15in ST tires

[bimmertech]

Andy Hollis just announced that in (limited) back to back testing the new BF Goodrich Rival is a second faster than the recently released Direzza Z2 which has been tested to be quicker than the RS3's.

I guess it's going to be an interesting year for the street tire classes.

BTW, he also said the Rival was easier to drive at the limit and not as "peaky"as the Z2. Interesting.

[bimmertech]

I don't know how the math works because it is generally assumed that r comps are about 2 seconds quicker than street tires. The Z2 was 1.2 sec quicker than the rs3's. The Rival is 1 sec quicker than the Z2 ergo the Rival should be faster than an r comp?

[rodhx]

Bizarre tread pattern on the BFGs. I wonder if they are usable at all in the rain or if you can flip them? This is a big deal for camber challenged cars. Tires are expensive enough without being able to max out their usefulness.

And with Casey's math and the strange tread design, the people who want to ban the 195/50-15 Toyos should be positively out of their minds over the BFG.

[bimmertech]

My gut says the Z2 will be the tire to have in the wet.

I've got a feeling people will be showing up with two or three sets of tires to the first few events.

Oh well, I guess I get to buy another set of wheels for the miata.

[rodhx]

The heat tolerance of the RS3 makes it a really nice track tire. I wonder how the Z2 or Rival will stack up in that regard...

[e30Racer]

What car was he testing them on? His Mazda2?

[fwman1]

Check out the weights on these tires. Hopefully there is a mistake, but it appears they are 6-8 pounds heavier than the Dunlop ZI or ZII in Miata friendly sizes at least.

[rodhx]

There was a test at NOLA with Miatas, WRXs, Mustangs, and e46 M3s.

Link

[JohnW8]

Yikes! 27 pounds in a 205/50/15

[e30Racer]

There was a test at NOLA with Miatas, WRXs, Mustangs, and e46 M3s.

Link

Oh ok. Thanks for the link Rod

[Cholewa]

Yikes! 27 pounds in a 205/50/15

What's the competition weigh?

[JohnW8]

What's the competition weigh?

a 225/45/15 kook RS3 weighs in at 22lbs.

a 205/50/15 Dunlop DZII weighs in at 19lbs.

[Cholewa]

Ouch.

[SamC]

Looks like I may be testing them out this year. It's the only tire that is acceptable for autocross and also comes in the sizes that i need.

[fwman1]

Concerning the weights on these tires, Rudy at Tirerack had this to say about the weights on their website..
No they are not correct. I am not sure why they are listed wrong and am looking into this. They should weight similar to a Hankook RS3 will be my best guess. Once they come in we will get a correct weight. Honestly I would not be as concerned with weight. In this case its grip over weight. As I mentioned these tires are very fast.