Hey everyone!!

I'm in the process of pricing out new tires for my G35X. I'm thinking of replacing all 4 tires with the Avon Tech M550, but going with the 235/50 r17 size instead of the stock 215's.

I have a couple of concerns about these tires.

First, I had seen on tire rack's website that there are a few people who bought these tires and found that there were a lot of weights that were placed on the rims to balance them. It seems to be the way the tires are manufactured. I'm not sure if anyone has experienced this. Is it a problem?? (The Michelin Pilot A/S's don't seem to have this situation. But the Michelin's are over $200.00 per tire, while the Avon's are about 135 per tire.)

My other concern is what if I get a flat tire and need to use the existing spare tire that has the OEM size on it (215/55 r17). Could this be a problem for the drivetrain, especially on the G35X with the all wheel drive? I guess to resolve this, I could get a new spare tire anyway to keep all tires the same size.

Any thoughts on this are greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!!

PG

Might be the TMPS. I know my coupe tires, both the factory Michelin PS and my Current S-03's have a bunch of weights, mainly directly opposite of the valve stem. While the TPMS sensors aren't huge or very heavy, they do have weight that needs compensation for. AS long as you have these sensors, you are likely going to need a lot of weights.

If you are that concerned about it, you can try and minimize it by having your tires mounted and balanced by a Hunter Road Force machine. This machine can actually allow a tech to match low spots on a wheel to the high spot on a tire. This minimizes the need for weights. You will likely still need weights, and with a TPMS, you'll probably still need quite a few, but whould be able to knock a few off this way. Though, I reserve having to pay extra for this service for cars where I am having a tough time getting the tire/wheels to balance.

There's are two things to keep in mind with tires

1. No tire and wheel is truely round, and they all have a "high" and "low" spot.2. A a result of this, every tire and wheel also has a heavy spot.

Now, the heavy spot and high/low spots are generally not in the same place.

No as far as tires go, the better the manufactuing process (like..michelin for example) the more minimised those bad attributes are.

There are a few ways to ensure a good balance, and ahving a good tech doing it is primary. But, a better tire will roll smoother and now have the large heavy spots of a tire that's assembeled with less precise methods, or subjected to a lower quality controll level.

WHen I did someone balancing on an expensive car wth lower end tires, it made me cringe for that exact reason. Now, you can do a few things:-match the eavy spot to the light spot (tire/wheel) or vice versa-match the low spot to the high spot or vice versa.

Idealy, you'd net a similar result with each method, but in practice this sin't true. Just because an assembly "rolls well" (IE, it douesnt move left/right or up down when its spinning because the low and high spots are in good alignment) doesn't mean that it will be better ballanced, weight wise.

This also applies in reverse. A well ballanced wheel (taking litle weight) might roll like crap.

Also, yes with an AWD drivetrain, you want to minimize the difference in both tread type, depth and size otherwise it amy cause damage. Obviouly driving on a 215-55-17 for 10 miles won't kill you, but if you did it for a long distance it will put a lot of undue stress on the drivetrain...

You'll want the keep your spare and regular tires mathced pretty well to avoid that debacle.

-Chet

I guess that no matter how well the tire is balanced, it should be checked frequently too. This will help in the longevity of the tire, etc.

Now another question: in order to keep all the tires the same size as the spare tire, should I either get new tires to match the existing size of the spare tire (the OEM size of 215/55/17) or should I consider also replacing the spare tire to the 235/50/17 along with the other 4 tires?? Like you mentioned, I just don't want to stress out the drivetrain if I have to drive a distance with the spare tire.

Again thanks in advance for all the great comments.

pg

I like the Michelins, but they get rough when they get old. Lowering the pressure seems to help some. I am running Continentals on my Q, and I really like them so far.

PGrated wrote:I guess that no matter how well the tire is balanced, it should be checked frequently too. This will help in the longevity of the tire, etc.

Now another question: in order to keep all the tires the same size as the spare tire, should I either get new tires to match the existing size of the spare tire (the OEM size of 215/55/17) or should I consider also replacing the spare tire to the 235/50/17 along with the other 4 tires?? Like you mentioned, I just don't want to stress out the drivetrain if I have to drive a distance with the spare tire.

Again thanks in advance for all the great comments.

pg

Well technically your not supposed to drive with your spare on for long distances. I forgot the number but 50 miles I think?

I just got some new rear tires, Falken St115 I believe are the make and model. They were a great price from this online store. So far drives a little different since I have OEM Michelin in the front but that will change soon.

Is this true even for a full size spare tire?? I thought that by having a full size spare tire, you don't have the limitations of a doughnut spare tire; distance being one of them. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks again!!pg

If the spare is the same size and make/model there shouldn't really be any problem driving on the spare.

See now that is getting me thinking that maybe I should go for 5 new tires, replacing the spare tire also; especially if I go with the 235/50/17's. But, will the 235 fit in the wheel compartment in the floor of the trunk??

One of my biggest concerns is getting caught a long distance away from a reputable place to get a tire replaced or fixed and needing to use the spare tire to drive that distance (especially if I have the kids with me and/or my wife is driving the car with the kids)...safety is my biggest concern as well as not wrecking the drivetrain on the car.

Anyway, I think I'm going to need to order tires soon, probably before the heavy winter sets in... I guess I can always order 4 tires to start, try one in the wheel compartment to see if it fits or not, then order a 5th.

PG