i think carbotechs are really well known for their cold bite as well as track prowess.. as well as price

 

I always do a little brake drag on the way to the start on first runs... not that that does much. I would say the first hard brake feels a little less bite than normal, but then it is fine from there. By that I mean maybe 10-20% more pedal pressure. I never have to "stand" on them to get them to work. It is more about timing the transition from gas to brake to be a split second sooner to account for the slightly delayed bite.

Another way to say it is when I drive them on the street they are perfectly fine. I never feel like they are outside their operating range (cold) for normal street use. I don't even think about it.

 

Anyone have any experience with the Dunlop ZII Star Specs? I should be getting my set on Saturday and have a TnT + points event the next weekend

 

from all testing i've seen the rs3v2's seem faster..

 

Previously, I've had 1 set of Dunlop Z1 Star Specs and 2 sets of Dunlop ZII's on the car, so I basically went with what I was familiar with.

As far as the RS3v2 being faster, have you seen any testing between the ZII/ZII SS and the RS3v2 on an STU boost buggy? I'm curious to hear if the RS3v2 is actually faster or if people switched to it due to the RS3v2's characteristics (IE: not as "peaky" as the ZII, better heat tolerance, etc.).

 

This is as close as we are going to get, methinks... camber challenged heavy car using OEM pressures:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=197

Not totally applicable but more applicable than tests done on much lighter cars.

 

^Thanks for the link


From what I've heard, the ZII SS is more heat tolerant than the ZII and can tolerate more slip angle as well. Hopefully I'll have some more info after next weekend; tires are mounted on a set of 17x9 +35 RPF-1s if anyone's curious.

 

I know I'm not in STU or an Evo, but for now we've just decided to stick with the RS3v2 for the upcoming events (SD, ET, Crows). We may decide to try something new a little later in the year.

 

How are the ZII (non-star spec) holding up for everyone after many runs, heat cycles, and street miles?

My ZIIs are just barely worn down to the start of the last of the three tread depth indicators, with just a fraction of the middle tread depth indicator still visible. I've only done one event this year, but they feel like they've fallen off significantly.

It didn't help that we were on a new site with a new surface for the first time and also that I completely forgot to drive over the winter, but I was surprised at how quickly they let go in every turn. My benchmark competitors were on brand new ZII Star Specs and handily beat my times.

I stored the tires tightly wrapped in plastic over the winter, but I had to pull them out of storage and use them for a few weeks in 30F - 40F weather when I cracked one of my winter wheels. I also let them sit out in the garage in freezing weather for a month while I worked on the basement. So they haven't exactly been treated well, but I'm still surprised at how much they seem to have fallen off.

 

i heat cycled out my z2's before getting to the wear bars

 

BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S up on Tire Rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

$190 each in 245/40R17 at Tire Rack. Estimated shipping date toward the end of March.

 

I've had 2 sets of Dunlop ZIIs on my car. The first set was run until they were around ~3/32" tread depth (last tread depth indicator was semi-visible) and had ~90 runs and ~9k miles (car was daily driven with these tires and garaged at night) on them before I sold them to a local looking to try out the tires. When I sold them, the tread felt somewhat hard and was probably finished at that point; at my last event on those tires I was off the pace quite a bit compared to my local benchmarks.

My second set of ZIIs (I just took them off last weekend and sold them to the same guy) were run until ~2/32" tread depth; the last tread depth indicator was nearly gone on all 4 tires and the tread was a sliver above the wear bars. This set had 107 runs and ~12k miles on them but the tread still felt soft when I took them off; I felt this set could've been run even longer but I figured getting something for them when they still had meat left was better than throwing them away when they were corded. As a note, the car has been outside the last 3 months so the tires weren't in the greatest conditions.

 

I got my ZIIs early 2013. At the end of 2014 they had 142 runs on them and they were still fast. So they made it through at least one winter but I'm pretty sure I had them in the basement and not the garage for that winter.

I bagged them and tried to keep them elevated in the garage this year but I pretty much knew I was buying new tires this year so I wasn't too worried. They are probably going to be transit tires this year.

 

Anyone else going to the Crows Landing NT? We're about 25 people shy of the 120 person minimum and its winding down to the 2 week deadline

 

Based on the reg list I would expect at least three more folks in STU - codrivers for #98, #193 and #194. So that should help. It's a bit of a hike for me though