So, the time has come that I need to replace the rubber that keep my GT-R glued to the road. But, I am not buying from here in Japan. Prices here are absolutely ridiculous for tires. I'd actually save more money by buying from a place like Tire Rack then having them shipped here to one of my friends on a military base.

Anyway, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

Current tires are Bridgestone T's-02 in 265/35/18 on 18X9.5J JIC wheels.

Now, the tires have been on it since I bought the car in Oct of 2008, so it's been almost 4 years. The tread is starting to get a bit thin, and I'd like to have the sense of security of having some brand new tires.

I was originally looking at the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec. A few years ago, GT-R magazine did a review of several different brands of high performance, high grip tires for the R32-R34 GT-R and this tire won the hearts of the testers. But, the price for this tire here is about 48,000 yen per tire...or about $590. That's PER TIRE!!! I don't think so.

I would like some input on what tires you guys like to run on your cars. Below will be some of my criteria for choosing.


Well, for starters, I would like something that has excellent grip. I own a GT-R, so I won't be drifting. I do like to take some drives up into the mountains and do some spirited driving around corners and want to make sure the big girl stays planted.

We don't get a lot of snow over here, and I don't ever plan on driving her into the mountains for any trips during the winter. That's what the wife's car is for.

We do, however get quite a bit of rain , especially from mid June to late July, so should I be out driving in the rain, I want to make sure that water gets channeled away and keeps me stuck to the road. (Don't worry...I won't be out raging on the highways in a downpour.)

I also need something that will work well should I ever decide to run a track day at Tsukuba circuit.

Size should be either 265/35/18 or 275/35/18

Would like to spend no more than $1200 shipped if possible.


So, lemme hear your recommendations!!!

What's "important" to you?
Grip
Wear
Load rating
Wet handling
Price

Personally, I buy summer tires and only expect them to last 15-20k miles, but that's b/c I want grip most of all. Thus, I shop around to find great deals on tires with wear ratings of 200 or less.

What's important?

I woild have to say price first with grip next.

As for wet handeling, I usually don't do any serious driving in the rain except for running errands or the occasional trip to work. But should I be somewhere out of town and it starts raining hard, I want that piece of mind tht my tires will be ok.

As for load rating, would that be the same as speed rating?

I don't have any real need for a high speed rating, plus if I ever get on a track, I don't see myself getting much past 150mph in my current setup.

Load rating has to do with the tires ability to support the "load" of the car. Aside from supporting the car, the higher the load rating the less sidewall flex and thus the stiffer it will feel. That can be good in better feedback/predictability of sidewall flex during turning, or it can be bad as the driver will feel more of the roads irregularities.

If you want more grip, it can be had for a reasonable price, but you'll see a shorter (in # of miles) life span.

Personally, I'd find the cheapest tire (w/ some positive reviews) you feel won't "come a part" with normal use and replace your tires more often ... heck you can probably sell them used to some guys over there for track use.

Well, unfortunately cheap and GTR don't go together to well over here.

I'd like to find a tire for about 200/per if posible.

What brands/sizes do you run and what car?

Over the last ~ 5 years I've run the following (plus some snows, junk, etc)
Bridgestone Pole Positions - Q45
Toyo's Can't recall model - Q45
Yokohama ES100s - Q45
Michelin HMX or MXM?? - Q45
Bridgestone RE050's - Lexus SC400
Conti DWS's - Audi allroad
Goodyear F1 - allroad


Those were all 245/45/18 except the HMX (17) & RE050 (19).

I really liked the RE050's, but they wear like no one's business. Wasn't a huge fan of the Yoko's in wet weather.

I'm considering trying one of the "entry level brands" (Kumho, Sumitomo, Hankook, etc) next time around and just changing them more frequently.

I had some Nexen's on an S14 a had for a few months and was not a fan.

I hax Nexxen on my Laurel and they were alright. Good grip aound the highways but never on a circuit.

I may just have to bite the bullet ans spend a bit of cash and hope to stay under my budget.

Since your chances of going to a track are at a "might" instead of regular trips, I would highly recommend staying away from a Star-Spec, RS3 or something of that lot (the 140-200 treadwear range), as they will not be cheap and they will not last a long time and all but the Star-Spec are total crap in the rain. Since you get a lot of rain, I would be worried about price, durability and inclement weather performance. If your previous tires worked for you, I would just get the same or close to the same. Stones should be easy to come by, since they're based in the country you live in.

Well, I've been doing some research on tires, taken some recommendations from friends and figuring out what my budget is going to be and these are the tires I have placed in my top list.

These tires are all in the Ultra High Performance All-Season class with at least a 93 load rating and W speed rating.
All the other ratings are good too.

Michelin
Pilot Sport A/S Plus

Bridgestone
Potenza RE970AS Pole Position

Yokohama
AVID ENVigor (W)


The Yokohama's are the cheapest, but have the lowest customer rating.
The Bridgestone's are the most expensive and have the highest customer rating.
Michelin is right in the middle.

Now, the Michelin tires aren't available here in Japan. I don't even see a model that even looks similar in the catalog. But, the owner of the shop I hang out swears by Michelin.

As Float said, I really don't plan on making regular trips to the circuit. I may hit up Tsukuba this summer, but that's just going to depend.

I do, however, do quite a bit of "spirited" *cough, cough* highway driving and still want to have some good traction. These tires all seem to be right about the same level.

So, now, I just have to decide where my budget is going to be.