New Tires

[thefos00]

I will need new tires soon for my 92 Q45 (stock, std suspension). Reading the posts, I notice many recommendations for sizes different than standard. Is there any consensus on this, or should I just be conservatiive and go with the factory size? Also, the Yokohama's seem like crowd pleasers, but they are harder to find at my local stores. Any luck with Michelin's ? Extra cost will probably limit me to tires only, unless someone has a line on cheap wheels for reeplacement. Thanks for any inputs.

[szh]

Please try the SEARCH key ... there have been many posts on this topic!

Z

[Jesda]

Everyone thinks I'm a sinner because I ride on OEM size Douglas Performance.

[Q45tech]

It's not that we think you are a sinner, but experience has taught us that 80% of vibration problem are tire choice related and the other 20% is evenly divided by wheel and bushing wear.

We try to save members from mistakes we have all made.

We all have a wishful tendency to hope that some new inexpensive tire will work out as well as some expensive ultra premium tire.

Not wanting to believe that to get a 10% improvement usually doubles the cost.

[louiegz]

I have Michelin Pilots on my 95 Q. Stock Size. They work just fine. Q45tech, what tires do you recommend? I'd also like to know what you have on your Q. The short time I've been a member of this forum, I've seen that you are one of the most knowledgeable contributors in this forum on Qs. My Q has 67000 miles on it and I'm due to replace a lot of things that are worn or will be worn. Not only that, it would be nice to get a little extra performance out of those big beautiful Q of ours.

[maxnix]

Guys, please do a search on tire. There are extensive discussions.

[szh]

I have Michelin Pilots on my 95 Q. Stock Size. They work just fine.

This is incomplete information! Which Michelin Pilot? Did you mean Pilot Sport? Pilot Sport AS? Pilot XGT V4? Pilot XGT H4? These are all very different tires; tread characteristics, wet weather handling, wear, etc., etc., etc.

As you can see, there are a lot of possible answers to the original question. I would still highly recommend a search of prior posts in this and the Tires forum - you will learn a lot about what tires work well for a Q! Including Dennis's (Q45Tech) comments on tires for a Q ...

BTW, not too long ago, I posted a long list of possible tires for a Q (stock 15" rims as well as larger 17" ones), in a form that you could easily bring into Excel!

Z

[Q45Viper]

If you're still on the standard 15 inch rims I would really suggest sticking to the original equipment Michelin Pilot Sport XGT V4 215 65 15. Or go up a size or two if they are still availabe and the experts at tire rack can tell you that it will not affect the speedo much. I've tried other brands and been dissapointed, I always come back to these. And I get great mileage out of them and of course they match the load rating for the car. They are probably not the exact spec as they were back in 92, at least according to some here, but you probably won't get much closer. The clincher is where you live, you have no need for anything more than the a high performance good wearing tire, no real bad weather issues.

[Jesda]

I cant argue with your experience, and the old saying, "You get what you pay for" is often true. I was driving on some "get me by" BFG Advantage tires for a while, and they certainly did get me across the country, but all the wheelspin and fast wear got old.

But I think I got lucky with my particular set of Douggies. I might spring for Yokos later when my wallet is fatter. Never been disappointed by Yokohama (though there seems to be one model out there that doesnt hold up well, search the forum for a story about a Q45 with an exploding tire on the highway).

[BadQ45t]

I think that the 225 60 15 size worked out nice on that car, my dad put those on his 92' since there are not as many choices in the 15" size. You should let us know what you're trying to do, get more performance, etc. Since the rim isn't that wide you cannot go much bigger than 225's, this is not a very big size IHMO for the size of the car, I just replace my 16" with 17" rims on my 1997 and did 245/45 17 and it was a huge difference. i justed the Yokohama ES100's in WR rating, for the money these ar ea great value and the load rating is right. There have been several people that had good luck with the Firestone Firehawk's SZ's but those were more $$$ than I wanted to spend. i recommend the ES100's, very cool tires.

[louiegz]

Michelin Pilot XGT H4 215 65 R15. Sorry for the incomplete information, szhosain. By the way, what where the OEM tires? Q45Viper said they were Pilots but I dont think my 95 Q had those. Of corse, it's been a long time since I had the original tires on the car so I dont remember.

[szh]

Original tire was: "Michelin XGTV" in a 215/65-15. Not made anymore. Pictures are available in an old post by Dennis.

Replacement was: "Michelin Pilot XGT V4". Tire is terrible in wet weather. Downright scary, IMHO.

Alternative is: "Michelin Pilot XGT H4". Works well, according to Dennis, in a 235/60HR15. Personally, I am leery of it due to my poor XGT V4 experiences.

Best (in my opinion, and Dennis likes them too): "Firestone Firehawk SZ50EP" in a 225/60ZR15.

Sorry to keep belaboring an issue (and I am really not helping you all learn with this post either), but you gotta check the old posts, guys ... there is a lot of tire information available.

Z

[maxnix]

DITTO on what Z says, and I have used the XGT H4, but not on a Q45. Abandoned them as too poor in the wet before I purchased the Qs.__________________Brian1995 Q45 & Q45t & 2000 Q45

Discover the power of the button!

[louiegz]

My Michelin Pilot XGT H4 are 215/65HR15 on the OEM rim. How much of an inprovement in handeling is there going to the 235/60HR15. That might be the ticket when I need new ones, unless I upgrade to 16 in rims. Buy the way, does anyone know how good are the Rage brand rims on the Discount tire web site. They're cheap and the look nice but are they too cheap. The dont give much info on them and they look like it's thier house brand. They might suck.

[Q451990]

I gotta tell you... if you upgrade to 16" wheels (I'm using the 97-01 Q45 Standard Style) with Michelin XGTH4 255/50/16 with a 99H load rating... you're going to be very happy. Tire Rack had these on sale for $101 each last spring... not sure what they're selling for now. Bar none the best tire combination I've driven on a Q - the car rides on rails.

Heath

[louiegz]

How they look, Q451990? Got pics? Any other mods done? Do those big tires scrape the wheelwell at all?

[szh]

I gotta tell you... if you upgrade to 16" wheels (I'm using the 97-01 Q45 Standard Style) with Michelin XGTH4 255/50/16 with a 99H load rating... you're going to be very happy. Tire Rack had these on sale for $101 each last spring... not sure what they're selling for now. Bar none the best tire combination I've driven on a Q - the car rides on rails.

Heath

Two observations.

First. At Tire Rack, there are apparently two 255/50-16 XGT H4's - one is designed for a rim width of 6.5"-10" and the other for a rim width of 7"-9". The sidewall characteristics of these are probably quite different - please make sure that you get the right one for the 16" rim you have. Prices right now for these tires is $152 and $155 each.

Second. If you are okay with the wet weather performance of the XGT, and/or want to stick with Michelin, then the above is fine. However, I would much rather recommend that you consider getting the Firestone Firehawk SZ50EP in a 255/60-15 size. It is also rated at 99 load index, at a higher speed rating of Z, and costs less - $143 at Tire Rack. This can be mounted on rim widths of 7"-9". IMHO, you will get better results (with regard to wet weather handling, tracking on rails, highway quietness, etc.) than the XGT' H4's.

Z

[thefos00]

Thanks to all. There were many replies that were helpful in trying to decide what the options are. Maybe I should have said this in the first msg, but I did do a search and I read everything that turned up. Although there was a wealth of info, there didn't seem to be much agreement. If there was a listing available I missed it. Anyway, it was interesting to see that this subject produces so many diverse opinions, even after so much past discussion. Seems to be a matter of strongly held opinions. I do appreciate the updates and opinions.

[Q451990]

How they look, Q451990? Got pics? Any other mods done? Do those big tires scrape the wheelwell at all?

I think they look great. I haven't taken pictures yet, but I have plans for a "photo shoot" soon when I finish cleaning up "Q1" and take the pictures for her "for sale" post here.

No scraping the wheel wells!

Heath

[Q451990]

First. At Tire Rack, there are apparently two 255/50-16 XGT H4's - one is designed for a rim width of 6.5"-10" and the other for a rim width of 7"-9". The sidewall characteristics of these are probably quite different - please make sure that you get the right one for the 16" rim you have. Prices right now for these tires is $152 and $155 each.

Second. If you are okay with the wet weather performance of the XGT, and/or want to stick with Michelin, then the above is fine.

There are two versions of the tire - one is a single ply sidewall (the one for $152 and what I purchased on sale for $102 earlier in the year) - the $155 one is the double-ply sidewall.

I've never had problems with the wet weather performance of any Michelin (with good treads) with the exception of a set of tires that the former owner put on my 1991 Maxima shortly before I bought her in 1995. I don't remember the model, but they were supposed to be guaranteed to last for 80K.

Maybe I don't push things very hard in the rain...

Heath

[szh]

If there was a listing available I missed it.

Ya did not look hard enough!

Here is the link to the list I posted not too long ago - look down the second page about five or six posts. I included prices from three sources, tire specs, needed rim widths, etc. on 15" and 17" tires. I did not focus on 16" rims too much, so the info on that size is very skimpy, but the info on 15" tires for stock rims is pretty complete for good tires from Tire Rack, Discount Tire Direct and Victoria Tires (no winter tires though!).

In this list, I made sure that the correct load index was used (no tires below 95) and correct speed rating (no tires below H) and no winter tires.

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....ber=2

Z

[szh]

Maybe I don't push things very hard in the rain...

With the Pilot XGT V4, you do not have to push very hard at all. I have spun these tires on gentle starts from a stop light in rain. !

There have been other posts from people here too - I recall one person whose wife made a turn from a stop at a parking lot entrance, spun the Q, ended up facing the wrong way and got hit by another car (truck?).

I would NEVER put Michelin Pilot XGT V4's on any car ever again! It is a scary wet weather tire ... shudder!

Z

[Q45denver]

I gotta tell you... if you upgrade to 16" wheels (I'm using the 97-01 Q45 Standard Style) with Michelin XGTH4 255/50/16 with a 99H load rating... you're going to be very happy. Tire Rack had these on sale for $101 each last spring... not sure what they're selling for now. Bar none the best tire combination I've driven on a Q - the car rides on rails.

Heath

I'm using the same combination on my Q. I "upgraded" from the XGTH4 235/60/15" a couple of months ago. I find that the new tires flatspot more. I will try raising the pressure from the current 32 lbs to see if it helps. The ride with the new tires is much harsher and sort of bouncy. Also the tires tends to follow any surface irregularity and sometimes pull to the right. At the same time, the car handles and breaks much better-like on rails. There is a definite trade-off but probably won't go back to the old wheels except for snow tires as I like the look of the new ones better. I wonder if some of the problem has to do with the fact that I am only using 7" wheels and the new tires are single ply sidewall. However, as noted earlier, Michelin states that 7" is acceptable.

I still have a set of new OEM 215/65/15 Dunlops that I got at closeout for $40 earlier in the year.

Has anyone noticed that the 245/50/16 XGTH4 tires are listed as having the same height as the 255/50/16 tires. Does anyone know if these are two ply. If so, I think I would prefer this size on the front since I have noticed some slight rubbing on the front on with the 255's. However, I have some chrome fender flares that may contribute to the rubbing. I noticed that Michelin has several tires with different widths and the same profile and height/diameter. Is this common amoung manufacturers? If so, it sure throws off any calculation one might do based on width.

[Q45denver]

Here is a reply I got on another forum re. 255 on 7" rim. Not sure its true, but I thought you might be interested.

"A 7" rim is way too narrow for a 255 tire.I've tried a similar combination & it left me with an un-driveable vehicle.What happens is, the sidewalls contact with the rim gets squeezed, or pulled in.Result, when you're driving down the road, the rim wiggles around inside the tire & you will feel like a drunk belly dancer.For 255's I would go no less than 8" rim.The max for a 7" rim would be about 225. "