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Hello everyone. I have done a great deal of reading on all of the different locations on your site. I have an E46 M3 and I need new tires soon. I first started out with with a long list of tires and narrowed it down to the Dunlop Direzza Z1 and the Bridgestone RE-01R.  This is a heavy car, approx weight of 3450lbs. I was curious if people thought due to the weight the Dunlop would be the better choice?  The tire size will be 265/35/18 if that makes a difference. 

Thanks in advance for any adivce

What kind of ambient temps? The Dunlop wasn't up to the performance level of the Yokohama on my E36 M3, but that was the original version of the Dunlop and it's been substantially revised.

Mike

Will these be primarily street tires, or specifically for autocross?

If they're for the street, I would not recommend the Dunlops over the Bridgestones - The Dunlops are stiff, make a lot of noise, and ride very harshly as compared to the Bridgestones. The RE01R's are a really nice street tire to drive on every day - Good ride, no tire noise to speak of, and lots of grip.

In hot weather, though, the RE01R will tend to go away fairly quick, especially on a big car like your E46 M3.

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-Chris
94STU - 97 M3

Hrmm, my 245/40R17 Star Specs are fairly soft, quiet and ride as good as my RE-01R's did. They are faster than my RE-01R's that I was on, but they were DEAD. I am not sure how they would compare to fresh RE-01R's or Neovas.

 

 

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00' 328Ci
01' Tahoe LT
98' Camaro Z28 - dead
95' 325is - STX 182

Thanks everyone so far the responses! I should probably give a little more information. THe car first off is not my daily driver. That being said I am not that worried about noise, ride, or wet weather performance. I will be putting them on a set of wheels that I will use for auto-x primarily and a few DE's here and there.  I know many people may suggest going to a R-comp tire but I would like to stay on street tires for now. I only compete locally. 

As for ambient temps as one mentioned, I am in the North East so the temps can really fluctuate. I would say 55-90 through the season.  My skill level is novice to be up front and honest. I am in my second year if that helps people. I am at a point now that I see very very little improvements in my times but they are still getting better so I figure I am not even close to the level that many of the people on this board. I also know the E46 M3 is not regionally or nationally a favored car and its excluded in many of the classes for street touring. I am just looking for a tire that I can try this season that will be a big improvement over the Conti's and the Michelin PS2's that are typically on these cars.

I have read a great deal and it seems many of the posts for the Dunlops and the Bridgestones are from people that are running cars that are much lighter than my car. I weighed my car its 3448 as it sits with 1/2 tank of fuel..and that was on a local truck scale.  I was leaning towards trying the Bridgestones due the luck that I have had on my other vehicles with the brand. I would try the Dunlop instead if people thought due the weight it would perform better for me.  As a wild card I have also looked at the Falken RT-615. My preferred tire dealer can get them for about 70 a tire less than the other two tires mentioned which is significant especially since its for local competition only. 

One more thing the wheels that I have will alow for 255 or 265 all the way around. I tend to run only in local bmwcca events.

 

Thanks again and please any insight is greatly appreciated!

hossmp:

As for ambient temps as one mentioned, I am in the North East so the temps can really fluctuate. I would say 55-90 through the season.  My skill level is novice to be up front and honest. I am in my second year if that helps people. I am at a point now that I see very very little improvements in my times but they are still getting better so I figure I am not even close to the level that many of the people on this board. I also know the E46 M3 is not regionally or nationally a favored car and its excluded in many of the classes for street touring.

A couple comments for your consideration.  If you want to improve with any pace, you should compete as frequently as possible.  Do you have a local SCCA region that hosts events?  Can you join some other marque clubs that host them?  If you can compete once or twice a month, you'll improve much more rapidly.

Temps.  You probably aren't going to face many more 55 degree days until later in the fall, right?  The Dunlop is unproven in cold temps; the Bridgestone works.  However the Bridgestone doesn't like heat, so you'll have to spray them down on warm days, and they are probably going to be quite compromised when you hit 90 degrees.

If you aren't worried about low temps very soon, try the Dunlops... but be sure to get the Star compound.  They tend to run wide, like the Yokohamas, so you may have problems fitting the 265 if you're using the stock suspension.  Brian and Terry at Vorshlag can probably answer any questions about fitment.  They set up an E46 M3 in pseudo-STU trim last year.

Finally, the SCCA has published a proposal to lift the STU exclusion for the E46 M3.  If you're an SCCA member, I encourage you to write to seb@scca.com with your opinion on the matter, being sure to include your membership number.  That will probably be your "best bet" for real competition in the car.

Have fun!

Mike

 

I agree with Mike!

 I have your proposed set-up: 265s Dunlop Z1s on an e46 M3.

- The ride is fine on the heavy car, my wife daily drives it.

- The wide 265 Dunlops fit the stock fenders, I fit 285 w/o any clearance problems. 

- With the previous Neovas it overheated the tires at a hot event.

- The original Z1 versions I have need some heat, the wide Star Specs will work well on your car. 

-  I'll be doing a BMWCCA event day after tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Rick 

I wasnt aware that I could write in on that but thanks for passing that along I will do so asap.

You are 100% correct 55 degrees will probably be rare at this point, its 55 today but its going to rain. Last season I had an event on average every month and four months I had two. Our local club puts on a fair amount of events. I would like to start attending some of the other events also though. Last season was my first and once a month was enough especially after the first two to digest a few of the things that I learned. I was also fortunate enough to do the school they had and learned a great deal from it.

 I have also read the heat issues with the Bridgestone and it concerned me enough that I started to look at the other brands. I have been a loyal bridgestone guy since the early 90's. However spraying down tires seems to be more of a pain to me at my skill level than it would be worth. I noticed in the local club a few of the Z4M Coupes had the RE-01R's last season through and they didnt cool them.

What is your opinion on the Falken RT=615 would it have the same heat issues experienced with the Bridgestone or would it be a little more forgiving?

 

Thanks,

Mike

SS RX7 R2:

I agree with Mike!

 I have your proposed set-up: 265s Dunlop Z1s on an e46 M3.

- The ride is fine on the heavy car, my wife daily drives it.

- The wide 265 Dunlops fit the stock fenders, I fit 285 w/o any clearance problems. 

- With the previous Neovas it overheated the tires at a hot event.

- The original Z1 versions I have need some heat, the wide Star Specs will work well on your car. 

-  I'll be doing a BMWCCA event day after tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Rick 

 

RIck,

Thanks for the reply. Thats great news on the Dunlop. I was affraid due to the extra size that it would cause some rubbing especially in the front. I am also doing a local BMWCCA event on Sunday but will be running an older set of tires that have some life left in them. I am not that worried, its probably going to rain here in our area.

msimanyi:

Temps.  You probably aren't going to face many more 55 degree days until later in the fall, right?  The Dunlop is unproven in cold temps; the Bridgestone works.  However the Bridgestone doesn't like heat, so you'll have to spray them down on warm days, and they are probably going to be quite compromised when you hit 90 degrees.

If you aren't worried about low temps very soon, try the Dunlops... but be sure to get the Star compound.  They tend to run wide, like the Yokohamas, so you may have problems fitting the 265 if you're using the stock suspension.  Brian and Terry at Vorshlag can probably answer any questions about fitment.  They set up an E46 M3 in pseudo-STU trim last year.

Dunlop Star Specs actually work very well in cold temps. I got top index on a 30 degree day a few weeks ago. They felt great right from the start.

Aytinc

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Aytinc

hossmp:

I wasnt aware that I could write in on that but thanks for passing that along I will do so asap.

If you're an SCCA member, your input will be considered.  Since the only reason the SCCA exists is *for the members*, I do not believe a non-member's opinion will be considered.

If you're a non-member though, I encourage you to join.  The cost is reasonable, you'll have a closer connection to the finest autocross competition in the country, you'll receive the monthly magazine - and it really is a worthwhile read - and who knows... maybe you'll decide to get involved with racing as well.  Once you have your membership number, send in your opinion on the proposal.

And if at all possible, run a National Tour.  They have the best courses, the best organization and the best camaraderie of any autocross event I've run.  Don't be embarrassed that you aren't at the top of your class.  Just come out, have some fun and learn, learn, learn.

Mike

Mike,

Thanks for the advice. I have only been attending the local bmwcca events but would like to branch out some. I would even consider running my other car in them instead of the E46 M3. I currently have a 2004 Evo that is stock and has become my daily driver due to the fuel costs. I have a truck also but the fuel bill was as bad as another car payment.  If the E46 M3 stays excluded I would probably run the Evo and keep the M3 for the BMWCCA events.

I actually stopped off at my tire place on my way home from work. I went in to inquire about tire availability and pricing. They had access to all three of the tires mentioned in this thread.  I hate to say it but I went with the Falken. I did it mainly for two reasons. Since its my second season I dont think I am at the point that I would need the best tire but one of the top tier tires would be great. The big deciding factor..they ordered the Falkens and the buyer backed out. They are in stock and they are willing to part with them for less than the other dealers I called.  I have a 3rd set of wheels that I was thinking of possibly using also. I may still try one of the other two on them. I hope the Falkens will perform better than the Continental's I have been using.

TrEvoRS:

Dunlop Star Specs actually work very well in cold temps. I got top index on a 30 degree day a few weeks ago. They felt great right from the start.

Aytinc

Not unusual since R-comps and slick don't work at all in those temps.  *Any* street tire will outperform the former.

BTW, if you want an awesome tire for cold look no further than the Toyo R1R.

--Andy

 

Andy Hollis:

TrEvoRS:

Dunlop Star Specs actually work very well in cold temps. I got top index on a 30 degree day a few weeks ago. They felt great right from the start.

Aytinc

Not unusual since R-comps and slick don't work at all in those temps.  *Any* street tire will outperform the former.

BTW, if you want an awesome tire for cold look no further than the Toyo R1R.

--Andy

 

 

I asked around at a few of the local tire dealers and they all had no idea what the Toyo R1R was. I was amazed since there are so many events in the area. The dealer that I use for all of my tires was open to looking them up and gave me a price. If I need a new tire this fall I will give them a try we have a few months that the ambient temps are in the 50's and I actually have alot of free time during those months to attend an event at every chance.   

I won M Stock yesterday at the San Diego BMWCCA event on the Z1s, the time was good enough to have placed 2nd in M Mod with the full suspension R comp M cars.

Interesting that the club ran each row until all 3 runs were finished, with only a couple of minutes between runs. On the heavy car all 4 tire got very hot with no time to cool them down. I knew that the 2nd place Z4 Mcoupe wouldn't improve on his 3rd run because he was on RE01Rs.

i prefer z1 over re01r on my stx and stu ~3100 lb cars.

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stx 95 talon awd, stu 95 m3

Thanks for the insight. I did a local bmwcca event this weekend and noticed that no one was on the Z1's however there was a great deal of RE-01R's out there. Many even seemed like they were mounted recently. The temps stayed below 70 and actually below 60 for 1/2 of the day so I don't think heat was too much of a factor though especially since there was about 10-15 minutes between our runs. I am really liking the Dunlops from what I have read and the price is great the only problem is my local dealers cant get them unless I go to one of the Goodyear dealers then they have no problems finding them. I dont like my local Goodyear dealers they are very generic and I fear they would not do a good job. I had to take our Suburban in to have a repair done on the tire since it had Goodyears and walked away impressed with the facility but not the experience level and competency. Hopefully in a month or so the other dealers that can get the Dunlops will have the ability to do just that. Right now my preferred dealer called around and wasnt able to get them but was also interested for his own vehicle.

Andy Hollis:

TrEvoRS:

Dunlop Star Specs actually work very well in cold temps. I got top index on a 30 degree day a few weeks ago. They felt great right from the start.

Aytinc

Not unusual since R-comps and slick don't work at all in those temps.  *Any* street tire will outperform the former.

BTW, if you want an awesome tire for cold look no further than the Toyo R1R.

--Andy

We had great results with the Z1 star specs in the cooler low grip conditions at the Ft Worth tour. My co-driver put down some fantastic times in STX, winning the class and almost matching the STU times that ran in heat 2. Saturday's ambient temps for our run group (first heat) were allegedly in the upper 40's to lower 50's.  Apparently it still was not cold enough to slow down the GS Mini Coopers.  They ran in the same heat and were eating up the course

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VW MKIV R32 - STX

"Thanks... I am really liking the Dunlops from what I have read and the price is great, the only problem is my local dealers cant get them... Right now my preferred dealer called around and wasnt able to get them but was also interested for his own vehicle."

 

The Z1 Star Spec hasn't been out very long, so it's understandable that the BMW drivers don't know about them yet.

Most people here order tires from Tirerack.com, or try http://www.dunloptires.com/locator/ to find a local dealer.

Hope this helps.

 

Rick 

http://forum.mnautox.com/results/2008/mowog2_pax.htm

 Look at #2 overall.  I'm sure Darryl will chime in, but it goes without saying that he likes the Z1s a lot.

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Erik B.
Wisconsin Autocrossers, Inc
www.waiautox.org ___/\___/\___/\___/\___/\___
2007 Mazda6
2000 "Fozda" ZX2 S/R--STS Anti-Civic