MicVelo

WARNING: LONG WINDED POST (AS USUAL ) READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Finally got around to doing some tire break-in and testing of a new tire/wheel set-up. (Also an excuse to pull out the cam to shoot some pics of my neglected '03 - and to try and get the hang of an SLR which I haven't shot with since about 1995 B.D. (Before Digital)

Seems that the beauty queen (gag) Nismo has been getting all of the photo attention of late.



So what's new?

Wheel & tire setup discussed previously. To re-cap, picked up a used set of Volk GT-Cs (19x8.5/9.5) then threw on some Bridgestone S-04 Pole Positions in 245/35, 275/35-19 sizes. (Came from "stock" (sized) Track V.1 set up with Sumitomo HTR-Z3, which, contrary to their price, are spectacular for my use - hill and canyon runs.)



My main concern on this new set-up was possible loss of turn-in response and maybe even "accelerative loss" due to the high weight of these wheels. Again, to re-cap, the rears (cuz that's all I remember right now) added a WHOPPING 10+# to the full tire/wheel set-up at EACH CORNER. Hence, my calling the Volks "boat anchors"....

Aired up to 40# COLD all the way around. I always start my testing at the higher end then adjust downwards as I gather more data from my Bewtox dyno. (That means "seat-of-pants" for those who don't follow my weirdness.)

Head up to my usual "testing grounds".... For those who don't know me or haven't read my "testing" and "comparison" posts, e.g., Nismo v. Enthusiast, suspension tests, "epic drive logs*", etc., I run up in Nor-Cal's Santa Cruz mountains above Los Gatos, and up to Woodside/San Mateo. (Hwys 9, 35, 84, 92)

*Note: I linked those posts NOT because I think I'm a great writer (laff) but because I feel that if you know what kind of driver I am and the environs in which I do so, it helps to give you a feel for whatever product (tires in this case) I'm talking about and what I personally demand out of such a product/upgrade for relevance to your own type of driving. As always: "Read At Your Own Risk" and "YMMV".



Note the pics above and below.... that's not blurry, that's heavy fog/overcast. Heading up, not too bad out of Saratoga but nearing the junction of 9/84, it was all I could do to see my hand in front of my face at times.



I should also note that given the fact that these tires are new - I mean, less than 100 miles on them and with the mold release barely scrubbed off - I did NOT push them hard at first because no doubt they'd be characteristically greasy and I really didn't know how they'd handle over my tried and true Track/Sumitomo set-up.

But will say this, on the first few turns up where there's adequate "slide & spin room" should that occur, I pushed 'em more and came out of the curves pretty impressed with my new rubbers. Turn-in was sharp and responsive and remained composed even at the relative limit I was running them. (Example: sets of compound L-Rs dumping onto straighten-out-able kinks, 55-60mph turning 3rd and 4th gears).

If you look at the pic below, you'll note that it was a very conscious decision to stay very conservative on the offset of the wheels so as to avoid losing that tactile response I absolutely NEED. Nothing worse than a slow steering car, thank you very much.


Front: 19x8.5 +27, Rear: 19x9.5 +24 - All inside the fenders, negligible change in scrub radius because I like the feel close to stock. (See my comment regarding slow steering, above. Laff... )

The more I drove, the fears of the wheels' extra weight faded and found to be relatively unfounded as acceleration and cornering effort remained as it was. (Yes, it could be that the tires themselves are that much better than my original set up too... and that if they were mounted on some ultra lights, say, an RPF-1 or somesuch, they'd be total killer.... but they're fine as is.)

Another interesting note, the suspension seemed to actually work better. If you know of my suspension switch over from Bilstein to Koni where I "whined" about the Eibach/Koni's ride quality (or lack thereof) in comparison, it turns out that the Eibach/Koni combination works GREAT with the increased unsprung weight!! The overly stiff valving (Koni Yellows set on Med-Firm) seems about perfect for this wheel/tire set-up. Was NOT expecting that. Very pleased with how that turned out.



As I got to the junction, it became clear that I wasn't going to push the new tires much more in the now-soaking-wet-requiring-wipers conditions. So, stopped for coffee....


Yeah, yeah, drinking and driving.....

As I head back into town, decided to drop down to the Lexington Reservoir (above Los Gatos, CA) to see what shape we're in, water-wise. Passing by it on the way to Santa Cruz the other day, it was a pretty depressing sight.



Not quite as bad as it seemed but still verrrrry low. C'mon, give us some serious rain already, I wanna wash my cars...



Noise & Ride Comfort

This detour over to Lex meant taking the "long way" back to my office (home) and I cruised leisurely down Hwy 35 towards Black Rd. (leisurely means about 55 on this road, marked 40, heh heh). I rolled down the windows, turned off Led Zeppelin to listen to the tires. Seeing as how there was very little sensation of NVH from them (or maybe just covered up by Kashimir cranked to 18?), I wanted to get a sense of the actual noise.

Or tried to.

These S-04s are very quiet (for now) and very comfortable - in the grand scheme of things and compared to others in the Max Perf category - good for a sane commute or leisurely Sunday drive (as well as my usual "lateral-g rehab" for a g-force junkie). I imagine these would be great on a ZR! (My next Z?? Laff....)

To sum it up, would I recommend the S-04s?

Yes.

While they're still too new (and with the uncooperative weather) to give any real assessment on ultimate grip, so far, the tires work very well on my Z, on "my" roads. I detected no unruly behavior at the (however modest) limits and they seemed relatively predictable, NVH is at a minimum, comfort is high.

Oh, and price? Well, I paid LESS buying them locally than TR (adding shipping, local M&B). Very happy with the price point of these. Not as inexpensive as Sumitomo HTR-Z3 but worth the money paid, IMO.

Obviously, no data on longevity but with the amount I drive (spread out over all of our cars as well), I suspect this set will be on the car for quite a long time. That is, if I don't decide to swap out the wheels.... Haha!

Nothing wrong with them. Personally just not into the "flash" of polished spokes and chrome lips. Again, not dissin' anyone who is into it, I'm just more of a hyper-silver/hyper-black kinda guy...I like to roll unnoticed and incognito.

(So sez the guy who drives two winged and air dammed "look-at-me" Z-cars! Yuk yuk yuk!)

But besides that, I have another set of cheap wheels (besides the Tracks) that I might throw some tires on to run (for testing purposes of course, laff....)

So with that, the Parting Shot:



Cheers,

Mic

nizmo_0385

iTrader: (5)

Good to hear as i just picked up a set for the Niz as i await my Work wheels. I went with 265 35 285 35 sizes. Keep us posted!

Spike100

Good review and interesting reading… Your comment about matching shocks and springs to wheel weight is something I have never considered, but it makes sense. We work so diligently to match our shocks and springs (or adjust the coilovers) but forget to factor in the wheel weight.