Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1, The new dominant street tire for autocrossing? Options

[SWortham]

I just thought I'd give you guys the inside scoop. The reviews for this tire are great...

SCCAForums.com - Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1

Some initial observations:

- The Z1 and the Neova have a 9.5" tread width, the RE-01R is approximately 9.0" wide if shaved.

- The Z1 weighs 26.4 lb.

- Using the super accurate thumbnail durometer, the RE-01R felt the softest.

- The unmounted carcass of the Z1 felt at least as stiff, if not more so than an unmounted Neova, tested by sitting on the tires.

I saw several sets of Z1s being tested at an autocross on Oct 1st. They were given to some BMWCCA racers for O'Fest. At full tread they chunked (so shave them, of course) but they seemed pretty quick. When/if we get a chance to drive and/or test a set we will post it. From the times these cars were running they don't seem "uber" like tires but they don't seem slow, either.

We ran the Dunlops at the CSCC season opener, and were surprised at the results. We took 1st and 2nd in STU. The top STU STi was running in SM and ran a time between our 2 raw times. The fastest STU BMW M3 in the country was also there, but they had issues putting power down in the first run group. Conditions were about 55 deg and dry, 2 drivers, with full tread tires.

I would speculate the 245/40-17 Direzzas Z1s are faster than the Bridgestone RE-01Rs, that I was running the last 4 events, by about .5 sec on a low 50 sec course. This would be for my front heavy, front drive biased Evo. The Dunlops seem stiffer, brake better, and don't break away as easily in the front as the softer RE- 01Rs.

Also the Z1s are much more heat tolerant. We ran 6 extra runs in the 3rd group in ~70 deg temp. Where the RE-01Rs would go off in about 2.5 runs, the Dunlops were good until the 6th run.

MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Dunlop Direzza Z1

I've driven on all 3 in similarly prepped BMW 3-series on the AX course in the same day... The RT-615 is a great tire, but the RE-01R is stickier and has crisper turn in. The RE-01R is definitely a faster tire for AX and the track. The Dunlop Z1 is not as sticky as either, but it's not a bad tire, either. It's uber-predictable. It reminded me a lot of the Kumho MX, 'cept better.

And in TireRack's testing, the tire placed second in NVH, first in wet traction, and second in dry traction:
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Ride & Drive Review

There are a few conflicting reviews in there, but all in all it looks like a very promising tire sure to compete with the front-runners.

[oiml8]

I wish they would test on a fwd car too. And I agree about the ambiguity in the numbers. If you look at the numbers you would think the BFG's for instance were not much but in the end it had second lowest lap time and second lowest slalom time. I definitely hope these manufacturers keep competing. All the better for us.