Feedback from owners running (or having run) 19" rims

[TimGinCentralNJ]

Morning Gang-

I'm fighting the urge to find some 19" rims/tire for my '08 EX AWD, as this is my daily driver and I already have a "project car" with a couple sets of extra tires/rims. As a baseline, I am accustomed to driving cars with firm suspension and tires ranging from 40 series to 50 series profile. I'm just not sure how to gauge whether or not the EX's stock suspension combined with a 45 series tire would be a good "marriage".

For those of you running (or having run) these cars with 19" rims/tires, I'm curious to know the following:

-how you like(d) the handling, ride, and whether the wider tires made your EX tram-line too much
-whether you have experienced accelerated wear of the outer edge of your tires
-what kind of decrease in gas mileage you experienced

I would likely be running 245/45-19 tires (same size of the front tires on my old 7-Series which does tram-line quite a bit on our lovely NJ roads). Ideally, I'd love to run a 235/45-19 to help minimize the tram-lining, but there seem to be only about 3 tires made in that size, so that's a no-go.

Any feedback (positive and negative) you can offer on your experience would be much appreciated.

TIA,
Tim

[ralfp]

Got the QX50 with the 19" (245/45 19) wheels in NYC metro. I only drove the 18" for a few minutes (test drive). The ride is okay, not any worse than expected. The car does tramline more than other cars I drive, but those cars have narrower tires, smaller wheels, and higher profiles.

I cannot speak to wear, as the car has <3k miles on it. Gas mileage is not good: <18mpg when the other half drives it. When I drive it the average is about 19mpg.

[meanie]

I have a 2011 with the factory Bridgestone Turanza 19s. I can't compare the ride or handling to an EX with 18s as my car came with the 19s, but I can compare it to my prior car, a 2010 G37xS with factory Dunlop allweather 18s. The G had a harsher ride and tended to tramline more when the tires got to about 30k, and the EX feels better in the snow. Of course the G handled better, but I think that is more the car than the tires. I got slightly over 40,000 before my first tire replacement. I think the EX handles very nicely with the larger tires, but what I don't like is the low profile tires make it very prone to road rash, and potholes are very worrisome (although no blown tires yet, knock on plastic). But greater Boston roads look like the moon's surface this spring. I do think the larger tires fill the wheel wells better, and I like the stock wheels. I tend to average 19-20 mpg (US Gallons) in mixed driving with AWD (at the pump), slightly better in warmer weather, perhaps due to winter gas.

[JasperEdwards]

I have a 2011 EX35 Journey AWD with 19's and I loathe them. They substantially degrade the ride, and also create heavy and darty steering and create excessive road noise as well. Drove a 2010 with 17's and a 2012 with 18's and they both rode better and are quieter than the 19's and also steered better. Am looking to actively get rid of my 19's and would strongly prefer to get 17's if possible. In the meantime, I am running extremely low air pressure in the 19's which makes the ride more tolerable, but does not solve nearly all the problems created by such oversized wheels and low profile tires. I cannot understand at all why Infiniti offers the 19" wheels because they are way too big for this size vehicle. If anyone out there would like to trade for my 19's, I'm open to all offers. My vehicle has less than 13,000 miles on it and both the tires and wheels are in great shape. The only positive thing I can say about the tires on my car now is that they are in perfect balance and this is the first set of tires in a long, long time where all 4 have "road forced" out in the good area. On balance, if you value ride comfort, I say stay far away from the 19" wheels. In case anyone is wondering why I bought the vehicle I did with the 19's, it is because it was the only vehicle within 250 miles over a multi-month period that had low miles and a good price and drove well (apart from the tire issue). I got such a good deal that I figured that I could replace the wheels if I had to. Since then, however, we had to buy my wife a new car and so my budget for new wheels has shrunk to nearly nothing. I would still love to exchange the 19's for something smaller if I can find any cost effective way to do it.

[TimGinCentralNJ]

Jasper-

Thanks for the feedback. Wondering if we might be able to work some kind of deal. Let me noodle on it for a day and get back to you. Out of curiosity, where are you located?

Thanks,
Tim

[JasperEdwards]

I am located in Lenexa, Kansas.

[TimGinCentralNJ]

I am located in Lenexa, Kansas.

Hi Jasper-

Sure, right around the corner from my mom's side of the family in Overland Park. Really great area. Unfortunately, I'm in New Jersey. Ever vacation in New Jersey, by chance? No, I didn't think so

So, I looked into some shipping options, and sadly on shipping alone, I'm seeing quotes of in excess of a couple hundred bucks to ship a set of tires/rims. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem terribly cost effective even if we were to work out some kind of "swap" arrangement.

For what it's worth, you should have a fairly easy time finding a good set of used 17" factory rims (unless you're set on aftermarket) possibly even with rubber for a reasonable price. One woman here on the board had sold a set not too long ago for what I believe was less than $600 and with the original Michelins in pretty decent shape.

Hope this helps a little.

Rgds,
Tim

[JasperEdwards]

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Actually, last year, we did drive all the way to Connecticut to see my sister but we're probably not going to this year. I'm new to this forum. You're saying that there is a "for sale" area on it and that sometimes tires and wheels show up?

[TimGinCentralNJ]

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Actually, last year, we did drive all the way to Connecticut to see my sister but we're probably not going to this year. I'm new to this forum. You're saying that there is a "for sale" area on it and that sometimes tires and wheels show up?

Yessir. It's on the right side of the page under "Classifieds":

classifieds.html

I've seen a few sets in there over the couple of years I've been here, and run across a number of 17" sets on Ebay, as well.

I do plan on keeping this car for a few more years at least, so should you find yourself headed out here again in the future, let's talk!

Best of luck to you, as well....
Tim

[JasperEdwards]

Thanks very much. I'll definitely keep you in mind.