Frosty - last time I looked, Michelin was one of very few that actually made tyres the same sizes in 18" that would fit the Z...that is out of companies that you would consider using on such a car.

 

nsw350z - I don't have a problem spending $300 per corner for rubber for the Z. I expected that when I purchased the car. What I didn't know at the time was that the Potenzas are not that great in terms of traction or tread life. So to get the required traction and treadlife I want, means going to a Michelin Pilot Sport type tyre which I believe costs around the $500 per corner. This I did not envisage when buying the car.
So now I am trying to find a tyre with acceptable tread life / traction for as little over $300 as possible.

BTW, I was looking through Speed mag and saw an ad for BF Goodrich, whom I would never have considered previously. Checked out their web site and they have my size tyres in the g-Force T/A KDW with the following UTQG - 300 / AA / A, which is outstanding. I'll ring around for pricing / availability on Mon.

Frosty - my guess is that you are getting good mileage out of your Shitenza's due to the increased highway driving compare to me.
Also, like you I was confused when looking at tyres for the first time because all manufacturers claim their tyres perform best / last longest etc. Came across UTQG rating used in the USA.
Basically this rating takes the form of a number to represent treadlife (the higher the number the greater the treadlife), followed by letters to represent traction capabilities (AA is better than A, is better than B, is better than C) and another letter to represent temperature capabilities (ie how the tyre will hold up under high temps - A is better than B, is better than C).
So you end up with 140 / A / A for the Shitenza's.
Compare the BF Goodrich at 330 / AA / A and these should be a much better tyre than the Shitenza's.

 

KDW are a good tires, it's one of the tires I'm considering when my ones die on me. You should also check KDW2 (the next generation tyre from BF Goodrich) which handles a lot better in dry then KDW, it's handling in dry is close to that of KD, which has very oridenry handling in wet. The only problem with KDW2 is the limited choice of sizes.

 

btw guys, keep in mind that theadwear rating does not mean anything when comaparing one brand of tyre to another. There is no 'overseeing body' that sets standards for this or monitors this. Therefore, the threadwear (and traction) ratings are olnly or relevance when comapring tyres within the same manufacturer.

It does not mean that (let's say) Bridgestone of threadwear rating 140 is going to wear more than (let's say) Goodyear of threadwear rating 220. I have had plenty of tyres that have HIGHER threadwear rating and the tyre had noticably more grip. And vice versa.

 

My pic TOYO RA1

 

Been quoted $460 a corner.
Highly reccomended by a few revheads.



http://www.yokohama.com.au/Tyres/tyre.asp?TyreId=26

FRARSTIE

 

Nuff - rang for KDW tyres, but not available in OZ - bugger!

DavidM (KIA) - So you're saying then that we have no way of comparing tyres as each manufacturer self assesses its tyres - bugger!

Rizk - Get ready to change rubber every 5000km - bugger!

Thanks for the Toyo link. I found T1-S in my size. Will try the dealers tomorrow.

 

Just checked the Aussie Toyo site and surprise, they don't list the T1-S in my sizes.

Now I'm beginning to think that Nisshit and Shitenza are in bed with each other. Fuggers give us wheel / tyre sizes that mean you have so stick with Shitenza's or pay twice the price for Pilot Sports ($255 - $300 for Shitenza'a vs $550 - $600 for Michelin).

 

KY350,

What exact models of tyre are you comparing?

Im not sure but I dont think you can make a direct comparison between the two you just did. (Im thinking your comparing RE040 to Pilot Sports).

Frosty,

Im not sure if those are them or not but but the Yokohama AVS Sport have less grip compared to the other tyres mentioned here according to Road and Track. They look different, AVS Sport had very long V shaped grooves.

 

You can run 255/40/18 on the track rims. Yokohama v102s have that and so do a few others (Kumho, Michelin..).

I'm going to do 255s all around when I change tyres. It reduces understeer a bit and increases tranction as well. Beats getting new rims.

 

TOYO RA1

Again, this is an R-spec tyre. Though these are very nice in day to day driving as well ... they are quiet, comfortable and grippy even when cold. I had them on the S2000 at one stage and don't expect more than 5000km out of them. Actually, I got 4000km out of them before they were no longer road-legal ... I'm sure someone else could stretch it to 8000km.

Still, on a positive side, they'll get you 2 - 3 secs per lap on the track ;-)

DavidM (KIA) - So you're saying then that we have no way of comparing tyres as each manufacturer self assesses its tyres - bugger!

Yep, that's what I'm saying ... you either try it yourself, or speak to someone who has tried it.

ps. S03s should be out in 245/45/18 size. If they are not, then they will be any day now as they come OME on the HSV Avalanche in that size.

 

How wide are the track 18"s? Front and back?

 

8" The optional forged are 8.5"

 

Can you get 255 on a 8" Rim?

 

I know that the Kumho and V102s can...not sure about Pilots!

 

Murry - I am searching the we for tyres that will fit my stock Z wheels and maintain a similar diameter. I essentially have 3 criteria for tyre selection:

1. Good wet and dry traction
2. Descent tyrelife (35 - 40,000km of city driving)
3. Lowish tyre noise.
4. Reasonable price

Using a rating of 1-5, with 5 = best and 1 = worst, this is how I rate the Pretendza's:

1. wet and dry traction 3.5
2. tyrelife 3
3. tyre noise. 2.5
4. price 3

I suspect Michelin PS to rate 5, 3, 2.5 and 1, meaning that they will grip better, but I suspect that they will also wear out as quickly as the Pretendza' and probably be as noisy and cost twice as much. If this is true, these tyres do not represent good value for money.

Have found that Falken FK451 with spec that fit my Z. Most comments are good and good value (same price as Pretendza's)

 

Don't fit my 17" wheels!

Has anyone had any experience with Falken FK451's?

 

Originally posted by KY350
Murry - I am searching the we for tyres that will fit my stock Z wheels and maintain a similar diameter. I essentially have 3 criteria for tyre selection:

1. Good wet and dry traction
2. Descent tyrelife (35 - 40,000km of city driving)
3. Lowish tyre noise.
4. Reasonable price

Using a rating of 1-5, with 5 = best and 1 = worst, this is how I rate the Pretendza's:

1. wet and dry traction 3.5
2. tyrelife 3
3. tyre noise. 2.5
4. price 3

I suspect Michelin PS to rate 5, 3, 2.5 and 1, meaning that they will grip better, but I suspect that they will also wear out as quickly as the Pretendza' and probably be as noisy and cost twice as much. If this is true, these tyres do not represent good value for money.

Have found that Falken FK451 with spec that fit my Z. Most comments are good and good value (same price as Pretendza's)

I think any of the performance (Not Ultra Performance) tyres will suit your needs. These are the one step down from Pilot Sport and S03s.

Ultimately the best setup would be 235 front and 245 rear but you might have to lower the aspect ratios to find ones with those exact widths. There are other things like the load index etc to consider as well so i'd ring up the shop and get them to tell you your options. But make sure you call someone who can get all the different tyres so their suggestions arent limited.

I have a tyre comparison in one of my magazines, if I can find it.

 

Ok from the January 2003 Motor Magazine they have a 'Giant Tyre Test' in which they compare 13 diferent tyres and grade them on:

Wet Laps
Wet Braking
Wet Overall
Dry Laps
Dry Braking
Dry Overall
Driver Pref Dry
Driver Pref Wet
Driver Pref Overall
Performance + Driver Pref

And gave comments on all the tyres, and ranked them all overall and price/performace.

 

Moved so they are on the same page.