So after thinking about a new tire for the Nismo I chose the Continental Extreme Contact DWS. Front 265/35-18 and rear 285/40-19. Have had them for about 2 months now and have run them in all types of weather including several snow storms. Amazingly enough these actual work pretty well in snow (2-4 inches) with an additional 250 lbs of weight over the rear axle in the hatch and a full tank of gas of course.

Overall I'm happy with the choice but the sidewall is a bit softer than the OEM tires so quick lane changes don't feel as crisp. Then again everything with respect to tires is a compromise in one way or another and the ability to drive in the snow without a dedicated snow tire is a big plus when you live in snowy country.

I also do like that the new tire sizes fill out the wheel wells just a little bit more than the originals.

Cheers

 

I also got a set of these last year being that NY normally gets a lot of snow. I wanted to see how they would perform, so maybe I wouldn't have to use another car or get another set of wheels/tires. However, we only got snow once in the past four months here, but they performed well in the few inches of snow we did have.

Like you said, they aren't dedicated summer tires and will not perform as such, but I can deal with that because they look to be lasting well after 10k miles. So far, I'm happy with them and assuming I can get 30-40k miles out of them, it was definitely worth the $.

Btw I'm running 245/35-18 and 275/30-19

 

You should have stuck with 285/35/19. .. 40 in the back is to much with a 285 by the way

 

I must be a bit dyslexic.

You are right the sizes I put on are really:
Front: 265/40-18
Rear: 285/35-19
Which gives a 1.89% between wheels and .499 inch stagger between front to back.

The stock ones where:
Front: 245/40-18
Rear: 265/35-19
Which gives a 2.23% between wheels and .587 inch stagger between front to back.

http://www.anycalculator.com/tiresize.htm

BTW my ultimate tire choices were a bit wider than I would've liked for snow driving but when I chose the tires I was also looking for a bit taller side wall to give the front splitter a little more ground clearance and with my tire choice I picked up about .3 inches above stock. I was also pretty intent on not changing the car dynamics by not very much hence trying to match the stagger and the % difference between wheels.

 

Have you had any problems with your TCS as your % difference is pretty close to the recommended 3%?

 

Have a lot of happy G/350Z owners using those tires right now. Great wet traction, snow is best in its class, decent dry, etc. Overall a nice way to go.

 

Rarely. I've only had it happen when making sharp turns in 1st/2nd gear and it is not all the time. If I take the turns slower I do not have a problem.

 

thanks for the feedback, these are what I'll be getting in a few weeks time when I put the wheels/suspension on!

 

I have had these tires on my car over a year now. It's the longest running tires I have had on my car. I have gone through the original Potenzas on stock rims, and Toyo T1Rs (2 sets), T1Ss, Kumos, and now the Continentals. So far they have lasted the longest. Will be my next tire whenever the time comes. I believe they have a 50k warranty

 

Good to know--thanks.

 

So what size are you running in the back and how do they hook up with all the added hp your car has?

 

275/35/19 in the rears and 245/35/19 in the front

have not had issues with tires slipping. They will slip and grab when i punch it. They aren't very loud (road noise) like the Kumos i had. Grip was better with Toyos, but Toyos only lasted 10-12k miles.

 

Tires look huge from those pics, I had 285/35/19 on stock rears and they weren't nearly that meaty looking.

 

I had these (245/45 r18) on the rear of my z a few years ago and ended up taking them back. They had amazing traction but felt a little too squishy when I would take turns or make a quick lane change at 60+mph. Anyone else have that issue with them or could I have just gotten a pair with sidewalls that were messed up?

 

285/40-19.

You selected some unusual tire sizes. Actual speed 100.0 MPH. Speedometer will read 94.02 MPH. Wow that is way off.

 

I really like Continental DWS...

https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...ntact-dws.html

I've had them on a while now and have put on soem miles since posting the above thread, and the tread wear is excellent. --Spike

 

If you are referring to my first post (which I corrected a little further down) I mistakenly wrote 285/40-19 but meant 285/35-19 which only gives me a 92 mph indicated at 90 mph actual.

 

bena1916, I like the Continental Extreme DWS. The sizing you selected looks great on your car. Thanks for posting the nice pics.

I agree with your comments. The Continental Extreme DWS is a great A/S tire. It’s not a summer performance tire (sidewalls are very flexible/wiggly), but very close to a snow tire (but not matching the great characteristics of a studless snow tire).

It’s the best performing A/S tire substituting for a “summer performance” tire that also works very well for winter driving. --Spike

 

^thanks