IVRY PRL

iTrader: (2)

I picked up a set of Federal SS595s today, in F: 245/35/19 R: 245/40/19 running on OEM G35C 19" Forged Rays.
This is a preliminary review, since I've only driven on them for like a half a day, but I'm really amazed at how much *** these tires kick, that I felt I had to share it.
Now, I'm not going to compare them to my previous set, because they were freakin bald, and I didn't have them since new, so I don't know how they would be like when new. I'm just going to evaluate the federals on their own merit.
When I first got them put on, it was raining, so I got to play around with wet performance a bit. For the purpose of this, I kept the VDC on, since I didn't know how they would behave, but I drove harder than what I would normally drive in the wet. The grip downright amazed me. In the whole ride home, I only lit up my VDC once. For reference, my VDC used to kick in 5+ times per drive. Anytime I'd accelerate any way but gently, and if I ever got enthusiastic about a corner. I only managed to light it up today near my house, when I got REALLY bold with the car, since there was nothing around and I wanted to get a feel for them.
It dried up a bit later when I went to the gym, but still considered semi-wet conditions. I floored it in first gear off a roll, and experienced no wheelspin all the way through first, but there was some evident when I shifted into second. Nonetheless the tires gripped again very soon, and I was off into Bill 203 territory. Before I got these tires, I would lose traction above 5500-6000rpm in first gear when the VQ really gets going, so I'm really happy with the change.
The most dramatic effect though, I'm not sure if I can attribute solely to the tires. When I got these, I eliminated my stagger. Instead of running 225/40 front and 245/40 rear, I now have 245/35 front 245/40 rear. The combination of running equal width all around, and new rubber has given me some really amazing improvements. Before, when I'd go into a corner, I'd have to limit how much I turn my wheel, or I would lose front grip, and my car would understeer. Now with the 245s up front, I can turn in way more, and they just keep gripping. The car feels way sharper, and so much more like a sportscar. I would highly reccommend this setup to anyone with a G/Z. Keep the diameter stagger, but lose the width stagger. VDC works flawlessly, as the fronts are almost identical to stock size, and the rears are stock size, and the car feels so much sharper.

I'll follow up on this review when I've had some more time with these tires, but so far I'm extremely satisfied. These are a fantastic street tire.
The rest of my car is bone stock except for test pipes, z-tube and an engine damper.

JjL

iTrader: (8)

i use these tires for drifting and love them (went through 4 sets already). love the tires so much im putting on a pair of ss595 and 595rs on my nismo lmgt4. federals best bang for the buck tires imo

XuperXero

iTrader: (2)

Sounds similar to my experiences with Falken's discontinued FK451... Amazing wet traction and was one of the best street tires that I have tracked at Shannonville.

Maybe I'll give the Federals a try.