Time for new tires. I was planning to buy Direzza II's to replace my Direzza I's but the Rivals seem tempting. The car is an E36 M3 and I use it mainly for HPDE events. I drive to the track on the tires I run and will face at least one event with downpours. The Dunlops have handled this but I am worried the rivals will fail. Anyone have real world experience in the rain with the Rivals? I read the Andy Hollis comparison of these tires - however I am definitely not the driver Andy is and do not push tires to the limits he does, so not sure how valid these results are to my needs.
I know for a fact they suck on snow.
Autocrossed my Miata (205-50-15) twice in monsoons with them this year, once in hot weather and once in cold weather. They stuck very well, but I found them a handful on wet streets as they seemed prone to hydroplaning. Friends with larger sizes and heavier cars seemed to have more issues and yes they really suck in snow!
They are not known for their wet performance. The tread design doesn't give the water a place to go.
In reply to clutchsmoke:So would the consensus be to stick with Direzzas? Anyone track these with an e36 M3?
Two weeks ago during the World Racing League 8 hour race at MSR Houston this happened to the RF tire. Replaced it with a new Rival for the next day. Another team had the same thing happen to one of their Rivals.
The next day it poured with about 2 hours to go, they hydroplaned horribly, impossible to use any kind of power, almost like driving on ice.
I've raced in the rain on Star Specs(the first version) with good results.
Your BMW ABS, traction control, and stability control will be on constantly with the Rivals in the rain.
IMO, the Dunlop is the better all-purpose tire.
I kicked ass at barber motorsports park in the rain with our rx7 turbo on rivals. They felt just as good as the star specs.
That rival looks like it was flat spotted or something. That is the inside of the tire, right? That is odd.
Yes it was the inside. It was like that pretty much all the way around the tire. It also had a lump on the tread from a belt failure or something. I sent the picture to the Tire Rack last week, they haven't said anything yet.
-2.5 camber, 0 toe, on a 3100# FWD SHO. Same setup with Star Specs and RE-11a, with no failures.
The Z2 would be better in the wet but not by a whole lot. I know my Z1SS hydroplane pretty easily and the Z2 has even more dry-oriented treads.
I haven't driven on them, but looking at the treads, a Toyo RA1, Hankook RS3 or Bridgestone RE11a should be good in the rain
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