Anyone here had both the RE11s and the Direzza Star Specs? I had the Dunlops on the car last year, and while they performed well enough, I found them noisy and a bit harsh on potholed Alberta roads...especially in the fall as temperatures dropped into the single digits and the rears dropped under 50% read depth. Reviews of the RE11s hint that for the extra money you don't get any extra grip, but you do get a little less tread noise and a slightly more compliant sidewall. I need to decide in the next few weeks whether to try the RE11s or order new rear Dunlops...I'm leaning toward the RE11s.

 

I did some research before picking the Starspecs. What I found was that the RE11s are slightly better than the Starspecs, but cost exhorbitantly more. The AP2V2s are already so soft I thought a stiff sidewalls wouldn't be bad and I didn't factor in noise, but I did notice they were MUCH quieter than the OEM RE050s.

I am surprised you've worn through the rears though! On the OEM tires the front and rears hit cord at the exact same time, same day, same lap.

 

All of the extreme performance tires will be useless once the temps get anywhere close to zero.

Hankook RS-3 tires have an even stiffer sidewall than the Dunlop Z1, so you probably want to avoid them too.

I haven't tried the RE-11's -- the price is outrageous.

 

Do you have personal experience with the RS-3s? Because my experience with them is that RS-3s definitely have softer sidewalls than the Z1's (Ran RS-3, now running Z1)

I've never driven on the RE-11's but have driven RE01-R's and they were fantastic tires. I just don't know if the high price tag is worth it over the Z1's or the RS-3s

 

Not on the street -- just on an autocross course. The RS-3 had a faster turn-in response than the Z1, with the grip being close to the same. Turn-in crispness tends to be correlated with sidewall stiffness, which is where my comment came from.

Interesting. I hated my RE01's (at least for racing). They were fine for street driving when dry, but I really preferred the Dunlops when it was raining.

 

I have used Bridgestone exclusively for the past 7 yrs or so (other than 1 misfit for a flat) and love them.

RE050s
RE070s

both decent street/lapping day tires

RE01s have been on for the past 4-5yrs, love them on the street. Track they are very good, but not as amazing as i hoped. Consistency is ridiculous though, grip not as much.

I hear good things about star specs, but also check out the nitto NT01.

I likely will buy the RE11s but my 16" sizing makes things challenging.

 

Bridgestone RE040:
Crap, but the first non-all season tires I ran, so I thought they were great... Until I autox'd on them.

Bridgestone RE01r:
I liked them, and ran them from full tread down to the cords. (~326 auto-x runs & 20,000km of driving over two summers).
They were an amazing step up from the RE040, but I had no real reference for how much...

Bridgestone RE11:
I loved them, and bought them shaved to have them feel more like the RE01r did their second season. They were grippier than the RE01r, great in the wet, and the quietest "max performance" summer tires I've ridden on. (They didn't have the "thrum" of Dunlop Z1 ,Starspecs or RE01r. Or the "roar" of KDW2.)

Dunlop Z1 Starspecs:
So far they, which started from full tread, have been right there with the RE11 as far as grip (except they overheat more so from back to back runs on a hot day, or lapping).

Notes:
Starspecs have been 255/40R17 on 17x9" wheels on an AP1 with a Saner FSB. (Lightly prepped for STR)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grant_subaru/4891982047/

RE01r and RE11 have been 245/40R17 on 17x8" wheels on a WRX with 10kg/mm coilovers, and 27/24mm sways. (Fully prepped for STX)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grant_subaru/4630388553/
RE040 were 215/45R17 on 17x8" wheels on an other stock WRX. (Before I autox'd)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grant_subaru/535456735/

 

Bridgestone RE11:
...the quietest "max performance" summer tires I've ridden on. They didn't have the "thrum" of Dunlop Z1 Starspecs...

If the RE11s lack a little of the Starspecs crispness, but run a little quieter, that trade-off works for me. Had a set of Neova AD07s that were crazy noisy on my previous car...swapped 'em out for Pilot PS2s that gave up a measure of "immediacy" to the Neovas, but were SO much more liveable day to day. Sounds like RE11s would quiet things down compared to the Starspecs, with comparable (if slightly different) performance metrics...downside is the higher price. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Hmm, IMO the Z1's had better turn in response for me, and felt the RS-3's had more overall grip.

I guess it all boils down to personal preference when comparing tires in the "max performance" category. Every tire will feel different and it all depends on your driving style.

My vote will go for the RE-11 if it's btwn those two tires IF money is not an issue.

 

Fronts still had about 50%-60% tread left; the rears were down to about 30%...left the rears at the tire installer when I had my winters put on, and brought home the fronts in case I decided to pick up another set of rear Starspecs.