Crazy Thought on Tires
 

This one is out there but...

Anyone ever consider going with tires that are less grippy than the OEM tires?

The reason I was wondering is because I primarily drive my car on the street and for all practical purposes will never be able to get close to the cars limits. However, if you put on less grippy tires you can have a bit of fun sliding the Z around here and there. (Think BRZ on their stock tires as an example. I wonder if the people driving on those are having more fun than with super sticky tires?)

Especially with the Nismo's incredible chassis I wonder if this would be more fun on a day to day basis, not to mention much cheaper on the wallet. Hell even if it's just for a year to see how it goes and if it's awful, just toss them and get RE-11's or whatever.

Thoughts? Anyone have a BRZ/FRS and drive on stock vs aftermarket tires?

crazy thought is right

Relevant video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY

Definitely have thought of it. Other cars I've driven on less grippy tires have been super predictable at the limits and easy to drive at them because of how gradually they give out in comparison to the Z.

On a closed track? Sure. For a DD? :icon14: You'll just be a menace to other drivers and pedestrians.

there was a guy recommending some bicycle tire sizes.. forget who dat waz...

Sounds like some slicks in the rain is what you are looking for. :tup:

It will be fun til the Z comes around a corner and can't clear a tree while sliding :icon14:

This is surely an out-of-the-box thinking and, strangely, I can see that. With my background and experience in anything automotive, I have actually been doing that except, maybe, not in an extreme level like the OEM tires that come with Scion FRS. Sometimes, after being exposed to grip that road-course slicks provide, I want "looser" tires (not sloppy suspension) for the streets (no, I won't die in a fiery crash or wrap my car around a tree anytime soon). Most of my selection of street tires reflect this.

With this kind of thinking, you better know what to expect and how to properly respond. IMO, it's a reward to be able to drive a car at its limits; it is not easy and you have to be very mindful on the street. Proceed with caution.

I would never put less grippy tires on the Z just in case I need to make an emergency maneuver.

For a little fun sliding the tires, I wait until it rains or my tires need replacing before finding an empty parking lot to practice :twocents:

Please don't practice power sliding on public roads :wtf2:

^ DarkJak, you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Perfect example video! Love that it's Chris Harris as well so it's vettable and look at the fun he is having. A less grippy, super predictable tire. Any suggestions? (haha maybe not the space savers though :D)

I think the Z is one of the highest rated cars to be in an accident with based on an article I saw on Carbuzz a few months back. I wonder if people drive the relatively sticky tires on the Z to the limit and when they let go people crash.

I would never put tires on that were even moderately unsafe or drive like an *** hat. A little slip is fun. I'd actually argue all the posts about people spinning the stock tires on the Z or getting the tail loose are a bit unsafe because you have to be going pretty hard to do that.

On normal road speeds the Z's stock tires should never be breaking loose unless it's wet.

You can find tires with plenty of grip that don't suddenly break grip. Less grip is not necessarily what you want. You want tires that give good feedback as traction decreases and have predictability as the tire starts to slip.

^ Correct, any suggestions on tires like this?

I wish I could.

Have you tried the RE-11? That's the only real performance tire I have used on my Z that I can say had very good feedback. My biggest complaint was they needed optimum conditions to perform up to their potential. Also, the window of good predictability was pretty small. It got much worse as the tread wore down.

I was actually thinking the RE-11 would be much stickier and performance oriented than the OEM tires as they are "Extreme Performance" according to tire rack

I was thinking about slapping on these guys. (Dunlop Direzza DZ102's)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....o&autoModClar=


Seem to have decent reviews and wicked cheap, and provide great value for the money and should have enough stability to safely approach limits but with less overall grip than the OEM tires. The Dunlops are "Ultra High Performance" compared to "Max Performance" of the OEM tires

Tire Racks Rating System as an FYI

Extreme
Max
Ultra High Performance

Anyone try these Dunlops on their Z?

Chances are, they would still be too sticky for your purposes.

^ This ^

Sub-par equipment can be lots of fun - just don't do it on the street.

Just to take a step back for a moment to put this into perspective (I think perhaps I wasn't clear) ... I'm comparing the experience with a bit lesser tire on the Z to a BRZ/FRS with their stock tires, which even according to top gear are a hoot because it allows you to have some fun.

You don't see warning threads telling every BRZ/FRS owner that they have sub par equipment so don't drive on the street. It's not like I'm planning doing what they did in that Chris Harris video either. Hell even cheap all season tires would still be better than the stock BRZ/FRZ tires. I'm looking to exploit the Nismo's phenomenal chassis on a street level. I don't plan on taking it to the track or driving at speeds that I could utilize a semi-track tire.

I do fully agree that a semi-track tire would give you the best response in an emergency situation so +1 for that, but comon its fun to kick the tail out a bit pulling away from a stop sign on to those those 40 mph ish back roads :D To do that on even the stock tires you really have to commit. The Dunlops according to tire rack have a less extreme compound than the stock tires and seem predictable which is why I am leaning towards them.

But I wouldn't put poor equipment on my car that would leave me a chance of having a crash just to do this. I'm basically reiterating what Chris Harris is saying at the end of this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY

Saying more basic tires is dangerous is somewhat like saying a BRZ or Sport-Compact is dangerous.. With this mentality you are basically saying that you should put the biggest extreme summer tire on your VW Beetle that you can so you don't get "caught out" and sure, I can understand that philosophy.

If you get caught out doing something stupid or put into a situation where you need maximum mechanical grip and are going to be pushing a full lateral load, yeah the best tire you can buy (RE-71R) is going to save your ***. An example would be If you go over a crest and didn't see a tight bend was coming up and you are driving to fast for the road or conditions.

Most bad accidents though are going to be traffic accidents, and swerving to avoid uncoming traffic or having to slam on your brakes isn't going to make that large of a difference because in most of those quick-react situations you aren't pushing the tires envelope that far.

I know from owning an older Z and now a 370, is that if you try to get close to the limit on public roads, it is much more risky. If you want to feel the 370 get close to the edge of grip on an empty country road even with some hard slower bends with the stock tires, you are going to be murdering the speed limit every where and if you know the limits of your machine, you will be safer in a car that has skinnier and less grippy tires when you do find and go over that limit.

If you don't know how to find the limit of your car regardless of how much tread is on them, well then I do hope you have the grippiest tires you can find. :)

Also, as per the Chris Harris video, you could always add more power to decrease the effectiveness of your tires when on throttle!

Lol yeah reminds me of when I got my last car, it was a base 3 series with square setup, 17" wheels and stiff runflats. Add to that the fact that they were new tires (well new car), the rear was stepping out on every turn. Have to admit I did have some fun with it :).

Having said that, I wouldn't consider actually going out and buying a tire like that.