Pros/cons of most popular tires
 

So this is what I have gathered from reading up on tires here, RE-11s and Advan 08s seems to be 2 of the best/most popular for grip and performance. Hankook Ventus v12 and the Continental DW seem to be very popular street tires. I would like to gather thoughts, pros/cons on all of these and any other highly regarded tires forums members are using. I think this will be a great centralized source of tire info for members.

I think relevant details are
1) grip (dry and wet)
2) noise vs stock
3) tramline/tracking
4) how do they hold up at the track
5) tread life from member experiences
6) other thoughts/comments (ex. sidewall, flex, ride feel, how larger than stock tires fit, etc.)

From what i have gathered reading up on some reviews, The Ventus v12s are great for daily driving, but not so good at the track. They also ride quieter than stock and seem like they might have a pretty long tread life.

A friend of mine mentioned the Ventus R-S3s. Has anyone had nay experience with these?

The Continental DW are also pretty popular with people saying they are great street tires with great dry and cold (for a summer tire) grip. They also are quieter than stock. I haven't read much about how they hold up at the track or how long they last, though.

Advan 08 and RE-11 seem to be considered the grippiest and best tires for the track. I am not sure about noise level and ride comfort or tread life though.

These are just some observations of mine form reading tire reviews her eon the forums. People who have these tires are definitely encouraged to chime in with their thoughts/experiences.

Im currently on the V12's. Road noise far less pronounced than the stock tires. Grip in the wet is better than the stock Bridgestones but dry performance suffers in comparison. I drive pretty hard and the v12s pretty much handle what I can throw at them on the street. On the track they would be terrible Im sure. Tread life seems decent which is why I bought them, I wanted something that would last longer than the stockers. For the price they cant be beat.

Wonder if this could be bumped into the general discussions for a day or 2 just for some better exposure and member input. I didn't want to obviously and intentionally post in the wrong section, though. What do you Mods think?

Currently running michelin PS2s. They are better in every way over the stock tires both on the track and on the street.

Next set of tires will either be PSS's or RE-11s.

Yeah, now that I just paid off my house I have much more Z money. My next tires will prob be RE-11's. While some wheelspin can be fun I wanna know what my car feels like when it really hooks up. If you have the $ to blow I believe this is THE tire.

I had Hankook V12 and currently have RE-11's
-Absolutely NO comparison in dry traction and performance. Re-11 ftw
-Wet traction felt good with both
-Hankooks are quieter and have a longer life
-Hankooks have soft sidewalls and make the steering wheel feel a little more disconnected to the road. Stiff sidewalls on the RE-11's

AD-08s behave well on the street, comfy and quiet and perform like about 90% of a Hoosier on the track.

ContDW in stock size;

1) grip (dry and wet)
Dry is very good, wet is also good, but not as good as BridgestoneS04 polepositions.

2) noise vs stock

Very quiet.


3) tramline/tracking

None at ET33 front 19x9.


4) how do they hold up at the track

Don't know.

5) tread life from member experiences

Very good.

6) other thoughts/comments

Soft sidewall, blooms easily (turns brown after driving in very wet conditions)
treads look good but sidewall appearance is not the prettiest.

Would I buy again? No, just wanted to try these out. I am happy with them but will replace with either the supersports or RE11's next.

I meant to mention the soft sidewalls in my previous post as well.

How is tread life on the re-11s? those seem like THE tires to get. The Hankooks are quieter than the re-11a, but are the re-11s quieter than stock?

Also wondering what you all think about the Road Hazard insurance when ordering your tires from an internet retailer like tirerack.com. I used to just get my tires at Sears when i had my Altima so it was easy to just bring the car there for Road Hazard repair jobs and that's not too often. Is it a hassle to get reimbursed and stuff when you have it through an internet dealer? Just wondering if it's more hassle than it's worth. Patch jobs aren't expensive either. It's really in case some thing really bad happens and the tire is unrepairable. What do you guys think, more hassle than it's worth or a must?

I've never had to use the road hazard ins. from tire rack, BUT I have purchased many many sets of tires (and wheels) from them over the years and they have great customer service. In fact, that's the only place I really buy tires from anymore, they've earned my loyalty.

As far as if the road hazard ins is necessary, imo, for run flats it is worth it since they cannot be repaired. (no reputable shop will touch them but you could do it yourself). For normal tires, patch/plug jobs are so cheap, the road hazard seems not worth it to me.

I run RE-11s 265/35-19 front and 285/35-19s in the rear.

1) grip (dry and wet): No comparison over the stock RE050s. I have yet to try them in the rain but they have at least 30% more traction in every situation. They are extremely progressive and neutral at the limits, I haven't had the chance to take the Z into the canyons yet but I need to adjust to the much higher grip level.

2) noise vs stock: quieter than stock

3) tramline/tracking: tracks like the stock tires, maybe a bit better due to the stiffer sidewalls.

4) how do they hold up at the track: N/A

5) tread life from member experiences: Spohn expects 10-12,000 miles out of them including multiple track days. Pretty darn good in my opinion.

6) other thoughts/comments (ex. sidewall, flex, ride feel, how larger than stock tires fit, etc.): I think the larger tire widths fit the sport package rays very well, no significant sidewall bulge whatsoever. Being lowered and having spacers, it makes the wheel tire setup a bit more flush and in my opinion, perfect.

I currently have Michelin Pilot Super Sports with about 7k miles on them.

(255/25/19, 295/30/19)

1. Wet/Dry Traction:

Dry - EXCELLENT. These will not break under any conditions I've been able to put them under so far. Let's just say on a highway onramp curve at 3 digit speed, you will not move, even when it's bumpy. No track experience yet.

Wet - :ugh: On damp, or light wetness they are fine. However, under Heavy rain condition, I would advise no driving at speed. Even though claimed to have a high hydroplaning resistance, I found this to not be true and in fact, hydroplaned. :rofl2:

2. Cornering

Superb. Never felt any buckle in the sidewalls through aggressive driving, or cornering.

3. Treadlife

So far only have 7k on them, but they seem to be holding up very well, again with no track days yet.

4. Noise

Quieter than stock, (as if there were any that weren't... :icon17: )

5. Final comments

Due to moving from a desert to a place where it can rain heavily whenever it wants, I will be moving from the PSS' to the Michelin 970AS (all seasons) and possibly keeping the PSS's for just track days. Unless I were to find a buyer who wanted them now.