SVZ and tyres - help very much appreciated

[silverseahorse]

Hello all. Short time lurker and first time poster.

I have a 2006 SVZ with only 34000km on the clock. I'm the second owner and it was previously a fleet car. The front tyres are new and the back are worn. I assume they are the original back tyres and the front have been replaced. They are not tragic but last night when driving I slipped in the wet twice. First time was just one of those moments where the car slips and less than a second later regrips the road. No big deal. Second time I slipped I was turning right into a side street. It was raining but not very heavily. The road was wet but it was hardly covered in sheets of water. Instead of turning say 90 degrees, the back end slid out and I must have been facing about 130 degrees so pointing back past the corner. I tried to correct and realised I was screwed if it regripped. I turned the wheel back and let it regrip and pick a direction for me. Once it did regrip, I made it around without too many dramas. It did freak me out as I must have been doing under 15km/hr and I was taking off pretty sedately and definitely NOT trying to spin the back end out.

So I need new tyres I'm guessing. I'm looking for some recommendations as I am a big freeway driver and I certainly don't want to lose it like this over 110km/hr. I need tyres that perform in the dry and most definitely in the wet!!!

So is this common for the VZ series to slip out like this? Or is it simply my tyres are that bad? They are hardly bald but worn. They do have tread left. That said, I looked at the tread pattern last night and it doesn't seem that fantastic for wet weather - the front definitely have a much better pattern for flicking water away.


Thanks all

Terri

[mdmatt]

buy some 17 or 18" wheels, and run some bridgestone RE050's on it...

the standard tyres are too thin and are crap.

[Escape-The-Fate]

and single spinner diffs suck in any back end step out situation..pushes the car all one way. I recently put on some federal 595 tyres and i can't fault them..i "tried" to spin them out my drive in the rain the other day and they sliped for maybe a second and then drove off normally.

[marcdon]

I would look at some Kumho tyres mate

[silverseahorse]

My wheels are 17 inch.

Is there one compound that is better than another? I assume I'm looking for something with an aggressive tread pattern for water dispersion?

What are people's thoughts on Pirelli P Zero Nero 235/45R17?

[Escape-The-Fate]

What are people's thoughts on Pirelli P Zero Nero 235/45R17?

expensive lol..

[torana355]

There are alot of good tyres and everyone has there own preference. Basically any decent brand name tyre should be decent. I know certain tyres are much better in the wet but you would have to talk to a tyre place that knows there stuff to get some good info.

[silverseahorse]

Yeah well I got my SVZ in Jan after having my old car written off 3 days after Christmas when a guy t-boned me at 80km/hr. Ever since then I have been sorta funny about safety especially since I got injured although I've recovered now. I've definitely had my confidence rattled. I'm willing to spend the $ and not cut corners. I had pirelli's on my old car and they stood up to the direct impact in the passenger side at the back and being spun around and around in the intersection. The body crumpled, the steering was snapped, the frame bent, the windows all shattered, the dash cracked and instruments all broke, all airbags deployed - tyres were intact including the one that took the direct impact.

Sorry to waffle

I have been looking online and through a bunch of previous posts and it is hard to find the SVZ. It seems like a combo of the VZ Calais, SS and Berlina when it comes to parts. Fricking annoying!

[silverseahorse]

There are alot of good tyres and everyone has there own preference. Basically any decent brand name tyre should be decent. I know certain tyres are much better in the wet but you would have to talk to a tyre place that knows there stuff to get some good info.

I talked to JAX at Castle Hill today and they were really helpful to me. I must say I was impressed they treated me like I had a brain despite my obvious handicap of being a girl

I still have memories of the guy in supercheap explaining how car wax worked to me (despite me saying I didn't need help). I'm a chemist so I made some comment about hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecule ends and broke his brain.

[Trent L]

I stayed with the original Bridgestone tyres.

Stuck a set of Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin's on my VZ Calais. As per the tyre placard I fitted 225/50R17's.

Handles well. Comfortable ride. Good wearing & when my speedo says 100km/h my GPS says the same thing.

But at the end of the day it's up to you.

[torana355]

I talked to JAX at Castle Hill today and they were really helpful to me. I must say I was impressed they treated me like I had a brain despite my obvious handicap of being a girl

I still have memories of the guy in supercheap explaining how car wax worked to me (despite me saying I didn't need help). I'm a chemist so I made some comment about hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecule ends and broke his brain.

Haha nice. I would recommend the Dunlop SP 3000's that are on my SV6 but they are only average in the wet yet excellent in the dry.

[-scyth-]

ive got a set of marangoni tyres which are the beesknees in both wet & dry conditions. There hard tgo find & not cheap but im running same size rims as you & there the best ive had on my car. Cant highly recommend them enough.

[silverseahorse]

Much appreciated all. I am going to read up on all your suggestions and make a decision.

[Calaber]

As someone else has said, each of us has an opinion about what is "best".

You mentioned seeking advice from Jax, and that sort of advice is what I would have suggested. You have specific needs such as excellent wet weather traction. Generally, good wet road traction comes at the expense of high mileage, because the rubber compound is softer to give better grip, but wears faster. If your budget extends to higher priced and better quality tyres, then the best advice anyone can give is buy the best you can afford, with wet weather traction being a prime consideration. Follow the advice of an independent tyre service like Jax because they sell a range of tyres and won't try to force you into a specific branch like a Bridgestone dealer might.

Remember too that the original specification tyres are a comprimise between performance and cost. The old Turanza's and other standard Bridgy's or whatever were adequate for the job but were also priced to keep the purchase cost of the new car down. You can always buy better than the originals if you are prepared to pay the price.

[silverseahorse]

I ended up with the Pirelli's. Set of 4. I drove home from Gosford in the wet and they worked beautifully. Closer to home when there was no one around, I intentionally tried to skid. I didn't push it hard, but I didn't skid either I tried it a second time giving it a bit more and the grip was perfect.

There was another tyre I was considering that had an even more aggressive wet weather tread but they were not in stock and given the current weather and the driving I do, I didn't want to wait.

[torana355]

I ended up with the Pirelli's. Set of 4. I drove home from Gosford in the wet and they worked beautifully. Closer to home when there was no one around, I intentionally tried to skid. I didn't push it hard, but I didn't skid either I tried it a second time giving it a bit more and the grip was perfect.

There was another tyre I was considering that had an even more aggressive wet weather tread but they were not in stock and given the current weather and the driving I do, I didn't want to wait.

Nice. How much were they each if you don't mind me asking, also how do they handle in the dry and are they noisy?

[silverseahorse]

They are not noisy. I do notice road noise on the freeway but that is par for the course when driving on a freeway. You can't help but be affected by road noise. On normal roads they are quiet. They handle and perform well in the dry and I have no issues either wet or dry.

They cost me $235 each - then I had them N2 filled and aligned/balanced. Not cheap, but I plan on looking after them by keeping correct pressure and keeping them aligned/rotated. No burn outs for me!

N2 filling makes a significant difference. I was sceptical since 78% of air is N2, 1% AR, 1% Other and the rest O2 - how much difference could it make? On my previous car, I had to adjust the tyres every week. When I had N2 filled tyres put on them, I initially checked once a week. Then it became monthly. They went 12 months before they came up as even 1psi different. I've checked the N2 twice so far on the new tyres and they are spot on.

[torana355]

They are not noisy. I do notice road noise on the freeway but that is par for the course when driving on a freeway. You can't help but be affected by road noise. On normal roads they are quiet. They handle and perform well in the dry and I have no issues either wet or dry.

They cost me $235 each - then I had them N2 filled and aligned/balanced. Not cheap, but I plan on looking after them by keeping correct pressure and keeping them aligned/rotated. No burn outs for me!

N2 filling makes a significant difference. I was sceptical since 78% of air is N2, 1% AR, 1% Other and the rest O2 - how much difference could it make? On my previous car, I had to adjust the tyres every week. When I had N2 filled tyres put on them, I initially checked once a week. Then it became monthly. They went 12 months before they came up as even 1psi different. I've checked the N2 twice so far on the new tyres and they are spot on.

That's not a bad price it cost me about the same for my Dunlop SP 3000's.