Hey guys, just wanted to know some opinions on which tire would have better grip, I'm mainly interested in straight line stuff at this moment.

245/45z18 Hankook v12 on 35th an. wheels
235/50z17 Bridgestone Potenza on 05z wheels

 

The wider tire will grip more..I know that sounds pretty crazy!

 

Not necessarilly. The widths are pretty close. Close enought to say that the softest tire will grip better. Look for the UTCQ treadwear rating. The lower the number the better it weill grip.

 

Arg! I guess I'm actually going to have to test each of them out to come up with an accurate answer! Thanks for your inputs though!

 

..I dunno if you were trying to be sarcastic with that response?

 

Of course. You could have a 235 Michelin PS2 grip much better than a 245 Firestone..

I was just assuming all else was the same..

 

Wider does not necessarily grip better.

Depends on which potenzas you are asking about. the original re040's are pretty crappy and don't grip very well.

The RE050a's are MUCH grippier the the 040

I have never tried Hankook tires though.

 

I assume this is the Potenza RE050? Excellent tire.

 

Naw.. Actually, I have the RE040's..

When I first installed these temporary wheels on my Z when they stoled my originals I noticed that these were all over the road.. but my hankook aren't much better compared to the Potenza my car originally came with. I bought these for durability, not much performance since when I rebought the 08 wheels for my car with Potenza's they only lasted me 20K miles..

Hankook V12 280 thread wear 245/45z18
Bridgestone Potenza 140 thread wear (RE040) 235/50z17

 

I've made an observation over my tire buying days that treadwear ratings are almost useless. all those ratings on the side of the tire are. really the only way to know how much grip a tire is going to have it to drive on it. or you can trust your interweb friends here @ my350z....