Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - 10' nismo on yokohama advan sport = very slippery

BlackZeda · 12-20-2011, 11:47 PM

I am not sure this little story will help, but for what it is worth...

The Avan Sports that came with my new NISMO worked really well from when I bought it in March until October. With that being said, the tires are ultra-grippy but in my experience are also extremely fragile. I say this because first the left, then the right front tires were completely and instantly destroyed (unrepairable) by merely running over and picking up bolts on two seperate occasions (yes, flat, stubby bolts on the road). That second time was mid-October, so I decided just to put on my winter tires (Blizzaks) early.

So, I had a new front Avan Sport front right since I replaced it under warranty and decided to save some money and buy a new front left (you can see where this is going). I stored them over the winter and when the time came to put them on again I decided that the rears were too worn, so I ordered new rears as well. At the tire store I asked the tire guy if there would be any problems running worn rears with new fronts for the few days it was going to take to ship them in. With my spidey-sense going off, he said there should be no problems, which in my summer grip-lust I took his word for it (BIG mistake).

When the weather was dry the rear definitely felt a bit slidey, so I took it easy, but unfortunately the weather became a little wet. One moderately rainy day I was driving (for the first time) in the right lane going the speed limit trying to be careful. Unfortunately the right lane seemed to have the most standing water and I decided to move to the middle lane, even waiting for a butthole in a Dodge pickup to get past me so I could shift lanes. He had to go 76mph and pass me instead of just letting me get in front of him (it must have been offensive to him that I put on my blinker). Without warning, and so quickly that I or the VDC couldn't react the rear broke free and I was going backwards across the three lanes on the highway.

I was extremely fortunate to end up stuck in the mud in the median with only a tow-truck hitch assist to pull me out and a thorough car washing being the only consequences to my stupid decision.

So in this case, the answer is yes, Avan Sports were dangerously slippery as the hydroplaning resulted in a complete loss of control. BUT, that was only because I was running new fronts and worn rears with about 12,000 miles on them. I learned my lesson; I will always replace all my tires at the same time.

Hopefully this story was at least interesting, but I am not sure how useful it is.

12-20-2011, 11:47 PM	#11 (permalink)
BlackZeda A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2011 Location: Englewood, CO Posts: 1,109 Drives: 19 Audi TT RS Rep Power: 22	I am not sure this little story will help, but for what it is worth... The Avan Sports that came with my new NISMO worked really well from when I bought it in March until October. With that being said, the tires are ultra-grippy but in my experience are also extremely fragile. I say this because first the left, then the right front tires were completely and instantly destroyed (unrepairable) by merely running over and picking up bolts on two seperate occasions (yes, flat, stubby bolts on the road). That second time was mid-October, so I decided just to put on my winter tires (Blizzaks) early. So, I had a new front Avan Sport front right since I replaced it under warranty and decided to save some money and buy a new front left (you can see where this is going). I stored them over the winter and when the time came to put them on again I decided that the rears were too worn, so I ordered new rears as well. At the tire store I asked the tire guy if there would be any problems running worn rears with new fronts for the few days it was going to take to ship them in. With my spidey-sense going off, he said there should be no problems, which in my summer grip-lust I took his word for it (BIG mistake). When the weather was dry the rear definitely felt a bit slidey, so I took it easy, but unfortunately the weather became a little wet. One moderately rainy day I was driving (for the first time) in the right lane going the speed limit trying to be careful. Unfortunately the right lane seemed to have the most standing water and I decided to move to the middle lane, even waiting for a butthole in a Dodge pickup to get past me so I could shift lanes. He had to go 76mph and pass me instead of just letting me get in front of him (it must have been offensive to him that I put on my blinker). Without warning, and so quickly that I or the VDC couldn't react the rear broke free and I was going backwards across the three lanes on the highway. I was extremely fortunate to end up stuck in the mud in the median with only a tow-truck hitch assist to pull me out and a thorough car washing being the only consequences to my stupid decision. So in this case, the answer is yes, Avan Sports were dangerously slippery as the hydroplaning resulted in a complete loss of control. BUT, that was only because I was running new fronts and worn rears with about 12,000 miles on them. I learned my lesson; I will always replace all my tires at the same time. Hopefully this story was at least interesting, but I am not sure how useful it is.