extreme summer tires 2013 - Z2 vs BFG Rival
Mar 25, 2013, 05:31 PM
#1
extreme summer tires 2013 - Z2 vs BFG Rival
i'm moving from 17x9 +15 to 18x9.5 +22 in a little bit here and i've narrowed down to 2 tires i'd like to run -
1) Dunlop Starspec ZII in 265/35R18 - i've had 3 sets of Z1s and i love them for what they are - they're not perfect but they're great all around tires for my needs
2) BF Goodrich G-Force Rival in 275/35R18 - apparently 1 second faster than ZIIs around a 2:08 course driven by Andy Hollis (12 time SCCA Solo natioanl champ). see BFGoodrich g-Force Rival. the only thing i'm worried is they might run wide for the 275mm rating and thus be a smidge too wide for a 9.5" wheel.
my car is mainly a weekend warrior and i do around 6-8 HPDE/Time Attack events per year (we have very short summers up here in Canadia). i'm not interested in RE11A (limited sizing), AD08 (great tires but old technology from 5 years ago), RS3 (1 trick pony; sidewall too soft, wears out too quickly) etc. so please limit the this thread to only Z2s vs Rivals
thoughts? it'd be great if someone can throw up some pics of either tires mounted on a 18x9.5" wheel too
1) Dunlop Starspec ZII in 265/35R18 - i've had 3 sets of Z1s and i love them for what they are - they're not perfect but they're great all around tires for my needs
2) BF Goodrich G-Force Rival in 275/35R18 - apparently 1 second faster than ZIIs around a 2:08 course driven by Andy Hollis (12 time SCCA Solo natioanl champ). see BFGoodrich g-Force Rival. the only thing i'm worried is they might run wide for the 275mm rating and thus be a smidge too wide for a 9.5" wheel.
my car is mainly a weekend warrior and i do around 6-8 HPDE/Time Attack events per year (we have very short summers up here in Canadia). i'm not interested in RE11A (limited sizing), AD08 (great tires but old technology from 5 years ago), RS3 (1 trick pony; sidewall too soft, wears out too quickly) etc. so please limit the this thread to only Z2s vs Rivals
thoughts? it'd be great if someone can throw up some pics of either tires mounted on a 18x9.5" wheel too
Mar 25, 2013, 06:10 PM
#2
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from what ive read the z2's are a decent amount wider than z1's and are wider than the rivals. Have a friend that realized this the hard way and is now considering smaller z2's or similar sized rivals
Mar 26, 2013, 07:46 AM
#3
In eleven years of being here I've not seen a tire perform and wear as well as the Rival did in January. BFG spent ten years developing that tire and it was well worth the wait. There's only been one or two comparisons between the ZII and Rival so the jury is still out regarding a direct comparison. We will be testing both late spring as our first extreme summer class tire test (if the snow will ever stop coming down 
) so stay tuned!
) so stay tuned!
Mar 26, 2013, 10:36 AM
#5
2) BF Goodrich G-Force Rival in 275/35R18 - apparently 1 second faster than ZIIs around a 2:08 course driven by Andy Hollis (12 time SCCA Solo natioanl champ). see BFGoodrich g-Force Rival. the only thing i'm worried is they might run wide for the 275mm rating and thus be a smidge too wide for a 9.5" wheel.
my car is mainly a weekend warrior and i do around 6-8 HPDE/Time Attack events per year
my car is mainly a weekend warrior and i do around 6-8 HPDE/Time Attack events per year
The one thing to note from your above quoted comment is that the rival/ZII 'test' was on a miata, not quite the same characteristics as an evo. Here are some posts from guys who are testing both of these on 17 and 18" sizes back to back at events on boost buggies, by some of the top drivers in the country...
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...412417&page=15
Other note I would make is that the rival starts off at 7/32nds... not much 'meat' for as quick as you can run through them due to track days and camber up front. GL.
Mar 31, 2013, 03:03 AM
#6
thanks for the feedbacks so far guys, keep them coming
to be honest the BFG Rival looks to be really impressive, then you find out they won't be delivering till mid June
after giving it much thought, it looks like I might just bite the bullet and go with a more street oriented tire - the Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I know some of you won't agree with the objective outcome of Car And Driver's Z1*/RS3/AD08/PSS comparo last year, but its hard to argue with a blind experiment. I too have doubts that the PSS can beat the Z1* in ultimate dry grip (much less the RS3), but its an impressive tire in its own right especially considering it carries a UTQG rating of 300 (compared to 200 and 140, respectively).
here are the test results
the dry performance is only half the equation ultimately. 2 other factors sold me on them -
1) their performance temperature range is very broad - this is huge for me because up here I spend much of the time driving in sub 60F temperatures. many other extreme summer tires turn rock hard especially at night when the asphalt is cold.
2) they're very light. IIRC around 3-4lbs lighter per compared to the notoriously heavy Z1*. yes I realize I might be giving up some turn in response for it, but weight reduction is on the top of my list of things to do to my RS this year.
to be honest the BFG Rival looks to be really impressive, then you find out they won't be delivering till mid June
after giving it much thought, it looks like I might just bite the bullet and go with a more street oriented tire - the Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I know some of you won't agree with the objective outcome of Car And Driver's Z1*/RS3/AD08/PSS comparo last year, but its hard to argue with a blind experiment. I too have doubts that the PSS can beat the Z1* in ultimate dry grip (much less the RS3), but its an impressive tire in its own right especially considering it carries a UTQG rating of 300 (compared to 200 and 140, respectively).
here are the test results
the dry performance is only half the equation ultimately. 2 other factors sold me on them -
1) their performance temperature range is very broad - this is huge for me because up here I spend much of the time driving in sub 60F temperatures. many other extreme summer tires turn rock hard especially at night when the asphalt is cold.
2) they're very light. IIRC around 3-4lbs lighter per compared to the notoriously heavy Z1*. yes I realize I might be giving up some turn in response for it, but weight reduction is on the top of my list of things to do to my RS this year.
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Apr 1, 2013, 05:23 PM
#11
I've had quite a bit of experience with the RE11 on the track over the last several years and IMO it was the benchmark for a good all around extreme summer tire. It's unfortunate that it too is growing long in the tooth (they're offering closeout pricing on Tirerack) and the newest RE11A doesn't come in 265/35R18s.
Apr 2, 2013, 06:02 AM
#13
http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/...an%20Diego.pdf
May 1, 2013, 10:47 PM
#14
ended up going with Direzza ZIIs in 265/35R18. I've only driven about 50 miles on them so far so I can't comment on how the ultimate dry grip compares to the tires I've had in the past. however, what did surprise me was how the ride feels a little less choppy and more composed over bumps, which makes no sense since the sidewalls are shorter than the 255/40R17 Z1s. also, the tires are more responsive once you load them up in a turn. will report back after upcoming track days/time attacks.
May 2, 2013, 05:28 AM
#15
Right....enjoy that Kool-Aid.
Rival is the unproven and really ****ty "tested" tire. Read the "reviews" some magazines have done and read between the lines about how the cars were setup and what tires were there and not there.
In the HPDE events I lead, ZII is very common.