A&Q about 350Z
Q:
I bought the Kumohs and love them. Much better in the rain than the stock tires. Also have less road noise. I am sure if you spent double the money there are better ones, but these work great for me.
A:
Just went to tirerack .com and they don't have my rear size , only the fronts in Kumohs. My rears are 245/45/18, fronts are 225/45/18.
A:
Be carefull with the traction rating, it's just based on the WET stopping distance and doesn't tell you anything about the dry traction of the tire. If fact, better dry traction tires have lower traction ratings due to this (check out the R compound DOT tires, they typically have a 'C' rating). The stock Z tires only have an 'A' so of course 'AA' will be better wet. Depends on what you want (I'd give up more wet for dry traction at the track any day).
A:
I bought them from Tire Rack after coming to the same conclusions you did.
I LOVE THEM!! They're so much better than the OEM Stones (not hard to do) and the tread pattern is really neat. My wife can't believe that tires can make such a difference in a car's looks.
I have less than 100 miles on them, so I'll avoid further soap box oratory except for this:
YOU'LL LOVE THEM!!
Post Edited (Mar 28, 6:11pm)
A:
run the goodyears.
u won't find anyone on this site that can say anything bad about them.
and put some bigger tires on the car.
run 255/40/18's on the frt and 275/40/18's on the rear.
u can run them on the stock rims.
here's what the goodyears will give u:
best rain traction.
50% smoother ride.
50% quieter ride.
better stopping.
smoother transitions in hard cornering.
consumer reports, consumer digest and car and driver rank them #1.
see what those magazines say about the kumho's.
personally, i think the kumho's are made from rice.
i'm a tire dealer in calif. and i can tell u that although some people here can say some nice things about the kumho's.....for sure that haven't run the eagle f1 gs d3's on any of their other cars.
if the kumho's are so great, why doesnt any auto maker use them on the cars? oops, i forgot, kia uses on the their cars. kia.....that's a laugh.
A:
I marvel every time I drive the Z how much better the KDWs are than the RE040s. I haven't pushed them much yet, but the couple of times I tried them harder in 90 degree corners they stuck very well. And they just look so darn good.
300 treadwear rating (vs 140 OEM;) Y speed rating (vs W OEM;) really good owner reviews (vs not OEM;) and outstanding cost for performance. A fella would have to be stupid NOT to buy them, right?
And I still get the shivers when I think about the Goodyear sales guy who recommends the 275/40/18 set up on the rears. The spec sheet says that tire is for a 9-11" wide wheel, and he's cramming it onto the Z's 8". Just because you can get it to fit doesn't make it a good thing to do. Why do manufacturers even establish these install parameters, anyway?
I mean, I can jam my size 9 1/2 foot into a size 8 1/2 shoe, but just because I can lace it up doesn't mean I'll be able to keep the shoe on all day.
Post Edited (Mar 30, 6:33pm)
A:
any tire you buy after the ones that come on the 350z is going to seem a million times better. that doesn't make it the best tire. it just makes it one of many that are much better than stock.
_____________________________________________
'05 350Z Chrome Silver Touring
'73 240Z
A:
Nothing offered except the usual off track commentary.
A:
I have had my Good Year Eagle F1's for over 16k miles.
Yes, I have had some "front tire wear" issues, however they are 75% better than the stock Bridgestones.
My car is a Dec. 2002 build.
-Zanioed '03 Le Mans Sunset Touring Coupe w/ Nav.