The Direzza ZIII is Dunlop’s Extreme Performance Summer tire designed for the drivers of sports cars, performance sedans and track day vehicles who are looking for near motorsports levels of traction and handling in a tire that can be driven on the street, in addition to autocross, drifting and track day events. Tuned for maximum performance in warm, dry and damp conditions, the Direzza ZIII is not intended to be serviced, stored, nor driven in near- and below-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.
Continuing the evolution of Dunlop’s Extreme Performance Summer tire line, the Direzza ZIII utilizes the company’s latest high-performance compound, which features motorsports-derived polymers that accomplish the normally conflicting goals of enhanced grip and enhanced wear characteristics. The updated tread pattern features a wider center rib and lower void ratio to put more rubber on the ground in the contact patch, and the reshaped tread profile changes the shape of the footprint to ensure more uniform contact pressure while turning, aiding grip and improving wear. The two main, circumferential grooves allow water to flow through the footprint to resist hydroplaning, but heavy rain and standing water may still present challenges to longitudinal and lateral hydroplaning resistance, so drivers should take care and drive cautiously at reduced speeds in these conditions.
The internal construction of the Direzza ZIII is designed for optimized durability and maximum handling response. The two-ply polyester casing sits beneath two wide, high-strength steel belts, which help stabilize the footprint. Two polyamide cap plies provide reinforcement for enhanced control of the contact patch and high-speed durability.
Note: Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.
Flexing of the specialized rubber compounds used in Extreme Performance Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking. Compound cracking occurs as the result of improper use or storage, and Dunlop’s warranty specifically excludes tires exhibiting this condition from coverage. Any tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.
| SIZE | UTQG | MAX. LOAD | Max. Inflation Pressure | Tread Depth | Tire Weight | Rim Width Range | Meas. Rim Width | Sect. Width | Tread Width | Overall Diam. | Revs. Per Mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 185/60R14 82H | 200 A A | 1,047 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 17 lbs | 5-6.5" | 5.5" | 6.3" | 6" | 22.8" | 931 |
| 195/50R15 82V | 200 A A | 1,047 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 18 lbs | 5.5-7" | 6" | 7.2" | 6.8" | 22.8" | 921 |
| 195/55R15 85V | 200 A A | 1,135 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 20 lbs | 5.5-7" | 6" | 7" | 6.6" | 23.5" | 898 |
| 205/50R15 86V | 200 A A | 1,168 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 20 lbs | 5.5-7.5" | 6.5" | 7.6" | 7.1" | 23.2" | 911 |
| 205/50R16 87V | 200 A A | 1,201 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 21 lbs | 5.5-7.5" | 6.5" | 7.6" | 7.3" | 24.2" | 874 |
| 205/55R16 91V | 200 A A | 1,356 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 23 lbs | 5.5-7.5" | 6.5" | 7.3" | 7.1" | 25" | 845 |
| 225/45R16 89W | 200 A A | 1,356 lbs | 51 psi | 9/32" | 22 lbs | 7-8.5" | 7.5" | 8.9" | 7.9" | 23.9" | 873 |
| 225/50R16 92V | 200 A A | 1,389 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 25 lbs | 6-8" | 7" | 8.3" | 7.3" | 25" | 845 |
| 205/45R17 84W | 200 A A | 1,102 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 19 lbs | 6.5-7.5" | 7" | 7.5" | 7.2" | 24.3" | 856 |
| 215/40R17 83W | 200 A A | 1,074 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 20 lbs | 7-8.5" | 7.5" | 8.1" | 7.8" | 23.9" | 874 |
| 215/45R17 87W | 200 A A | 1,201 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 23 lbs | 7-8" | 7" | 7.9" | 7.6" | 24.7" | 842 |
| 225/45R17 91W | 200 A A | 1,356 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 23 lbs | 7-8.5" | 7.5" | 8.2" | 7.9" | 25" | 834 |
| 235/40R17 90W | 200 A A | 1,323 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 23 lbs | 8-9.5" | 8.5" | 8.9" | 8.4" | 24.5" | 854 |
| 235/45R17 94W | 200 A A | 1,477 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 25 lbs | 7.5-9" | 8" | 8.6" | 8.2" | 25.4" | 821 |
| 245/40R17 91W | 200 A A | 1,356 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 24 lbs | 8-9.5" | 8.5" | 9.3" | 8.8" | 24.8" | 840 |
| 255/40R17 94W | 200 A A | 1,477 lbs | 51 psi | 9/32" | 27 lbs | 8.5-10" | 9" | 9.7" | 9" | 25.1" | 832 |
| 225/40R18 88W | 200 A A | 1,235 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 23 lbs | 7.5-9" | 8" | 8.5" | 8.2" | 25.2" | 826 |
| 225/45R18 91W | 200 A A | 1,356 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 24 lbs | 7-8.5" | 7.5" | 8.2" | 7.8" | 26" | 800 |
| 235/40R18 91W | 200 A A | 1,356 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 24 lbs | 8-9.5" | 8.5" | 8.9" | 8.5" | 25.5" | 818 |
| 245/40R18 93W | 200 A A | 1,433 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 28 lbs | 8-9.5" | 8.5" | 9.3" | 8.9" | 25.8" | 805 |
| 255/35R18 90W | 200 A A | 1,323 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 25 lbs | 8.5-10" | 9" | 10.2" | 9.6" | 25.1" | 829 |
| 265/35R18 93W | 200 A A | 1,433 lbs | 51 psi | 9/32" | 27 lbs | 9-10.5" | 9.5" | 10.1" | 9.5" | 25.4" | 818 |
| 275/35R18 95W SL
| 200 A A | 1,521 lbs | 51 psi | 9/32" | 28 lbs | 9-11" | 9.5" | 10.5" | 9.8" | 25.6" | 813 |
| 285/30R18 93W | 200 A A | 1,433 lbs | 51 psi | 9/32" | 27 lbs | 9.5-10.5" | 10" | 10.9" | 10.4" | 24.8" | 837 |
| 245/40R19 94W | 200 A A | 1,477 lbs | 51 psi | 8/32" | 27 lbs | 8-9.5" | 8.5" | 9.3" | 8.8" | 26.8" | 774 |
| 275/35R19 96W SL
| 200 A A | 1,565 lbs | 51 psi | 9/32" | 30 lbs | 9-11" | 9.5" | 10.5" | 9.9" | 26.7" | 781 |
Founder at Tiresout. Used to be working as an engineer at Bridgestone Tires Akron Technical Center. The responsibilities included but were not limited to technical computing, indoor & outdoor testing of new tires.
This tire sticks!!! I have a 1997 Miata with an upgraded suspension, I have been autocrossing for almost 30 years. This tire is extremely sticky under normal road conditions but this tire under autocross conditions on this car just —-s, you can hear the tire when Corning hard like a piece of duct tape being ripped off the ground but i haven’t had any loss of traction even when I have intentionally tried to break the back end loose. Highly recommend this tire!!
Other tests have concluded that this tire is less effective on the narrower side of its rated rim widths.Give it that extra ½ or 1 inch more wider rim, and it snugs down on the road much more than the difference going from 8.5″ to 9.5″ was with the Bridgestone RE71R. My experience at a the last two autocrosses verifies this. The tail plants better and gives more feedback at the limits. I was surprised to see that the Dunlop tested poorly in Tire Rack’s recent test, so I looked at how Tire Rack did their test.Tire Rack’s test is biased because they use a moderately heavy car, a BMW 4 series, with only 8″ wide rims for a 245/40 tire size. That’s even narrower than the measuring width Tire Rack uses in their spec sheets. So of course the tires with stiffer sidewalls and less flexy square shoulders will test better. But hey Tire Rack, why are you pinching all these tires down with rims that are too narrow to bring out the tire’s true performance potential?Give these Dunlops at least the measuring rim width that Tire Racks uses for spec sheets (8.5″ for the 245/40×18 size you tested) and you will find that this ZIII has at least the raw grip of the Bridgestone RE71, and steers better than the BFG Rivals that I tried out on the car for comparison. Put them on a wider wheel, like 9.5″ wide for my 255/40×17 size, and you remove any advantage the Bridgestone or BFG has due to Dunlop not yet having worked out their sidewall behavior as well as the others, and gain the advantage that Dunlop does have over the others in grip and rapid steering transition.
Have been endurance road racing 10 years with the Direzza I Star Spec, Direzza II, Direzza II Star Spec and now a set of Direzza III. This newest addition is definitely faster, unfortunately they wear faster, are more finicky with hot tire pressure, and drop off suddenly when overheated, not good qualities when endurance racing. Dunlop has taken a beautiful endurance tire and turned it into a great Autocross tire. We are no longer able to use this tire….Now looking at the slightly slower but better suited Hankook Ventus R-S4.DUNLOP MARKETING, please read this, if you want to sell to the endurance racer, we need tires that wear better, the Direzza III aint cutting it.
I wanted to have my own comparison between the ZIII and the RE71R. So take this how you want. If I was to drive on the road and autocross every now and then this is the perfect tire. The only thing I don’t like about the RE71R is the insane amount of grip at all times. I know, I know. When driving the Appalachians, they can almost take away from the flow of a mountain road. With the ZIII I love the way the car rotates, its a lot more enjoyable driving style for myself. 100% control at all times. Rain, what rain, as long as there is no standing water, game on! Road noise is quieter than the RE71R. Tire life is longer that re71r, do to them being not so sticky. For the price, they are simply AWESOME. If you want a championship year win try the other guys. For 40 bucks less, more smiles per miles with the ZIII.
These tires are for our 24 hours of Lemons racer. We have used various sizes over the years and love the performance. Super traction and handling on a 12 turn 2 mile road course. This size was the right choice for our first time out with this car. Recommend this tire to all Lemons racers.