[lcrain]

I bought a set of 18 in arc-8s in their most recent group buy. Went with the staggered setup (9.5/10.5). There are plenty of people running these wheels with F 265 and R 285 tires. I am trying to decide which tires would be best for my needs.

Some background: My 1M is my only car so it sees daily duty (~10-15 miles a day), and it takes me on road trips but the miles are still fairly low (~10,000 right now). The car also sees track duty (hopefully 10-15 days this year). I have been running the stock PS2s at the track and found them to be a great street tire and fine for my experience level at the track. I run in the intermediate groups, so by no means am I an expert capable of extracting maximum performance out of the car/tires. I live in Dallas, so I am willing to run an extreme performance tire year round.

So I am considering a tire that will serve the same dual purpose. Here are the three tires I am considering:

1. Hankook RS-3 in 265/35/18 and 285/35/18. These seem to be the consensus best performer in the category in the dry, but have some limitations in the wet. My shop quoted me ~$1100 a set.

2. Dunlop Direzza Z2 in 265/35/18 and 285/30/18. Brand spanking new tire, so minimal data. The z1 has been very popular and I can only assume these would be a step forward. ~$1200 for a set.

3. Federal 595-RSR in 265/35/18 and 285/30/18. Read a few "unprofessional" reviews which say they are a good tire but not as good as the RS-3 and the like. My shop seems to think these are the tires to go with for the price. The set will cost ~$750.

I don't want to cheap out, but that ~$400-500 in saving could go towards some camber plates. I am sure there are opinions on each, and I would love to hear them all.

Really I am asking whether you guys think I should take the chance on the federals or stick with the usual suspects in this category.