Why would you fine tune grip? You tune balance, but almost always want to maximize grip.

EDIT: Oh and I'm not saying there's 15+psi of sweet spot. I think the tire has not yet made full grip at 40 psi. :-o
EDIT2: I also think the little arrows on the tire, that some people use to measure rollover, are useless on the RE-11.

If you are referring to Russ J and Chris Mayfield, they have both been talking to me about the RE-11s. The last time I spoke with Russ, he hadn't tried the bridgestone yet (an ever expanding family keeps him busy). Chris drove my car for testing at the Farmington tour. He came away scratching his head because I don't think it was really what he expected. Overall grip levels are higher than on the dunlop. I also more springrate than most of the STU field. Some people look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I'm around 700 lbs/inch. It worked at the Houston tour (1st) and day two in farmington (2nd).

Clearly they are both good tires.

d

EDIT3: To be fair, I never ran a brand new dunlop z1 SS shaved down to 2/32s. That would be a better comparison to the RE-11 that I'm running. Even though I ran through 3 sets of dunlops, I always bought them full tread and the best runs were the very first day.

 

The M3 above is Mayfields car, on RE11's, and he disliked them. I knew he tried out your car, it did not change his oppinion. Russ has not been out to an event this year, so I have no imput from him. He prefered the dunlops over AD07's, which he used to run. we have some other fast guys as well, Mark Baer, John Scheier, all on dunlops and waiting for the AD08 info. theres a duo co-driving on RE11's in an E36 having a fair amount of trouble keeping up, who are usually quick as well. I suggested the higher pressures to them today to try out at the event tomorrow.

Bottom line is, each tire may suit certain drivers better than others. Ive driven on most everything but the R1R's , AD08's, and new RS3's. Of them all, the dunlop was the most consistent, most direct, grippiest tire.


And you know I meant balance, dont nitpick because I dont agree with you

 

Hey now, I've been out for four events so far this year

I can only comment on the Dunlops. My set was shaved and I've been fairly pleased with them. Good grip and fairly forgiving. With that said, I have yet to try the RE-11's and with my current situation I doubt that I will this year just because I'm not going to have a ton of time to dial in my setup prior to Lincoln. I've heard good things from Donour about them and I've heard not so good things from other folks. Doesn't mean that they won't work well for your given setup and driving style so research is your friend

 

Ah darn, I only saw you at the 2nd event, I thought thats all youve been to so far. hows the new addition to the family?

 

been running the dunlops this season myself, and absolutely love them. havent taken any other tires to autox save for the cheap wanli tires that were on the car when i bought it (hated them).
put the dunlops on and the car felt like it was supposed to. you turn the wheel, car turns. no more awd burnouts coming out of a corner

 

Very good so far, thanks for asking! I should be out next weekend at DSG.

 

how does the Dunlop Z1 do in the rain?

 

I bought the z1 star specs almost 3 months ago. I DD them and it's a good tire
but for some reason it's not as predictable as the oem advans IMO.

I never tried the RE-11 so i have no idea on that tire.

But comparing the stock advans vs z1 star spec, i would choose the
advans if you have the money. I think it handles better and you can
really feel the tire grips better on the road compare to the z1.

 

Regarding this comment. Are you running the factory 235/45-17 size on the factory wheels? I am wondering if you give up substantial steering response that makes the OEM Advans feel so sharp because people are running a wider size on the factory wheel.

I run a 245/40-17 on the factory BBS wheels and the tire feels mushy compared to the OEM Advans. Any thoughts on this...?

 

Yes, stock bbs rim with the 235/45/17 z1 star spec. After driving 1600 miles
later... I still missed the advans-- it sticks like a glue and you can feel more that
you're on a rail specially when your changing lane on high speed[with better control].

The z1 is good but I like the advans better. I'm more confident with the stock advan.

My car is bone stock from top to bottom.

 

I am running the Star Specs also in 245/40-17 size on the factory BBS rim. They definately feel like they have more outright grip once they heat cycle, but as far as crispness/sharpness like the Advans, they lack in that area...at least according to what I feel when driving...

 

I agree, the wider you go on the stock rim the softer the sidewall. but I am suprise with the 40 series you can still feel the softness of the side wall, what kind of tires do you have? OE advan has stiff side wall.

 

I run the Z1 Star Specs in a 245/40-17 size on the factory BBS rim. The 40 series is about the same height as the factory 235/45-17 Advans.

 

Interstingly the Kumho XS just won STU at the last tour.

 

I'm also running the Z1 Star specs in the stock size. I've had them for ~ 600 miles. They replaced a set of stock 046's.

I like them, but I do miss my 046's cripness. They seem to grip more than the 046's and that's before the Z1 are up to temp. The only issue i would have is the reaction vs the stock tire. I'd stay at lower speed the Z1's are are about 85 - 90 % as good as the 046's but at higher say 70 to 80 it's about 70 to 75% but that is more than made up with the extra grip. These tires are hard to break loose. I'm not even sure what the limits are yet. On ramps and off ramps that I used to take with the 046's the Z1's seem to take with ease and seem to beg for more.

As far as replacement tires go the only tire like the 046 is the 046. I'd like to see how the AD08's are. Looking at the specs they seem to be the only tire that could possibly compete. Have you seen the tire weights. They weight 25 a piece just like the 046's. The Z1s and RE-11 weight 27. Just that alone would make me choose them over the RE-11's considering the price difference is ~5 per tire.

That being said the Z1 are about as good as you're going to get especially for the money {~80 less than the RE-11 and AD-08's}}. The problem with the 046's is not just the cost. It's their age. Performance tires only have about a 12 to 18 month life span before the tire compound starts degrading. I can't imaging that tirerack has a fresh {ie ~less than 6 months old} set of 046's waiting to be sold. At best they may be made in 07. All the used sets on here have 05 to maybe late 06 dates. That's too old. Any of the new Z1's, Re-11, AD-08, and R1R's should be able to out perform them easly.

If you don't know the way to check the manufacture date is the DOT code. The last 4 digits tell the week and year. My Z1 were made 0909. Last week of Feb in 2009.

So my vote would go for the Z1's. If money is no object then the AD-08 for sure and I guess it's not since your looking ate the RE-11.

PS it so nice driving on 3 month old tires vs 3 year tires.

Good luck