I pick up my Z next week.
It has two balding front tires on it.

the car is mint except the original owner put on 2 rear tires in Jan, and didnt do the fronts, now I am going to need fronts badly so I went today and ordered them and set up an appointment so after I get the car, the next morning I am first in the shop and get the fronts done.

I didnt have enough after paying tax, taxes, the car, reg etc.. to just do all 4 so I had to get the two I needed for now.

The thing is the tires the original owner used are now not available for the fronts, so I went with another tire, similar tread.

I bought the Dunlop, DLP DIREZZA DZ 101 in stock size for the front.

The tires the guy put on in Jan are in god shape, but I am going to wait a month and then add new rears to match these new fronts so I am all new and the same going into the summer, I will save the rears for a spare tire or something, I dont really just yet.

I figure at least I will have good rubber on from day 1 and I wont do much driving for the first month anyway as I recoupe some cash and get ready for some road trips, so I will just add it to my budget for the car and bite the bullet next month.

Compared to the tires he had put on in Jan, the Nexun 3000 how did I do, would you say the Dunlops are equal in ride and traction and grip?

I would like to get some wheels this summer but I want to stay as close to stock as I can, maybe a little wider if I can but the same height profile, but thats another story.


Lump

 

Hi Lump… I assume you meant the Nexen N3000. These will be fine with the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 tires you purchased for the front. Both are summer performance tires. You can switch brands as long as you remain inside the same class of tires (i.e., don’t run A/S tires with summer performance tires).

The Dunlops you bought are better than the Nexens, but II would run the Nexens until they are worn out.

--Spike

 

Thank you Spike,
I appreciate your input.

I was only thinking if I run the nexens til they are ready to be changed, then I will be in the pattern of buying two at a time all the time, where if I just get two rear tires a month from now of Dunlops, maybe I can do all 4 next time and not feel like I am wasting money.

I didnt buy the Nexens so...
Anyway I appreciate it, so much to think about and learn as far as wheels and tires go, so for now I just want good rubber while I sort it all out.

I would like to get a nice set of wheels but very close to stock size when I do so I can still run stock sizes or close on tires.

Lump

 

It’s difficult if not impossible to set a buying cycle so that you are two tires for each purchase. In fact I’ll bet that somewhere down the line you will replace perfectly good tires to change sizes (most likely to go bigger) or simply to rid yourself of some poor handling tires. Also, the Z’s rears will wear faster than the fronts; it’s impossible to “timetable” the wear rate since it depends upon many factors (e.g., driving patterns, tire composition, etc.).

The driving experience of performance cars (as is the Z) is greatly influenced by tires. I’ve swapped out tires simply to experiment with something different.

--Spike

 

I decided to try the Bridgestone Potenza S-04 pole position all the way around, they have been great tires!

 

Don't forget that the rears will wear out a lot faster than the fronts because the rears are the driven wheels, depending on how you drive the car will depend on how long your rears will last. As Spike has mentioned you're going to have to do a lot of miles before you can work out any form of wear cycle and because the 350Z runs different sizes front to rear its not like you can swap them over, unless when you buy your new wheels you buy a square set up. Just drive it, enjoy it and replace as necessary.

 

yeah, you guys are right.

Well, I am going to try and by 4 each time to keep them the same, in this case they couldnt get me the nexens anymore so I will have new nexens on the back and new dunlops in the front.

Since the nexens are new, I wont replace them until they are worn, I am sure my first set of tires on the Z are going to go pretty fast, lol, matter of fact I know they will.
So when I go to buy rears later this summer I will get the matching tires to the fronts since I am guessing they will be pretty good still in a perfect world.
If the fronts are 50% or more worn then I will go all four.

The guy at the tire shop today showed me some crazy looking performance tires that are directional and just look awesome, they were a little more money and I just didnt have it on me in cash so I opted to wait and do more research before I go buying a tire that looks cool and not know anything about it.

I am def not going to change the tire/wheel size for the look, I might if there were a significant performance gain to be had, but I am not taking the car to the track, ever, it is my toy, daily driver if I want, and to go on trips with my wife.
I want rims but the same size or very similar so they can take stock tires and not mess with the way the car drives in any way.

Thanks again for the info
Lump

 

Our platform is notorious for the front lower control arm bushings going out and the tires will both wear unevenly in the front as well as wear fast

I would take an opportunity to have them inspected so that this is not the case with your car