Quote:
Originally Posted by Daishi
I have there960as pole position you will sacrifice handling and steering response over the stock advans.. the 960as tires are a soft tire. they grip well but handling isnt as good as the stockers.. I would just use them as a winter tire to be honest.
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On the coast, there's a lot more water. That's an issue, enough of one to be maybe a 5% factor in choosing treads. If the locale was north of NYC, the climate again changes enough (snow-wise) I'd want a more aggressive all-season tread than RE960AS. Colts Neck is only 10-15 miles away, but you really do get different weather a lot of the time.
How the tire feels is important, after deciding on the broad parameters of tread design and summer-vs-AS type. The lighter weight of the Z compared to the car we had 960s on before (Acura) is offset by the wider/lower + staggered profile. The Bridgestone dealer would of course like to sell RE050 summer treads ... but I don't think they're necessary for the way I drive.
Softness, OTOH, is important. To me that comes down to straight tracking, lateral grip, and cabin noise. Some tires, like OEMs used on the Honda Element, Goodyear Wrangler HPs, have no built-in shoulder, and you're riding on a set of round tubes. The RE960AS has a good squared-off shoulder design -- but again, I'd have to see how it works on the Z.
(Incidentally, I sold the tires on that Element immediately after the first rainstorm. Wound up with GY "Fortera Triple Treds", a light truck design. Much better in the wet and snow, but we've since heard too many negatives about the overall GY product line ... and don't like the way they operate their local tire store businesses. When we choose & buy tires, we like to know the names of the guys running the Hunter balance. The 3-4 places nearest us selling Goodyears aren't in the same league as the competition.)