All Season Tires Recommendations

JohnsZ

Hey guys...with winter weather coming here soon in New England, I'm looking to get All Season Tires for my '09 370Z. This will be the first time I will be driving my Z in bad weather (snow, ice etc) and any advice would be appreciated. I'm not looking to get winter tires due to the expense of having 2 sets of tires. Any recommendations for tires that would be good in bad weather without sacrificing performance would be helpful. I currently have the performance tires that came with the car which have 17k miles on them. Continental Extreme Contact DWS got very good reviews on Tire Rack. Any thoughts? Thanks!

wheee!

Seriously? Get winter tires and wheels or park it. nuff said....

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Mergnthwirker

I totally agree. All-seasons are usually known as "No Seasons" here in New England. You make a lot of compromises otherwise. You bought the car for performance, why hamper it by putting on mediocre tires? Also, it appears that you don't have the sport package, so you won't have the advantage of limited slip in the rear. You need all the help you can get for traction in the winter! It's real easy to get the rear end to come around on slick roads (ask me how I know this...)

My solution was to find a set of base wheels that someone is selling, and then mount Blizzaks, which work very well in the winter. Of course, if we have another winter like last winter it's no problem. But in any real snow, you'll be SOL if you don't have snows. Keep your eyes on the classified for people selling sets.

I run Continental DWS tires on my AWD Audi S4, but when ski season comes around I mount full snows even on that car. The Continentals are reasonable on cold wet pavement -- most of what we saw last winter -- but they really don't cut it if there's piles of snow on the road. The main reason I run them on the Audi is for shoulder seasons. In the summer I drive the Z every chance I get!

90 ST

Hankook ipikes are a nice inexpensive tire for winter, i run them on some 350Z 18's for winter.

frost

This

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370z OG

JohnsZ

How can I argue with a fellow Nutmegger! I've been calling around area Town Fair tire stores for the Continental Extreme Contact DWS and they are having trouble locating them for me. Maybe it's an omen that I should go with the Blizzaks for the winter and bite the bullet for performance tires when Spring rolls around. Problem is of course...Ka-ching! But thanks for the advice. You in Northern or Southern CT?

370Z Purist

You'll actually save money in the long run with a set of winter tires and wheels. Your summer tire/all seasons will wear faster in the cold since they see all four seasons. They aren't designed to grip, and will slip with any application of power.

You'll also keep from marring your regular wheels, and your snows are pretty much trash wheels to begin with. Get a good set of tires, and either buy cheap 18 inch winter wheels or get some stockers that are being sold.

I have experienced a single winter in my Zed, and I was merely driving on cold, very slightly snowy pavement when a pothole slipped me out into a curb. I destroyed the wheel and the spring cup. Don't be me.

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-Phil

"Since one of my brake light bulbs just went out, the forum told me that my piston rings are about to blow."

JohnsZ

You guys made me change my thinking. Looks like I'll be buying snows for the Winter and performance when Spring comes. Thanks for the advice!

Mergnthwirker

Hi, I'm in the northwest hills of CT. Our roads are the last to get plowed. This year I'm going to drive a beater and park the Z for the winter. I only put 3,000 miles on it between October and May last year. BTW, that means my Blizzaks and 18" base wheels are for sale -- PM me if you're interested (a lot less $$ than doing this from scratch at Tire Rack!).

Threev8s

I just put Bridgestone Potenza 970as tires on my 370Z. These tires don't grip quite as well as the Yoko Advans that came stock, but I wouldn't say it's as dramatic a difference as people make it out to be. They grip well and are much quieter, and I highly recommend them for this car. In addition, you get a 40K mile waranty. I got 23K out of the Advans, which is a lot for those tires. If you aren't tracking the car, you'll be fine with all season tires. I understand the logic of putting away your summer tires and putting on winter tires, but it's a question of where you want to compromise. I don't see the point of driving the Z with winter tires on the car unless it's your only car and you don't have a choice but to drive it in the snow and expose it to road salt. With all season tires, you get the flexibility of driving the car on those nice winter days and the car will handle like it's supposed to. In addition, in spite of the fact that the summer tires do better on a wet track, you will do much better when you run through standing water with the all season tires than summer tires, especially when the temps start to drop.