Tire advice for a noob
#1
Tire advice for a noob
Hey guys,
I got my G35 sedan 07 (journey) RWD a year ago and had so much fun, love this car!
My Falken ziex 912 225/55 ZR17 tires are pretty much worn out already and so I'm looking for a replacement.
I live in Bay area, and so there are three seasons. I do go to Tahoe skiing 3-4 times a year (now is the time, btw). And I also like to get that fun of my G35 and not being limited by the tires.
I was pretty much sold on Bridgestone Potenza AS970, but then they apparently don't come in 225/55/R17 size. Continental DWS was my second choice (they come in this size), but reviews say they have less dry and wet grip.
Now I started to think if I should just go with summer tires altogether...?
Another question is: while my car is not a sports package, does it make sense to stagger the tires (The manual says 225/50/R18 and 245/45/R18)? Would I have to change the rims too?
I got my G35 sedan 07 (journey) RWD a year ago and had so much fun, love this car!
My Falken ziex 912 225/55 ZR17 tires are pretty much worn out already and so I'm looking for a replacement.
I live in Bay area, and so there are three seasons. I do go to Tahoe skiing 3-4 times a year (now is the time, btw). And I also like to get that fun of my G35 and not being limited by the tires.
I was pretty much sold on Bridgestone Potenza AS970, but then they apparently don't come in 225/55/R17 size. Continental DWS was my second choice (they come in this size), but reviews say they have less dry and wet grip.
Now I started to think if I should just go with summer tires altogether...?
Another question is: while my car is not a sports package, does it make sense to stagger the tires (The manual says 225/50/R18 and 245/45/R18)? Would I have to change the rims too?
#3
#4
Ok, thanks!
How about putting Bridgestone Potenza AS970 225/45/R17? Will they fit my rims?
How about staggering?
Also, what if I mix summer and AS? Summer on the rear - to have the edge during sunny/rainy days and all season in front, since when I go to snow they'll probably require chains anyway on the rear.
Sounds crazy?
How about putting Bridgestone Potenza AS970 225/45/R17? Will they fit my rims?
How about staggering?
Also, what if I mix summer and AS? Summer on the rear - to have the edge during sunny/rainy days and all season in front, since when I go to snow they'll probably require chains anyway on the rear.
Sounds crazy?
#6
After some research, choosing between
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes
and
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes
Thoughts?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes
and
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes
Thoughts?
#7
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#8
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mike_r (02-17-2012)
#10
Yes, I decided to keep the original size. The only question left outstanding is whether to get summers or AS, if I do not plan to go into the snow on my car. Would the summers be ok for Bay Area winter, like near freezing temps in the night and rain?
Looking at the test here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=131 (Yokohama S. drive)
and here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=147 (Continental DWS)
I see that Yokohama is faster on the dry and wet slalom and dry lap time, but stopping in the dry and especially in the wet is a big difference in favor of Continental. Cornering g-force is higher on Continental in dry and wet. How come then Yokohama posts faster lap times?
I was also looking at Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT (Max Perfromance Summer), but results are pretty much the same as Continental DWS on dry and wet slalom, a bit faster in dry lap and better stopping in dry, worse in wet though. They look like a bit better then Yokohama S. Drive in stopping distance, but then post slower laps closer to AS, so don't really justify why they should be chosen over AS tires, as Yokohama might. Especially taken into account their treadlife of only 240 vs 540 for Continental DWS and at least 300 for Yokohama.
The more I read about tires, the more puzzling it becomes :-)
Btw, my Falken Ziex 912 by specs doesn't seem like a bad tire at all: 360-AA-A101W. An I put about 25k miles on them and they were already used, so looks like their 40k warranty might be close to true.
Went into snow and no problems, if driving slowly enough and not in a deep snow.
Looking at the test here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=131 (Yokohama S. drive)
and here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=147 (Continental DWS)
I see that Yokohama is faster on the dry and wet slalom and dry lap time, but stopping in the dry and especially in the wet is a big difference in favor of Continental. Cornering g-force is higher on Continental in dry and wet. How come then Yokohama posts faster lap times?
I was also looking at Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT (Max Perfromance Summer), but results are pretty much the same as Continental DWS on dry and wet slalom, a bit faster in dry lap and better stopping in dry, worse in wet though. They look like a bit better then Yokohama S. Drive in stopping distance, but then post slower laps closer to AS, so don't really justify why they should be chosen over AS tires, as Yokohama might. Especially taken into account their treadlife of only 240 vs 540 for Continental DWS and at least 300 for Yokohama.
The more I read about tires, the more puzzling it becomes :-)
Btw, my Falken Ziex 912 by specs doesn't seem like a bad tire at all: 360-AA-A101W. An I put about 25k miles on them and they were already used, so looks like their 40k warranty might be close to true.
Went into snow and no problems, if driving slowly enough and not in a deep snow.
#11
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Bay Area winter's aren't too bad here. Summers should be fine as long as you aren't zig zagging through lanes or speeding excessively.
Are you going to be tracking the car at all? Lap times shouldn't matter to you if you're just going to use the car on the road. I'm on crappy tires right now on my car and don't notice a difference at all. Well I haven't driven the car in like 3 weeks so I probably can't even remember.
If you're going to the track or other event, I'd just get a 2nd set of tires. Otherwise, just get whatever is in your budget.
Are you going to be tracking the car at all? Lap times shouldn't matter to you if you're just going to use the car on the road. I'm on crappy tires right now on my car and don't notice a difference at all. Well I haven't driven the car in like 3 weeks so I probably can't even remember.
If you're going to the track or other event, I'd just get a 2nd set of tires. Otherwise, just get whatever is in your budget.
#12
Well, I'm not going to track events. What I want is when I push the pedal to the metal on the dry CA pavement from a full stop, my car doesn't spin out of control on a straight line. That's what's happening right now, if I switch VDC off. With VDC on, it always kicks in. So I feel I don't have enough grip and don't use my car's potential to the max.
I don't care that much about cornering, just plain dumb drag race from the stop light so I can hit those 5.7 s 0-60 on my car spec. :-)
I don't care that much about cornering, just plain dumb drag race from the stop light so I can hit those 5.7 s 0-60 on my car spec. :-)
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#14
After a couple of sets of Potenzas and now on my second set of Yokohamas...
I'm sold on the Yokohamas. I prefer to outdrive someone in the curves, so cornering is important to me.
Handing is great in the rain and road noise is minimal.
As it's been said before, get a second set of something for the track.
I'm sold on the Yokohamas. I prefer to outdrive someone in the curves, so cornering is important to me.
Handing is great in the rain and road noise is minimal.
As it's been said before, get a second set of something for the track.
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mike_r (02-17-2012)
#15
Thanks, Grace! I still don't understand how stopping distance and g-force can be worse on Yokohamas, but they lead in slalom and lap time. Stopping distance should correspond to the friction coefficient, and so acceleration from a deadstop should also be better on DWS, as they have more friction/grip?
Did you feel any problems with grip in cold whether on Yokohamas?
STAP IT, I typically (95% of the time) apply slow/medium acceleration from the stop, which is enough to leave most cars behind when you drive a G, but what if I meet Audi RS4 or BMW M3? Hehe :-)
I just want to get a full kick out of my car in those 5% of the time.
Did you feel any problems with grip in cold whether on Yokohamas?
STAP IT, I typically (95% of the time) apply slow/medium acceleration from the stop, which is enough to leave most cars behind when you drive a G, but what if I meet Audi RS4 or BMW M3? Hehe :-)
I just want to get a full kick out of my car in those 5% of the time.