]

RS3 v2's don't like heat like the old compound did. They still do ok, but they're definitely easier to overheat than the old ones were. That said, they're grippier with less heat than the old ones were too.

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

I am on the fence about what to try next year...

[unsurety]

I only check them for reference on sizing and availability, but the Tirerack prices for the ZII* are strange. Is this normal?

235/45R17 = $168/ea
235/40R17 = $199/ea

What gives?

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by unsurety

I only check them for reference on sizing and availability, but the Tirerack prices for the ZII* are strange. Is this normal?

235/45R17 = $168/ea
235/40R17 = $199/ea

What gives?

Construction differences in the sidewall? Could be that at 235/40 the sidewall is a little small and it takes some extra reinforcement. The price difference between the 245/40 and the 245/45 is only $7, and both are cheaper than that 235/40.

Could also be that there's not much demand for that tire size and so supply is limited.

If Dunlop pulled a Toyo and put some special sauce in a specific size tire, testing is going to get very expensive...

[wparsons]

It's probably all just driven off of what sizes are popular. I find 225/45/17 runs very close in pricing to 245/40/17, but other sizes are way off.

[jdp530]

Our autox/DE season has already begun so I need to order some tires ASAP for stock rims. I am running in CS for the time being.

Since the RS3 V2 tires 225/45/17 are back-ordered I am tempted to order the Dunlop ZII SS. The ZII SS 235/40/17 is also available and not too much more expensive.

Would there be a significant improvement in handling with the larger tire running on stock suspension? My car is completely stock but I do have a set of oem crash bolts to install.

Thanks,

[enigma]

Barring any new news from BFG on new Rivals, I'll be trying ZII Star Specs for sure.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by enigma

Barring any new news from BFG on new Rivals, I'll be trying ZII Star Specs for sure.

Rumor has it that news is coming in February...

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by jdp530

Our autox/DE season has already begun so I need to order some tires ASAP for stock rims. I am running in CS for the time being.

Since the RS3 V2 tires 225/45/17 are back-ordered I am tempted to order the Dunlop ZII SS. The ZII SS 235/40/17 is also available and not too much more expensive.

Would there be a significant improvement in handling with the larger tire running on stock suspension? My car is completely stock but I do have a set of oem crash bolts to install.

Thanks,

Not significant, and beyond some size there are diminishing (or even negative) returns from going larger. That size is different for each tire model.

There is some data at least that supports oversizing the tire on RS3s, and the ZII SS with its stiffer sidewall should tolerate oversizing even better. I am personally targeting the Dunlop 235 for my next set, unless I end up getting some cheap slightly used Rivals from a local.