Setup:
2008 Honda Civic LX
Dunlop Direzza DZ101 tire - 225/45/17
Konig Feather - 17x7.5
Suspension mods:
Progress 22mm rear sway bar
Eiback Prokit Springs
Koni Yellow Struts
So a review on my summer "performance" tires. I currently have 8300 miles on them and have switched back to my winter snow tires.
I have read mixed reviews on this tire online with a lot of "older" 2008-ish reviews really hating the tire. Most reviews of the tire on a civic found it to be pretty decent.
This is just my experience with the tire. I encourage any auto-x people, ahem Jrotax, to chime in with more info on anything I point out as to why that may be.
So....
I had an alignment done before they were put on and rotated them every 3000 miles or so. I put 8300 miles on them between 6/20 and 12/2.
The size was what I needed and the price right around $100 was perfect. I dont track my car, I DD it and I like to drive a little aggressively here and there. They were mostly to fit my new wheels.
Bad:
The tire cut my mileage down by about 4mpg. Wow! Only went from 205 to 225 on width.
They pull left and right when they are cold. You have to drive for a few minutes for the pulling to go away. Essentially warm them up and then they are good. I know its the tire cause with the winter setup on, it doesn't happen and it's different direction depending on the day.
They follow any groove in the road, any speed, and wander a bit. I felt like I fought the wheel a lot.
Noisy. But to be expected.
Rough-ish ride but again lower sidewall/aspect ratio - from 55 down to 45.
Good:
I had no issues with grip. Dry or wet and I drove in some heavy rain.
(My car has no power, LX, so...... on a higher performance car this could be totally different)
I could confidently corner much faster and I had a lot of fun pushing it a bit on these tires.
The wear seems to be very good so far. I have noticed no areas of excessive wear, tearing, chunking, or anything unusual.
The sidewall does stick out a bit and does protect your rims a little which is awesome. Definitely saved me some curb rash.
They look good. (bad reason to buy)
Price. ($100 a tire, not bad)
Overall impression so far:
An OK tire.
A decent tire for the price. I never pushed them to the limit. I am disappointed with the amount of wander and the cold left/right pulling. It was very unsettling to me. If you want a decent tire mostly for looks with decent wear that wont break the bank I think this is a good choice. For DD - decent. I never broke them loose.
I really prefer the feel and ride of my snow tires. It makes me think these are a bad tire but I did have a great time driving on them all summer with minimal issues. I will update when I have more miles.
My Dunlop snow tires are freakin awesome though!
2008 Honda Civic LX
Dunlop Direzza DZ101 tire - 225/45/17
Konig Feather - 17x7.5
Suspension mods:
Progress 22mm rear sway bar
Eiback Prokit Springs
Koni Yellow Struts
So a review on my summer "performance" tires. I currently have 8300 miles on them and have switched back to my winter snow tires.
I have read mixed reviews on this tire online with a lot of "older" 2008-ish reviews really hating the tire. Most reviews of the tire on a civic found it to be pretty decent.
This is just my experience with the tire. I encourage any auto-x people, ahem Jrotax, to chime in with more info on anything I point out as to why that may be.
So....
I had an alignment done before they were put on and rotated them every 3000 miles or so. I put 8300 miles on them between 6/20 and 12/2.
The size was what I needed and the price right around $100 was perfect. I dont track my car, I DD it and I like to drive a little aggressively here and there. They were mostly to fit my new wheels.
Bad:
The tire cut my mileage down by about 4mpg. Wow! Only went from 205 to 225 on width.
They pull left and right when they are cold. You have to drive for a few minutes for the pulling to go away. Essentially warm them up and then they are good. I know its the tire cause with the winter setup on, it doesn't happen and it's different direction depending on the day.
They follow any groove in the road, any speed, and wander a bit. I felt like I fought the wheel a lot.
Noisy. But to be expected.
Rough-ish ride but again lower sidewall/aspect ratio - from 55 down to 45.
Good:
I had no issues with grip. Dry or wet and I drove in some heavy rain.
(My car has no power, LX, so...... on a higher performance car this could be totally different)
I could confidently corner much faster and I had a lot of fun pushing it a bit on these tires.
The wear seems to be very good so far. I have noticed no areas of excessive wear, tearing, chunking, or anything unusual.
The sidewall does stick out a bit and does protect your rims a little which is awesome. Definitely saved me some curb rash.
They look good. (bad reason to buy)
Price. ($100 a tire, not bad)
Overall impression so far:
An OK tire.
A decent tire for the price. I never pushed them to the limit. I am disappointed with the amount of wander and the cold left/right pulling. It was very unsettling to me. If you want a decent tire mostly for looks with decent wear that wont break the bank I think this is a good choice. For DD - decent. I never broke them loose.
I really prefer the feel and ride of my snow tires. It makes me think these are a bad tire but I did have a great time driving on them all summer with minimal issues. I will update when I have more miles.
My Dunlop snow tires are freakin awesome though!
