Dunlop Direzza DZ101 tires

When I purchased my 2000 NSX, it came with Dunlop Direzza DZ 101 tires (stock wheels and tire size). Does anybody have experience with these tires? If so, is it just my imagination (or bad driving style) or are these tires really lacking in grip? I have had the rear end of the car step out on me on a couple of occasions when accelerating out of tight corners and I didn't think I was pressing it that hard. What I found particularly concerning was that there was no warning that things were going to get loose in the back end. I know that mid engine and particularly rear engine cars tend to be less forgiving than front engine cars in telegraphing the transition from traction to serious final oversteer; however, the tendency of the NSX to go sideways on these tires seems extreme. In particular, at the start of a rain storm, the rain mixing with dust on the pavement seems to create a mix that has the car feeling like it is on black ice with a water film.

These are excellent tires. I dont think its the tires

Woops. I thought he was talking about Star Specs

DZ 101s are different than Direzza Star Specs. The 101s are budget summers design for longevity. My front tires are DZ 101s, and after 3 years, the tread still looks like when it was new.

My 1991 came with DZ101s on it, but I saw the Direzza and didn't look closely and assumed they were Star Specs since that is what "everyone" used. I was surprised at how long they were lasting and they seemed to handle reasonably well. In the last year or so, I noticed that they seemed to have less grip and experienced the same tail happy behavior as you. I suspected that were suffering from age and I put my glasses on to look at the date codes (2007). That is when I noticed the DZ101 on there. They are not bad tires, but they are not the excellent tires the Star Specs are. I was upgrading my wheels and got the new Dunlop ZII tires, which are comparable to the first gen Star Specs (a ZII Star Spec model is coming out this summer). The ZII performance is quite a bit better than the DZ101. Though the rain + dust mixture is going to be slippery for any tire I would expect.

i had these and found that they had a dangerously scary propensity to start to lose control (or at least kind of wiggle) if you entered a corner even moderately fast.it was an unsettling feeling.this was in dry conditions,don't take the car out in the rain.i replaced them with bridgestone potenza re-11's and the problem was gone.handling is solid and much more confidence-inspiring now. i really did not like the dz-101's.

Thanks for the comments. I agree that the DZ 101 tires seem to have a long wear life. My date code is mid 2008 and they have a lot of tread left on them. They will probably last even longer now as I am not keen to try anything that might wear the rubber down quickly!

On a related note, the selection for the stock size tires seems to be very limited. In DOT spec tires, a quick search only showed the Kuhmo Ecsta XS and the Bridgestone RE 010. If I reduce the front tire to 205/45 16 it opens up a larger selection. First off, is anyone aware of other tires that may be available in the stock sizes? Second, has anyone tried going to the reduced width on the front tires and if so, what tires did you use and what were the results like? Did you bother to try and correct the slight change in caster / trail that will occur with the slightly shorter sidewalls on the 205/45 tire or just stick with the original suspension set up?

Old Guy said:

Thanks for the comments. I agree that the DZ 101 tires seem to have a long wear life. My date code is mid 2008 and they have a lot of tread left on them. They will probably last even longer now as I am not keen to try anything that might wear the rubber down quickly!

On a related note, the selection for the stock size tires seems to be very limited. In DOT spec tires, a quick search only showed the Kuhmo Ecsta XS and the Bridgestone RE 010. If I reduce the front tire to 205/45 16 it opens up a larger selection. First off, is anyone aware of other tires that may be available in the stock sizes? Second, has anyone tried going to the reduced width on the front tires and if so, what tires did you use and what were the results like? Did you bother to try and correct the slight change in caster / trail that will occur with the slightly shorter sidewalls on the 205/45 tire or just stick with the original suspension set up?

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i went with the 205/45-16 front after getting a comfort level from some knowledgeable people on here that it would work fine,and it has.it led me to the greater tire selection you mentioned,and i got the bridgestone potenza re11's,which have great steering,more grip than i can break loose,and which are fairly quiet and decent riding for such a high-performance tire. i love them. i did not adjust the alignment,and have not noticed any problem. the problem now is that at least at tire rack the stock rear size which i got has been discontinued,the closest is a 255/40-17,so you're narrower than stock in the front and wider in the back,which wouldn't thrill me.the re-11a comes in the stock rear size,but neither of the front sizes. i am getting 17/18 volk ce28n wheels mainly to open up a bit more tire selection (also because i love how they look and they're super-light.)

I had the Dunlop DZ101's, worst tire I have had on the NSX, wouldn't never buy again for any vehicle.

We have DZ101's on the red NSX, and have zero complaints with them.
They have performed admirably on the road, and even most recently on the track at Est Fest (Canada).
Very progressive feeling at the limit, no concerns about 'snap' oversteer whatsoever.
We're running a 17 / 18" setup, with 215/40 fronts and 275/35 rears.

(picture from last weekend); http://www.bradandsue.com/20140525-est-fest/imgpages/image026.html

YMMV,
Brian

It's a mediocre tire at best, I had them on my Element and they were not even sticky enough for that.

I also have found them to be a bit snakey when there's a little water on the road....

Old Guy said:

the selection for the stock size tires seems to be very limited. In DOT spec tires, a quick search only showed the Kuhmo Ecsta XS and the Bridgestone RE 010. If I reduce the front tire to 205/45 16 it opens up a larger selection. First off, is anyone aware of other tires that may be available in the stock sizes? Second, has anyone tried going to the reduced width on the front tires and if so, what tires did you use and what were the results like? Did you bother to try and correct the slight change in caster / trail that will occur with the slightly shorter sidewalls on the 205/45 tire or just stick with the original suspension set up?

Click to expand...

All of these will work fine, with no fitment or TCS problems at all, assuming 245/40-17 or 255/40-17 rears:

Bridgestone Potenza RE010 215/45-16
Kumho Ecsta XS 215/45-16
Falken Azenis RT-615K 215/45-16
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 205/45-16
Hankook Ventus R-S3 (Version 2) 205/45-16
Toyo Proxes R1R 205/45-16

The RE-11 is the stickiest of these, and the RE010 offers the most precise handling "feel" although it is also the most expensive. Avoid the XS if you ever plan on driving in rain, as they do not stick as well as the others on wet pavement.

As already noted, the DZ101 is not very good (nowhere near as sticky as these). They're not really suitable for an NSX unless you're willing to exchange greatly reduced traction and handling for longer treadlife and a lower purchase price.