Help in a unique situation for tire choices.
 

Awesome to finally be on the forums for my Z.

Some basics about my ride and situation...

2010 370z Touring with Sports package and Navi. 7 speed Auto Black Cherry Color

Current upgrades include - Stillen Ceramic Coated Headers, Stillen Hi Flow Cat, Magnaflow Exhaust, Stillen Gen 3 Long tube dual intakes, Stillen transmission cooler, Stillen oil cooler, Acceleration Booster (Runs in Green Mode), and Osiris tune and dyno testing done by Intense Power in Mesa AZ. Dyno was 345 horsepower to the wheels and 281 on the torque.

I currently have the stock Rays rims and I have 275 widths out front and 305 widths out back. Tires fit perfectly without any spacers, mods, or anything else. No rub whatsoever.

The question or dilemma I am looking for advice on is this. I drive all over the state of Arizona for work. The Z is my daily driver. In the last 2 months of my new gig I have logged like 4k miles. I went with Hankook Ventus V12's all around. I read about the low noise and excellent tread wear which for my situation made sense. However, truth be told I am not happy with the grip on this tire at all. Maybe I am asking too much but I really expect outstanding handling from this setup and I am not getting it. The stock Potenza's had more grip than these. I am going to change them out in the next few months but I have been considering the RE11's and the Nitto Invo's as new options. I want your feedback on what you think would be a solid tire setup knowing that I want mad grip but need excellent (LONG) tread life. If I am asking too much then u can say that. Lol. Keep in mind I am in Phoenix so temperatures are high for six months of the year. The other portion of the year its cooler but still fairly dry. Thanks folks for sharing ur wisdom and advice in advance.

FYI - I don't do any track events. Don't have time.

I got the Pirelli P Zero Neros

They are quiet, sticky, and I feel like I can stop on a dime..I have Hankooks in the back

Daily drive my z as well. Put 25k miles on my Z in just over 1 year..

Its hard living in AZ and having to drive far to get somewhere. I am used to LA!

Not to be off topic but my question is, why would you have all those Stillen parts but buy a Magnaflow exhaust:icon14:

As for tires check out Michellin Pilot Super Sports. Should give good grip and decent tread life. BUT, wanting a tire with awsome grip AND tread life is an oxymoron.

You can't compare the stock Bridgestones and the Hankook when it comes to performance. They are two different types of tires. Width alone will not give you the grip you are looking for when you're using a tire with harder rubber and a softer sidewall.

IMO, on the Hankooks vs the sport Bridgestones:
- Great budget tire
- Very good wet performance
- Dry performance not nearly as good as stock
- Quieter than stock
- Softer (very soft) sidewall, which means less predictable handling
- Harder rubber, which means better wear but less grip

If you're looking for an alternative to the stock Bridgestones, I think you'll be very happy with the RE-11s. They're excellent tires and you get what you pay for.

I have read a lot of tire reviews. In almost every one either the RE11s or the PSSs comes out on top. Also looks like most of the reviews say that the PSSs will give you longer treadwear. Most reviews also rate the Yokohama Neova AD08 right near the top as well.

It's either one or the other OP. You can't have both. Softer rubber equals more grip but also less tread life. If you need more grip for say something like AutoX, I'd buy a another set of wheels and tires setup for that purpose entirely. You'll prob get around 12k-16k miles with the RE-11's depending on how you drive.

:iagree: I second to this. I went with RE-11s just because of price, I didn't want to pull out more for the PSS. For a DD, the RE-11s are sticky as hell, I love the way it grips, even when my VDC kicks in the RE-11 keeps it under control so the car doesn't wobble like the stock did.

EDIT

I love how the 305/30/19 look on my 10.5in wheel. :yum:

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1345771797

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1345771797

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1345771797

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1345771801

Alchemy, your question is valid and a great one. The answer is simple, my ride was the prototype tester for Magnaflow's 370z catback system. If you Google "Magnaflow 370z" the link that is direct to their website shows videos of my whip. I bought the car and wasn't told it even had a Magnaflow exhaust until I arrived at the dealership in Cali to purchase it. Funny but very pleasant surprise. Honestly I am considering replacing it with a Fast Intentions setup if I can't get a little assistance from Magnaflow. The system has that wicked metallic rasp that I think makes exhausts sound cheap and lousy. Sent an audio clip to their engineering team to see what they will do.

Hence all the Stillen parts with off brand exhaust. Lol.

karotZ, I agree completely. 305 on the rears look sick. Nice photo's bro. I am leaning towards the RE11's after all the responses that seem to think its a good path to go down. Again, if anyone has any experience with the Nitto Invo's as well I would like to hear your thoughts on those. To geddy lee, I will look into the Yoko's. Thanks for the responses yall. Any more gold nuggets of wisdom or advice always welcome.

THe Nittos Invos are awful. I would go with the Michelin if you don't plan to track it, it gives you an extra 5-10K miles. And no, they don't grip better than the Bridgestone.

I have to disagree with Cos, I have had the Invo's on 2008 max, lowered on Eibach's and the grip, ride, road noise and wet weather handling was lovely... Granted the suspension setup as far as the two vehicles and ride might be different but the the only other tire I ran that I liked better than the Invo was the pirelli p zero... But they pirelli so you getting what you pay for..
I ran a staggered fitment 20x9 with a 255/35 up front and the 275/30 in the rear... Loved the Invo's...

there is a reason why some people use invo as drift tires...

I used the invos a lot on my 350. They're ok. They aren't comparable to the RE-11s.

I'd say they're similar to the Hankooks but without the super soft sidewall and decent wet traction.

RE-11s.

Thanks man! As for Invos, I had 2 buddies that had them, xdeslitx and fxroar, they stated that the tires are nice, it's thread pattern looks sick, but they don't last as long as the other tires everyone is comparing it with.

:iagree: Completely agree.

Invo's definitely don't last long...

I won't go into too much detail but I'm incredibly happy with my Invos. I have lots of fun in the car and drive it pretty hard (I don't really launch, but I love the corners). Great performing tires with good life at a fantastic price. In the rain, I think they are one of the best performing street tires out there, and that's a huge factor in my decision. My one beef with people who bash Invos is they typically compare them to much more expensive tires and don't acknowledge that fact /rant

for dd, low noise, good wear, i'd look at the conti dw's.

that is the cheapest tires i would run on my Z. it's not a bad tire.

In response to sidewall stiffness, it's a bit relative and ppl's opinion will vary based on subjective experience. But seems like invos are believed to have soft sidewalls

Nitto Invos soft sidewall? - Corvette Forum

Nitto NT05 335 on Gen III/IV rear [Archive] - Viper Club of America Discussion Forums

Op already complained about v12 soft sidewalls, invo looks to be along that line. For the price and op's purpose, I say try DW. If op can afford it, go with PSS plain and simple.

Tire Test Results : Clash of the Titans: Testing Two New Max Performance Summer Heavy Hitters

Not sure where you got that from...

Second post on the corvette forum:

I think the OP will be happier with the Invos over the V12s. That said, if he wants to spend more on the PSS, then I think he will be happy with those as well. I would guess the RE11s will give better performance than any of these tires, but at a cost of longevity.

JAR: I was zoning in on sidewall stiffness only, purely to address op's need for a stiffer sidewall. It wasn't a general stmt to say invos aren't good tires. :tiphat:

I don't have quantitative test results on invos, so I suggested DW based on test data and IMHO best compromise between common parameters, that's all.

oh... if op's looking for tires with stiff sidewalls, my suggestion (conti dw's) ain't it.

the dw's are smooth riding compliant tires, great for dd'ing imo. they're a bit too soft for me as a hobby car tire.

:tiphat: Though I still can't find anywhere the OP mentions or complains about sidewall stiffness...

oh... ok, my conti dw's are back on the list then...


:eekdance:

I'm not sure at all that's what the OP is looking for. I'm not sure where it came from. I still want to try the Conti DWs :tup:

Yea they did say its softer than others in the test, but I figure it should be better than v12. I can very well be wrong in my suggestion

I stand corrected, my apologies, I read too quickly. Op didn't mention sidewall stiffness at all.

oh... well, the DW's are good tires. i speak from experience.

heck, ive run both the DW(on my z) and DWS (on my dd). both are very street-friendly. reminds me of pirelli tires.

np. :tup:

Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons.

PSS are the only tires with a mileage warranty if garanteed longetivity is what you want. 30k for fronts, 15k on the rears since you cant rotate. its known they have some of the best traction in dry and wet conditions. road noise is one of the best. They are the most expensive but thats mainly cause the mileage warranty.

I went to the Re11's and use my car as a daily driver and track it as we'll . You can also order them through Costco . You might see if they can order the new re11 ( a) version .

New testing on them says they are even better .

Re-11a's arent available yet and they are in VERY limited sizes. Mostly 15 and 16's. A few 17's and 18's. The widest size on 18's is gonna be a 245/45 at the moment. No 19's or 20's yet. Supposedly they will only be replacing a limited selection of the RE-11's to RE-11a's. Other then that, the RE-11's will not be completely replaced. They are also not planning on making any NEW sizes from the RE-11's so if they don't already have the size you want, don't expect anything for the RE-11a's.

P.S. I work in a Costco tire shop and was in touch with our Bridgestone rep to find out more on the tires and the release date.

I'll just throw in my experience. I bought my '09 with 13.5k miles on it, changed the stock RE50's at 15k with Bridgestone PPP S-04's. I thought the RE50 were loud, rough, and scary as hell in even a little puddle. I now have 28.5k on the car, so 13.5K on the S-04's and they are pretty near to what they were new: fairly quiet, smooth, good in water, and great grip. They may have gotten just a bit louder is the only thing I've noticed. The fronts have probably used 50% or their life, and the rears are through maybe 66%. I won't have to change them until summer of 2014 I'm thinking. Anyway I'm very satisfied with S-04. The other thing I liked about them is I could get 255/40/19 and 285/35/19, which are almost identical diameter of the stock tires.

I have the pilot super sport. And the noise is alotttt less than the stock tyres. Grip is not even a contest theae are waaay more grippy. As far as tirewear i havent had them for long but they have two different compounda. The sides are a more grippy ans durable compound and the middle is made for low noise and long life. I dont think there is a better street tire out there. BUT they are really expensive. However if they last lo ger than oyher performance tires it kind of evens out a lityle bit