Manga_Spawn

Yeah I know another "what tire should I buy thread" I am just as annoyed to have to post this as you are to read it.

Short story I am currently running Federal 595ss. It has proven to be a great daily driving tire and felt fine for spirited drives however I know it will be crap on the track and having driven a few s2000's with higher end tires I want something better. This is where I am having problems.

Current Setup
17x9 W/245/40/17 Front
17x10 w/255/40/17 Rear

What is important No particular order
Cost
Usability (Needs to have ok wet grip because Seattle and not wear in the blink of an eye)
Grip Duh.
The plan is to try and make it to at least one track day this season. Maybe an autox or 2 to learn more though I can say autox doesn't overly interest me.

Options In no particular order
Re11a
Price ~$770 shipped Tire Rack
From what I have read probably the most civilized tire or the bunch but still capable. Good wet and dry drip as well as well as wear.

Dunlop Z2
Price ~$770 shipped Tire Rack
I have read they are noisy but I doubt they will be heard over my exhaust. Seems like decent wear and wet grip as well. A little worried about they being discontinued already but whatever.

Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08 R
Price ~$975 shipped Discount Tire
Holy god the price. But they seem to have a die hard following and people seem to like them despite the price.

Federal RSR
Price ~$450 Online tires
Ok so the main thing drawing me to these is the price. I would likely not use them as a daily street tire which would be ok since I have extra wheels. I could buy 2 sets for every set of the Advans I buy. The other issue is there is no 245-40-17 size I would have to run a 235-40-17 or 235-45-17 on the front. I read these do run wide but not sure if that would upset my car.


I am not interested in other options as I have likely already reviewed them and decided against them for one or more reasons. Please let me you know thoughts and experiences. Opinions are welcome however I really want people actual experience with any of the above.

sam_spider

I have ZII's currently, they are very grippy and quite good in the wet, I'd argue the Star Specs were a touch better. The ZII's are noisy over expansion joints and the painted lines on the road, the sound is louder than my car (I have HKS exhaust for reference) whilst cruising/driving, not during acceleration. It's similar to the noise you get when you drive over the rumble strips on the highway, without the vibration

I have RE11A's sitting in my garage for my track wheels, and I'll more than likely run them on my other wheels after I burn up the ZII's. I've driven all 3 on the track and the RE11A are equal to the ZII's, but are quieter for normal driving.

Can't comment on the Federals or the NEOVA's, I heard the NEOVA's wear out fairly rapid as they're more of a track tire.

spets

I'd stick with either the Re-11As or the Z2.

Re-11A: 70% street, 30% track.
Z2: 70% track, 30% street.

based on your stated requirements, the Re-11As will be more quieter/civilized on the street, and will have enough grip to do well on the track. They will probably last longer than the Z2s as well.

cdelena

I've had RE-11A 's for several months and find they are quiet, smooth, and have good grip when warm and dry but have been very disappointed in wet performance or hydroplane resistance. Seems to have limited warning at the limit but I may need more break-in and hotter temps. I'm not convinced I made the right choice for my street/summer tires.

Manga_Spawn

Good info guys. I am starting to lean back to the RE11a's. I'd like to hear some experience with the Advans but if they do wear faster they will be out due to price and wear.

s2000Junky

Any extreme summer has a prime operating temp window, and that window is shorter or broader depending on the tire brand, and bellow that range they are typically worse then a lower grade tire which is meant to offer mediocre grip through out a very broad operating range, typically a much cooler one. There is a reason why performance tires are advertised to not run in bellow a min temp, and not until you get them into the upper heat range as you would in the middle of summer heat or track, do they offer optimum adhesion.

Bullwings

I have RE-11a on my E30 - excellent choice for the street with mixed random auto-x and canyon driving (also sees rain use, if it ever rains in SoCal).

I have ZII on my S2k on 17x9s 255-square. I don't really care for them on the street - they're quite stiff and howl/drone. The driving characteristics for track use are quite nice, though, especially if you're a text book driver. They're extremely responsive, give good feed back, but require you to be clean, precise, and tidy with your driving. over driving them, and trying to feed higher slip angles will scrub speed and overheat the tires (very different from the RS3).

If your use is 70/30 street/track - RE-11a

If 30/70 street/track - Dunlop ZII (ZII Star Specs out in the fall, so I wouldn't worry about them being discontinued).

I haven't used the other two, so no actual experience. My opinions are as follows, which is why I haven't used them:

AD08R - too pricy for my blood and intended uses

Federal RSR - too cheap for the S2K - not up to par with the other tires in the category for track use.

Manga_Spawn

Good info guys. Though I am still not sure. I have some time to decide. What I may do is keep my current federals for regular driving and winter (probably put them on my spare set of wheels and run the tires for summer drives and track days. I don't drive my car that much as I can take the bus to work for free and do since it saves miles on the car.

Manga_Spawn

Well pulled the trigger. Ordered the AD08R's. Ended up paying $975 shipped. I am really curious to try these out and see how they hold up. Depending on how happy I am with them that will determine if I stay with them or move to something different.

s2000Junky

Take advantage of those extra set of wheels you have, and preserve these expensive tires for track time and or really fair weather months