Right traction, how much traction am i loosing due to my tyres, dont get me wrong they are not slicks, but as the car is an import i would suspect as i aint changed them, that theyre a hard jap compound tyre, and i get very little traction: eg dry road, tyres warm, boot it in 2nd and all hell breaks out and it drifts sidewards wheelspinning!. If i boot it in the rain or wet conditions it will do this in 4th gear!!, now this is all well and good for the fun factor, but a bit aggravating when you want to make progress, so how much difference will diff tyres make, or am i wasting my money, am i wrong, maybe all non standard zeds are like this, will it have to be traction control, any help or thoughts much appreciated. Oh by the way im running about 14 psi

If you are still running on the Jap tyres the car came in to the UK with, handling will be positively dangerous, UK tyres will make a massive difference. Jap tyres are also not safe to use at high speed, as in Japan your car will have never been faster than 112mph due to limiting, therefore tyres do not need to be rated for high speed like ours are.

 

You should really change them with all haste!!

 

Paul N

Thanks for that paul, i will post the make of the tyre as im not sure but think they are

Look for a "V" rating on the sidewall, if thats on there they should be UK type and OK at speed, if not you've got dodgy Jap rubber!!

 

Paul N

err, tyres for a zed should be Z speed rating, approved for 155mph and most manufacturers say they are good for 180mph.

 

Back to the point though, yes tyres will make a huge difference, on jap tyres the car will be extremely tail happy, on UK tyres it will be difficult to make it slide.

Japanese tyres are also illegal in this country, and if you have an accident you could get your insurance void if they notice, but it depends whether they check.

 

A good set of tyres will make a world of difference. I had a very hard compound tyre on my car which where OK in the dry but very dangerous in the wet. I changed to S02s and they gripped better in the wet than my old ones did in the dry.

 

Stuart

I strongly reccomend Goodyear Eagle F1's as they got me out of a "OH FFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKK" situation earlier today.:slap:

 

Rich

Oops... Sorry,

Yes meant to say Z/ZR rated, thinking of my last car!!

 

Paul N.

 

I wonder why the Japanese build such good cars and yet use such shitty tyres!!!:confused: :confused:

Yup, I agree goodyears are the dogs danglies:D

sorry for delay they are KUMHO ECSTA ????????

They where the ones I had on my Z when I got it. OK normal driving but anything slightly pushing it and they just dont work.

Jap tyres are not illegal in this country if they meet the required spec, look for the JS symbol. If the SVA test is OK with Jap Tyres, and they are if they have the required spec they must be OK.

 

Also, does Bridgestone not come from Japan? and so their tyres are illegal????

IF they are original tyres they need replacing.

 

Any tyre older than 6 years needs binning.

I thought tyres HAD to have the European standard mark on them to be legal.

 

Stuart

The reason Jap rubber is a different compound is because they have a different road surface and temperatures to here. Their tyres are great on their roads but if you took UK tyres out there you would probably find they gave strange results.

 

If you live somewhere warm and dry then you don't need tyres suited to cold wet roads.

hmmm makes sense, right i need some good but sensibly priced tyres then, i have 17s and they are 265 on the rear40/17 is this a sensible size or should i consider wider or narrower?? as now is the time, oh by the way theyre a 10 inch rim

Gavo

 

I have had 17's in the past and the difference between 265's and 255's when it comes to grip. I have also had 245's on the back but they are not even worth considering if you are running 14PSI.

 

The 245's were SO3's - were very good considering the width.

The 255's were continentals which weren't bad but a bit sus in the wet and..

The 265's were Dunlop's which I would say were better than the 255's but not that much more.

 

I now run 18s with 265s on the back and 235s on the front, all Toyo Proxies. Grip is very good, definately better than the Dunlops but I have not tried S03's or Goodyear eagles on the same sizes but I am lead to believe that they are equally as good, if not a bit better but they cost a bit more.

 

....and just for information, Z rated tyres should cope with over 200mph, some proven at 220mph.

 

 

HTH

Cos

Originally posted by ChrisC

If you live somewhere warm and dry then you don't need tyres suited to cold wet roads.

 

True... but what do customers in Sapporo / Nagoya and other points north do about that then?!