New tires for my 260

[Arne]

I totally understand keeping with the 14" wheels but if you ever decide to upgrade and upsize, I think you'll love the feel, fill, and ride of the 16" wheels on 50 series tires.

I have 225/50R16's

They fill the wheel well beautifully and give the Z a nice stance.They are stiff enough to hold tight around corners and soft enough to give a decent ride without discomfort of a low profile tire..

But maybe thats just me,

Dave.

Excellent point. I'm trying hard to maintain a "period-correct" look for my 240Z, but if you're not you should absolutely consider larger diameter wheels. At least 15", and even up to 17" can be done very nicely. I'm running 225/45-17s on my family sedan, which is also a very nice size on a Z, given appropriate wheels.

[nismospek]

I have been going over and over this for my Z for some time. I have decided on a tire that is rated for H performance and has a softer rubber compound that I desire for stopping and cornering. I am running a 14'' turbine mag that the car was delivered with from the dealer in '73 and I want to keep them. Falken ZIEX ZE 512 205/60 R14 88H seem to fit the bill. In my estimation . They are not a high mileage tire but my Z is not a daily driver, and this is not a concern to me. 15,000 miles of use will give me three years of driving worst case scenario. My 2cts. Gary

I believe Falken has a new tire that is replacing the ZIEX 512 line up, Falken Ziex Ze 912. They have a longer life span 400 tread wear i believe and they have grooves for better wet traction. You might want to check them out.

[hls30.com]

I am getting ready for tires on my car too, In going with 15x7 enkei 92s I found that 225/55/15 is the same diameter as original, but The TireRack does not have any in a GT/high perfrmance tire, so I am probably going with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS 205/60/15 if they get them back in stock at the distribution center that is 30 minutes from me. They allow pickup, saving $33 in local shipping or $45 if coming from the MD distribution center.

Will

Will

[ggarrard]

Will: I have Toyo Proxie 4s on the 280ZXT - sized 225/50/15 on 15x8 rims. We test fit these on a friend's 240Z, and they will fit - if you roll the rear fender lip. Going with the Enkie 15x7 rims you should have not problems. The 225- 50-15s are slightly smaller overall diameter so my speedo is slightly optimistic...

I'm very pleased with the ride quality of the Proxies.

GWGarrard

[Arne]

The 225/55-15 would have been a really great size for a Z. Unfortunately that size was used only on BMW E36 3-series cars with the factory Sport package in '93 and '94 only. It was only made by four companies - Michelin, Goodyear, Dunlop and Continental, IIRC. None of them were true performance tires, and I seem to recall that only the Michelin (or perhaps the Goodyear) are still made.

In '95 BMW changed the Sport package tires to 225/50-16 instead. Same height and width. And as Dave noted above, this is a great size for a Z as well. As long as you have 16" wheels.

[Walter Moore]

I switched to 15" wheels because 14s seem to be hard to find. I just put 195/65 15s on the car. The local Goodyear store had Assurance triple treads in stock in that size. They are H rated, but they are "touring" tires, not strictly performance tires.

I don't know how they work on the Z, but they transformed my pickup truck from a skid-a-matic into a decent handling vehicle.

I hope to have the Z on the road within a couple of weeks. I will know more then.

[beandip]

I believe Falken has a new tire that is replacing the ZIEX 512 line up, Falken Ziex Ze 912. They have a longer life span 400 tread wear i believe and they have grooves for better wet traction. You might want to check them out.

I seem to remember the 912s but if I recall correctly they were not rated H and were of a harder compound for mileage. I don't care about extended mileage or wet weather use, but desire the softer compound. Thanks for the heads up and I will look into these . Gary

[76Datsun280z]

I've got the Falken Ziex 512's on mounted on my 14x7 Western Turbine's and love the look and the handling of them, no complaints there. Something to remember though is that the 14" rims do however provide a large gap between the tire and the fender (also depending on the tire size) something to remember if you don't like that look, but I'm hoping in the near future to lower mine an 1 1/2" with Eibach's to decrease that which is always another option out there.

[nismospek]

I seem to remember the 912s but if I recall correctly they were not rated H and were of a harder compound for mileage. I don't care about extended mileage or wet weather use, but desire the softer compound. Thanks for the heads up and I will look into these . Gary

I know that they make H rating for 16 inch tires, not to sure about 15 and below. Whats the difference in the rating anyways? Is it just the compound? I thought it had to do with the max speed rating for the tire. Anyone have a link were i can read the ratings?

[bobs77]

I've got the Falken Ziex 512's on mounted on my 14x7 Western Turbine's and love the look and the handling of them, no complaints there.

How noisy are they? I've heard a few complaints about that with these tires.

[76Datsun280z]

How noisy are they? I've heard a few complaints about that with these tires.

I haven't found them to be noisy at all. I've noticed with these tires that they are smoother and a little easier to steer when going real slow in say parking lots than what I had before it which were Dunlops. I actually just got them mounted about 500 miles ago so I can't say a whole lot about them as of yet, but from what they're worth, in my opinion you can't go wrong.

[midgez]

Wow, so much to consider. I can't decide if I want to keep the more original look or go with a larger wheel and low profile. I am going to spend quite a bit of money I am finding, so I really want to make sure I like the look. I have not modified the fenders on my car at all.