To anyone that maybe interested, I imported a set of Dunlop Direzza Sports Z1 Star Spec (245/40/18) from Tirerack at 1.1k landed in melbourne, mm good value

My reasons

They are top of the range Dunlop for Street thats not available here through normal dealers (yes Australia don't get top of the line product, whats new ?)

Youtube tirerack summer tire review OR Hot Version 93 for their comprehensive review on BS's RE11 vs Star Spec vs Advan AD07 vs Toyo something.. you may think they stage the results in these type of review.. but they did bother to make the competition as fair as possible by blind folding the driver before they get in the car, and making him guess what tyre he drove on. The driver is dori dori drift king from Japan. He helped develop RE01R and RE11 for Bridgestone. Anyway the result was RE11 was very very close to Dunlop while Dunlop took the fastest time, other two is like a second behind. Although Advan at that time already had AD08 which they should've tested instead.

Just in case any of you that doesnt know what the **** these tyres are, well they are basically the top of the line tyres thats available in Japan for Street tyres. Something that we cant get here from a reguarly dealer and yes these tyres are much better then what we get here from the same manufacture.

I previously had RE01R, but I feel the Dunlop has much harder sidewall.. like much much stiffer. Grip level well i cant really test on the street, but initial impression is pretty good, on par to RE01R if not better, pending on track test. Should be going to Winton on 4th Dec.

Price for RE11 (The now top of the range BS)( wear rating - 180 AA) is $251 USD per tyre compare to Dunlop's $177 (wear rating - 200 AA) ,

just FYI you can buy the old top of the range BS RE01R here from BS Motorsport dealer for nearly $495 / corner fitted.

At the moment the only thing i can complain is the tyre noise is noticable, my previous tyres RE01R, S03s, and stock tyres was NOT noticable but these are quite noticable during high way. But normal street speed is perfectly fine.

One of my friend in a Integra Type R has driven on these and semis RE55s on track for comparison sake, they are about 2-3 secs off semis (altough not done in identical situation in terms of weather and track condition)

Another reason for this good value is of course our strong currency against the USD, which add up and falls nicely into the bracket of being Tax free (less then 1k AUD for import goods)

 

You'll love these tyres on the track. They do not get greasy and do not chunk at all. They are by far the best street track tyre on the market.

 

from the usa.

i ran the star specs for street tires and used them for about 5 track days.. great tire. did not have an issue with noise..

i am now running reo1r that i got on close out..

also a very good tire.. but does not have quite the grip and goes off / gets greasy faster..

amazing a 200 treadwear tire does better than a 140 tw tire..

i did get a lot of miles out the the star specs on the street.

the reo1s are on track wheels, but i do drive them to and from the track..

beers

 

star spec did show good on Hot Version.

Good choice.

Just adding icing on the cake. They are available in Melbourne now. I only check the prices for my BMW.

235/40 18 are $385 each
255/35 18 are $415

So 245/40 is in between lar.

You saved $500 for tyres and - $50 for installation.

I also brought a set of 4 tyres for my Kluger (Highlander for you swoope). The US made B'stone are great! 600 thread wear rating too!

 

to keep things short, the tyres are good as RE01R if not better. I must confess I havent driven these tyres at its limit yet as they were barely making screaming noise, I was playing with tyre pressure throughout the day starting at 38 then jumped to 42 - 44 psi, release to 38 for further test and i was taking it really gently since i havent been to the track for more then a year now..

Further testing required as I need to work out some optimal psi for this tyre, I am pretty sure i am not getting it to its working temperature no matter how hard i brake, corner, accelerate... feels skating sometime although the grip is there just that its not at the sweet spot... maybe someone shine me some light on this or the psi i should start cold with.. I spoke to Chris from Centreline and he said street sport tyres should start at high psi.. hmmm...

but with the price it offers and the amount of review it has how can you not give this a try... I need more track days !

Time for some sway bars, bride seats ...

PS - The Mazdaspeed Oil cooler is magic, a must have for any serious trackers... oil maxed at 110c throughout a 26 c day, while coolant temp maxed at 110c too. The oil temp comes down very quickly and it takes at least 5 to 6 hard laps to build it to 110c, before it takes 2 laps to reach 120.... Generally on the street before i had the oil cooler the oil temp is always about 10c above coolant temp eg: 80c coolant 90c oil, but now is in reverse 70c oil to 81c coolant.

Project Mu HC+ screams like a bus but stops like no tomorrow.

 

Thanks, I'm in need of new tyres as well (already down to the indicator), and so was deciding between the tirerack's top 3 (Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 or Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec or Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08). This post makes me lean more to dunlop now, especially since the price is more affordable than the other 2.

 

advice for the star specs tire pressue setting.. i started with 34 front and 30 rear. and adjusted to ~39 hot right of the track for the rest of the weekend.. the 34 / 30 got it pretty close..

beers

 

Thanks Swoope, appreciate ur input will try that next time ^-^

 

Hey Andy, I am pretty sure I will be getting these as my next tyre...What are they like in the rain...if you have had the chance to drive in any yet

 

er.. i dont know bcoz i drive like a grandma on the street to be honest... if you drive civilize any tyre is should be good enough i guess ?

but to answer ur question.... they are decent.i think..i tried push little bit in mid corner in wet.. its pretty stable and doesnt kick out as i would've anticipate on my old S03s... so i guess its better.. but then again S03 is a really old tyre...

bottom line is.. they are cheap.. and they are worth a try ...

 

Hmmm. I really hate tyres that are bad in the wet weather. Also I will be bringing in the 265/35 which at current exchange rates is > 1000 Still cheaper than local but ...

 

Excellent in the wet, as long as it is not too cold outside.

 

they do very, very well in the rain..



beers