Anyone using the Tech M550 A/S? I'm going to stick with my stock rims for now and was wondering if i could put 275/40/17 on them?
Any input on this tire?

 

Not sure about the tire, but I'm sure that the stock 17" won't safely hold a 275 tire because the rim width is not wide enough. I think the widest you'll safely be able to go is 255. Do a search or check some of the online tire shops to verify rim width/tire width recommendations.

 

i have the avon tech m 500's on my stock wheels (use them only on the track) and like them. they have good grip and are wearing fairly well. not bad for a set of tires for $500.

also, don't go bigger than a 255 on the stock 17's. i am using 245 fronts and 255 rears.

sean

 

I just ordered the Tech M550 for my Z, 245/40/18 & 275/40/18. From what I read on reviews at tirerack, this tire is very good for a very reasonable price. Let me know how you like them.

 

i guess if they make good makeup, then they must make great tires.

 

Can I get a discount if I order them thru the neighbor lady (she sells avon)?

 

AS a matter of fact you can buy thru the AVon Lady, you get a free bottle of aftershave in a 350Z shaped bottle.

 

Shoot, I was hoping for the bug repellent!

 

What's the difference, you ever smelled that Avon crap?

 

Good point it all should repell bugs and camaros, or any pests for that matter.

 

Just following up on the Avon owners.

I have the stock 18" wheels and currently have the stock RE040s on my 350Z Perf. I'm at 24,000 miles now, and Nissan replaced the fronts about 8,000 miles ago so they're still good for a while, but the rears should be replaced soon.

I'm not sure if anybody has done this exact step, but will it cause problems if I just replace the rears with Avon M-550 A/S (and run them with the Bridgestone RE040s in the front)?

If that is OK, how wide can I go in the rear with the stock 225s in the front? I would expect to replace the fronts after another 10,000 mi at which time I would switch those to Avons as well and hopefully bump up the width as well.

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

I recommend the OEM width plus or minus 20mm.

 

The Avons will probably be shoot by that time and need replacing also.

 

I've heard, though have not tried this to confirm it, that if you dont keep the same "stagar" in the tire sizes the VDC will not work right. So with 225's in the front, you want 245's in the rear... if you go 255 in the rear then you need 235 in the front, or 275 in the rear, then 245 in the front... etc etc...

Also, my dad has avon's on his G-35 and has almost 15,000 miles on them... they still have a fair amount of tred left on them, and he says they are quite grippy. He did say they dont have a nice "release" and dont give quite as mutch feed back on the road as his previous michelin tires... by release he means that when you push the tire to the edge of it's performance, rather than simply letting go a little, and then a little more when you push it harder, and more and more in a linear way... once you push the tire too far, it just lets go and you loose traction pretty much compleatly...

 

The VDC will expect the rear wheels to spin ~3% slower than the fronts. This is for optimal “calibration” of the VDC. But it’s flexible enough to allow no stagger at all or a bit more than 3%. I don’t have figures on exact numbers (I’d assume 6% stagger would be OK). Remember that the VDC only care about the total wheel diameter. The actual thread width isn’t much of an issue.

The thread width will affect the car’s under/oversteer characteristics. 225/255, your car will plow into turns more than what your used to. I’m suspecting the Avon will stick more too, worsening the understeer situation. The car will be drivable, just not as eager to change directions at the limit.

The tire I’ve had that had the best transition was the Pirello P-Zerro Nero. Not as gripy as the Azenis RT-215 I also had at the time. But that tire would give plenty of warning when going into a slide. Very gradual. It wouldn’t snap back either when it regained traction. That was a fun tire. Expensive, didn’t last very long, but tons of fun!

 

I did the same thing with the same tires (stocks/550s), same ends (stock fronts, 550's rear), same situation (worn rears). One of the driving aids (VDC, EBD, ABS, whatever) kicks in on hard turns and tries to straighten out the car. When it happens at a relatively high speed, it's unnerving.

Save yourself the heartstopping close calls and get 4 matching tires. Cost of fronts is something like $170 each so not expensive at all. The AVON's are great btw. Till my GTech got fritzy on me, I went from mid .8x G's on the RE040's to mid .9x G's, with a peak of 1G, on the 550's. Although I'm not a "pro" race car driver, I am reasonably competent at going around turns.

The tires good treadwear. I took the tires/wheels off when I got some higher G wheel/tires but they had lots of rubber left after about 20k miles (prob another 10-15k). I do mainly highway, high G turns, practiced maybe 150 0-60+ launches on the AVONs with lots of tire slip. And I still suck at launches.

Tire size - I put stock sized Avons on but I think I would have upped the tire size had I thought about it. The Avons have a "rim guard" lip so look much fatter than they are - they don't go into the rim. I've attached a pic since I can't explain it well. I wouldnt go too wide on them.

Good luck
aki