Anyone have Michelin Primacys? Another Trambling Thread ,Input Request

[SteveTheTech]

For some time now I have been following along with the Road Crown related leading issues that you guys were talking about and dealing with.

In a thread here I remember reading about someone installing Michelin Primacies to resolve leading issues on the highways. There is not a component that can be "corrected" it can however be counteracted by installing certain types of tires. For those who drive their M daily with very little need to a performance tire than the Primacies would be a decent choice.

However, Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting a very friendly gentleman with a low mileage 06 M35x. He has these Primacies with ~1500 miles on them. (see the photos below) During my routine inspection of the tires during the oil change I noticed the front tires were exhibiting signs of feather edging. I performed rotation and balance and an alignment for my own curiosity. I found that the camber was in spec (~0.5 degrees of negative camber) total toe was a little out (spec is 0.1 plus of minus 0.05 I think, don't hold me to that) the observed initial total toe was 0.28 (0.14* on each front wheel).

My goal of this is to consolidate some information on the tires solutions that some of the owners have found. You guys are helping me do what I can to help you. I will try to compile a list and submit it to Infiniti as a potential recommendation. There does not appear to be much of a solution to this as any alteration will have ramifications in other systems that will alter the overall driving experience in a negative way.



(yes,that is a Nico calender in the back round and part of my undersized tool box)

To prevent any further damage to these tires I dual plane balanced them, whomever installed them only mounted weights on the rim (single plane, or static balance) I also placed the RF on the LR and LF to RR to try to smooth out the edges of the tires. This another pro for the Primacies, the Contis cannot be cross rotated without being dismounted ($$$).

I am hoping that these tires are worn due to total toe being out of spec. I would really like to find a tire that for most drivers will help balance out the road by absorbing any deviation that the tight suspension will not allow for.

The Continentals also work well although I have yet to come across an M owner that is either interested in or in need of tires since I have began hunting for one, so I need your help as there are many more people here with Ms that take interest in this kind of thing.

Thank you all for your participation and sorry for the rant.

Steve

[mmm..good]

Hey Steve:

Yes - I just put on a set of Primacy's 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Tramlining is completely gone - both at highway speed and around town. The old RSA's were really bad, especially near intersections with any amount of "ruts". No probelm with the Michelins. I barely have 300 miles on them, so not able to determine any unusal wear. My car ('06 M35X) had 25,950 miles when I put them on. I'm due for an alignment at 30K. Should I get it done now or wait the 4K miles? The car tracks straight with no pull left or right. Also, the wheels were balanced by the folks who put on the tires (Costco), but what is a dual balance? I'm gussing they didn't do this.

[SteveTheTech]

The easiest way to tell what type of balance was performed by simply looked between the spokes and looking for shiny new stick on weights. If you do not see them you may want to think about making an appointment to get the tires dual plane of dynamic balanced and aligned.

You may want to think about getting the alignment done a little early to make sure that your starting fresh with new tires and your close enough to 30k that it still counts.

I would strongly suggest taking it to the dealer and asking for a copy of the printout. I am very curious to see if they are basically aligned properly from the start if they show signs of wear (indicating the stock -0.5* camber is not good for those tires).

Thanks for your participation.

[mmm..good]

Just checked the wheels - yes I can see the new weights - can also see where they took off the old ones as well. I may wait until about 27.5 or so on the alignment. I do know that I'll get these rotated every 5K - should get over 40K as I'm not a "spirited" driver. (well, maybe sometimes!)

[M4T5]

1500mi on them and feathering huh...I could be the toe adjustment being out that caused this issue. Some vehicles are just plain less forgiving than others when the adjustments are out of spec slightly. Was the tires found to be out of balance as well? Yes, single plain or static balance is not the way to go with any balance on any rim/ tire.Dual plane only (stick on weights closest the inner wheel spokes and if possible a hammer on weight on the inner wheel lip).This would be the best way to properly balance these wheels.For the best wear on tires for our cars, I recommend rotating & balancing them every oil change (3,000-4,ooomi max).I too am thinking from all these handling issues and tire wear issues that the OEM alignment specs may be too agressive or not within the correct parameters of the car's suspension geometry. I hope you figure something out with Infiniti on this.

J

[M45Caliber]

I have a set of Yokohama Avid W4S - 245-45-18 on my M45 right now. These have over 15K miles on them and there is still 7/32 tread left. When we aligned and rotated the tires last (about 1K miles ago) we noticed more wear on the inner edges of the Front tires. After checking the camber on the front, we determined that although it was is spec, it was at the edge of the acceptable range, so my tech dialed it back a little bit.

These do NOT tramline and the performance in dry and wet is phenominal. They have a 400 AAA rating and it looks like I will get 30K plus out of them. I just looked at Tire Rack, and these also happen to be one of the 2 or 3 lowest priced tires out there. These also aced their performance tests and also happen to ride nice and quiet.

I was thinking about Michelins next year, when these wear out, but based on the fact that I like these so much and will save a couple of hundred bucks over the Michelins, I will probably just buy another set of these.