All-seasons on a 6MT?

[Mr986]

Hello all--first post.

After doing a lot of research on this car and the competitors--BMW, Audi--I decided this one had the best value for the dollar and decided to take it for a drive. I was very impressed and pretty much sold on the model with the 6MT gearbox until the issue of driving in the winter came up.

The stock 19" 050's are great tires but useless when it gets below 40 degrees; how do I know--I've got them on a Boxster. Since we need this car for 4 season driving, I tried to find an all-season that possibly I could do a new car take-off on--not! According to Tirerack there are no all-seasons in the staggered 19" sizes that come with the car. They quoted $1800 for another set of rims, Blizzaks and TPMS sensors--period.

Rather than spend $1800 on this extra set, I wondered if the 18" all-seasons that come with the base G37 would work or are the 14" rotors too big for the std wheel?

I've called the dealer and the reaction was to get another set of tires. I did that on an RX8, but have a track car and have 2 extra sets for it--I don't need another set of rims and tires in the basement.

I can't be the only person in this dilemma; anyone else out there pondering the same question? Solutions?

Thanks for any help.

BTW, BMW does offer all seasons std. on the 335i and 328i.

[G35autocrosser]

Mr986

I am also trying to figure out what to do. My plan is to get a set of 18" wheels that come stock (G37) from someone who is getting different/larger rims and using those for Winter and Autocrossing. I haven't researched if the 18" G35 rims fit yet. do you have any idea?

The brakes are identical on both G37 cars I believe so the 18"s shouldn't have any problem with clearence.

[DC G-Man]

I was approached by a G35 6MT (coupe) owner while I was out washing my new G, and he told me his sport tires and wheels make the car act like an elephant on ice skates with just even an inch of snow....Didnt want to hear that!

I have a BMW X5 that have summer rated tires and wheels and was contimplating winter tires and wheels too when I first purchased it. After all the brochure said sport package "was not intended for inclimate weather" Go figure its a frekin SUV and not indicated for winter weather.....Well needless to say ... I bought it anyway. LOL

Ive had it for 7 years now and in Maryland, we get snow and it has handled the snow pretty decently I must say.

The G37 is a rear wheel drive car and will act like one with any type of wheel or tires. I have been used to front wheel drive and AWD for some time now and it will be an experience. I may chance it and try this winter with its current stock and if it gets to unruley look into a winter set of wheels for the next season. Would have been nice for infiniti to include a AWD model like the sedan. ( heard its coming though)

Keep me posted, lets pray for a light snow winter!

[Mr986]

After checking the Infiniti web-site, the base coupe has 13" rotors to go with the 18" wheels--which makes me think the 18" wheels might have a clearance problem with the 14" rotors on the Sport/6MT models.

I think my plan--assuming the wife is onboard--will be to get an extra set of the 19" set of OEM rims on a takeoff and get the Blizzaks mounted on them.

We had them on the RX8 and they made it into a terrific bad weather car. The OEM 19" rubber gets hard at lower temps besides the tread pattern not set up for snow. The OEM Potenzas on the RX8 were a nightmare in winter driving and I'd guess the 050's on the G37 will be the same.

[sunny81]

bumping this thread to see if anyone has found a decent solution for all seasons on a G37S.

[jackdar]

I had Blizzak LM-25s on my 2003 G35 Coupe 6MT and they worked great here in the Philadelphia winters.

I just sent an email to the guy I worked with at TireRack to ask him for his recommendation (for my G37 6MT) and pricing and to address issues such as: not having TPMS in the second set of wheels, using the same size front and rear (to be able to rotate front to back to extend usefulness) and any potential impact on Vehicle Dynamic Control etc., and were there any other (smaller) size wheel / tire options that would generally do better in the snow?

I will post his response.

[G35autocrosser]

after looking into all of this... from tirerack. this is what I ended up with for $1500 and did not put the TPMS in the spare set (with no sensor you get a warning light but nothing else).

tirerack has a ton of 18" combos but you can only find them by going under "snow packages". they guarantee the fit.

20.4 lb rims 18"x9" there were narrower (anything down to 8") rims but I want them wider for autocross racing in the summer.

Blizzak Lm-25's. 245/45/18 all the same size so that I could rotate them. would have got narrow ones (better for snow), but couldn't b/c they had to fit the wider rims. using this size tire they were EXACT same outer diameter as my stock 19"'s on the rear, which is what matters most, and only very slightly different than front, which as you know is due to the front tires being a different size than rear on stock.

they came in the next day after ordering them! I will put them on next week and let you know...

[jtocci]

appreciate your comprehensive posting on this slippery topic. Having just skated in to work after a small 3 inch snow fall in my G37s, it's obvious I have to solve this problem today. It's been about a month since your post-- have you had a chance to test out your choice? Where did you buy the wheels? and tires? (tirerack for both?) I assume since the outside diameter of the tires is the same as the 19's the speedometer is OK. Thanks.

[G35autocrosser]

appreciate your comprehensive posting on this slippery topic. Having just skated in to work after a small 3 inch snow fall in my G37s, it's obvious I have to solve this problem today. It's been about a month since your post-- have you had a chance to test out your choice? Where did you buy the wheels? and tires? (tirerack for both?) I assume since the outside diameter of the tires is the same as the 19's the speedometer is OK. Thanks.

I put on the Bridgestones Blizzak about 2 weeks ago. they definately don't handle like the OEM Sport tires, but I am taking it easy with them as I live in Cleveland and need to have real winter tires. we haven't had much snow, but so far they have been fine with no issue of fit/speedometer/etc. I am also very happy with how the rims look... all were purchased from Tirerack. they are 18"x9" tires 5 or 6 spoke, weighing 21 lbs. I don't remember the brand. i didn't do the TPMS sensors, so it flashes for 1 min, then is a small light on the dash I can certainly live with. total cost was just over $1500, but the rims were on clearance.

[Oncoman]

Hi Jackdar,

I live in the philly area and am wondering to buy the X or the 6mt? I am concered about the snow and ice we get in the philly area? I see from your last posting you have the 6mt and use snow tires? Has this been fine in the philly winters?

[samyueru]

Just ordered my car (gotta wait til APRIL!!!) but just wondering if you can even fit 4 tires in the car if you had to drive them somewhere to have them mounted...

[mranderson]

...just wondering if you can even fit 4 tires in the car if you had to drive them somewhere to have them mounted...

4 tires IN the car? Not a chance. Won't happen.

[samyueru]

yeah, didn't think so

[RedG37SNC]

Just did a search on Tire rack, there are 19" Blizzak tires. I clicked on the winter tires and choose infiniti G37 Sport and it came up with this.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...ace=0

Size: 225/45VR19 Blackwall VR Speed Rated Price: $222.00 (each)

Estimated Availability:In Stock
Modified by RedG37SNC at 12:44 PM 12/30/2007

[zozoka1212]

You can do it yourself in the garage or take it to the shop where they store your tire for a season. My friend does that for the last 2 years.

zozo

[jackdar]

Hi Oncoman, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. You may recall the snow storm we had here in the Philly area on Valentine's day last year that dropped six inches of snow. At the time, I had a new set of Pirelli Ultra High Performance All-season Radials and I made it to work just fine. I previously had the Blizzak LM25s on my '03 6MT Coupe and they were terriffic....so either seems to work. I will admit, I do have more confidence with the Blizzaks that I just put on my '08 G37S 6MT (especially after just having slid my wife's BMW X3 sideways into a curb - causing $7,000 worth of damage {without any body damage}).