Tire recommendation
 

Starting to plan ahead for tires on my 09 370z sport/touring. First question - I've got 14K miles now. Given that they are sporty tires, I know I won't get 50K out of them, but what are most people getting? 35?

Also, the OEM tires are Bridgestone Protenza 50 something. I noticed that some comparable tires are lighter by a pound or two. Will that effect performance? is it worth it?

Thanks in advance everyone.

I have been researching tires as well. It seems that many people are getting Bridgestone RE-11s or Hankook Ventus V-12s. I think it just depends on what you want to spend and how much performance you want out of the tire.

Don't even put the RE11s in the same category as the V12s. The RE11 is a much better tire and it will die a lot quicker, I expect better wear but way less grip on the V12s. I have V12s on my daily driver as summer tires and RE11 for my autoxer. I can tell you the V12s are nowhere close to the RE11 in grip.

:iagree:

I would expect about 12k miles with the RE-11's. I think I got about 6k miles until I corded my fronts thanks to auto-x. No direct experience with the V12 but I'm guessing you could expect around 25K miles on those depending on your driving.

No one has gotten anywhere near 35k out of the stock Bridgestones. 20k is the upper threshold of the life on these things. Mine lasted 18k and I swapped them for Ventus V12s.

How does the grip of the V12 compare to the OEM RE050?

Grip is pretty good. I'd say they are a little harder to break loose than the RE050s. The sidewall is a little softer, though.

All in all they are a very good street tire, especially at the price they go for. I'm happy with them but I'd rather run something else on the track.

Once I have a second car and don't put so many miles on the Z I will probably go to something more aggressive like the RE11s... I just don't want to chew through 2-3 sets a year.

I think Im gonna go with Pirelli P Zero's when I get my wheels.

I'm going to be replacing mine with Bridgestone RE760's next spring. For a street tire, they have double the treadwear rating of the RE050A's and seem to have comparible grip.

I just removed my tires at 3000 miles. Let me just say they have about 12 events and 110 autox runs. I still have 4 to 5/32nd all around except a lot more wear on the outside on the RE11 in the front. I am debating if I should flip them just to get a few more miles out of it. I definitely recommend the RE11 if you race the car and can afford one set of those a year.

I compared them to the R888, they dont feel as good, but times are within a few tenths

I got about 20 events and the equivalent of well over 200 runs on the fronts before they corded. Mine actually corded on the inside and I didn't know they were corded until I pulled the wheels off for something else (whoops!). My rears are progressing the same way and I think I'm going to back down my rear alignment a bit to preserve tire life. I'm not sure if it is a good idea to flip the RE-11's as they have a stiff outer sidewall and a soft inner sidewall. But if it is that or throw them away then it might be worth a shot.

You guys have sold me. I'm going with the RE11s.

I LOVE my V12s, and they cost 40% less than the other tires out there. My stock Bridgestones didn't even last 12K miles.

Just don't try and drive them in temperatures below 40 degrees.

Are they really that bad in the cool air? I know a lot of guys who run them up here into the fall.