I have orderd 4 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs to replace 2 half worn fronts and 1 worn and 1 half worn rear S02's.

I still bet eveything will be fine with a matched set.

 

Sometimes tires just don't work well together. It won't hurt the car to mismatch the tires but you can end up with unpredictable performance at the limits. You can even get pulling one way or the other from time to time. There is just no way to tell untill they are on the car.
If I can help with the tires let me know.

 

yes! i get the pulling too

what kind of help can you provide?

 

i had to do an emergency lane-change on the 405N yesterday (some dude almost rear-ended a car right in front of me - I was avoiding being a part of the chain)... the car reacted in a way that I have not seen in 6 years of ownership. the rear snapped loose, and I had to catch it at 40mph with no room for error. i did it, but it was not fun. AT ALL.

went to my friend's shop yesterday to troubleshoot the car's behavior. apparently, my front tires are pointed inward (alignment problem). okay, I will fix that; but why does the allignment become such a HUGE issue NOW, right after I installed the new tires in the rear. are the new grippy rears overwhelming the front of the car? weird

anyway...
my new front StarSpecs are due to come in very soon. I will install them, and allign the car. I expect my old baby back after that, and maybe I will get better handling with the better tires. as of now, the condition of the car SUCKS.
I will do a canyon run, once the car is all sorted out, and see if all is better

 

Thanks for the update.. I was kinda guessing there may be something else going on there. Alignment can definitely make a difference in handling, even more than the difference a mix-matched pair of treads could make. Tires tend to wear into a bad alignment, eventually making the car flatten out and seem to handle OK, but when you put new tires on, an out-of spec alignment will usually become immediately noticable.
Also, the SO2s were rated as a stickier tire, so, technically you put a harder tire on the rear than you have on the front, so it would make sense that it would be a little more tail-happy now. Get those star-specs on the front, and get a good alignment. All should be well.

As for me, I'm gonna keep my almost new SO2s on the rear and put a set of star-specs on the front. Which should keep plenty of grip in the rear. I'll get it aligned and let you guys know how that turns out.

Thanks again.

 

S02's are not stickier than Star Specs, quite the contrary. The Star Specs will be stickier in the dry, and much sticker in the wet.

The handling feel issue being reporting is probably due to a combination of the new tires having much more tread squirm, plus perhaps less stiff sidewalls.

 

I had my Star Specs put on last night. All I have to say is, Sticky and quiet. It is pouring rain this morning and I was not scared to push it, Like I was with the So2's. Nice wet grip.

As of now I recommend this tire for street driving dry and wet.

 

UPDATE:

all of the problems are GONE: it was a combination of bbbaaaaddd alignment and bald mismatched fronts

I, once again, know what magic feels like

on Saturday I had the new front Star Specs put on, and most of the problems were gone... although, things were still not good

Sunday morning, I went for the Firestone $139 lifetime alignment deal. THAT WAS IT. most of my alignment settings were waaaay out of the tolerance ranges. the techs took care of the alignment.
right after this, I went through Topanga canyon. OMG, what a difference.

at this point: the rears had 200 miles on them, the fronts had 10 miles on them, and the alignment was dead on. the car clawed into the road... yeah, even with the slickness of the new tires. it was sickening. even with a passenger, through the whole day.
then I took Decker canyon; Decker is the tightest canyon that one can imagine. that car performed like a star. I quickly caught up to some roadster club. they had like 10 cars (all older euro and japanese roadsters). ALL OF THEM pulled off to the side to let me through. the S gripped so hard, that I was able to see my taillights, I swear.
then, being a biker, I took Topanga/Mulholland again; to paly with my biker buddies. sure enough, a rider in a one pice suit pulled up very soon on a quick Ducati. I took off, and he gave chase. on the straights, he was getting right on my bumper - no competition there. it was a big twin, and he had no issues whooping me in a straight line. however once braking and handling was a factor, it was bye bye, biker. he could no longer compete... and this was on the Snake part of Mulholland. I would have left him even further behind on Decker. he was a good rider, much better than me - he was dragging knees in every corner, so his skill is not an issue for me.

cars are good at braking and turning, and bikes are good for acceleration, excitement, fun, and adrenaline.

so, I love the StarSpecs... as they scrub in, I am sure that they will grip EVEN better.

oh, and i love HOW they loose grip: more gradual than S02s... no snapping; more of a slower disconnection, followed by a slide in which you can FEEL these tires FIGHTING for grip

 

Same here... recently bought 2005 had a set of very fairly new g-force sports on them. They are a great set of tires and fairly inexpensive as well. I am curious to see what the treadlife will be...as of now, I have only put about 400 miles on them and I'm not sure how many miles the previous owner put on them (just as few I believe). Car is very responsive and although I haven't pushed it to any limits, I have no doubt the tires will be able to handle it. It is a little noisy, but thats a byproduct of high performing tires.

 

to the limits AND BEYOND!!!

i like seeing how tires behave at 10/10s and after that

these star specs are freaking sweet