CK_32

iTrader: (1)

Im surprised we have so many wheel threads. But no dedicated tire thread. Most important part of a car!




Hopefully this can be a good addition to the forum and help guys looking for tires, or maybe a new set of tires.




Try to include -


Tire size:
Wheel Size: (Width and height)
Compound: (winter/track/Summer)
PSI: (What PSI you run)
Use: (Street/Drift/Grip/AutoX)
Camber/Caster:
Wet/Dry Performance:
Tire Life:


And your overall review of those specific tires.


I just want this to be a informational thread, possibly even a sticky.

MicVelo

There are "tire review threads" here; but in the couple of years I've been on my350Z.com, I don't think I've seen a single new thread on tires... like you say, it's "Always wheels, wheels and more wheels.... and then 'Hey, what SIZE tires should I run on my wheels?'" Laff...

So I think this is a pretty good idea to solicit reviews since tires are ALWAYS changing and there's always a new "secret weapon tire" lurking about.

Not taking anything from CK's great idea, I would, however, suggest a couple things on this to keep things balanced, meaningful, and relevant:

1. If you want to plagiarize from other sites, PLEASE DON'T. It's against the my350Z Terms of Use:

3.) OTHER 350Z FORUMS/SITES
You are not allowed to post links to, pictures of, or advertisements for other 350Z forums or sites, unless the topic on hand is related to the topic elsewhere, but you must link directly to the topic, not the site itself. We pride ourselves on the information available here and on our integrity. We will not be affiliated with any other forum which may have lesser standings on rules and policies. If we catch anyone spamming another site via PM or in the forums they will be banned.

This rule is in place for a number of reasons - copyright issues, information integrity, and besides all of that, information from other sites becomes more "hearsay" than actual experience. Best that any reviews or opinions expressed be directly from this forum's membership and from actual usage.

2. "Tire life" was mentioned. Good point. If you have the information on wear - how long they lasted on your car or how many miles with quantitative info, e.g., "I've gone 10k miles of easy driving, have 5/32nds left", that's extremely helpful. The more detail, the better.

3. A few other key things to include if you can:

- In addition to the tire and wheel sizes, what, if any fitment issues you may have had. Did you have to roll your lips, minus the camber, that sort of thing. Again, as much detail as you can add is helpful to people shopping.

- It's also helpful for people to know what, if any, suspension mods you have - this provides specific information about how the tire worked and with what; it also lends more validity to the stated opinion.

- Try to include the wheel offsets in addition to the size. "18x9.5 +22" Sure, that's more of a wheel thing but it's the wheel offset that can make or break whether a tire fit or it didn't.

- A little info on how you drive on the reviewed tire. "Commute on my daily", "I beat these to hell running cones in parking lots." How and where I use my tires is certainly going to differ from a highway-only commute tire, as an example.

4. Lastly, in any responses to others' reviews, please try to keep the discussion civil and positive (IOW, keep the negativity down). What works (or doesn't work) for one person is HIGHLY subjective and is their OPINION. Feel free to point out any logic flaws but no need to get ugly when you don't agree about something.... "Hey, you stop dissin' my LingLong Crosswinds! They're awesome!"

My $.02... back to you CK!

turboed350z

Ill throw in my .02 really quick. Currently have 4 set that i drive back to back so i get a good idea of how they feel.

First is the summitomo hrz2. Let me start by saying the tread pattern is sexy....and thats about thenonly good thing i have to say about it....

275f/285r and HOLY HELL the tires SUCKS in every aspect. Grip, wall flex and everything in between sucked. Would not recomend for anyone who even consider spirited driving. Tread wear isnt that great either.

Nitto nt555.

These are better. 275 all aroubd. Grip was decent. Not great just decent. However if there is even a drop of water on the road, you might was well be driving on ice. Wet traction SUCKS.

During a light drizzle, making a left hand turn, cruising speed, my car went completely sideways on these tires. Would not recomend these for anyone who has any form of wet driving involve. Just too squirmmy in the rain.

Summitomo hrz3

I went 275 all around. Went with 40 side walls. These are really great tires for the money. A bit of flex but could be taller sideway. Over all the grip is good in wet and dry. The fact that you can cross rotate, left>right&front>back make these very practical. Overall theyre solid tires. Would recomend.

Hankook evo2 v12

These, i have mix feelings about. Grip is about the same as the nittos, however they fair much better in the rain. Tires are a bit soft. Been playing with the psi a bit but havent find the right one im happy with. But then again, havent had the chance to try much. Overall im happy with these and would also recommend.

Cant really say any is my favorite since they all leave a bit to be desire, but for most daily, the hankook and summitomo hrz3 are more than enough. For performance wise, i would look elsewhere.

CK_32

iTrader: (1)

Hey feel free to edit my OP.


I like you just noticed its all wheels and hey what tires should I get. But no tire data threads to just look and say oh man those tires sound awesome lemme go check like on many other forums.


This could turn into a community thread. That's why I started it. Feel free to edit OP how you see fit. I just wanted to toss up the idea.


And yea I knew there was some forum thing about reposting info. I just remember the last motorcycle forum I was on said just be sure to give credit to source to avoid breaking those terms. Wasn't sure how it was on here.


Im all in this to get all I can from this community, and do my best to give what I can. Even if its very little

Tochigi_236

Tire size: 255/40/18f 275/35/19
Wheel Size: 18x9 and 19x10 OEM Nismo Wheels
Suspension: OEM Nismo Suspension
Compound: Summer Extreme Performance
PSI: Stock (I should know this)
Use: Street (very low street miles)/AutoX
Camber/Caster: Stock (I should know this as well)


I went with these tires mainly for AutoX, but I have ran them on the street when I take the car out. So far, I can tell that they're much more grippy than the OEM RE050a's, however, I'm still trying to find the sweet spot for tire pressure. It is my true belief, that once I get pressure down, I will see an even greater performance value from them. The RE050a ran a bit wide, so that is why I went with 255/40 and 275/35 (at stock height, no rubbing), still not a perfect match, but very close to OEM width. I haven't been out to an AutoX course yet (schedule has been crazy), but I can tell you that it takes an act of god to get these warmed up on the street. After a bit of spirited driving on the RE050a's, they would be hot to the touch, not so much with the RE-71R. I've taken them around corners it decent speeds, and have not experienced any side wall flex, they literally grip, hold, and the car pulls straight through. Based off my research, the tire life on them is not the greatest, but I fully expect that with this type of tire. I can't give much input on wet performance, I don't drive the car when the weather is bad.There have been complaints regarding tire noise, but I can't say that it has been much of as issue with me.

I will update this once I've gotten out to the next AutoX event in July.

MicVelo

If you are planning on AX, I recommend you invest in a few things:

- An accurate tire gauge
- A tire pyrometer - much trustier than using your hand to test temperature.
- A bottle of white shoe polish for the tire shoulder (see here for explanation)

The first for obvious reasons, the latter two to help you set up your pressures.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i had the hankook v12's.... i wore through them fast, thought they had too much sidewall flex, and when they get close to wear bars they got slick

also had the BFG sport comp 2's.... loved em, noticeably wider, stiffer sideway, and just as grippy


sizes - 255/40/18 front, 275/40/18 rear...... daily street driving

Spike100

You can go to sites selling tires and wheels (two come to mind) and see great comparisons (quantitative and qualitative values) on significant parameters.

SmoothZ

iTrader: (13)

QFT

However, I'll have to post up my reviews later.

AX8

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus

Rears: 225 50 ZR 17 96W
Fronts: 235 50 ZR 17 94W



Spirited 70 mile round trip daily commute only when above freezing.
75% Highway @ Hi Speeds through Heavy Interstate Truck Traffic, with a bit of backroad twisties.

'03 Touring Coupe had them on when car purchased 3 yrs ago with 42K miles, the tires looked fresh and near brand new then.
Seeking to replace now at 69K miles, so 27K miles of fun commute time in which to offer the review:

The GOOD:
Tread Wear - decent, down to 6/32 so yeah.... bout that time.
Traction - Not too bad only on a few rare occasions now that worn did they fail to grip when needed.
Wet Traction - Very little white knuckling, even at high speeds with hydroplane potential, they held OK in the heavy rains.
Snow Traction - Forget about it, moving car in driveway to shovel around it was an adventure.
Looks - Not too shabby, tread pattern OK. Ah, the "prestige" of a Michelin.

The BAD:
Sidewall Wear - cracking is heavy, evident everywhere, scary evident...
Fit - 1/8" gap between stock rim and inner bead wall groove, looks weird and wrong.
Looks - Seem a bit too weenie under the wheel wells... Oh well, it's Stock, so that is to be expected.


Hope this brief synopsis helps.

Now actively looking for Replacements, Cheap, Good High Speed Cornering, Beefy Look, Long Life...

Any recommendations in a 17" ?

The Swede

Vredestein Ultrac Vorti

Type: High/Max performance summer tire
Size: F255/35-19 R275/35-19
Wheels: F19x9.5+12 R19x10.5+12
Suspension: OEM, stock height
Camber: Stock
Tyre pressure: 40-42 PSI
Wear: I'll get back to you on that.

Pros: Grip is fantastic!
Low noise, high comfort.
Cheaper than the big boy tires.
NOT made in China, unlike everything else.

Cons: Softer sidewall - you can feel it flex a bit in sharp corners.
Can feel a bit squirmy under emergency braking (read: you're gonna hit a tree -braking) due to the softer sidewall.
Makes your car feel less powerful due to increased grip levels.
Too grippy, no more burnouts!

Fitment: My car is bone stock bar the wheels and tires (and removed trunk weight and spare). Slight rub in the rear if you go WAY too fast through a BUMPY corner or if you fill the trunk with beer and drive down the bumpiest stretch of highway known to man.

Use: Daily, groceries, roadtrips and the occasional back road blast.

Opinion/experience:
I was going to just put Pilot Super Sports on and call it a day, but then my other voice reminded me what I could do with the left over money and what I'm actually using my car for. It's a cruiser. Some fun once in a while, but mainly a cruiser.
Went the cheaper route and got some more comfortable tires, ie these.

Dry grip is amazing. Way above expectation. I have never managed to break them loose in spirited driving.
Wet grip is less amazing but still good. In heavy rain they are very progressive. When they let go (wet) it's progressive and easily controllable, allowing for some sideways action.
Quieter than the original 225/245/45 18 Potenzas even though they are wider and thinner. This is due to the softer sidewall.
At first I ran them at ~37 PSI and I could feel the sidewall flex in sharp corners at speed which felt a bit iffy but with increased pressure the flex almost disappears entirely. At 42 PSI it's no longer an issue.

They have been getting very good ratings, for instance compare the ratings here:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Vr...trac-Vorti.htm
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Mi...uper-Sport.htm


Conclusion
Very good street tire if you don't feel like you could motivate Pilot Super Sports. Quiet, comfortable and grippy.
They would probably do fine on a track (assumption) but I would recommend something stiffer for a better feel, preferrably a dedicated track tire but that's a whole other level of performance.

mignav01

My Review is on the Pirelli P-Zero non Nero, luckily I live in California aka the land of barely any rain, so I could afford to run the non all seasons.

Pros - Uber sticky tires, previously had yoko's on the car and these surpassed them greatly in all manner, except maybe drivability in the rain, but what do you expect from a summer tire. Not much road noise either.

Fitment - they were 225-35-18's in the front and 265-35-18's in the rear if I remember right, on stock 03 G35 coupe wheels, no rub at all while dropped on H&R sport or supersport springs.

Tire life - cannot really comment on how well they wore out, car was totalled about 8 days after I had them mounted.

gringott

iTrader: (17)

I have run a ton of different brands in 12 years, as I typically go through a set of rear summer tires each year and winter every two years. Fronts can last for two to three years. Right now I need a complete set of tires, after looking around I was attracted to the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500.
Firestone
Firehawk Indy 500

Front: 245/40R18
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Load Range: XL
Serv. Desc: 97W

Firestone
Firehawk Indy 500

Rear: 275/40R18
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Serv. Desc: 99W

Anybody have any experience with this tire? I understand it is fairly new to the market.
Any informed opinion welcome.

rearranged

Buy them and let us know how you like them. I've been looking at those on tirerack with curiosity myself. I've been running sumitomo htr zIII's and like how they perform for the price point. I'm changing wheels though in the spring and I'm between these two tires.

gringott

iTrader: (17)

I'll give you a head's up if I get them. Looks like I'll need winter tires first the way things are going.

Those exact sumitomo's are what I have on the rear right now. They didn't hold up very well for me. They were cheap if I remember correctly.

MicVelo

Just put on a new set of Sumitomo HTR-Z-III 18s on my car and ran them yesterday for the first time after an easy ~500 mile break-in. (When I say "ran them", that means "what they were intended for". )

255/40-18 F 36psi
275/40-18 R 34psi
18x9.5 +15 RPF1 (all around)

Short commentary here:

https://my350z.com/forum/2003-2009-n...l#post10829912

rizeld

iTrader: (2)

Tire size: 245/40/18, 275/35/18

Wheel Size: 18x8, 18x9

Compound: Summer

PSI: cold approx 26-28

Use: street/track

Camber/Caster: approx -2

Wet/Dry Performance: wet is okay for the street, never been on the track wet. Dry is surprisingly good, great for daily and I give 7/10 for track use for HPDE for lower groups.

Tire Life: Approx 10k+ miles on the street and 6 track days with about 1/3 life left.


And your overall review of those specific tires- If I was going to continue to daily the Z and just run HPDE's for fun I would order another set. These are priced right most of the time. But looking to get faster and into the next level so its time to move up.

AX8

Yes, I'm Quoting myself.. I need 17" tires - what recommendations do you have ?

Cheap, $600 tops for a set of 4 is beudgeted.
I drive in Summer and Rain - not in snow and mud.
Thanks in advance... I'll patiently await all replies...

No_name

Presuming you stick with same sizes...TR has both the CONTI EXTREMECONTACT DW (<-- on closeout pricing) and SUMITOMO
HTR Z III well under your budget. Here's a link

Sunset350ZR

iTrader: (6)

Tread depot has Cooper Zeon RS3-A set for 400 plus shipping.

As for me:
275/40 18R, 245/40 18F
34 psi R/32 psi F
Suspension Nismo S-tune w Hotchkis sways
Type: Summer Performance
Grip: Best set I have had on car yet in wet or dry and cold
Compared to: Nitto NT01 wore to fast and scary in rain, Toyo T1S to much sidewall flex, REO50A Bridgestones hated in rain, and other tires spread over 2 350Z and 100k miles or so
Driving Style: Aggressive with occasional Dragon Runs