Can you run the same size tires front and rear on the Z with VDC and ABS?

I have seen a few people that said yes with no problems. They took the rear tires on a touring 6mt model and put them on the front to run on street and autox with no problems from VDC or ABS.

So if you could do this it would provide many benefits:
1. Neutralize some of the understeer on the car by increasing front tire size to match rear.

2. Allow you to rotate the tires front and back or even side to side if your tires are non-directional. That would greatly extend tire life.

Any input?

 

my track tires are 274/40-17 front and rear... with that much tread up front, I experience less understeer. And, my track tires last a little longer because I can rotate them.

I don't think I'd do it on the street... I'd run the correct stagger.

Hope that helps,

PeteH

 

My race tires are 265/35-18 on all four corners. I AutoX with VDC off, but I drive to and from events on the race tires and I have not had any problems with ABS or VDC. However, I am not pushing the car on the way to or from events. I did do a test drive on the twisty roads near my house when I first got the tires, and everything worked fine for me, but I don't know how it would go in your situation.

My street tires are 245/40 in front and 245/45 in back. It helps the understeer but still can't rotate the tires. Might be a good compromise for the street.

-D'oh!

 

Everything I've read says no and that you must maintain the stagger. On stock 18s I would run 245/40/18 front and 255/45/ rear. You maintain the stagger, put a larger tire in back, and greatly reduce the understeer. JMO.

Also, directional tires, are performance tires, and we have sports cars. I don't think we want to compromise the handling of our machines with A/S non-directional tires. Again, JMO.

Lou

 

Per DiscountTireDirect

"NO LESS THAN 1/2 INCH AND NO MORE THAN 3/4 OF AN INCH HEIGHT DIFFERANCE BETWEEN FRONT AND REAR TIRE SIZE FOR ABS BRAKE SYSTEM/TRACTION CONTROL"

Source: https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=37901

 

The stock stagger difference between front and rear on an 18" wheeled car is 1". 25.7" front and 26.7" rear.

Lou

 

One last thing:

Directional tires are set up that way primarily for wet weather performance (specifically hydroplane resistance).

I saw a test in Grassroots motorsports where they autoX'd with directional tires mounted in reverse on a wet course (no standing water though) and got just about the same performance as they did with the tires mounted correctly.

Therefore, you probably won't notice much of a performance difference if you put the tires on backwards, unless you hit a puddle and go sliding off the road. This time of year is probably not the best time to perform further testing with respect to that theory, though.

-D'oh!

 

I have been running the same size tires front and rear at the AutoX for about a month, and have noticed several times that I have had the ABS come on during extreme breaking, maybe once per run. I don't remember this happening on the OEM tires however I might not have been using all the brakes when I was first starting out. I plan to use the correct stagger on my next set of tires.

Hope this helps.

 

I have heard of a decent number of G owners that run the same front and back with no ill effects (snow tires), but I personally would not recommend it. That slight chance that there could be a problem still sticks in my head.