Mostly Touring (Looking Ahead)

jginnane

Currently using the OEM 18s: Yokohama Advan Sport (Max Perf Summer; treadwear 180-A-A). This is a discussion, six months out, of my current thinking about baby's new (next) shoes.

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I'm a little different than many Z owners. I didn't want the OEM spoiler because I didn't expect to be driving fast enough for it to have any effect. I didn't want sport brakes, either, because on my last car I got 60K on the front pads. Seriously. While I drive aggressively, I try to think far enough down the road I don't need my brakes as much. And when it comes to tires, I'll take the performance trade-off of all-seasons versus summer treads. I've gotten caught out in too many rainstorms to enjoy the white-knuckle feel of wet slicks, far from home.

Last fall I was checking tirerack.com, and the best tire then offered on our 18" OEM rims was a UHPAS (All-Season) Goodyear F-1 Eagle. Today, rechecking, I see this tire's no longer listed in TR's website in our stock size, but an old favorite -- Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position, treadwear 400-AA-A -- has appeared. (Also cheaper than a replacement set of Yoko summer treads.)

We've had Pole Positions on a 3rd-gen Acura TL. They made the car handle amazingly better: quieter, grippier, no mileage penalty, wear like iron except for the firm ride. We have Michelin Pilot+ PS/2s on the present 4th-gen TL. They're supposed to be even better (according to tirerack). Alas, the Michelins aren't offered in Z OEM sizes, at least through them.

So this, the RE960s, is where I may be going with my first set of aftermarket tires, sometime this summer. I suspect we're talking September, the way the Yokos are wearing, but it's good to plan ahead.

The bigger concern is that these tires might be good for a Honda/Acura or a G37 sedan, but not feel right on the Z's smaller frame. Tires get designed and built for an ideal sort of car, and (for example) Michelins always seem overbuilt for heavier cars, like Mercedes. Bridgestones seem aimed at the vast middle-market. Will they be too soft for the Z?

BTW, when we buy, we use tirerack for product knowledge + pricing, then try to find a manufacturer's store to price-match. That way we get the best of the tire company's support system without having to pay a gazillion bucks for "retail" pricing. We've bought direct from tirerack, too, but are leery of what happens if an independent installer gets what he claims are bad tires from TR .. or any other installation complications. Even premium name-brand tires get bad batches. (But having said all that, if I don't find a retailer to price-match, I'll go with TR and save the $40-70 per tire.)

Aftermarket rims. I love the looks of them. And I'm scared to death of getting in a situation where I've got 3 beautiful Volks, say ... and the 4th, needing replacement, is the one made of unobtainium. Rims get damaged over the years, and while you can avoid curb rash (by never parking next to a curb), you can't always avoid the geometry-bending potholes and stuff you endure in normal driving. Especially in the Northeast. So (to me) rims are not a good way to spend money, until or unless I wise up and move to California.

BTW, plus sizing seems taboo at many tire dealers in NJ. A couple years ago someone went +3 against the dealer's recommendation, it was installed poorly, and the resulting accident turned into a huge lawsuit against the tire company, even though they'd warned (in writing) about it. In addition, TPMS means you have to compute the replacements, like revs per mile, very carefully ... it's become rocket science. Changing width 10mm or aspect ratio 5% is about the best you're going to hope for in this sort of sanctioned environment.


Please feel free to add comments and observations. This is a little backwards from what we normally try to do, which is to use a better tire to improve a car's handling. In this case, it's acknowledged up front that all-seasons will de-tune the car somewhat. (And that's OK.)

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.

vpn2001

I'm running these on OEM 18" for the winter:

245/45R18 w/ Continental ExtremeContact DWS
275/40R18 w/ Continental ExtremeContact DWS

They are plus sizes. You sacrifice dry weather handling. But, you gain wet & snow handling + tread life + comfort + price. I really like them.

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jginnane

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.)

jginnane

You went 20mm wider front, 30 in the back, and reduced the ratio to get them to roughly the same revs per mile.

I really like that cross-hatched tread pattern for snow -- and in Philly, you get a bit more than I do, 75 miles east This is a very viable choice, the #1 ranked UHPAS from tirerack.com. Treadwear 540-A-A, and price very good.

Hmm ... this has to go to the top of my short list, even though Contis weren't being considered before (for lack of a "dealer store"). If nothing else, I'd use this exact tire as a bludgeon to get price-matched other tires from an AD.

But if I did exactly what you did, all my work's already been done for me. Excellent!