Concillian

iTrader: (2)

FYI, this thread has a lot of info on the ZII and Rival comparison:

2013 ST/RT Tires - Page 10 - NASIOC

Starting at post 485 about 3/4 down page 10 (unless you're on the total noob settings, then it's on like page 50 or something)

I don't think there are any real surprises from reading that.
- Z2 has some of the same issues with holding up to heat as the Z1 had, but is otherwise a little better in all aspects. Still gives away abruptly, but better than the Z1.

This suggests that the Z2 is an autox tire that will work well daily, but at the prices they're commanding now, it's hard to consider them as a daily tire. If they can't handle heat, then they're not a good choice for a HDPE tire or an autox car that will be shared, seeing extra runs.

They've marched up at least $20 a tire in most sizes I've seen from where they were introduced and they were already priced well over what I paid for my Z1s. Dunlop is very proud of these tires.

- Rival is generally considered king of the dry, but grip falls off very quick in the wet.
As I stated earlier in this thread... that was my expectation, and it looks to have lived up to it. Not something I'd be considering for daily driver tires. I had Kumho MX which were similarly great in the dry and scary in the wet. No more of that for me, thanks. These seem like a very good tire to have on a 2nd set of wheels used primarily for autox or HDPEs, and they seem to stand up to heat at least as well as the RS3 without so much need to heat up in order to grip.

JourdanWithaU

iTrader: (39)

I've been double driving my ZIIs across 4 events so far and haven't experienced any overheating. We even had a thermometer with us at the last event and the tires were consistently at about 120 degrees which is about the optimal temperature for them. Or so I've been told (I can't find anything to support the 120 optimum). But the tires have been performing extremely well.

I seriously can't praise the ZII enough.

And the prices are the same as they were back in January? At least for the sizes I have bought/been considering.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

For you guys saying the Dunlaps over heat, are you talking about a DD at the track or stage 2+ more track oriented car?

G_Ride

iTrader: (5)

Sounds about what I've heard as well. However, the jury is still out on what the best autox tire is. From what I've heard from national/pro solo events it may end up depending on the conditions. I guess we'll find out eventually.

That just means you guys aren't pushing hard enough

Any tire will overheat if you push it hard enough. It's true that the ZII can't handle heat as well as the Rivals of RS3, so the ZII will star to feel greasy sooner than the other two tires.

Concillian

iTrader: (2)

The overheat thing is something you'd only see at HDPE. I assume Jourdan's events are autocross events, where I'd expect them to do fine unless you have multiple drivers rotating through one car. They should be able to handle that, it's the kind of thing that should only be issue for more severe workouts, like HDPE 20 minute sessions.

They seem pretty ideal for a daily tire that also sees autocross. almost as good as the Rival, but the significantly better wet performance makes it the clear choice for a top performance tire that will be driven on the street, IMO.

I am seeing that the RS3s like heat, so it looks like:
ZII seems good as a street / autocross tire
the Rival seems best suited as a nearly dedicated autox / HDPE tire
and the Hankook RS3 also has decent wet performance, so a good street / HDPE option that isn't a laggard at autox, but probably needs more heat than the ZII does to perform well.

G_Ride

iTrader: (5)

You will see overheating of street tires at autox events. I've seen it happen at local autox events, just not by many. It also depends on the weather. We don't get the kind of weather that some areas get, where the concrete will be 130+ F. I do agree that the ZII would make a DD tire, though.

Concillian

iTrader: (2)

I think it means that they're all very tightly grouped in performance. Close enough that someone considering a street tire should worry about other factors more important to the street.

G_Ride

iTrader: (5)

I completely agree. Based on overall performance, the ZII will be a good choice for DD use.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Yes and that's a concern for me. My buddy and I barely get out to the track anymore (maybe once a year) so we run summer tires just for a fun day. We don't push more than 7/10th but we are getting faster within those limits.

We happen to have z1s

G_Ride

iTrader: (5)

Did you ever overheat the StarSpecs?

wwrx

iTrader: (5)

deleted

wwrx

iTrader: (5)

They are probably the best choice for AutoX but I've heard that they also cannot tolerate heat as good as RS3. People had to spray them after certain amounts of runs. But they hold heat better than Z2 FWIK.

I jsut got a new set of RS3 (275-35-18) and tried them on AutoX. Yes first run (or maybe two) they are not holding as well but after that they are just great! On opposite after 2-3 runs my Z1s were overheating...

wwrx

iTrader: (5)

120 is not that high... How much time between AutoX runs did you have?

wwrx

iTrader: (5)

AutoX, track too. Stage 2 with RCE Black springs/sway bars.

G_Ride

iTrader: (5)

The RS3 needs heat to work. They're good tires as long as you get enough heat into them and it's dry.