bought the car used, has the stock bridgestones on it. the front are fine, probably have another good 15,000 more miles of use to get out of them. The rear are in need of replacements but I dont want to spend $230 per tire. Found a tire on tirerack.com with good reviews from people with 350z's and they are about $140 each which I am fine with.

These are the tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ing=Y&minLoad=

let me know what you think of these tires. my main question is does the difference in tread pattern matter all that much. i know its ideal but whats ur take on it

 

those are pretty good street tyres but they dont grip that well both in dry/wet. above the average, but not like other tyres in the same group, will last longer though.

try good year gsd3's, they got softer sidewall but they grip better both in dry and wet.. i believe the price is in the same range also.

 

Ideally you want to run the same tires all the way around. If you are unable to you need to keep the same tires on the same axles. When matching different tires you need to do the following:

1) Match same speed rating
2) Match same type of tread pattern
3) Try and get the compound (tread wear) as close as possible

Many tires out there with the same spec may be slightly different because certain brands and models have different characteristics. The stock RE040s are known to be a bit stiffer on the sidewalls. Ideally you dont want to match them up with brands such as Toyos because the tread rating on the R1s are around 260 and the sidewalls are softer.

 

how about these as well:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=Tech+M500

pretty good wet condition review which is important. I live in the northeast and we get our fair share of rain up until June. They are a lil bit more expensive but for a much better wet rating i think its worth it. Tread pattern is the same as the stock bridgestones, 8.2. Opinions?

 

yay.....nay?

 

No. You can mix and match as you please.

Second to the driver, tires are the most important performance and safety component. I recommend that you do not put budget tires on a high performance sports car.

 

I just had to replace my rear OEM's, the stock front's are in great shape. I bought the Bridgestone RE960AS Ultra High Performance All seasons. They ahve the same speed and temp rating, but do have a different tread pattern. What would be the bad side effects of doing that?

 

I think I understand your thoughts: I hate replacing a tire when it has a good amount a tread, but do not want to buy OEM tires with minimal ratings just to match what I already have on the car.

I've mixed fronts and rears, and have never liked the results. I kept within the appropriate parameters (ultra-summer performance tire standards on all four corners, similar tread design, etc.), but there always seems to be an issue when mixing different tires (front to rear). I should also say that I am willing to buy expensive tires. I only mention this because you express a desire to purchase lower-cost tires.

The Dunlop DZ101 you reference have more flexible sidewalls than the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE040's you have on your front. You will likely notice a very slightly "wiggly" rear-end movement. It probably is no risk for driving the car safely, but it definitely diminishes the handling experience you want with the Z.

--Spike

 

Avon's are noisy and wear quickly. Not a good choice unless you are attempting to match wear to your existing fronts with a plan to replace all four in the near future (i.e., you want to "burn" your semi-worn fronts with cheap new rears with the idea that all get replaced near the same time with good tires).

--Spike

 

Man, I'm always going to have front & back the same. Nutty not to on a high speed ride like the Z. Only exception would be if I was a car guy who really understood car dynamics and tire technonogy. Latter ain't me!

 

I thought being the same make, ratings etc it wouldn't be a problem, but I have noticed a wierd feeling to the front tires at higher speeds.

Also driving on side streets the road seemed to "grab" my car a few times and make the steering wheel want to follow some very slight variation in the road.

Wasn't sure if it was the tread difference or accidentally putting the left front tire on the right and vice versa(with the feathering issues I've heard it can make the handling seem weird if you swap them)

 

+1. I mean... Why buy a great handling car as is the Z, and then install cheap tires? That seems foolish to me. My opinion is that when you wear-out the OEM ("wood-stiff" sidewall, loud, and poor wet-gripping) Bridgestone Potenza RE040, you replace these with really good tires. Good tires make a huge difference. The Z is an entirely different car when you replace the tires.

--Spike

 

There's a huge difference between the OEM RE040s and the RE960AS. First of all the RE960AS are true all season tires as the AS indicates. Second, the tread pattern is not as aggressive as the RE040s. It's a system of checks and balances between a performance tread pattern and one that's designed for serveral different weather conditions. Right off the bat you can tell the RE960AS's tread blocks are smaller (This reducing the true contact patch area) and the side shoulders are narrower. This will affect your grip and lateral performance. The compound of the RE960AS is more than likely much harder thus reducing the linear grip cpabilities because of the higher tread wear rating at 400 vs. the RE040's 140. Rule of thumb is the lower the number the softer and "stickier" the tires but shorter in life span usage. The RE040s can be considered a true performance tire and the RE960AS not. With that said, the RE960AS is a much better wet weather traction tires because it is designed with more water channeling grooves as well as displacement sipes. IMO this is not a very good match between the two.

 

+1

Same here. I installed Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 245/45-18" on the rear (replacing my worn rears) running with OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE040 225/45-18" on the front. That wasn't a good combination. Installing the same brand/type tires on the front (Eagle F1 GS-D3 245/40-18") fixed a problem and made the car handle so much better.

I'm with your principle: I do not have the resources to test front to rear combinations for differing tires, so the best way I see doing this is running the same tire (front to rear).

--Spike

 

He said the performance was rated higher on the RE960's AA rating as opposed to A rating of the RE040's. I can tell the new rears tires seem to grip the road better even in dry pavement than the OEM's. However, as I mentioned earlier, the car seems very squirley at times, almost grabbing the wheel out of my hands if it hits some variations in the road. Fortunately they have a 30 day trial period so I am going to go ahead and swap them out for new OEM's.

It was worth a shot, but thanks for the help guys, I just wanted to make sure it really was the combination and not just me imagining things.

I will never make that mistake again. It totally ruins the thrill of the car.

 

The new tires seems to grip better because it's new rubber to the ground. Once they get worked in you'll see what I am talking about. AA and A rating on traction doesn't mean a lot because the ratings are not regulated. Tread patterns don't lie. Based off the characteristic of the 2 tires it's pretty cut and dry these are 2 very different tires. I wouldn't put my money in the words of a salesman. Many times they don't know the product that they are selling.

 

Actually the reviews I read online were very favorable, especially regarding traction, they said the only thing it gave up was a little more flex in the sidewalls on cornering. This would probably be my biggest gripe with the new ones if I had a full set. I like the very rigid no flex feel of the OEMS in cornering.

I have never been a big fan of the OEM's dry and especially wet grip capabilities. If I had the money to replace all four I would probably like these just fine, but mixing definitely doesn't work. I hate to send them back, but thank God for the trial period or I'd be screwed. My Blizzak winters tires handle better than this mix and match pair.

 

There's a big difference between wet traction, dry traction, and lateral traction. Just looking at the RE960's tread pattern you know it's going to loose out to the RE040s in dry and lateral movement. The OEMs suck bad in wet weather traction, but that is the nature of the tread design. It is not an all season tire. It's kind of like selecting a home theater system. You can have a system that performs well for movie but don't expect it to be the same for music. You're going to loose a little of the other when you go each direction. I'm not saying the RE960's are bad tires. The reviews are actually pretty good. My whole point, and you've probably already noticed, is that there are better matches to the OEMs. And you are right, the sidewalls are not going to be the same. Also, there's a staggering difference between a 400 traction compound vs. a 140. Why do you think R compound tires are so sticky? It's because they are rated at 80 or lower.

 

The compound difference alone should have let the guy know not to mix them. I was the one that noticed they were All Season tires and not summer performance tires. I shouldn't have bought them, since I already knew not to mix winter and regular tires, so the same principal should apply with A/S as well.

At least I get to return them and only lose the $28 it cost to mount them.

Thanks for the help!