Tires?
Technical Know-It-All
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,123
From: Sterling, VA
Car Info: '02 WRX + '15 WRX
255/35/18. I do not know of a single street driven Subaru that can take advantage of anything wider (I'm assuming non-****ty tires here) on public roads. 255s are also plenty at the track until you reach really competitive levels. On that same token, once you reach that point you will probably have a dedicated track wheel setup and will be running wider tires and KW V1s won't be performing how you need them to.
That being said +38 is too low of an offset.
That being said +38 is too low of an offset.
Last edited by Brfatal; Nov 1, 2014 at 07:47 PM.
Im digging the Potenza RE-11's on the street & on the track. Not many wet days lately, but the few days its been wet no traction issues. Nice summer tire. Stickier then the pilots I used to run.
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Seems like they tend to last closer to a 140-160 wear tire instead of 200 though.
I haven't really noticed any more wearing then my pilots from the few thousand miles I've put on them but I imagine they are since they are softer. Also for what they are they ride pretty well on the street surprisingly.
Nobody likes the tuna here
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From: Somewhere San Mateo County, Inside A 911 Ambulance
Car Info: 03 SRP WRX Street Class Prepped, 17 Chevy Duramax
I can see that. You can push your fingernail into the compound pretty good. No more spinning 2nd but I did go a good bit wider at the same time. I haven't really noticed any more wearing then my pilots from the few thousand miles I've put on them but I imagine they are since they are softer. Also for what they are they ride pretty well on the street surprisingly.
Also the benefit of having potenza is street drivability. Rs3s and direzzas aren't street friendly if you're used to normal tires.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 128
From: Bay Area
Car Info: 2013 WRX HATCH
I will be daily driving this car, but do drive my car pretty hard 
It seems like going 265 isn't really going to give me any performance gains over 255?
From the tires mentioned/others you guys want to throw at me, is there one or the other you'd stay away from due to being very loud/not the most street friendly?
Thoughts on sport specs vs pilot super sports vs potenza re11s?
Also, sport spec z1s or z2s?
It seems like going 265 isn't really going to give me any performance gains over 255?
From the tires mentioned/others you guys want to throw at me, is there one or the other you'd stay away from due to being very loud/not the most street friendly?
Thoughts on sport specs vs pilot super sports vs potenza re11s?
Also, sport spec z1s or z2s?
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 128
From: Bay Area
Car Info: 2013 WRX HATCH
255/35/18. I do not know of a single street driven Subaru that can take advantage of anything wider (I'm assuming non-****ty tires here) on public roads. 255s are also plenty at the track until you reach really competitive levels. On that same token, once you reach that point you will probably have a dedicated track wheel setup and will be running wider tires and KW V1s won't be performing how you need them to.
That being said +38 is too low of an offset.
That being said +38 is too low of an offset.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 128
From: Bay Area
Car Info: 2013 WRX HATCH
The vast majority of i-club falls into one of two camps:
1. The 'Stance' camp, who believes they can somehow fit 10" wide 20" rubber band tires on, regardless of if they scrape going in and out of the driveway. They're also typically the ones who won't drive more than ten miles in any direction for any reason...
and
2. The 'Performance' camp, who believes that you can run 17's and 18's and run a 235 or possibly a 245 wide on the track. They're more likely to use their cars to track them or drive aggressively.
Unless you have the money (and I'm talking $1,000's and $1,000's of dollars) to heavily modify your suspension system so you're not rubbing, your tires are going to wear out quickly...as well as more expensive suspension components.
Just my .02
I'll re-think my position if there's a group of ten or more individual old-timers who chime in doing track days on 265's or wider.
1. The 'Stance' camp, who believes they can somehow fit 10" wide 20" rubber band tires on, regardless of if they scrape going in and out of the driveway. They're also typically the ones who won't drive more than ten miles in any direction for any reason...
and
2. The 'Performance' camp, who believes that you can run 17's and 18's and run a 235 or possibly a 245 wide on the track. They're more likely to use their cars to track them or drive aggressively.
Unless you have the money (and I'm talking $1,000's and $1,000's of dollars) to heavily modify your suspension system so you're not rubbing, your tires are going to wear out quickly...as well as more expensive suspension components.
Just my .02
I'll re-think my position if there's a group of ten or more individual old-timers who chime in doing track days on 265's or wider.
I'm not interested in Stancing out my car, like I said I am all about performance and frankly I think that look is ridiculous.
Also, I am running 235s on the stock wheels at the moment
The RE11's & Star Specs are in a different tire group (extreme summer tire) then the pilots (max summer). So they will heat up slower, have less traction until they are warm, wear faster, and perform better when pushing the car hard.
The Pilots should last longer and grip better cold which is nicer when your driving to work early morning. Ive had a couple of sets and they are good tires. I wish the traction was a little better when hot (im around 455wtq) and the overall steering/cornering feel isn't as nice as the RE11's. Still one of the best tires in its group ive been on. They will get greasy at the track, so not a good choice for that but for commuting and have fun every once in a while they work well.
I have heard the star specs are louder and less street friendly then the re11's, but I dont have any experience with them. Supposely they grip good in dry but not as good in wet.
Heres a test tirerack did comparing the star specs to the re11's which might help. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=118
The Pilots should last longer and grip better cold which is nicer when your driving to work early morning. Ive had a couple of sets and they are good tires. I wish the traction was a little better when hot (im around 455wtq) and the overall steering/cornering feel isn't as nice as the RE11's. Still one of the best tires in its group ive been on. They will get greasy at the track, so not a good choice for that but for commuting and have fun every once in a while they work well.
I have heard the star specs are louder and less street friendly then the re11's, but I dont have any experience with them. Supposely they grip good in dry but not as good in wet.
Heres a test tirerack did comparing the star specs to the re11's which might help. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=118
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From: Livermore/ The Bay
Car Info: 99 legacy gt
so a few thing, there are 2 different tires from dunlop there is a z2 and there is a z2 star spec. also the Re-11 is a extreme performance summer tire.
the star spec line from dunlop is more geared to auto cross, spirited driving, and light track uses. It has a really good tread life compared to most tires in its class and really good wet traction for a extreme summer tire. It is not the quietest tire
scale of 1-5
wet:3
dry:4
life:4
noise:3
price:3
now for the hankook Rs3 this is one of the best tires out there hankook made this tire for auto cross and track use and it will do both better then almost any tire in its class. tread life is slight over rated. this tire comes up to temp fast and will take a while to get grease even on the hottest of track days. the wet traction leaves something to be desired unlike the Z2 star spec and the Re11 which have deep groves for improve water treading and wet traction hankook went with a design that would perform better in the dry the rs3 have been know to get a little slippery when the roads are wet.
scale of 1-5
wet:1
dry:5
life:3
noise:3
price:4
the RE-11 are a great tire a with good tread life the tire was made for the spirited driver. these tires do not stand up to track days or auto cross as well as the Z2 star spec and the Rs3. however they have the best wet traction of the three and will handle the best in the rain. because of its long tread life these tires take awhile to get up to temp. they are the quietest of the three and are one of the best DD tires i have driven.
scale of 1-5
wet:4
dry:3
life:4
noise:5
price:3
the star spec line from dunlop is more geared to auto cross, spirited driving, and light track uses. It has a really good tread life compared to most tires in its class and really good wet traction for a extreme summer tire. It is not the quietest tire
scale of 1-5
wet:3
dry:4
life:4
noise:3
price:3
now for the hankook Rs3 this is one of the best tires out there hankook made this tire for auto cross and track use and it will do both better then almost any tire in its class. tread life is slight over rated. this tire comes up to temp fast and will take a while to get grease even on the hottest of track days. the wet traction leaves something to be desired unlike the Z2 star spec and the Re11 which have deep groves for improve water treading and wet traction hankook went with a design that would perform better in the dry the rs3 have been know to get a little slippery when the roads are wet.
scale of 1-5
wet:1
dry:5
life:3
noise:3
price:4
the RE-11 are a great tire a with good tread life the tire was made for the spirited driver. these tires do not stand up to track days or auto cross as well as the Z2 star spec and the Rs3. however they have the best wet traction of the three and will handle the best in the rain. because of its long tread life these tires take awhile to get up to temp. they are the quietest of the three and are one of the best DD tires i have driven.
scale of 1-5
wet:4
dry:3
life:4
noise:5
price:3
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From: Monterey, California
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I never tried the old rs3 but the new ones are great. They love being hot, and when the Temps get too hot, the tire is very easy to manage. Down in la during subiefest I did the track day with them, and it was a fairly warm day. Only near the end of the sessions did they get greasy. I don't have much experience in the wet except for standing water on turn 3 at laguna seca when the whole track was dry. It did make me understeer every time no matter what line I took, but it was easy to get out of it. This is with my frs.
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I've run the BFG Rivals for almost a year - they are totally acceptable on the street and are one of the most grippy tires I've ever run.
Kumho 710's they are not... but 710's also have a treadwear rating of 50 and are downright dangerous in the wet
Kumho 710's they are not... but 710's also have a treadwear rating of 50 and are downright dangerous in the wet
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From: Campbell, CA
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I've autocrossed the Dunlop ZII, BFG Rivals, and the Hankook RS3 v2.
ZII: Crisp response, good wet and dry grip, doesn't require a lot of heat to work but have decent grip when cold, peaky performance (not very forgiving when you overdrive them/go pass their limits)
Rivals: Mushy response, good dry grip, don't require a lot of heat to work, very forgiving/easier to drive, wet grip isn't as good
RS3 v2: Mushy response, best dry grip of the three tires, okayish wet grip (better than the old compound), require a little more heat to work compared to the other two tires, handle heat better than the other two tires, cheap
Talking to autocrossers that have more experience than me and are VERY fast, the Dunlop ZII Star Spec is a big improvement over the ZII. The ZII Star Spec is faster, easier to drive fast, and handle heat better than the ZII. The ZII Star Spec is more expensive, though.
I've known a few that have tried the Bridgestone RE-11A, and they felt the tires were a little behind performance wise in the dry compared to what BFG, Dunlop, and Hankook offer.
ZII: Crisp response, good wet and dry grip, doesn't require a lot of heat to work but have decent grip when cold, peaky performance (not very forgiving when you overdrive them/go pass their limits)
Rivals: Mushy response, good dry grip, don't require a lot of heat to work, very forgiving/easier to drive, wet grip isn't as good
RS3 v2: Mushy response, best dry grip of the three tires, okayish wet grip (better than the old compound), require a little more heat to work compared to the other two tires, handle heat better than the other two tires, cheap
Talking to autocrossers that have more experience than me and are VERY fast, the Dunlop ZII Star Spec is a big improvement over the ZII. The ZII Star Spec is faster, easier to drive fast, and handle heat better than the ZII. The ZII Star Spec is more expensive, though.
I've known a few that have tried the Bridgestone RE-11A, and they felt the tires were a little behind performance wise in the dry compared to what BFG, Dunlop, and Hankook offer.
Last edited by G_Ride; Nov 5, 2014 at 09:19 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 128
From: Bay Area
Car Info: 2013 WRX HATCH
These will be my DD tires, at the moment I don't do autoX/track days, but would like to. I'm thinking I should make the decision based on my DD behaviors though/what do you guys think?