Due to the abnormal feathering problem on the 350Z, I decided to do a test with a new set of tires. The tires I selected were the Michelin Pilot Sport. Here is an Adobe Acrobat brochure on these tires: Michelin Pilot Sport PDF.
The 350Z requires 225/45 18" tires on the front and 245/45 18" tires on the rear. The rims on my Z are the same size front and rear (18" X 8"). The Michelin Pilot Sport tires are listed as max performance tires, are ZR rated, and have a directional design.
I replaced all four tires. This is because I did not want to run different front to rear delta skidpad performance tires because my 350Z has Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC). Also, I decided to put the different size tires on front and rear according to OEM specifications. This is also due to the VDC. The VDC has individual rotation sensors for each wheel and is designed at the factory for smaller tires on the fronts than the rears. Installing the same size tires on the front and rear is not recommended by Nissan as I checked with the dealer and NNA. Also, the VDC is tuned to the inherent skidpad of the 350Z equipped with OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE 040 on both the front and the rear. What is important is the front to rear skidpad difference. With VDC, you do not want to run a different delta skidpad performance tires on the front and rear versus the OEM. In other words, the OEM tires have a different grip capability on the front versus the rear because the tire size is different and the front to rear weight ratio is 53/47 which is very close to 50/50. You can put sticker tires or slicker tires all the way around but don't put stickier or slicker on just the front or just the rear. The VDC is designed around the OEM inherent difference and weight distribution.
Also, the Michelin Pilot Sport tires have better cold and wet performance than the OEM Bridgestone Potenza according to Tire Rack which is where I purchased my tires. The tires were installed by the dealer on 25 April 2003 with 9300 miles on the odometer.
Here are pictures of the tire labels on my Z.
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Logos common to both |
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| Tire Info from Michelin | ||||||||||
| 350Z Application | Tire Size | Service Description | Sidewall | MSPN | Rim Width Range (inches) | Section Width On Measuring Rim Width | Overall Diameter | Revolutions Per Mile | Tread Depth (In 32nds of an inch) | Max Load (lbs. @ PSI) |
| Front | 225/45ZR18 | 91Y | RRBL | 51137 | 7.0 - 8.5 | 8.8 on 7.5 | 25.8 | 804 | 10 | 1,356 |
| Rear | 245/45ZR18 | 96Y | RRBL | 41075 | 7.5 - 9.0 | 9.6 on 8.0 | 26.8 | 775 | 10 | 1,565 |
