My current tire set-up is 225/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear on stock AP2 wheels.
I recently trashed a set of re-01r's which was the best street tire I have driven on in terms of ultimate grip and response.....until now. I installed a set of Dunlop z1 star specs last week and had a chance to give them a shot in the mountains this sunday. Dry grip was on par with the re-01's. Steering response was a great improvement as the sidewalls are significantly stiffer. This did lead to a decrease in road comfort though (which is on my "i don't care about..." list). With about a 300 dollar price difference I will buy the star specs again. If you are debating whether or not to try a set, DO IT! It will be worth every penny!

 

I agree!!! one of our members here in atlanta got some put on his S for our trackday at lil tally yesterday and I must say they are INSANE!!! worth every saved penny over re-01r's. In fact he bought a whole set for his other car when he got back from the track! I will be running these on my S when my wheels arrive

 

Argh, I've been having trouble finding them in stock in the west coast.

 

call tire rack and have them shipped from elsewhere, I had to do this for my rears. Only cost me an extra 20 bucks shipping and 1 day extra for shipping.

 

Yeah just called Jim, but he's out at the moment. I'm worried it won't get here by Saturday though.

 

I've got a set on my STS2 ride for autocrossing. From what I've read and seen from my competition, the RE01r last a long time. My Z1 (non-star spec) have worn off 1/32 of tread after about 51 runs on them, full tread, maybe a little less than 1k street miles. Compare to my friend who runs the Bridgestones, and he has ran just about the same runs, maybe little less, trip to San Diego, round trip, and he's only got maybe close to 1/32nd's worth of wear or less, and he had them shaved to 4/32nds.

 

I got my star specs right on time before my track day on Saturday. Thanks Jim!

I haven't used too many tires (in fact, the star specs are my second set ever), so I'm not the best person to review them. I was previously on Riken Raptors and posted a CCW time of 1:34.xx at SOWS.
I've never been on RE050's, and this is my first sports car...so I'll probably never know how bad the Raptors were (I'm assuming they are). They did grease up significantly towards the end of the day.

But Saturday was at Cali Speedway Interior Road Course, so can't really compare. It felt like I had a lot more grip I guess. They got greasy a little bit (not nearly as much as the Rikens), but I dropped the pressure later in the day and they were good. I was able to post 1:21.xx times.

 

I've had my Z1's on for a couple weeks and couple hundred miles so far--no chance yet for an autocross or track-day. They feel like they have a ton of grip, around here I've not been able to really break them loose--and it's been that way right from the start. It's difficult to remember when the OEM RE 050's were this new in order to make a direct comparison, but it seems like the level of grip is at a higher level. Turn in is very crisp, they are quiet and have good compliance over small bumps (in fact, very good in that area). I've not driven them in the wet yet either.
Thus far I'm very happy with my decision vs. the RE 01R's, and frankly, according to the comparison test done by Tire Rack, any difference in handling and grip is too miniscule to register outside a measurable test.
The above was from another thread about this tire. I just got back from lunch and had the opportunity to push my car through two different s-curves that I'm very familiar with and that were both blessedly clear of traffic for a hot run. Honestly the grip of these tires is astounding, under hard acceleration (second gear, V-TEC) in a curve, there wasn't a hint of tire slip or spin. On the second section I could reach just under 60 mph at the speed limit sign just beyond the second curve on my RE 050's, today I touched 62 mph at the same spot on the Z1's. That's measurably better--I'm impressed. And I think I'm still searching the limits of grip for the Z1.
BW

 

Check this out. It's and interesting take and info on the Z1
http://www.lvtsg.com/news/publish/automoti...cle_24404.shtml