look good!

 

The Toyo's and Nittos are the same compound and run right in the middle of the Azenis and hoosier R6's

 

They are pretty close. Because they are sister companies, they can't be the same, but they are damn close. the tread pattern is the biggest difference.

 

I respectfully disagree with the 245's all the way around theory. Again, this is just my opinion.

The Z does not have a 50/50 balance to begin with and was engineered to have a staggered tire set up. So the question begs to be asked why not stay with the stock set up to get the most out of the car? Now if the car had a better balance, I would be more likely to agree with you. I still feel the 245/265 is one of the better set ups to go with. I would only go down to the 245's all the way around if rotation is that important to you.

 

 

if im not mistaken doesnt the Z have a 50/50 balance not stand still but through the turns? Well that is what was said in the nissan promo video...so i assume its correct.

 

"The 350Z’s FM (Front Mid-Ship) platform positions the engine behind the front axle, providing an optimized front-to-rear weight balance of 53/47. The FM platform, derived from racing technology, also places a strong emphasis on aerodynamics, especially on the control of airflow under the body."

 

NEWB, I haven't posted anything on your thread since you seemed to be a jackass. And after your most recent post still attacking me, you leave me no choice but to respond. You obviously are pretty thin skinned to not be able to take criticisms, especially in this forum. Another long-time member suggested something to you and here is your smartass response to him:

And here is your comment regarding my first post:

I'm posting my original post below -- please tell me where I'm trash talking you? Again, I suggested for you to search more thoroughly since it is obvious you have not done your homework. And you went off since you took my comments personally. Well, buddy, you're not going to last long in this forum if you can't take suggestions or criticisms. Grow up, someday you may learn something from somebody. If you don't think this is a useful post, then you're not mature enough to understand there's more to life than trying to learn what size tire you're looking for. SEARCH is your friend, NEWB!

 

you have only one way to see that... try it.
just for one set of tires..
give yourself a couple of we at the track to understand the new car dynamics and than look at your lap times.
doesn't exist the "perfect" setup that works for everybody, some people feels more confident managing undesteer, some managing oversteer and some likes a more neutral setup.

 

I agree that the 350Z was engineered with a staggered setup - 225s front and 245s rear. Increasing the front tire width to 245 adds front grip (which is what the car needs to balance it better) while retaining the 245s in back keeps rear grip relatively the same. Since the car is front heavy (53F/47R) increasing front grip is important for braking, turn-in, and steady state cornering, and (suprisingly) corner exit speed - you don't want the car understeering out of the corner as power is applied.

Retaining the staggered setup (assuming that's the only change) only increases overall grip levels if tire compound and/or width is upgrade. It does not change the balance of the car, which is biased towards understeer as engineered from the factory.

 

WRONG, that was so that it would understeer "safetly" (see above re: soccer moms). Insurance companies prefer you understeer into a curb than oversteer off the road (hence the crap the poor Porsche 930 gets) - the reality is the car IS pretty damn close to 50-50, super balanced, and runs BRILLIANTLY on a "same size all around" setup - at least that's my $.02... I run 265/35/18 MPSC (pilot sport cup) and they literally wear out perfectly front-to-back-left-to-right-inside-to-outside so what's there to not like about that? The "oversteer" is a car that's "easier to rotate" - I run my (admittedly, aftermarket) sways on the middle setting in the back and I'll tell you what, the car isn't "twitchy" like an S2k nor does it plow like an e46 M3 - its just right with a square setup.

for your first time if 245/265 will make you FEEL safer out there / more in control, go for it. but imo changing less and less on the car and more and more about the driver will teach you a lot more and so just set it up "neutral" with square sizes (bonus also being you can dismount and rotate them front to back, left to right or on some times even flip them too to get more life out of them w/ a stock-ish alignment) and call it a day.

As far as brands, that's very personal in some ways, but I think Goodyear is garbage, haven't driven the new Dunlops but wasn't impressed by their previous products, the KDs are not horrible but too hard / numb for my liking, the Pilot PS2 (not "regular Sport") is brilliant on the track and street as is the RE050 or RE01. I like the Hankook RS2 but don't think I'd recommend it on a heavier car like the Z, they seem to do better on a Miata or S2k, and while I know people love the 615 for autox I hear they turn to grease on the track (no first hand experience on a Z, only drove on the track once with them but it was a short 1.3 mile course in an Evo so practically an autox)

good luck, have fun, don't let the negativity here get you down ...

 

I didnt even bother reading your entire post, You can have your opinion and I will have mine. This argument has no regards to this thread on this level. If you felt I was "trash talking" I apologize but I was just giving you the same sarcastic answer that I felt I received. And hopefully we can leave it at that

 

Thanks ya I'm honestly leaning more towards the 245s all around as well. The fact that it will give the car a more neutral feel is great plus the tire rotation is a big plus. And no the negativity isnt getting me down, its a public forum like the others I've been on you get a good mixture of all kinds of people, though that in itself shouldnt be justification.

 

its supposed to be 50/50 when youre on the throttle in 3rd/4th gear...doesnt matter.

weight distribution shouldnt affect your choice for tire stagger (or lack thereof) the current handling dynamics of the car should influence it...if youre getting push coming into/out of corners at the limit, go to a non-staggered setup...if youre getting oversteer, go to a staggered setup. the finer points of the cars handling can be tweaked with shock/swaybar settings.

like we said, the car wasnt designed from the factory to go turn fast-laps, theyre designed to be fun and SAFE at the same time...generally speaking understeer is safer than oversteer.

 

^I always thought that oversteer was easier to control and counter. Or maybe thats just me?

 

I luv it! handles great, much better that staggered....and you can rotate to even tire wear,

 

Enkei RPF-1
18x10.5 +15 Front
18x10.5 +0 Rear
Kumho V710 285/30/18 Front and Rear

 

Very nice...no rubbing issues in the front?

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm closer to a decision on this but wanted to hear more from those have more experience with it than me so I appreciate it. I gotta get ready for Sebring in October

 

Damn Brad, I'm jealous.