Nokian Z G2

The Nokian Z G2 is a Max Performance Summer tyre designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

This tyre has been replaced by the Nokian zLine.

Dry Grip 88%
Wet Grip 89%
Road Feedback 86%
Handling 84%
Wear 80%
Comfort 83%
Buy again 81%

Tyre review data from 30 tyre reviews averaging 84% over 464,400 miles driven.

The Z G2 is ranked 16th of 75 Summer Max Performance tyres.

Latest Tyre Test Results

2012 Autobild 50 Tyre Braking Test - 1st of 45 tyres

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2012 Sport Auto Summer Tyre Test - 9th of 9 tyres

  • Overall - Good aquaplaning characteristics, a neutral handling and a high level of grip in wet conditions characterise the Nokian Z G2.

    In the dry there's a slight lack of steering precision and grip which shows in the lap time, but over 15 consecutive fast laps the times remain fairly constant.
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2012 Auto Bild Max Performance Tyre Test - 2nd of 15 tyres

  • Positive - Convincing all rounder with the shortest braking distances on wet and dry roads. Good steering precision, low fuel consumption.
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Top 3 Nokian Z G2 Reviews

Given 39% while driving a Honda Civic 1.8 VTEC Sport (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 0 average miles
nokian tires perform well,however the rubber gets old too quick,after only 3 years of usage they start showing deep cracks on the sidewall,
Helpful 32 - tyre reviewed on March 24, 2016
Given 71% while driving a Honda Stream (215/55 R17 W) on a combination of roads for 30,000 average miles
Had my first set of Nokian Z G2 215/55ZR17 (Made in Russia) fitted on my car for the past 4 years after reading the good reviews. However, after the 2nd year or approx 20,000 miles of rolling on city (70%)/highway (30%), the tyres became quite noisy. After the 3rd year, the tyres show signs of cracks and uneven wear although I performed wheel balancing and rotation for every 10,000 km. What surprises me is the tyres had very uneven wear and the inner blocks surface were high and low during one of the my regular wheel balancing and rotation. Mechanic checked my wheel alignment and there is nothing wrong. TIll now, I do not know why this set of tyres have so much uneven wear. I have used different types of tyres in the past (bridgestone, yokohama, michelin, falken, goodyear, dunlop) but never encounter this phenomenon before, Although the wear indicator is still showing 5 to 6 (almost new) for the tyres with 70% thread depth left, I decided to change the tyres as the tyres was getting too noisy.
Helpful 25 - tyre reviewed on December 17, 2016
Given 100% while driving a Alfa Romeo 3.0 automat (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 15,000 spirited miles
I found these tyres to be the best tyres I ever had on My car. Over 1 500 000 km on my back, I would recomend these tyres for all performanse cars. Feedback and grip in just great!
Helpful 29 - tyre reviewed on September 28, 2013
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Latest Nokian Z G2 Reviews

Given 67% while driving a Mercedes Benz SLK 200 (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 20,000 spirited miles
Short version: Not bad, bought again once, but now they got to go.

Long Version: Nothing wrong when driving civilized. No trouble with comfort, grip or anything. When the driving gets more exciting, usually when the roads get smaller and windier, they do a good but not outstanding job. A bit of give on the back end on dry surfaces, enough to get a rush but not so much as to end up in the bottom of the valley. Not great on wet roads. The back end gets lose quickly and ESP steps in to keep me out of that valley.

What opened my eyes a quite a lot was the Michelin Alpin 5 I got for the brief winter period. They're thiner than my summer tyres but provide a LOT more grip on wet AND dry roads. The latter one came unexpected. Now as the front wheels need replacement anyway I look into a complete replacement that gives me more confidence in the wet and grips at least as good on dry roads as the Alpin 5 does.

My sizes: 205/55/R16 (front) and 225/50/R16 (rear)
Helpful 25 - tyre reviewed on April 2, 2015
Given 89% while driving a Nissan 350Z (255/35 R19 W) on a combination of roads for 5,000 average miles
Used the set for the rear. at 20000km still have 30% more thread. Only replace because the inside of the tire is wearing out.

Good in dry and wet.

Really like how the Nokian tires are built and priced. Change all four to the new zLine and really like how smooth it rolls.
Helpful 19 - tyre reviewed on May 26, 2014
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Given 86% while driving a Fiat Abarth Punto Evo (215/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 6,000 spirited miles
These tyres give very impressive performance especially in the wet and under braking. They have stiff sidewalls which give good turn in and stability at the cost of a firm ride. The wear rate seems acceptable given the level of grip they provide.
As a summer tyre I am very pleased with these and they represent excellent value for money.
Helpful 26 - tyre reviewed on April 12, 2014
Given 87% while driving a Alfa Romeo 147 (215/45 R17 W) on a combination of roads for 4,000 spirited miles
The ZG2 is the the best breaking tyre in the 50 UHP tyre breaking test. What I have to say more. On that point this is the ultra premium tyre. 1 or 2 meters can make the difference. Not only for myself but also for the people in front of me. Breaking is for me one of the most important issues. Having accidents or not you decide mostly in the shop by what tyre you buy. So I buy only UHP tyres. I find the lives of myself and others more important than the little money you "safe" to try something cheap. Deuteronomium 22: When you build a house with a flat roof you have to put a fence around it, so it is not your guild when someone fall down.

So I try to buy products from countries where the human rights and rights from animals got respected.

Handling and grip in dry and wet. So good. In the wet I start to sing, so I know I have the right one (Far better than the good Sportmaxx RT). In the dry the Sportmaxx RT is sometimes a little better but in wet this one is.
Helpful 20 - tyre reviewed on February 18, 2014
Given 91% while driving a BMW 320i Msport (255/35 R18 W) on a combination of roads for 2,000 easy going miles
I mounted the Nokian ZG2 this spring on my BMW 3-series with different sizes 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear.
I took them for the great price and the flattering reviews found online.
Aesthetically they are very beautiful, very knobbly and make good their actual width.
On the road with the dry are really great, very precise and really impossible to undermine the power of my car.
I used them a little wet and, anyway, I would not be a reliable tester as I drive really carefully on slippery road.
After 3,000 km are really really happy with the purchase and buy another one.
Helpful 22 - tyre reviewed on August 22, 2013
Given 63% while driving a Audi A4 1.9 TDI (235/45 R17 W) on mostly motorways for 15,000 easy going miles
Very good tyres lots of grip ,quiet but now have to replace them after only 15000 miles due to wear... My previous tyres Dunlop , Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric both much better and last longer.
Helpful 24 - tyre reviewed on May 24, 2013
Given 87% while driving a Lexus IS 220D (205/55 R16) on a combination of roads for 3,000 spirited miles
Near silent, very comfortable with excellent wet grip. Slight going over at high speed bends on the dry but only slight. Alway feel safe and enjoy the quite drive especially on roads with awful quality like in the UK.
Helpful 25 - tyre reviewed on January 31, 2013
Given 76% while driving a Peugeot 407 sw (215/55 R17 W) on mostly town for 8,000 average miles
Exellent tyres, but...too noisy.
Helpful 28 - tyre reviewed on January 16, 2013
Given 100% while driving a Lexus IS200 (215/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 20,000 average miles
These are the best tyres I have ever had on my car. Nokian ZG2 handled brilliantly in the snow last year and improved my car's handling and quality of the ride. Only wish they were more freely available in the UK.
Helpful 22 - tyre reviewed on December 2, 2012
Given 93% while driving a Opel Astra H CDTI (205/55 R16 W) on a combination of roads for 100 spirited miles
Bought the tyres today I drove 160 kms with them. Great upgrade from Pilot Exalto 2, lots of grip , hard sidewalls but with more confort (I don't have any idea that this could be achieved!)

Lots of dry and wet grip, but I think that they aren't as progressive as the Pilot Exalto, but I'll review them again after the next 10.000 kms

Also they seem more silent than my previous tyres.

I don't expect them to last very long because the rubber is made from a very soft compound.
Helpful 30 - tyre reviewed on October 26, 2012
Given 81% while driving a Volvo 2.0 T5 Saloon (205/50 R16 W) on a combination of roads for 5,000 spirited miles
I am very pleased with these tyres. Amazingly quiet which I really appreciate after my long suffering with some industrial plastic sh.t they called "tyres".
In my size (205/50/16) it has the profile of the V but it is a very small difference and its compound is a Z.
Dry grip is excellent, it doesn't make a noise even in very hard cornering.
Wet grip is much better than my previous tyres and I have a very safe feel on the straits, however it is quite good in long curves also.
My fuel consumption is also better now. Not that much but it is noticeable (let's say about 5-8%).

I have to say that Nokian really CAN make summer tyres. I would definitely buy them again.
Helpful 16 - tyre reviewed on August 20, 2012
Given 57% while driving a Toyota MK2 MR2 NA (215/40 R17) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
I've driven this tyre for some months now and for the most part it is ok, but there are a few things that let the tyre down on my car.

In the wet the tyre behaves good, and grips well.
In the dry it lets go a bit fast. If you drive a bit hard and spirited the tyre slips on dry asphalt sooner than you would expect. This have happende to me a couple of times. I'm used to driving conti sport contact 3 on the car, and this had a lot more grip in the dry.

The biggest let down of the tyre however is that it is not able to drive in a straight line. You do constantly have to make minor corrections to the steering wheel to keep the car straight. The tyre follows tracks in the road like they were railroad tracks, and it is hard to keep the car from following deep tracks in the road.
When braking hard the tyre can't go straight either, and will pull the car to the side. This can be scary at high speeds, as you suddenly use two lanes when braking hard, because you have to correct the dirrection the tyres send you in.

On the pluss sides the tyre is very quiet and grips good in rain.
If it had been more direction stable, it would have been good. But the "unstabilty" of the tyre lets it down big time on a sports car.

I'va also tried the tyre on trackdays. If you are thinking about doing this:
In the rain it can be done. In the dry: DON'T do it.
If you are travelling at 180 km/h and brake hard, you will use the whole track to keep the car staight.
I have tyres with the XL sidewalls. This may cause these problems.

However I would not buy these tyres to any car. They are to expensive compared to what they offer in preformance.

Next time I'm probably buying goodyears or bridgestone.
Helpful 19 - tyre reviewed on June 9, 2012