Apreciate the responses on the Toyos. I'm currently running the T 1Rs and have been quite happy with them. Their weakness seems to be soft sidewall & lateral traction....which I don't care about since I don't run at the edge of traction limits anyway.

Looks like I picked the right tire for how I drive. The Toyos have been quiet, give a smooth ride, and wet/dry traction has been fine for me. I've yet to come close to breaking them lose.

 

You make a good point there. I like to drive at a reasonable speed anyway. I'm never on a racetrack. I can't afford the insurance if I get a ticket.

I guess now I have a couple more things to look at. I didn't realize it was pretty much open as to the size you choose to use. All I know right now is that the rear tires are bigger than the front tires. I think I remember seeing 245/something on the back tires. I don't know what the fronts are. I guess it's handling pretty well with what it has now so I might just retain it's current settings. If anybody can shed some light on what is recommended for just riding around town looking cool let me know because that's what i'm most interested in

 

One reason I chose the Toyos is they come in OEM sizes. Not being a "car guy" I wanted to stick with the same sizes as OEM tires (I know they will work with VDC, TPS, etc). You can find the tire sizes in the center console.

Toyo & michelin PS2s come in OEM sizes....at least for my 03.

 

Thanks alot. You've been very helpful. I will try that route. Gonna grab a drink after work so it looks like I may not get to the tire store, yet again, but that will give me some time to do my research online.

 

This is a very good thread since it has lots of information backed by personal experience. I would like to add some other comments.

When you buy your Z new, you get all new tires. The same case is buying four new tires. Since the car is RWD, in this scenario the normal wear happens faster on the rears than on the fronts. If you mount four new tires (same brand) close to Nissan's recommendation (which is staggered width-wise and height-wise front to rear), you start with under-steer (fronts are more narrow front-to-rear), go to neutral-steer as the rears wear faster than the fronts (and therefore, have less grip than the fronts), and finally end up with over-steer (if you allow the rears to wear too much when compared to the wear on the fronts).

I believe that many of the "wrecked my Z" stories we read here are due to overly worn rear tires resulting in over-steer (and rotation) that most casual drivers are unable to handle. Worn front tires can also cause a problem when the driver isn't able to turn-in (and "over-corrects" by turning more than they should).

Mixing tires (brands) complicates this problem. Mixing tires (brands) front-to-rear is a natural choice since you want to "try" a different tire than what you already have on your car (and either your fronts or rears are not worn-out yet, and you don't want to waste a perfectly good tire). But.. different tires/brands have very different characteristics. And... that is why people are disappointed in their tire selection (at best), or end up in a wreck (at worst).

--Spike

 

I was at the tire shop this afternoon and the guy said that with Toyos if the car is perfectly aligned you'd be lucky to get about 12,000 miles. He also said that if the alignment is out of spec at all you can expect to need new tires in six to nine months.

Is this accurate? Toyo guys how long do they last?

 

That's hard to say because it depends on your driving habits and many other factors. I think however based on the mileage I've gotten so far on my Toyos, about 8.5k miles, I'm going to get a lot more than 12k miles down to the wear bars. Based on wear I'm measured at now I think if I really want to go the distance I can get between 15k-20k miles. You have to remember Toyo's compound is pretty hard for performance tires rated at 280 vs. 160 for the OEM RE040s.

 

I've got around 16,000 miles on my T 1Rs with at least anonther 10,000 of tread left.

I do keep the tires inflated at around 35 PSI. At the cost of these puppies, I'm pleased to have the TPS.

 

Well put. I think I am going to bite the bullet and get all four changed at once. Not only will it keep me safe, there is something nice about knowing your car is performing at its best. I might as well get it running nice and smooth here at the beginning at least. This thread has been very informative. I'm enjoying my new membership on this forum. It gives me something to look forward to every couple hours at work. If I can't be driving my Z, at least I can be talkin' about it. Thanks er' body

 

I've put about 3500 miles on a set of stock sized Toyo T-1Rs and am very pleased with them. They do have a softer wall on them than the stock potenzas but who cares. To me it's worth going for a little comfort because I don't drive the **** out of my car the whole time I'm in it. The T-1R is by no means a "sloppy tire" as some here have reported. Does anyone know how long the T-1R has been out? It seems that a few people have already had them on, wore them out, and moved on to bigger and better. I thought it just came out last year.

 

UTGA treadwear ratings are only a guideline and can't always be trusted for comparison between to brands. Its kind of like comparing the results from two different dynos.

+1 on the 15k-20k life tho (just a guess)

 

While that is very true the tread compound between these two tires are so different that any discrepancy between the two ratings will be obsolete. You can use the UTGA as a guild. The RE040s are much softer than the Toyos and this is evident in it's dry traction and low treadwear (tire life).

 

I read a few reviews about the Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. I wonder if anyone has any experience with this. It looks like the only Bridgestone for All-Season use. I know it never rains here, but I like to be on the safe side.

 

I don't have personal experience with this model but rule of thumb with tread design is that the more AS a tire is the less performance you'll get out of them. Vice versa the other way. The more aggressive a tread pattern the less wet weather and AS capability it has. Why do you think F-1 teams complained when they were forced to go with grooved tire applications vs. true slicks a few years back due to rain accidents during the race. But All in all if you are going to shell out the $$ for the RE960AS you might as well take a look at the Michelin PS2s as well.

 

I personally love Michelins.

 

Me too. I switched every car my family owns to Michelins. Those French people sure know how to make tires. I'll be switching to PS2s once I burn out these Toyos...they were cheap though.

 

I have RE960AS on my OEM wheels. They're my winter wheels. They work great in a few inches of snow and on ice. Lots of people told me the car would be impossible to drive in the snow, but I was very comfortable with it once I got these tires on.

Today was my first experience with the Goodyear Eagle F1's in the rain. They grip very well. I don't think the RE960AS would gain you that much more in the rain. Looking at the survey results on tirerack.com, the RE960AS score 9.2 in the rain while the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's score 9.1. Then again they both score 9.2 for dry traction, yet my reaction to the Goodyears has been "holy **** do these things grip!" I didn't have the same reaction to the RE960AS (I did in the snow though! Wow, that was a lot of fun!!).

All-season tires make a number of compromises. They have to work in both hot and cold weather, so they're not as good at very hot or very cold temperatures. Summer tires suck in the cold, as the rubber hardens up and they loose a lot of their grip. If you're not driving in the winter, then don't bother with an all-season tire. If you drive all year round, and only have one set of wheels, then all-seasons are a decent compromise.

Tread design seems to play a bigger role in how good a tire is in the wet than whether or not the tire is 'all-season'.

 

Why are you shopping for all-season tires if you're from los angeles? A good summer tire will suit you just fine all year long.

 

That's one good thing about living in atlanta. At least I don't have the snow to contend with

 

I'm vaguely contemplating moving back to seattle. But I probably won't. So you're right, summer tires are it.