Best street/track tire

What do you guys think is the stickiest street tire out there; the new Dunlop Direzza, the RE11, What?? I am a humble DE2 driver that had been running Toyo RA1s full skid and loving them, but a couple of driving instructors advised that these tires are so good they might be covering up some of my driving flaws and suggested I try some good high performance street tires to learn more. What would be your choice? Thanks

Well, if your objective is to learn, not to cover up flaws in your driving, why do you have to have the stickiest ? Honestly any of the top street tires would be a good idea, the exact choice depends what size you need, what you are driving, whether you are more concerned with track, street, or autocross use, etc. etc. I have been very satisfied with Bridgestone's offerings, I use the RE-01R on both my cars, and I will be using the RE-11 on my Miata in the upcoming season. If you are lucky enough to need a size that is available in the leftover RE-01Rs, that would probably be your best value.

Bridgestone Dueller D/T684. Absolutely no-grip and will hide no flaws!

I second the above on the RE-01R's if they're still available in our size.

Yeah, if the objective is to learn, it doesn't matter too much. You'll just want tires that are predictable and don't suck.

Personally, I would just go on Craigslist and find a set of nice used rims with some max-performance summer tires on them (doesn't matter what tire, just something with the speed/heat rating to survive your abuse) and run them until you get tired or use them up.

When you're done, you'll have an extra set of wheels so that you can swap between track and street tires, or you can sell them on CL again, to recoup most of your costs.

I was just at VIR for 2 days doing a NASA HPDE on a fresh set of Direzza Starry Spec Zed Unos. I was going to save them for the SCCA-WDCR autocross series (gotta have the best tires on the M3 to get beat by the Evos) but the likelyhood of rain forced not hoarding the Dunlops.

I drove 225 miles down there in heavy rain, and did 3 x 25 minute sessions Saturday in wet but just misting, cold and grey/drying line in lots of places, and wipers and lights on cold and fully raining conditions. Wet grip was really excellent. Sunday was dry and gradually warming all day. They offered good feedback and better turn-in and absolute grip than my RE01Rs did. My starting inflation turned out to be high, and the fronts were at 44psi after the 2nd session, so I bled down to give a hot 39 front/37 rear. At 44 they felt quite greasy. They did come back in after easing back for 1/2 a lap or so.

I'm not getting out to the shoulders, so I'll kep going down on pressure and look at temps.

I drove back in the dry, and they feel great. The car is much more livable over pavement imperfections, but the replacement of every freakin' bushing and ball joint on the car immediately prior to the trip may have been a factor.

I say buy em. They were maybe $140 more than the blowout priced RE01Rs, and I'm glad I got the Dunlops. And I've NEVER liked Dunlops.

BTW, I have a set of 4 245/40-17 RE01Rs w/ close to 50% remaining if anyone in the MD/DC VA area is interested.

I'm running the Star Specs now. I previously ran the Kumho MX. This is on my 3rd gen RX7 with full suspension, big brakes and a little over 300 rwhp and very well prepared.

I loved the Kumho MX. They were a fun, safe, communicative tire with good grip. I ran them for 3 years seeing both street and track duty. I heat cycled them to death in those 3 years and got rid of them even though they had lots of tread left on them.

I have only run the Star Specs twice on track. have more grip and do seem to communicate pretty well. You can definitely feel when you reach the limit of adhesion/grip and they are easy to control - at least in my opinion on my car.

The Dunlops are the best bang for the buck. I considered the RE-01 but it was over $60 per tire more expensive. I also am the kind of guy that prefers communicative, easy to drive tires over ultimate grip.

Look into the Kumho XS also which should be released sometime soon. If budget is not there for these tires, I've read decent reviews by the BMW guys about the hankook Ventus RS2

The XS has been out for a while, at least in some sizes. We have 'em on our 2006 MX5. I've not personally had the chance to give them a workout.

Honestly, if you're looking at this sort of tire and you're not restricted by some sort of class rules - just go for the R compounds like the RA1 and friends. The price isn't necessarily any worse, grip is better and longevity can even be better if you're having heat cycle problems. Either that or just get some "black and round" tires and drive them right off the rims. Trying to find the magical level of grip that will somehow make you a better driver seems a bit foolish.

Go buy horrible tires like Toyo Spectrums or Les Schwab Specials. THAT will teach you how to drive!