Please Share Experience with Replacement Tires

[BlackEX35AZ]

I am ready to replace the OEM Tires on my 2008 EX35 and am seeking information from those that have replaced their tires. Please share any experiences you've had with replacement tires (good or bad). I live in AZ, so do NOT need opinions on winter tires. Just all seasons tires.
Thanks.

[kamiguy]

Tell us what part of the country you are in.. is wet weather performance important? Do you just get a little snow and want to run your tires year round?

[BlackEX35AZ]

I Live in AZ: 90% dry, 10% Rain, 0% Snow
Priorities:
1) Performance
2) Ride Comfort
3) Treadwear

[yvnrg1981]

Im a huge fan of yokohama's..great treadlife super smooth ride. I havn't changed on ex but all my previous cars i have also gone with yokas. Check tire rack for more info.. Also what wheel size pkg do you currently have?

[EXceptional]

Michelins from COSTCO are always a good deal... and their Warranty is good at any Store in North America.

[BlackEX35AZ]

Im a huge fan of yokohama's..great treadlife super smooth ride. I havn't changed on ex but all my previous cars i have also gone with yokas. Check tire rack for more info.. Also what wheel size pkg do you currently have?

Thanks. I've done some research in the past couple days and am leaning towards the Yoko AVID ENVigors

17" Journey. RWD

[EXceptional]

So, is that what you bought ?

[BlackEX35AZ]

No purchase yet

[TheOtherJeff]

I've written 2 posts on this forum so far, both last spring. One was about the horrible performance of my EX in the snow, and the other asking for replacement tires recomendations. I think the original Dunlops performed great on dry pavement, but they wore out very quickly. I also suspected the poor snow performance was likely tire related.

Well, I bought the Yokohama AVID ENVigor's from Tire Rack and they've been all right. I drive pretty hard and the new tires don't provide quite as much confidence in hard cornering as the Dunlops did. Don't get me wrong, they're pretty good. It's just that the Dunlops had grip that didn't quit, and never felt like they were about to let loose. The Yokos seem to 'roll' a little, just for a split second, when taken to the limit, which scares me and takes away the sureness that I'd become accustomed to. If you don't drive like me, you'll have nothing to worry about. Even if you do, it's not something that surfaces often.

Now that I've finally got to try the Yokos out in the snow, I think they are a little better, but that may have more to do with tread wear that the tire difference. My only previoius winter was on well worn tires. Either way, this car still sucks in the slippery stuff. I seem to be the only one in the forum that has this opition, but this is the scariest car that I've ever had in the snow. It's an AWD w/18's. My last car was an AWD Murano, and it was a champ in the snow. As was the GTI before it, the Bronco before that, the S10 Blazer before that, the Corrado before that, the fullsized Blazer before that, the Sciracco before that, and even the '69 Camaro before that. I don't want to hijack your thread, so I'll leave it at that.

As for tread wear, I still have less than 10k miles on them, but it's clear that they'll out wear the Dunlops by at least 50% or more. I only got 18k out of them, and should have replaced them after 15k, but I ran them all the way to the wear bars.

Bottom line, the Yokos are pretty good. Not quite the grip as the Dunlops, although they are also called "High Performance All-Seasons". They are reasonably priced, I paid $664 including shipping for the set, plus another $60 for mounting & balancing by the local Nissan dealer. And they look to be much longer lasting. I'm expecting 25-30K, they're waranted for 60.

I hope this helps. I was (and still am) surprised that there isn't already a sticky post full of tire info like most other forums, but EX posters apparently care less about tires than window tinting :-)

[audtatious]

Hankook Ventus S4's are pretty good. Quiet, good dry and wet traction. Relatively cheap. Kumho ASX is a great tire as well from a drivability and longevity perspective (and cost).

[EXceptional]

I hope this helps. I was (and still am) surprised that there isn't already a sticky post full of tire info like most other forums, but EX posters apparently care less about tires than window tinting :-)

Nice to have you back on the Forum.

The First page of every Forum could be full of Stickies regarding certain issues. The Tire issue for one, has been a hot topic and will continue to be.

I will be following any Tire thread that comes along... because just a few Months ago, I actually got stuck. I couldn't believe that an AWD vehicle can get stuck.

In the past, I believed that my "all Season" Tires were good enough... but I have since changed my Tune. I now believe that all Season Tires are a compromise and do NOT do everything well. If one wants superior handling, then one needs to buy Handling Tires and likewise, if one wants to plow through Snow, a Winter-only Tire is the ultimate choice.

Thank-you for review and look forward to seeing you on the EX35 Forum again.

[p kullenberg]

I have posted before but it bears repeating. I switched to Nokian WR's at about 20k miles. They are an all season tire but they are winter rated (one of the few). They have done very well in the mtns. of NC. They now have 20k miles and no real wear. Another tire I had good luck with in the past was the Bridgestone Revo AT, but I have no idea of fit for the EX. I had them on a 4Runner and it was a tank in the snow!
Cheers
Pat

[tondraj]

I know I'm dredging this topic back up, but my stock Dunlops are down to the wear bars at 26,000 mi and i need to find replacements. I bought some Michelin Primacy MXV4's (225/55/18) through Sam's Club, but no one can install them on my stock rims. They said it was because the speed rating is H instead of V, so they don't fit my car. I did a search on this forum and saw where someone bought those exact tires and had them installed no problem? I went to Sam's Club and Sears and neither could make them work.

When I search for only V speed rated tires, i have like 3 choices. I was thinking about the Yokohama AVID ENVigors but then read on this forum that we shouldn't buy directional tires for this car. What is everyone else doing about replacement tires? Should i have been able to get the Michelin's installed but got a bum set? This is frustrating...

[blfstyk]

Ask your Infiniti dealer to do it. The EX will supposedly do 140-145 mph, hence the Dunlops which are rated V (149 mph). H rated tires are rated for only 130 mph and most places won't install tires with a lower speed rating than the OEM tires (probably for liability reasons).

However, you can refer your dealer to the EX manual (p. 8-32 in the 2008 manual), which states:

"Replacement tires may have a lower speed
rating than the factory equipped tires, and
may not match the potential maximum vehicle
speed. Never exceed the maximum
speed rating of the tire."

That clearly implies that you can replace the Dunlops with a tire of lesser rated speed, as long as you don't exceed the speed rating of the replacement tire. It shouldn't be too hard to convince your dealer that you have no intention of driving faster than 130 mph. Another shop might do it if you show them the manual too.

[EXceptional]

Thats so stupid, because it's also against the "Law" to go faster then the posted speed limits... so technically, you shouldn't faster than say 75 mph at the most.

[blfstyk]

Some people race them. There's tracks around here (No. Calif.) where for $20 you can race any car you want. And some people will floor them on an open stretch of highway out west when no one's around. But yeah, going over 130 in a car without a crash cage and 5-pt seatbelts that's not certified for racing is pretty crazy. There's a stretch of highway 280 outside of San Francisco that folks regularly drive at 80 and that ain't "legal" but it's normal.

[EXceptional]

My point is... that everything is done by Law for a reason and we all know that people break them all the time.

So having a "V" rated Tire on a EX35 is so in case a moron decides to race the crap out of the car, or get involved in a Car-chase, the Tires won't explode.

Sometimes, the driver has to be responsible for their own actions.

[blfstyk]

Your point's well taken. My point is just that you have to convince the shop you are a responsible person so it doesn't come back on them if you happen to be one of those morons.

[tondraj]

Your point's well taken. My point is just that you have to convince the shop you are a responsible person so it doesn't come back on them if you happen to be one of those morons.

Hi guys, thanks for the responses. The thing is, it's not that the shops WON'T install the tires with a lower speed rating, it's that they CAN'T physically install them on my rims. Two different places have tried and both have failed. I'm starting to think the tires themselves were bad. There shouldn't be any physical difference besides rubber compound between the two...the guy at Sears thought the H rated tires were physically different than the V rated tires, but everything i've read online doesn't agree with that statement. The owner's manual you quoted proves that. Thanks again, and i think i'll just try a different set and see what happens.

[Mark Booth]

I got about 32K miles out of the factory tires. When I went shopping for replacements, I quickly decided that there was NO WAY I was going to spend the extra money for V-rated tires that also have the penalty of shorter tread life. Granted, the EX35 is more like a sports sedan than it is like a regular sedan, but that's not how I drive my EX35. H-rated tires are fine for the EX35, no matter what certain dealers or tire centers will tell you.

The tire I chose was Michelin Primacy MXV4. I've put about 3,000 miles on them now. I can't tell ANY difference in these tires. They feel exactly the same as the factory Dunlops. Drivability, handling and road noise are the same. It's as if I never changed the tires. I guesstimate the MXV4s will last more than 40K miles. Maybe more than 50K miles. We'll see.

Mark

[jmess]

As luck would have it one of my rears got a large hole punched in it yesterday and I am now shopping for tires at 26K instead of 30K. I noticed the Tire Rack has tested the MXV4 and the ENVigor in the 205-55-17 size. What is interesting is how much better the ENVigors are in the wet. A 2 second faster wet lap is pretty significant in terms of overall grip and balance to a point anyone could benefit from the better braking and accident avoidance potential they have on wet roads. Since I live in a rainy State I am leaning towards the ENVigor. Not being able to X rotate the ENVigors will impact how long they last and may contribute to more tire noise as they get old though. Yoko claims the directional tread design reduces noise but you won't really know until they are 1/2 gone.

The local Costco wants $712 (no sale tax where I live) for a set of MXV4s installed with road hazard. A set of ENVigors at America's Tires with the same road hazard coverage will be about $50 more.

ENVigor

50-0 braking dry = 93.5 FT
50-0 braking wet = 102.9 FT
Dry Slalom = 4.14 Sec
Wet Slalom = 4.27 Sec
Dry test track lap = 30.22 Sec
Wet test track lap = 32.70 Sec

MXV4

50-0 braking dry = 91.0 FT
50-0 braking wet = 110.9 FT
Dry Slalom = 4.21 Sec
Wet Slalom = 5.04 Sec
Dry test track lap = 30.49 Sec
Wet test track lap = 35.01 Sec

[Avalanche325]

Please get V rated tires. If I steal your car, I don't want a tire blowing during the high speed chase.

[txgcoupe]

Going to put the Michelin Primacy MXV4 18's on the car next week.

The Dunlop's lasted 21,600 miles.

No need for V rated tires.

John