Tires Hankook or DUNLOP

I've been running Dunlop Direzza Z-1 StarSpecs on the track and on the street with no issues, still on OEM 18" wheels. NYC potholes have not been kind to me either, but no bubbles.

pretty sure i had some Dunlops on my GTI a decade ago or more, and would buy them again, too.

Had a bunch o different Dunlops on three different cars and they're far better economy tires than the sumitomos or coopers I've used.

Star Specs - 90% of the Bridgestone at 80% of the price.

The new tires I bought for the Fit's OEM wheels are Hankook Ventus V4 ES. An initial test drive in the Fit was great - smooth, quiet, actually much better at soaking up bumps with these 205/50R16's than with my Yoko 185/70R14 snow tires, which surprised me.

Yes, Hankook Optimo H727. They are CR rated #1 (let the hate fly) and have great reviews on TR and DTD. I got a set for my Golf and I'm VERY happy with them.

The Direzza's are pretty sticky and take a lot before they break traction. I'm very happy with them performance-wise.

The original Dunlops (can't remember exact tire now) on the RX8 were useless below 35 degrees. I couldn't even take off gingerly without the traction control and ESC lights going crazy. But in the warm they were quite good.

I 100% disagree with the Hankook Ventus Line. A directional summer tire? Absolutely pointless. AND a semi-slick? It doesn't make sense. They have water diversion channels. As the front of the water channel encounters the water, it shoots out the side in such a way that the tire is allowed to keep maximum efficiency. But what's the point of that on a summer tire? Hankook has taken a hit in their R&D department, their rep who brought us the RS-3 about 2 months ago said that they used the same radial belt design, while only changing the dynamics of the road encounter.

Got rid of the Hankooks on my SE V6, replaced them with Michelin Primacy with a small Discount Tire trade-in allowance. Ride is maybe a little better, expansion joint thump is a little better, but noise on all but the smoothest asphalt is bad; on concrete, it's almost intolerable.