Going to try the Dunlop Direzza Z1's
 

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...t_z1_ci2_l.jpg

225/45ZR18
Load Index 91 = 1356lbs per tire
Speed Rating “W” = 168mph 91W SL
Treadwear: 200
They weigh 26 lbs.


Saw these tires released a few months ago and I've been waiting for the opportunity to try them out.

I'm currently on a set of Bridgestone S-03's with only 3 track events (about 5/8th to 3/4ths tread still left on them) which I've been really happy with as a street/track tire (especially for the $125 giveaway price), but unfortunately, I hit a large rock with the passenger front this morning and there's a blister/welt on the sidewall. Don't want to run with uneven tread at the track, so I'm going to go ahead and buy 4 of the Z1's to see what they're about.

From what I've read, they should offer a bit more sidewall stiffness over the S-03's with a bit better grip. Decent rain performance is a must, as I do run the car during rain events (tip toeing around, yet it's at least not waste of a track day), so the Z1 was my choice over the RT-615, as it seems that it offers a bit better performance in the rain.


Side note rant about Tire Rack:

I purchase tires and brakes from Tire Rack without a hitch. Their shopping database works plenty fine for these items. This morning, however, I contemplated purchasing a set of 17x9 wheels for R compound tires and their database won't let me drop down a size. Even if I choose RX-8 Automatic to drop down to OEM 16 with a plus 1 to 17, the wheel selection is not wide enough.

So, I call Tire Rack and tell them "I want a 17x9, 5x114.3, mid forties offset wheel to wrap a set of R compound tires around them" and they respond; "sir, we can't do a wheel search by size- you must select by car, as maybe the wheel you want won't clear your brakes." Tire Rack salesman then says "we sell lots of tires and wheels with our system, if we had to search by wheel size, we'd be here all day." That's hilarious. I pointed out that DiscountTiresDirect offers wheel size search. Irony being that Tire Rack really supports racing in advertisement, but makes it difficult for people to purchase wheels from them due to their search limitations. I called back again, spoke with a different salesman who did do a wheel size search, but wasn't all to eager to do so, giving me the "we'll be here all day" bit as well.



Anyhow, let's see how the Z1's do.

You won't be disappointed.

I ran these on my last car and I loved them. They're as good as the RT-615 for sure.

Read the Evo forums there are a few reviews on them.

I just had them mounted this morning and coming from the S-03, the Z1 offers quicker lateral transition in feel and response. The grip is there too. Great tire! They make the S-03 (a decent max performance tire) feel mushy in comparison.

I tried doing that ;). The wheel options are too narrow using that method.

I hear ya. Upon inspection of the 3 good S-03's which came off, I found one with a nail in it that was hard to see. I'm definately going to end up getting an extra set of wheels/tires because of this risk of using daily driven tires with possible hidden punctures. An extra set of wheels with some Nitto NT-01's may be in my future. They can go on at the track. If it rains, the street tires can be swapped back on for wet lapping.

i had these on my 19'' volks
very very nice rubber