Thought I'd drop another quick tire comparo since it's all fresh of mind, my having gone back to another set of wheels/tires and can make a honest appraisal.

Just removed from car:

Nissan LMGT5 (Z34 Nismo) 19x9.5 (run at +20 offset with 20mm spacers, 19x10.5 +23 natural


Toyo Proxes 1 Tires(NOT to be confused with the Proxes T1 or R1 series) 255/35-19F 285/35-19R




Put back on car:
Volk SF Winning 19x9.5 +19 natural F, 19x10.5 +9 (run with +20mm spacers) R





Bridgestone S04 Pole Position 245/35-19F, 275/35-19R



Note: all tires F&R were run at 40PSI for the sake of comparison.

My Subjective (but with an eye on objectivity ) Findings (after 6-800 miles on each set.) - And it should be noted, this applies to me and my driving. YMMV.

Ultimate Grip: roughly the same between the two sets. However, I give the Bridgestones the edge on wet roads. Frankly, the Toyos never quite inspired confidence in the wet for me. I don't push hard in wet but just the same, I felt more reserve left with the Bridgestones.

Turn-in/Steering Response: Hands down, the Bridgestones beat the Toyos in every situation from high speed corners, low speed corners, average city driving. The turn-in response of the S04s is razor sharp comparatively.

Conversely, while the Toyos were not terrible, they felt somewhat dead and vague on center. Also, they tramlined rather obviously. If you've read my previous "tire tests", you'll recall I am very big on steering response! So much so that I'll trade off some ultimate grip for higher steering response with quick reactions to both steering input and recovering the car if I happened to go in too hot. I want correction and I want it NOW.

Comfort: No question, Bridgestones win again. I thought it was my imagination when I put this set of Nismo wheels on with the Toyos and the car felt rough, choppy, and just plain not-so-comfortable. They did NOT like potholes. Not that any do but these were rather unsettling.

I first thought it was the weight of the wheels but then remembered the Volks and the Nismos are roughly the same weight (~22lbs average F to R) so I don't think that was the issue. Also, both sets of wheels are of forged construction with the Volks being modular (two-piece, with a barrel and separate face.) Overall, couldn't really point the blame at the wheels so left with the conclusion that it is more likely the tires.

Also worth noting that this is my third set of LMGT5 wheels, one set on my Z34N (not a fair comparison), but, another previous set with a set of Kumho PS91s (most comfortable tire, side by side with all tires I've run) on my 33 and do not recall any comfort issues. So, again, I believe it fair to point the finger at the tires only.

Bottom Line

Strong recommendation for Bridgestone Pole Position S04. Good news is that these are still sold in a wide variety of sizes including stock sizing up to some bloater sizes over 300mm.

Ho-hum recommendation for the Toyo Proxes 1. (Pretty obvious if you read the above.) The good news is you needn't worry about comparing because it's a discontinued tire. But, if you don't care about anything above, a few sizes are still offered at closeout prices. (As of this writing.)

So, just as a parting "disclaimer": I no longer sell tires so have no skin in the game of comparing tires; just something done for kicks. Also, I have had 3-4 sets of the Bridgestone S04 PPs before and still have another set on my S-Tune wheels and that's a killer combination in all aspects! Just hope this helps someone down the road when choosing their rubber, THE key factor in handling!

Left with a rack o'Niz wheels (and a few more sets of others for the Z and my other cars)....

Note: May be selling the Z34 Nismo wheels/Toyo tire combination; but this in no way constitutes an offer to sell since I was brutally truthful with my opinion. Laff....

 

Your review with the S04's is spot on. Feel the same way with my set and you were correct a year ago when you said i would enjoy them.

 

Aren't the LMGT5 the wheels on the rack? I like S-04s but I think the supersports are more of my kind of tire, lighter, softer and still grip like a ****. Wish they had S-04s in my sizes so I could have options.

 

LMZ5 (Z34 S-Tune accessory wheels) on top, LMGT5 (Z34N wheels) bottom of rack.

I love Michelin PS but during the time I spent far too much money on whills & tahrs every few months, the price of Michelins was way out of line and I liked to experiment with various others and happy to say that I have no regrets replacing my original Michies with many other solid Max and Extreme Perf tires, some priced way less (like half the price), e.g., Kumho PS91, Sumitomo HTRZ-3, etc. (both of which behaved amazingly).

 

Hi Mic. Thank you for the informative tire review. I completely agree with your analysis and like your comparison points. One thing I really like about Bridgestone Pole Position is the stiff sidewalls. This tire really feels secure during hard-cornering.

 

Ok, cool. I love Bridgestone, I've been wanting to try advan tires for a while but they never have the sizes I need. Michelin almost always have the sizes I want, but I agree with you on the harsh price. Have you ever tried extreme contacts and if so how do they stack up to Michelin?

 

Well, yes but not on a Z. I replaced the original wheels and Michelin PS on my SL55 with Conti Extremes. Never looked back. Great tire. I was already predisposed to the Contis working well from way back in my Volvo days. They had THE hot tire for any performance Volvo. (Don't laugh, mine were all pretty fast - in the day - and humbled many "ultimate driving machines" both on and off the track... but I digress.....laff....)

Anyhow, yes, easily comparable to the Michelins in all conditions. My Benz handles *at least* as well as my Z, if not better with the tires a big portion of that. Ride comfort is excellent. Granted, apples and oranges, but I wouldn't hesitate putting them on a Z.

Other thing to take note, and this may be going back to my early Z days but there used to be talk about "round shouldered" versus "square shouldered" tires, one working better with a given suspension type. Used to be that the old Z's IRS worked better with square shouldered tires than round. And I proved that with a few sets played with. Dunno if this is even at all relevant any longer what with at least 10-15 new generations of tires and evolution in suspension designs since; but I might have to go back and review which of the tires worked better on my Z and see if there's anything to that notion. Hmmmm....

 

Good stuff, Mic and I enjoyed your comparo notes. It's worth noting that Mic has SCCA race experience and has turned plenty of laps on different road circuits. That kind of experience in wheel-to-wheel racing develops tire sensitivity skills that doesn't disappear over time. I'll take Mic's subjective opinions over some experienced automotive journalists.

 

Good to know, right now I'm currently debating weather to get the Michelin PS4S, Hankook EVO or Extreme Contact when my wheels finally come in. Evos are on the bottom of my list for now and the Michelin on the top just based off of how much I liked the PSS. The extremes are considerably cheaper tho.

 

Thanks, David. Coming from you, that's high praise. Appreciate it.

Know nothing about the Hankooks. I had a set of used RS3s (I think that's what they were) that came on a used set of wheels. They were very sticky but UTQG was so low, I'da burned 'em pretty quick. Sold them to a fellow my350Z member for his race car. I drove a friend's car with their max performance offering, (I think it's the predecessor to the ones you're talking about.) My judgement might be colored because of something I read about relatively flaccid sidewalls but in the limited time I drove on them, they were OK... nothing to write home about but OK.

 

S04s are great tires. Quiet and comfortable on the streets and outstanding grip on the track.
Hard to beat the performance per dollar of the S04s.
I have a set of Michelin PS4Ss going on and I am excited to see how they compare.
Kind of hoping that the PS4Ss are just hype because the S04s are easier on the wallet.
The PS4Ss did feel great the last time I pushed them but it was a different car.

 

Nice, let us know. the major differences I would say (at least from what I've heard) is weight and price