back from Orlando with my new 02 Q

[cablemn]

Picked it up from the seller and the car was a little better than I expected condition wise. The interior is flawless. The leather in this car is on par with Mercedes and Bmw. It is thick hide and the seat under it is firm but comfortable. A few nicks and scratches on the outside but nothing a good polish wouldn't take care of. Now for the problems. Not many but annoying none the less. First the was the key situation. The car came with only one key fob and no emergency or valet key so i have to have these made from the vin number at the dealer unless someone has a better source. The key fob i was given needed a battery which i found out only after i was locked out of the car at a restaurant on my way home. A map light blew out under my short watch also and there is a window shade clip that needs replacing on one of the rear side windows. The covers on the engine are loose due to the clips being cracked or missing but those things always get brittle from the heat. My biggest problem though was with the passenger side headlight which i think has a faulty hid unit. The headlight comes on intermittently. I will tap you guys for info on some of these problems in seperate threads. All in all I am very happy with this vehicle so far. The ride on the sport suspension is just right for me and i averaged 22 mpg for the ride home at a respectable 80mph. And i just love the turning radius for such a big car.The hesitation situation mentioned on here and in reviews has not raised its ugly head yet so i dont think i will excercise the gas pedal ecu flash thing quite yet. I now see why this car is held in such high esteem by you guys. You just cant do better for the money. Once i get some nice weather I can clay bar it and detail it. I use Rejex to protect it cause it gives it such a deep shine and you can use it on everything, even the windows. Once i Rejex it the burgundy metallic will really pop and I'll take some artsy pics of it. It's nice to finally be a member of the club.

[maxnix]

Congratulations. Hope it can stay salt free.

Do change all fluids and filters that you cannot verify that are less than 1 year old.

[Alter-ego]

Cable,

Big Congrats bro, I'm sure your ride home was just as sweet as mine! The whole way I kept saying to myself, "I can't believe this car is mine". I've never ridden in nor seen such a beautiful ride in person.

I'm still on cloud nine!

Later, AE

[Alter-ego]

By the way, I only got one key! I didn't even think about what would happen if the battery went dead! It never crossed my mind that there is no other way into the vehicle.

My wife suggested keeping a spare battery in my wallet when I read your post to her.

[xerexabante]

Get a key Fob on ebay then bring it to the dealer to program. You need the Dealer to program the key to start the car. You can program the key fob by yourself to unlock and unlock but to start the car you need the dealer programing.

[mhoepfin]

I think you may have bought my car!

The one key, broken rear sun shade clip and color make me think so.

Although I didn't have a problem with the headlights when I traded it in...

Does it have nearly new Nitto 555 tires and about 65k miles?

[cablemn]

It has

I think you may have bought my car!

The one key, broken rear sun shade clip and color make me think so.

Although I didn't have a problem with the headlights when I traded it in...

Does it have nearly new Nitto 555 tires and about 65k miles?

It has 92k and it did come from an auction in GA. When did you trade her in? And what is your first name? I have some records with the previous owners name on them. Nevermind I just checked your name in your profile. I dont think its your old Q. what was your VIN?

[mhoepfin]

If it has 92k, it can't be it. I just traded it in last month with around 65k..

I had an impossible time finding the sunshade clip. I talked to Joe at Inifinitiparts.com and he was going to order one, but I never saw it. The local dealer was stumped.

You can order a key fob on ebay and the dealer will charge around $100 to program it.

Good luck!!

[StarPD]

cablman, congrats on your new-to-you '02 Q45. I bought a 2005 a year ago, and am happy as a clam with it. The F50 is indeed a fine car.I second the advice to change ALL of the fluids, every single one, and I suggest a wheel alignment too, and of course, change them again regularly sooner than owner's manual says. Don't forget to treat that nice leather interior and do it regularly too. My '05 was missing plastic clips and the little rubber bumpers all over, and I had my dealer replace them all. Check the ccar out completely to find all the missing ones.

One tip I can give you. When I complained of excessive understeer here, Q45 Tech suggested running tire pressures above recommended, with the rears around 3 to 4 lbs more than the front. I did it (34 front, 37 rear) , and the understeer is greatly reduced. Strangely enough, it seems to have more steering effort (which I like), more road feel, and doesn't wander as much. FWIW, I'm running Bridgestone 245/45-18Z W100 RE050A "Pole Position" tires on chrome TSW "Kyalami" 18 x 8 wheels. They seem pretty good. UTG wear rating is only 140, but after 10,000 miles, I still have plenty of tread left, I'm guessing at maybe another 20k worth.

I had European Detail Specialists here in Phoenix put "Glare" paint protector on it, and dirt won't stick to it. After driving in the rain, it looks freshly washed, even after it dries off. GREAT stuff. Supposed to last 3 to 5 years, but I don't really trust that. Still European says it will definitely last at least 2 years, maybe 3.

Oh, another thing. You may be missing the cargo net in the trunk. If so, it's a handy thing to have. There should already be clips to attach it to, they're just a little hard to find. I think they cost around $50, and worth it.

Enjoy your '02. It's a great car.

[cablemn]

Thanks for the tips and the good wishes. Oil and transmission were changed and flushed and the rest will be done soon. That paint treatment sounds just like the Rejex product that i already use. It has the same effect. All you do is hose the car off and its clean. As for the tires they are going to be replaced with wider Kumho ASX Z rated tires. I've had such great experience with this brand and they are cheapest! They handle great and last long. So good are they that I use the runflats on my Corvette. Kumho is japans largest tire company i believe and thats why they can undersell the competition. Read some of the reviews on tirerack about them. But i will try the inflation pressure you suggest. I love playing around with cheap mods. Lastly i do have the cargo net. In fact i have many. Every time i've traded in a vehicle i remove the net and keep it. The dealer never asks about it and i now have quite a collection.

[maxnix]

As for the tires they are going to be replaced with wider Kumho ASX Z rated tires. I've had such great experience with this brand and they are cheapest! They handle great and last long. So good are they that I use the runflats on my Corvette. Kumho is japans largest tire company...

Kumhos (owned by Korean gangbangers) does not have a good reputation on, well any car compared to a Tier One maunufacturer. Read Q45tech's experience with them. All that can be said is they are nearly round when new. Usually take an ounce or two to balance from what I have read, but that of course could also be attributed to the cheapo wheel these types (Q45tech excepted) tend to use.

No reflection on you, but most who praise this tire are comparing them to Coopers or Hankook or Fuzion....well, you get the idea.

[qship96]

I agree with Brian

You got to ask yourself....self, if Kumhos are such a big tire company in Japan,why doesnt Nissan,toyota,Honda,etc use them on ANY of their cars as original equipment? the answer is because they are a second tier, inferior tire and unsuitable for even these mid-priced manufacturers,and you want to put these balloons on a 4000 lb luxury vehicle? Tires are the wrong place to pinch pennys

There are certain items you dont want to pinch pennys onTiresCondomsParachutes

[cablemn]

As i said before I've had nothing but good experience with Kumho. As for comparison I had Goodyear Eagle F1 runflats on my vette and replaced them with Kumho runflats both zrated both the same size and the kumhos performed better in every category and they did it at half the price. I had no problems with balance. I've also had them on my 1999 VW jetta, my 2001 Ford expedition, and my 2004 toyota solara and never had one problem. Not even a flat. But hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion and i appreciate yours enough to do some more research about these tires. You've piqued my interest. I will tell you one thing, I had a nissan altima 3.5 that came with Brigestones and they were the worst tire i ever owned.I'm not trying to pinch pennys I'm trying to get my moneys worth. There is a difference. Sometimes the best doesn't have to cost the most.

[cablemn]

Does anyone else have opinions on which tires would go well on a 02 Q?

[qship96]

Michelin pilot sport a/s ,or summer version{ps2} if you dont see extreme cold weather or ANY snow/ice in your area

Sorry,see you are in NY-get all season tires,unless you want to buy a winter set AND a summer set of tires.

Other good, but less expensive all season tires for the Q would be Continental ContiExtremes, Yokohama W4S {new,highly rated at tirerack},both of these are about 1/2 the cost of the Michelins

[NY94J30]

If you're looking at all season tires, look at the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position or the Goodyear F1 A/S.

[maxnix]

For bang fo rthe buck, I like the Avon Tech M500. The all season (lesser performing tire for "all season" means compromised summer tire and not bery good snow tire) is the M550.

Not a PS2, but better than many of the others costing twice as much.

[99q45t_vl]

Michelin pilot sport a/s ,or summer version{ps2} if you dont see extreme cold weather or ANY snow/ice in your area

Sorry,see you are in NY-get all season tires,unless you want to buy a winter set AND a summer set of tires.

Other good, but less expensive all season tires for the Q would be Continental ContiExtremes, Yokohama W4S {new,highly rated at tirerack},both of these are about 1/2 the cost of the Michelins

My experience with ContiExtremes wasn't very good. Cheap tires, but the sidewalls were not stiff enough. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on the other hand were much better. This month I had the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position tires installed. Like them so far.

[cablemn]

I've been doing a little research about this subject and found some interesting information. It seems what some would consider "1st tier" tire companies like Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, and Bridgestone also manufacture what some would call "2nd tier tires". 1.Michelin also produces Uniroyal and BF Goodrich. Both tires are routinely offered on production vehicles but i cant remember considering either for a high performance vehicle. I don't think uniroyal even makes a Z rated tire.

2.Goodyear also produces Dunlop, Kelly, SP, Sava, and Debica??? never even heard of that one. Am i to believe that because a Tier 1 manufacturer produces Debica that tire is better than any other?

3.Continental also makes General , and Semperit and a couple others i wont even mention Contis and general are 2 brands which I've had bad personal experiences with.

4. Bridgestone also makes the tires most commonly associated with tire failure...FIRESTONE!!! Does anyone remember the massive Firestone 500 recall many years back?

If you read some of the reviews on Tirerack.com about alot of these tires you wont see many bad reviews about Kumho's. In fact I dont think i've read anything bad about them at all. I think it's all about personal preference. I think alot of people truly believe that if you pay more for a product the product is better. When i decided to go with Kumho i did so because of the reviews I've read about them by people who drove the same cars as mine in the same conditions. The thing that sealed the deal for me was the price. Also, I'm not looking to shave seconds off my lap times with my Q45, I'm looking for a comfortable luxury cruise down the highway and that rarley happens above 80 mph. I think any Z rated tire can handle that. If I want excitement i wait for the warm weather and rip up the streets and highways with my Vette. As an aside i found it interesting that MAXNIX thinks Avon is a good tire in the "Bang for the Buck" category being made by Cooper, a so called 2nd tier manufacturer. And i quote "No reflection on you, but most who praise this tire are comparing them to Coopers or Hankook or Fuzion....well, you get the idea." BTW if you want to see who makes the tires on this planet heres the link...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...anies
Modified by cablemn at 8:51 PM 1/30/2008

[oldmako]

I just read a study which backs up much of your assertion regarding price.

A group of people were given wine samples and told the relative prices of each bottle. They pretty much uniformly gave the higher priced wines the thumbs up, and the lesser known, lower priced brands the thumbs down. Turns out they were drinking the same wine. The moral was, you might as well buy the expensive stuff, cuz you'll be SURE that it's better!

WRT tires, I think that Michelins are phenomenal tires. Well, at least their light truck tires, and light sports car tires. I have no experience with a Mich which would fit on a Q45. I have run them for years and they last forever, run quiet, and handle beautifully. Over the years I have run many different brands of tires, from junk to $$$ depending on my personal fortunes at the time of purchase. Hands down I prefer not to skimp and to buy "hi-end" tires. I have never had a problem with a "hi-end" or top tier tire, but I have had failures with some of the junkers. But, I am currently 35K into a set of fairly cheap bridgestones on my Silverado....and they look great. The Michelins I wanted at the time were significantly more expensive, but I was unemployed at the time so I had to skimp. It does crack me up when someone gives me sh%t for not spending enough of my money.

[mcrews]

I am on my second set of Kumhos 255/45/18 (asx i think). got over 40k on the first set and had no problems. Had them balanced and rotated for free every 7-10k.Very quite tire.I now have a set on my 99 Jaguar XJ8 VDP. Again, I am pleased with all cgaracteristics of the tire. It rains here in Texas where I base the Jag at. So the "comprimise that Brian refers to is VERY acceptable to me.

I also run the tiers on the Q at 36/39 and like the results.

Mark

[mhoepfin]

I put Nitto 555's on my Q45 Sport and they were awesome. Handled well, rode well, looked good.

About $180 apeice from http://www.tires.com if I recall.