Driving in winter... (mild 56K warning)

toxik · 01-13-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeattleLion

Like most generalizations, this one is deeply flawed. The optimum performance for any car is acheived when the tires exactly match the road conditions. That's why people who race seriously have a set of track tires that would perform horribly on standard roads in bad weather.

Theoretically, all season tires can perform as well as summer tires. In practice some all seasons (like Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus) do outperform many "summer" tires. The key is to consider what the car is intended to do. How many 370Z's actually need the level of performance the Bridgestone summer tires claim? If Nissan followed their own logic, only the NISMO would come with maximum performance summer tires. It's the Z Nissan says it intended for racing.

Most of the rest of us will find no performance issues with really good A/S tires. I swapped the Bridgestone Potenzas for the Michelins in October. Even on warm roads, the Pilot Sport A/S tires do better than the Potenzas on wet roads. I admit that I am not racing, but I do drive in a "sporty" manner much of the time. I live in an area that is frequently wet and has roads I can enjoy the speed and handling of my Z when I drive.

In my use, the Michelins stick better than the Potenzas. That's not to say on a track the Bridgestone's wont prove better. My point is that the Z has a special place in the sports car market. It is affordable by people who can't afford multiple sets of tires. Also, other sports cars come with A/S tires.

I wish Nissan would do the same for all but the Nismo.

Why would you want to force someone to get all season tires if they do not want them? If anything, let Nissan give everyone a choice of what tires they want on their car instead of force feeding all seasons. Most people here would go for the Summer tires, where as you would pick All Season tires....

Plenty of other manufacturers all put summer tires on their cars. BMW, Audi, all have car models that come with summer tires stock, and some of those cars are not considered traditional sports cars like the Z is.

I've had plenty of driving experience in all season tires, good brands too... and even if they are equal to summer tires, they are never better. And that's all that counts.

Jeffblue · 01-13-2011, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeattleLion

Like most generalizations, this one is deeply flawed. The optimum performance for any car is acheived when the tires exactly match the road conditions. That's why people who race seriously have a set of track tires that would perform horribly on standard roads in bad weather.

Theoretically, all season tires can perform as well as summer tires. In practice some all seasons (like Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus) do outperform many "summer" tires. The key is to consider what the car is intended to do. How many 370Z's actually need the level of performance the Bridgestone summer tires claim? If Nissan followed their own logic, only the NISMO would come with maximum performance summer tires. It's the Z Nissan says it intended for racing.

Most of the rest of us will find no performance issues with really good A/S tires. I swapped the Bridgestone Potenzas for the Michelins in October. Even on warm roads, the Pilot Sport A/S tires do better than the Potenzas on wet roads. I admit that I am not racing, but I do drive in a "sporty" manner much of the time. I live in an area that is frequently wet and has roads I can enjoy the speed and handling of my Z when I drive.

In my use, the Michelins stick better than the Potenzas. That's not to say on a track the Bridgestone's wont prove better. My point is that the Z has a special place in the sports car market. It is affordable by people who can't afford multiple sets of tires. Also, other sports cars come with A/S tires.

I wish Nissan would do the same for all but the Nismo.

Listen, if i lived in seattle i'd probably have gone with all season tires too, and for your circumstances all seasons seem to be the way to go. However, someone living in the north east, if you plan to drive your RWD sports car in the winter, you need a set of winter tires. All seasons wont cut it. So there would be no point on having the Z come with All seasons. the only real advantage all season's have over summer tires is wet performance, and you can drive in colder weather, snow still is a no go.

and bottom line is, the Z is a sports car. Regardless of its price point, its still a sports car, and sports cars almost always come with high performance summer tires.

m4a1mustang · 01-13-2011, 01:34 PM

Wet weather performance can still be excellent with a summer tire. The best tires ive ever used in the rain were the Ventus V12s I had on the Z. And the PZero summers I have on my Mustang are great, too.

ChrisSlicks · 01-13-2011, 01:47 PM

The real reason that cars come with Summer tires is car reviews. People like to bench race cars on specs, and the car with the stickiest tire can win a test especially braking, slalom, and skid pad. That is the reason cars like the WRX STi made the switch because they were falling behind their competitors. Basically if one car in the class switches to Summer tires the rest are forced to follow else they risk losing a comparison test.

As for the tires that came on the car, I didn't really care as I pulled them off right away and sold them and then bought what I wanted.

Jeffblue · 01-13-2011, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

The real reason that cars come with Summer tires is car reviews. People like to bench race cars on specs, and the car with the stickiest tire can win a test especially braking, slalom, and skid pad. That is the reason cars like the WRX STi made the switch because they were falling behind their competitors. Basically if one car in the class switches to Summer tires the rest are forced to follow else they risk losing a comparison test.

As for the tires that came on the car, I didn't really care as I pulled them off right away and sold them and then bought what I wanted.

just like steroids and baseball

370Z Purist · 01-15-2011, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samb03

check and see of the tie rod is bent. If isn't you can get realigned enough to drive it to the shop by adjusting it. All it takes is a couple (can't remember sizes) open end wrenchs and a tape measure. get a measurement from the front of the tires and adjsut it so it has the same measure on the backside of the front of the tires. This will get you 0degrees of toe. You will have to secure the steering wheel in place or it will not be pointed straight up when you are done. This is just a quick fix to get to the shop for a proper alignment. Road racers do this alot. When you are done bounce the front end of the car to settle it and see what it looks like. "settle" it before you start aswell.

You can build a box of string measured from the same points from the car on both sides. Then measure distances from the strings to the tire and do a full alignment caster/camber/toe. In that order.

This is the passenger side rear wheel, not the front wheels.

EDIT:
Also, I had looked at all the components and could not find any noticeable bend in any component.

01-13-2011, 01:34 PM	#63 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Wet weather performance can still be excellent with a summer tire. The best tires ive ever used in the rain were the Ventus V12s I had on the Z. And the PZero summers I have on my Mustang are great, too. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

01-13-2011, 01:47 PM	#64 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	The real reason that cars come with Summer tires is car reviews. People like to bench race cars on specs, and the car with the stickiest tire can win a test especially braking, slalom, and skid pad. That is the reason cars like the WRX STi made the switch because they were falling behind their competitors. Basically if one car in the class switches to Summer tires the rest are forced to follow else they risk losing a comparison test. As for the tires that came on the car, I didn't really care as I pulled them off right away and sold them and then bought what I wanted. __________________ Hotchkis ARB \| Stillen CAI \| Art Pipes \| Berk CBE \| Stillen AP Racing Brakes \| AE Performance Oil Cooler \| BC Racing ER Coilovers \| Doran Control Arms

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