Dunlop Z1 StarSpec - Only available from TireRack

[SunzOut]

Just an FYI.

Got a puncture last week and tried to get the puncture repared. Turns out the sidewall was damaged and the tire needs replaced.

The local Discount Tire was albe to find a couple of tires in one of their warehouses but they told me that Tirerack have signed a deal with Goodyear/dunlop and they are now the exclusive suppliers of the Z1 tires.

[savage217]

Interesting so not even big tire companies that are local to people can carry them? Well I guess they would just have to deal with Tirerack? That is a good idea on their part. These may be the most used street performance tires. At the last Autox literally 50% or more of the participants were on star specs. Hopefully they don't monopolize the price.

[Fair]

WalMart makes exclusive deals to shut out the little guys, so why not TireRack?

And so goes the small businessmen of America...

[AC330Ci]

The exclusivity may have expired.
It was not here a couple of months ago. But now it is.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...unlop&sw=false

[imstimpy]

I got the same speech from a local Discount Tire: Dunlops are a TireRack exclusive.

[Demon Speed]

I bought a set from Discount Tire Direct online in March.

[Hammer03]

A friend was quoted a little over 150 more from a local shop than direct from tire rack (including shipping). I have to wonder if they're buying from TR and adding a markup.

[m5guys]

WalMart makes exclusive deals to shut out the little guys, so why not TireRack?

And so goes the small businessmen of America...

Before Tire Rack was "The Tire Rack" they were a small, single location tire store in South Bend Indiana. We are talking early 1980s here, before many of you were born. After they started running their first mail order ads in Road and Track, I asked the president of 4-Day Tire (now defunct) at a business lunch what he thought about the concept of selling high performance wheel and tire packages via mail order. He laughed and said, "Oh, we know who those guys are. They're just a small mom-and-pop tire store. We're really not too worried about them." 20 years later, Tire Rack is the giant and 4-Day Tire is just an old memory for us middle-age guys.

Moral to the story? Everyone starts off as a small businessman. It's a combination of luck, skill and hard work that allow a select few to grow to mega-size.

[kenndoggy]

I was quoted for a set from a DiscountTire, and they were in stock, a month or so ago, and for a significant discout over the Rack. Lets not throw the whole forum into a stir because of 1 users comments without more verification.

[pbonsalb]

Town Fair Tire, a Northeast chain, can get them (and matches internet prices). My brother in law just put a set on his 2003 325xiT at the Concord, NH store. Very, very nice tires.

[nucci]

Discount Tire Direct cancelled my online order of Star Specs during the week of 4/19. I got a phone call the next morning where the salesperson told me that Tirerack was now the exclusive distributor and all they could do was refund me or steer me to another tire choice. Sounds like the folks who bought in March or early April were the last ones to not be affected.

Matt

[SmallJ92]

A friend was quoted a little over 150 more from a local shop than direct from tire rack (including shipping). I have to wonder if they're buying from TR and adding a markup.

That's definitely a possibility. My dad told me that the local tire shop had star specs for significantly more than TireRack did, unlike most of their other stock.

[bmwdirtracer]

TireRack discounts their products to wholesalers, so the wholesaler can just match the TireRack price, If they're willing to sell without major profit . Same policy that made TireRack the biggest.

On every tire TireRack sells, I've never found anyone who delivers the same tire for the same price or less. Now, if only they'd carry full-race tires, I'd be happy.

TireRack, are you listening?

[ClayMan]

I don't get it? Looks like the starspecs are available at discount tire to me:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...%2FPerformance

[332i]

I just got a quote from a DT a week ago?

[Spec3HOR]

discount tire doesnt carry 255/40/17 on their website....

[SmallJ92]

discount tire doesnt carry 255/40/17 on their website....

You're right, and I know that it was definitely on their website ~1 month ago.

[SunzOut]

They said, if they had them in stock in a warehouse (mine came from Arizona!) you could get them but once they are gone...it's over to tirerack.

I got pretty much the last 255/40/17's

[1SlowSpec3]

why not just ask JIM from TR in the tire section of forum? then we'll know for sure.

anyways i was interested in spec star but decided hankook rs-3. worth a try, DT has it in stock and its cheaper!

[z3papa]

They said, if they had them in stock in a warehouse (mine came from Arizona!) you could get them but once they are gone...it's over to tirerack.

I got pretty much the last 255/40/17's

Are you considering some STR fun or just using for daily driving?

[SunzOut]

Are you considering some STR fun or just using for daily driving?

These are the normal tires for the car.

We got a puncture...that was reparable but car had been driven and that damaged the sidewall...so two new tires for the back and a part worn "spare" for the garage!!

PS

You missed a lovely day of autocross on Sunday, weather was just about perfect. I hope the tile is looking good!

[E36Shikara]

I was doing Staging at our last CCA Autocross and it seemed that EVERYONE was running the StarSpecs.. a few stragglers with Kumho (including me) and a handful with Bridgestone RE-01Rs

After that realization and guidance from our head instructor- I ditched my heavy wheels for lightweight BBS and a set of the StarSpecs... Instructor seems to think i'll shave 4-5 seconds per run...just with these tires...

See ya Kumho!!!

Interesting so not even big tire companies that are local to people can carry them? Well I guess they would just have to deal with Tirerack? That is a good idea on their part. These may be the most used street performance tires. At the last Autox literally 50% or more of the participants were on star specs. Hopefully they don't monopolize the price.

[savage217]

I was doing Staging at our last CCA Autocross and it seemed that EVERYONE was running the StarSpecs.. a few stragglers with Kumho (including me) and a handful with Bridgestone RE-01Rs

After that realization and guidance from our head instructor- I ditched my heavy wheels for lightweight BBS and a set of the StarSpecs... Instructor seems to think i'll shave 4-5 seconds per run...just with these tires...

See ya Kumho!!!

Well thats a bold statement depending on which kumho tire you were originally running and how good of a driver you are. It is definitely possible though. I am on the star specs and have improved greatly from my first season when I was on t1r's (2 years ago). I remember having the star specs for the start of my second season of autox (last year) and remembered how amazing the car felt in comparison. It was like a completely different car. Every time I drove the car with the t1r's I was very aggravated that it could not maneuver the way I intended it to. Now with the star specs it does so relatively well. What group are you in? You aren't the one who spun out into the dirt are you? I'm in AR (95 m3).