gjalil21

iTrader: (1)

Hello all....long time/first time

I have a 2003 350z that I bought last Aug '06. I had 11500 miles and the OEM potenzas (18') or suckenzas...anyways I got up to 26000 and I finally wore out the rears and hit up tirerack to find a suitable replacement. After reading the reviews and checking back here I went with the Avon Tech m500 A/S 245/45/18. (price/performance) I had them put on 2 days ago and since then at high speeds (70+) I have an extreemly loose feeling when simply changing lanes. I feel it a low speeds aswell, just not as much. Another symptom I am having is when I am on an onramp with a slight to moderate curve, I would usually take it at 60+ with my potenzas. Being a 350z owner thats normal. Now, however with the Avon's, if i do that I can feel my TCS come on and slow my car down. If im going left then the TCS will lower my speed 5-10 mph and the car will (scarily) drift right. and vice-versa when I am going right. That combined with an extreemly loose driving experience while at higher speeds is really unsettling.

The only other modification I have made to my car recently (less than one month) are Racing Brake slotted/drilled front rotors and Hawk HPS Pads. The only reason I am saying this is because I did the rotor/pad install myself. I don't think it would cause this because this "wobbling" started immidiately after I had my new tires mounted. But I am throwing it out there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,


George Jalil

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Replace your front tires too. That sounds a lot like was my car did when i first changed rear tires , it all went away when i swapped the fronts out.

gjalil21

iTrader: (1)

even though the rears i mounted are oem sizes?

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Yup , remember the fronts are worn down a bit too.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Maybe the new tires are crap.

mcurry5

Thats funny that you called the potenza's suckenza's and now are having a lot of problems with the "better" tires you bought. HMMMM, maybe the potenza's werent that bad huh ?????

JDMFairladyZ33

iTrader: (37)

Most tire store have 30 day ride guarantees. Go back and get a better set of tires. Maybe something that'll match up better with the RE040s.

iknowitsfast

iTrader: (1)

I have the Exact same tires you do and I also purchsed them at Tire Rack.com a few months ago. I have no problems with them at all, in fact they perform better than my stock potenzas did. I also changed all four tires to Avon tech M500's w/ the stock sizes. I would purchase the two fronts as well. You shouldnt have a problem w/ them. They got good ratings from a lotta ppl. I also take my car to 80-90 often on the hwy everyday to and from work.

Ztalker

if they wobble they are crap. Common problem with a certain brand and that's from my own experience.
Check out their Generals...they are very good.

Korki Buchek

iTrader: (4)

Do the tread patterns match the potenzas? Do the sizes add up? Why not just replace the fronts too? It might be a little more money, but it will be worth it for not having to deal with the wobble. Or you could go back to potenzas on the rear.

gjalil21

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the replies.... I would match the front tires if I knew for certain that it would solve the problem. I was also wondering if this is a problem that would go away after some time. I still have at least 5-10k miles left on my fronts. It would be a shame to have to replace them so soon.

This is my first sports car and I'm in love with her... I just want to do her right, so I guess its back to www.tirerack.com for the fronts.

HyperSprite

iTrader: (6)

The second half of your symptoms sound like you are running rear tires with to short of profile. Are you in fact running 245/45/18 in the rear?

Chris

gjalil21

iTrader: (1)

I have a touring model with the oem 18"s front and back. The front tires are the oem Bridgestone Potenzas (with about 26,000 miles on them and still have a few thousand left) and the new rears are (2) 245/45ZR-18 Avon Tech M550 A/S that I got off of www.tirerack.com. If I have to buy new fronts then I will, I just want to be sure that it will solve the problem.

On another thought, I know tires like most thing having to do with a car, need proper breaking in. I have had them on for about 350 miles so far. Don't know if that makes a difference.


Thanks again to all

Ztalker

if you felt the wobbling from day one. Those new Avons could
have been the problem.
i'd return them and get all four new tires. Your pontenza front tires with 26k miles are long overdue for replacement.

gjalil21

iTrader: (1)

I felt the wobbling from day one, but only at high speeds. (90+) And the wobbling won't happen when I'm driving straight, only when changing lanes. When they were first put on (driving away from my local tire shop) the wobbling at high speeds was much wrose than it is now (350+ miles later). The wobbling is still significant. I purchased them at www.tirerack.com and I checked their return policy and they do not allow any returns on driven tires.