While most people don’t give them a second thought, tires may be one of the fastest evolving technologies on modern cars. Horsepower keeps rising, brakes keep getting bigger and suspension systems get more advanced, but all of that would be worthless without better tires. Tires from fifteen or even ten years ago don’t hold a candle to today’s best grippers. A modern high performance street tire, will outlast, outgrip and obviously be far more comfortable than anything offered in the past.

Dunlop’s new entry into the high performance segment is the Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec. It’s quite a mouthful, but if you just say Zed1, most tire guys will know what you mean. 

The center rib and shoulder blocks of the Z1 offer uninterrupted tread for more accurate handling both in a straight line and cornering. The notched side blocks will still effectively clear water for good wet weather performance. You wouldn’t want to drive these things in the snow, but they are called summer tires for a reason.

I have put almost twenty thousand miles on these tires and am still impressed. The grip is phenomenal, providing very near race tire levels of lateral Gs and curing torque steer in a car that was previously a real hand full, even in the dry. Ride quality is quite good for a tire of this level and they are even quiet. 

At the track, the Z1 doesn’t take long to come up to temperature. While you have to tip-toe around for a couple of laps to get heat in race tires, the Z1s are up to temp with just a few corners, and they aren’t frightening when they are cold either. The tires feel precise and track straight. When they do let go, they tend to skip across the road. This isn’t the best feeling, but it’s a lot better than some tires’ instant transition from high-grip straightforward changing to lateral projectile. 

After a hard day at the track, we found a small amount of chunking and some signs of wear, but nothing like we expected. In the past, we have absolutely demolished an expensive set of tires in one day at the track, these look like they would go for a season of abuse, even with city driving thrown in.

The Z1 is available in popular sizes ranging from 15 to 18 inch sizes. Pricing on these tires is surprisingly reasonable, especially for the grip. They tend to be on the wider side, so if you are close to rubbing now with a competitors tire, you will need to be careful if you choose the Z1. 

OVERALL: You can get a cheaper tire than the Z1, but you won’t get anywhere near the grip. You can spend more, and get slightly quieter and a better ride quality. A great tire for the money that offers above average performance in most catergories.

Dunloptires.com