04 enthusiast here
I am at 13k miles and no problems whatsoever out of my Z. Gonna have to get new tires fairly soon though, and I was wondering what you guys think the best bang for the buck is. A girl i work with has a G35 and said her stocks to replace were 1200 bucks!! Sounds really high. Anyway, I dont want a set of 4 POS but I definitely dont need the best thing money can buy or somehting as expensive as Michelin or Pirelli. Anyway, what do you all think? STay with bridgestone potenzas? Toyo? Thanks

 

www.tirerack.com

 

i have these in there rear and love them to death. i cant wait to get the fronts.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

 

i will have mine stock tires replaced with z rated falkens for $100 a piece balanced, installed and tax included.

 

Thats because she is a dumb girl and went to the dealer.

BFG KDW have been good for me. Got em off tirerack.

 

BF Goodrich KDW-2's are great if you sometimes have to drive on wet roads. Excellent wet/dry traction. Got mine from the tirerack and they were great.

 

doesnt the warranty void if u DONT take it to the dealership? my friend with his g35 was told that by his dealership... ?

 

Whatever you do, run same brand & pattern front & back.

 

NO...they want you to go to them so you spend the $$$$. as long as the maint' is taken care of and records are kept, it is all gravy. my understanding is that by law they cannot void a warranty if the maint is kept up with proper records.


tommy

 

Recommendations from Consumer Reports.

Tires are the most important safety and performance feature of the 350Z. The car deserves performance tires. Expect to spend about $800.

 

whats that #1 tire?? i can barely see it...hehe

 

My friend has the eadle f1's on his car and they are amazing. They have amazing grip to start with, and only lose about 5% of thier grip in the rain. He scared the hell out of me the first time we drove on wet roads because he drives it just as hard as in the dry, and the tires were amazing.

 

ur right about that LOL!!! BUWHAHAHAHA!!

 

I'm running on KDW-2's myself. Love them so far, will go to my first couple of auto-x's this weekend on them. I got them because my rears were worn out after 13.5k miles to replace just the two rear tires would've been close to $500... all foud KDW-2's in the stock size were just under $700 shipped.

 

What is the rule of thumb for replacing the tires?....mine are 13.4 k and seem fine while driving but the tread does look pretty worn down. They are definitely not bald but i guess they all look that way even to start because they are low profile

 

There are bumps in the tread that if you can feel, its getting close. I belive there are also measurement tools.

 

Yes, the wear bars in between the tread indicate when it is time for a change. As far as measurement tools, the old-school (read: not the best way, but it will do) is to stick a penny in the main groves upsidedown and if the tread is higher than the top of Lincoln's head you are still good.
For the record, the Hankooks aren't bad, but I find them a bit unpredictable if you are a Z driver who likes to get sideways.

 

What about upsized tires? (245/40-18 and 275/40-18)? KDW2 is not available in that size. Oh, and I don;t care about wet traction; I never drive my Z in the rain. I want max performance street tire for dry traction WITHOUT breaking the bank (under $1k installed).

Also, are there other brands that Tirerack does not carry I should be looking at (and where?).

 

I have falken azenis 615's all around and I must say in the dry these tires are insane. In the wet, totally different story.

 

There are a couple of indicators:

Checking with the head of a penny
Looking for wear bar stripes
Even a special tool for measuring tread depth.

The problem is that tires that look good can be dangerous in the rain. Generally, if you are questioning your current tires, you probably need new tires.