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Btw the continental extreme contact DWS is an all season tire, would be better off with the DW dry-wet tire... I have the DWS on my touring wheels they are fine but I dont think you get much snow in California...
Also probably not worth the extra cost.
Any reason you're getting all season tires? I had the dws on my stock 17's and I did not particularly like them. They were awesome for wet traction but they didn't feel good cornering on dry pavement at higher speeds. They just didn't feel stable.
I was thinking about doing a 235/40 front 255/40 rear but you guys make me want to go with 245/40F 245/45R so many choices...
Btw the continental extreme contact DWS is an all season tire, would be better off with the DW dry-wet tire... I have the DWS on my touring wheels they are fine but I dont think you get much snow in California...
Also probably not worth the extra cost.
Dboyzalter- I actually hadn't realized that DWS was even rated for snow. I actually picked it because it's overall rating for most everything including noise was really good. I'm buying all this at Tirerack and they don't have a ton of selection in the 255, 275 range. Any suggestions for something other than the Conti? I don't drive in the rain all that often(Have my Honda Civic for that) but definitely want to able to without drama if I have to. But you're right...these will NEVER see snow...ha ha Below are the choices I have(at Tirerack).
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport(on close out...I've had good luck with Bridgestone's in the past and the price on these are good...this is probably what I'm leaning toward after reading many of the reviews)
Hancook Ventus V12 Evo 2(reviews are mixed on this one but it seems popular for the Z)
BF G-ForceGoodrich Comp-2A/S(reviews seems to be mixed on this one as well but also popular for the Z)
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A(pricier than the Conti's)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport(I know these are probably awesome but more expensive)
General GMax AS-03(don't know much about this one)
Goodyear Eagle 1 Asymmetric All Season
Firestone FireHawk Indy 500(new from what I can see)
Pirelli Cinturato P7 Run flat(not interested in run flat's so not an option)
Just looked it over and your choices are kinda limited and somewhat crappie... I have the comp 2 and they are fine, only thing is they are heavy... I like the continental tires but I would probably just down size 245/40 and 265/40 and get these cheepy bastards because they seem like the best bang for the buck.
[QUOTE=dboyzalter;10744089]Just looked it over and your choices are kinda limited and somewhat crappie... I have the comp 2 and they are fine, only thing is they are heavy... I like the continental tires but I would probably just down size 245/40 and 265/40 and get these cheepy bastards because they seem like the best bang for the buck.
I'm running Comp 2's 245/40 and 265/40 on 18x9 +20 . I like the setup and feel
I always went for 255 fronts first, if the tire was not available in 255, I went with 245.
Increasing the stagger and making the car understeer more has never been a goal of mine, even when it was a daily driver. 245/275 combo under steers more than stock.
Makes me think, Nissan supplied a 245 and 265 combo as +sized for Z, keeping a 20mm stagger.
Originally Posted by turboed350z
depends on driver ability wouldnt you agree? for new driver understeer is better than oversteer.
Originally Posted by Spike100
I agree!
I currently have a 245/40-18” front and 275/40-18” rear setup, and this arrangement has way too much understeer.I don’t like it.
I previously had a 245mm square setup on width (front and rear), and I liked driving this much better than the “plowing” 245/275 setup.
Originally Posted by terrasmak
In stock form with stock stagger the cars plows like the queen Mary, increasing the plow is not good for anyone.
Our cars with a square setup still understeer.
Spike, T'bo, and Len (terrasmak) discuss the handling traits over mere appearances, thank you.
Stock stagger does give the car an appreciable (in terms of "bad feel", not "appreciated as in being thankful for") amount of understeer and this is based on the tire sizing. Smaller patch up front gives a slight bit less traction at the maximum tire slip angles resulting in front slippage before rear = understeer.
To pick the right tires for handling (and a move towards neutral and oversteer), always choose the REAR tire you want to fit first. In this case, probably a 275.
THEN, choose the largest size you can run in front but not exceeding the rear to give the front a little added traction advantage at the tires' maximum slip angles; that is, to reduce the understeer/increase oversteer, you WANT the rears to reach max angle, hence, "diminished traction" BEFORE the fronts.
This is the general principle behind running a square setup which, as Len points out, still does NOT reduce all of the understeer.
And that's where roll stiffness adjusters (shocks, sway bars, springs) come in.
When one is ready (and capable) to increase the oversteer factor, you simply dial in your rear suspension setup to bias the adhesion of your tires to the front by increasing rear roll stiffness and "forcing" the rear tires to "break away" first.
This is why "tires first, suspension after."
BTW, in this case, "break away" does NOT mean breaking traction of the tires completely. It simply means that the rear slip angles of the tires reach their maximum before the fronts and traction gradually diminishes, allowing the car to rotate properly and more "severely" into the turn (oversteer).
I was able to get my staggered SSR's (9.5 rear and 8.5 front) to handle well using sway bars and shocks. (I had aftermarket springs but they were close to stock spring rates)
After experimenting with identical tires at each corner on the staggered wheels vs staggered tires, only minor adjustments were needed.
When I started prepping my car for STU and bought identical wheels for all for corners, I was surprised at how much of a difference it made. I suspect that the offsets were a bigger factor than I anticipated. Basically, the old setup's wheels placed the outer edges of the front tires further inboard than the outer edges of the rear tires (relative to stock F/R relationship)....even when the tires were, themselves, identical sizes. So the placement of the tires' outer edges had an impact on the cars balance as well. (not just the tire-sizes themselves)
I suppose I could put 10mm or 15mm spacers on my front wheels (Enkei Tenjin 18/8.5" 25mm offset). That would be an interesting experiment. The only thing blocking this is that good spacers cost enough to allow considering purchasing the "right" sized wheels.
Originally Posted by Z1NONLY
I was able to get my staggered SSR's (9.5 rear and 8.5 front) to handle well using sway bars and shocks. (I had aftermarket springs but they were close to stock spring rates)
After experimenting with identical tires at each corner on the staggered wheels vs staggered tires, only minor adjustments were needed.
When I started prepping my car for STU and bought identical wheels for all for corners, I was surprised at how much of a difference it made. I suspect that the offsets were a bigger factor than I anticipated. Basically, the old setup's wheels placed the outer edges of the front tires further inboard than the outer edges of the rear tires (relative to stock F/R relationship)....even when the tires were, themselves, identical sizes. So the placement of the tires' outer edges had an impact on the cars balance as well. (not just the tire-sizes themselves)
I suppose I could put 10mm or 15mm spacers on my front wheels (Enkei Tenjin 18/8.5" 25mm offset). That would be an interesting experiment. The only thing blocking this is that good spacers cost enough to allow considering purchasing the "right" sized wheels.
My brother used to drive an sti and this was a common way to reduce understeer in those cars.
But good spacers do cost money that could be put toward new wheels.
04-03-2016, 05:15 PM
