I'm looking to replace all 4 tires, currently S02s, with something new. I live in SC, so snow/cold are not really a concern, and I'm not very worried about rain either. I'm looking for something with good dry performance, decent tread wear, and not a whole lot of noise. So far, I'm considering the Dunlop Direzza ZII, Continental ExtremeContact DW, Bridgestone RE760, and Hankook Ventus V12. Sizes will be 205/55/16 up front and 225/50/16 out back. Can anyone chime in with some feedback or suggestions?

 

You have a wide range of tire classes there, from extreme summer to all season to max summer (aka budget summer).

I can't comment on wear characteristics since their so new, but the best dry weather tire in that bunch will be the Direzza ZII. The others aren't even close or in the same category.

RE760 is more of an all season tire

V12 is a budget summer tire that's decent if you're gonna DD your S and are concerned about cost over performance. I DD on these and save my Direzza ZII for track only use on a second set of wheels. (I live in SoCal - also not concerned with bad weather).

I would add RE-11 to the mix for a good extreme performance summer tire with good wear. It'll be pricier but will out perform all the other tires mentioned except for the Direzza ZII. If it's not a DD, then i'd consider these two my top picks, and i'd throw in the BFG Rival if you can wait for it. If you're a bit concerned with longevity but not price and still want top dry performance, get the RE-11.

To everyone else reading, not recommending the RS3 because aside from track use, I think the tire blows as far as "feel", wear, heat cycling, and wet weather...

 

Thanks for the reply, I've been leaning toward the ZII's as well because generally I want every ounce of performance I can get, but this car is my DD, so I'm also considering the V12's pretty heavily as a compromise. I'm going to be heading to the Dragon on the 23rd, for the first time, plus I think I'll probably autox a couple of times this year, so that makes me lean more towards the ZII's, but the V12's are about $200 cheaper and I do have to drive this car everyday. Christ, somebody just choose for me.

 

in that case, RE-11. they have extremely long tread life for an extreme performance tire and are magnitudes of performance better than the V12s.

The v12s will get it done for some pretty basic DD stuff but blow on the track and for auto-x. I've gone to track/auto-x days on them and treated it as a "car control" clinic day. They heat up and get greasy really fast and slide all over the place - fun for practice, but not fast at all. Also, they have somewhat of a softer side wall and don't transmit that "excitement" feeling as well as some of the other tires. They also tend to chunk if pushed too hard.

I can't comment on Direzza ZII longevity since it's too new.

RE-11s also stay useful for a greater portion of their usable tread life. They don't heat cycle out as fast as some of the other extreme performance summer tires, and even after they do heat cycle, the drop off level isn't as drastic as something like the RS3s. They're the best DD tire for someone that still wants a high level of performance. You'll have to weigh your preferences

if it's something like this
1. Performance
2. Longevity
3. Price
get the RE-11

if it's
1. Price
2. Longevity
3. Performance
get the v12

If it's a mix
-then you'll have a toss up over which you value more.

If the ZII wears like the original ZISS, then they will be a viable option as well, although I'd speculate that treadlife will be shorter than the RE-11.

Also, if you're doing a lot of DD, depending on your alignment and driving style, the V12s aren't really going to last too much longer than the RE-11s.

 

^ This. We can't decide for you. If you can't decide then you need to sit down, list out your priorities and assign weights to them as well as where and how much you're willing to compromise. You'll then have your decision. You also have to consider your budget. $200's a negligible difference to me with tires. YMMV.

 

Personally I would go with the Continental, they have excellent cornering grip. And of all the max performance summer tires they have the longest tread life wear rate.

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I think I'm going to take the plunge on the Direzza ZII's. Will post a review once I get some miles on them.