Cusco D Strut Bar and Dunlop Direzza Z1 Tires

My old Dunlop SP8000 tires that were on the FD when I bought it have been showing their age. They were dried out and cracking. The dry traction was still ok, but in the rain I couldn't start from a stop light without spinning the tires on clutch engagement. I had planned on a set of Falken Azenis RT-615's, but after reading reviews decided to go with the newer Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs instead.


I doubt they will last very long, but I would like the car to hook up without buying wider wheels/tires. Here they are sitting in the living room before mounting them. Kitty is confused.


I also finally found a good deal on a used strut bar that wasn't an ebay special...a nice Cusco D-shape bar. After I got it, I sanded down the old flaking paint on the mounts and repainted them black. Installed it last night but didn't get a chance to take the car for a spin until today after I got the tires mounted. Everything feels very solid, but I won't know the true value of the tires until the tuning is finalized in a couple of weeks.