masphx

So one of my Hankook S1 tires has a nail in it. Discount tire says it is too low to repair so tire shopping I go.

First want to know if I can go wider on my Stock 2008 Rims. Right now the tires are at the stock 225/45-18 (Front) and 245/45-18 (Rear) and want to know what my choices are besides the stock size. If there are choices would going wider really be in my best interest. I DD the car and don't track it. Just some spirited driving here or there in Sunny Phoenix, AZ.

Second are brands. Leaning towards one of the two. Looking for better performance while keeping decent tread-ware hopefully to at least 20K miles.

Hankook V12 Evo

Bridgestone S-04 Pole

Any suggestions between the two or other tires suggestions? Most-likely making my purchase from a Discount Tire unless a better deal comes along. Will not be purchasing the road hazard warranty.

Thanks for the help.

Mason

JCITY

iTrader: (2)

I'd stay with the OEM tire size.Go with the Hankook v-12's!
If you want to go with a bit larger rubber,the following
should squeeze onto your WHEELS:
255/40/18 FRONT
275/40/18 REAR.

Spike100

Your wheels are 18x8.5” which isn’t very wide. You could go a little wider, but there isn’t much selection in 255 and 265 tires that have the correct diameter for your car.

If you want wider tires, you should invest in new wheels with greater width.

If you decide to keep the OEM wheels, you can change the handling by going wider on the front. A fun setup with stock wheels is 245/40-18” front and 245/45-18” rear. This setup reduces under-steer giving you more neutral handling. If you go with this setup, keep an eye on rear tire wear. Once the rears wear more than the fronts, you can experience over-steer (which can result in a spin).

--Spike

350ZZJoe

iTrader: (2)

I'd recommend the Hankook V12's. Used them on my last set of wheels, good DD tire. Low noise, good street grip, decent in rain. If you don't track the car and are keeping the OEM wheels, I would just recommend OEM sizes. I don't have experience running larger than OEM tires on OEM wheels so I can't really comment on that.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

i couldn't have answered it much better.

masphx

Thanks for all the great advice guys. Any info on what I can expect in terms if life for the Hankooks?

dcains

iTrader: (15)

The rears will last exactly half as long as the fronts

Spike100

^^ The Hankook V12 Evo has a very good rating for wear. In reality tire life depends upon your driving style. --Spike

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

I was getting around 25k out of V12's on my car, but alignment, local roads and driving style will determine your results. Also I ran them really low since I lived in an area of no to little rain with them.

nscheuermann

iTrader: (1)

Just put V12s on mine last week. No idea about the wear yet, but I like the tire a lot. Fairly good performance and not too expensive of a tire.

neal@tirerack

The V12's are a great dd sport tire. Decent wear for that class and very tolerable for everyday use. Unless you're pushing the car a lot or have weekend track event's planned, the S04 might be a tad overkill.

spn350z

Like Spike's 245/40-18 front 245/45-18 rear. Had great mileage from Goodyear Eagle GT on this setup but Goodyear stopped making 'em (caint locate 245/40-18 fronts). Got 'em in Nov 2010 and have over 40k miles of 20/80 mix city/highway. Done couple passes down quarter mile but no driving events. Having to experience tire feathering issue with 2003 350Z Touring 6sp looking for all season asymmetric non-directional tires with UTOG 500 A A. The Eagle GTs handled great when pushed but quiet on the commute (San Antonio-Austin 100miles) for 30k mile - just starting to get too noisy at 40k miles. Got 'bout 4/32 tread left.

Looking at replacing these with either Goodyear Eagle F1, Contis ExtremeContact DWS or Yoko YK580. Looking for commuter DD with long tread wear and excellent handling in commuter DD role (all season asymmetric non-directional tires with UTOG 500 A A).

I would look at summer tires, V12's, for driving events or autocross but not as DD since we do get cold days - teens to freezing (30's). Already had my quota of fender bender and close calls due to braking/handling of summer tires on these few cold days. Not worth doing winter/summer swaps for DD. Here in one week went form mid 60's to teens to 60s to freezing to 80s in Feb 2014!