Dunlop and Firestone 50 series for import

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Anyone have experience with Dunlop SP9000 or Firestone Firehawk SZ50? Looking into max performance summer only tires for my new Mazda6 as it may soon see some track time up at Pocono Raceway
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but it is also my daily driver so I need to be able to live with the tire during normal driving conditions.

I'll be getting some Nokian winter only tires and 16" steel wheels (17" low profiles are OE)so I don't need an all season.
 
sbc...i'll check into the BFGs. Knowing someone who autocrosses with them is a good recommendation. Thanks.

Pete...The SP9000 is their TOL, max performance tire but I agree, it might be more geared toward high performance on the street than on the track. Still, it has gotten excellent reviews even with mild track usage. But again, your point is well taken.

I'm not a big Goodyear fan nor do I care for Michelins (I think they are way overpriced compared to other brands and performance). The Proxes TI-S are talked about a lot over at a Mazda6 forum and almost always very favorably.

I dropped off the wife's Pathfinder at STS this morning to switch from the Hakka winter tires back to the OE Toyos and got a price on the T1-S and Firestones. Toyo's are pricey at $148.00 each but they gave me a killer price on the Firestone SZ50 at $117.00 each (about $30.00 each less than tire rack). The guy there thinks the TI-S and SZ50 are about equal on the track with a slight edge to the Firestone as a dd tire. That's why I like this local tire shop...they are very knowledgable and honest and won't hesitate to recommend a lower price tire if it fits your needs.

On Monday I'll call the guy about the Bridgestones and BFGs.
 
SP9000 is more geared towards comfort than performance. It's a good street performer, but I wouldn't take it to the track, or else it'll get beat up pretty quick.

I'd look into Bridgestone S-03, Goodyear F1 GSD3, Toyo T-1S, and Michelin Pilot Sport 2.

If money is an issue, consider Falken 451, Kumho MX, and Yokohama AVS ES100.
 
mikep,

I've got Firestone SZ50s on my car and if I'm not mistaken, the same size as what you're looking for. I think the 17" OE tire size on the Mazda 6 is 215/50-17 and that's what I've got on my Acura 3.2TL (OE optional size).

I love the SZ50s; excellent traction, wet or dry and they're not noisy, I'm in GA so all season capability was not a concern. I've got about 12K on them and they still look new so they look like they have decent treadwear. An excellent choice IMO. They were a great deal too at only $99 each! Not bad for an ultra-high performance Z-rated summer tire.

I checked tirerack for tires in that size and it's not too extensive. The only BFGs I could find are Traction T/As (all-season). I was considering the Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetricos and the Bridgstone Expedia S-01s as well. I almost went for the awesome Bridgestones but I couldn't justify the $172 price with only 140 treadwear! The SZ50s are in the same group as the other two (AA traction) but have a 220 treadwear and were on sale for $99 (I think they're around $157 now).

If I were in the market now, I think I might consider the Kumho ECSTA 711. The tread looks like it would be a GOOD track tire in that it has big, solid tread blocks in a nice directional pattern; almost an Expedia S-01 knock-off for $71. It's got a 340 treadwear and AA traction rating so it would be nice on the street; the compromise is that the high treadwear would probably not make it BEST for the track. It's not considered an ultra-high performance tire and is less expensive because it's H-rated. It might suit your needs.

I would stay away from Michelins (the OE tire on the 3.2TL Type-S in 215/50-17); they are much reviled on the Acura TL forum I frequent!
 
wow! Thanks Blokey for all the info! Getting info from someone actually using the tires (and in the exact same size) is incredibly useful.

My local tire dealer gave me a price of $117.00 each for the SZ50s and that includes mounting/balancing/valve stems. That is $30.00 each lower than Tirerack so I'm very happy with that price.

Your info helped a great deal and finalized my decision. I'm going to go with the Firestones.

Thanks again to all who offered advice/info.
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I have Firestone SZ50's on my Mustang and I'm very happy with them. They are a better tire in every way than the older style Comp T/A VR BFG's I replaced. The BFG's weren't a bad tire at all. I just wanted to try something different and I'm glad I did.

A word of warning on Dunlop. I had three different local Goodyear/Dunlop dealers refuse to do warranty work on tires I hadn't purchased from them. What good is a tire warranty if you have to get the tires from one spcific dealer and that's the only place to get warranty work done...
 
Firestone SZ50s are going on this Thursday and I got what I think is a very fair deal (local tire shop...small NJ based chain). Tirerack price for the tires is $147.00 each plus shipping, then I have to pay anywhere from $12-16 dollars for mounting and balancing. My price locally was $500.00 out the door...mounted, balanced, valve stems, free lifetime rotation every 5,000 miles.

Can't wait to see how they do on the track this weekend!
 
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