Recommended Tires for a 94' Q

[22349.b.cvc]

Hi all,

My 94' Q that had 48,000 miles on it now has 56,000. The really sad part, or good part is that all those miles have been racked on it in two months. I've been driving from san diego to palm springs 5 days a week.

Anyways, I went to get tires the other day at the local firestone. I told them I want the smoothest, most comfortable riding tire I could get. Well, in my blissful ignorance, they gave me the Firestone LH30 in the 215/65/15- factory recommended size.

As I happily drive away, I am thrilled at the smoothness and quiteness of the tire. First trip to palm springs, I almost lost my *** in a emergency lane change (caused by a moron in a bmw of course).

Luckily the tires came with a 30 day free test drive. You can bet your dollars to donuts that those tires went right back. I then proceeded down to the local discount tire store. They set me up with the same size tire in the Dunlop Sport 5000 in the V rating. Those tires nearly vibrated my cavities, caps, and other teeth loose.

They rebalanced them on the ride match machine. The vibration got better but still makes the car feel like a semi-truck. I never had the steering wheel vibrate before.

I went back to discount and they said to get a V rated tire that would not vibrate I would have to pay $149 tire for Michelin Pilot XGT V4. He even went on to state that it was the factory tire! True?

What tires can my fellow Q lovers recommend?

[PalmerWMD]

yes, the Michelins are the factory tire, but you should go wider for better control, very few here have stuck w/ the 215 almost all are at 235's now.

The NICO recommended tires and sizes for your car are:

Michelin Pilot XGT 235/60 VR15's (or HR 15's a bit cheaper)Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EPs also work real well on a Q, I am unsure if they make them in 15 inch, but if they do, take the 235/60 ZR 15's.

None of these are cheap tires.Also just like a BMW 7 series the way to make heavy cars handle well is to use a lot of camber which is hard on tires.

The two tires mentioned above have really strong sidewalls and will resist that negative camber longer than many others.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

Those are both very very good tires.They are not cheap, but some spend even more (I wear Toyo Proxies).

The price of having a heavy and powerful car is you need good tires for it becasue such cars tend to impose a lot of forces on tires, escpecially if they are set-up for handling like a Q or a 7 series.

Fred...

[BadQ45t]

I think you'd have good luck with the Yokohama ES100 and Yoko AVS Intermediates if you can find them and there are several tires from Kumho that are well priced and have been tested by members. My 92 has some Cooper VR rated tires that are really nice, my dad bought them and they are very smooth.

[PalmerWMD]

Yes bad is right .

The Kumho ecsta 712 are also popular.They handle real well , dont last as long as the Michelins abut are clearly cheaper.

many also like those Yoko's.

Fred...

[22349.b.cvc]

The factory size is 215/65/15 right? The tire diameter is 26.00 If you change to 235/60/15, the diameter is 26.10236. How much will this change the speedometer? Isn't it also true that wider tires increase road noise?

[PalmerWMD]

Just remember to stay away from the Dunlop D60's.too weak for a heavy car, in my very personal experience.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

That diffrence in diameter is negligible.You will find that tires diameters are a bit variable anyway from manufacturer to manufacturer even if "same" size.

As for road noise is mostly a function of tread, and internal construction (though its a bit harder to make a wide tire qiet)

Fred...

[22349.b.cvc]

Don't worry Palmerwind, I'll stay away from all dunlops. After this experience my opinion is THEY SUCK. How is the level of road noise with the firestone tires vs. the Yokoyomomas?

[22349.b.cvc]

Honestly, how important is staying with a v-rating. I like speed just as much as the next guy. I just can't see getting tossed into jail as I'm doing 139mph with my V rated tires. The supposed tire experts that recommended the dunlops stated that you have to stay with the V rating. Hmmm.....

[PalmerWMD]

My experience w/ the Yoko's is too long ago, to remember.but I do remember that everyone here who has bought the Firehawk SZ50 EPs has liked them a lot and some have vowed not to go back.They are about the same price Z rated, as the Michelins are V rated.Also that Unicell construction on the Firehawk is for real.Firestone as a whole doesn't have a great rep but the Firehawk SZ50 EP <is> the very best tire they make...

As for noise its not just the beginning noise but also the future noise as it will increase as the tire wears.The better the internal contruction the less noise increase.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

The higher the rating the more care is taken with teh tread during vulcanization and teh better the internal tire construction.The latter is especially important, as the Q is heavy and uses a lot of camber like a 7 series or S class MB.

Fred...

[22349.b.cvc]

I imagine that the Z rating makes your car pretty rough riding right? You didn't mention what you have on your car Palmerwmd.

[PalmerWMD]

On my old car I had 245/45 ZR17's all around which I consider ideal and yes it was rough riding.(But that may have been due to the Eibachs all around, Tociko Blues, Urethane bushings, ovrsized sway bars and the handling oriented pressures I was runningetc etc)

I just got my hands on another Q 10 days ago (also a 94), but haven't had the time or money to make the tire/wheel fitment to my liking yet.

My current fit I am loath to post ,because dennis aka Q45tech will chide me for the low load rating.

The previous owner wanted to do me some good and put on brand new ( and VERY expensive) Toyo Proxies ST1 on the front.Those are among the best tires money can buy and they are in 255/ 40 ZR 17's w/ a load rating of 94.Only problem is, they are one notch too low, the Q really needs 95 or better, but they are such great, expensive and brand new tires, I dont want to throw them away.

That means I am now limited to putting 25.1 inch diameter (wheel plus tires) tires on the rear.Problem is my rear wheels are 18 inch.Even if I go to 265/30 ZR18's my load rating is only 93.So even those $350 (each) tires would not be good enough for this car.So I have been trying to buy the same MSW wheel I currently have on the front (17x8.5 or 9 I think) for the rear, so I can at least be close to the rating I need.But I can't find those wheels.Or I can buy another complete set of wheels , which would also be a waste, since my MSW's are very good, strong and handsome wheels.

Quite a predicament.

Fred..

[AZhitman]

I'll trade with you straight up Fred, and I'll even cover the shipping.

What a friend I am, eh?

[22349.b.cvc]

You guys are my HEROs as usual. I'm starting to catch a little wheel fever here. AZHITMAN, I've seen a picture of your Q, do you have 16's or 17's. I know you have some seriously wide tires on your car. How does it ride?

[AZhitman]

Beautifully - It actually is smoother with the wider meats that it was with the 215/65/15's. The handling change is like night and day. It takes a lot more aggressive acceleration in a turn to make the a$$-end step out, and it's very easy to steer with the throttle (whereas before you'd just spin and boil tires).

They are 16x7.5 chromed alloys from an '01 Q45, with Chokyomama 245/50VR16's (96) from Discount ($600/set).

If I had it to do over, I'd buy the Kumho's or Sumitomo's, in the 255 width.

[22349.b.cvc]

The 245/50/16's diameter is 25.64 vs the stock 26.00 did you notice a speedometer change? Your right about the 255/50/16's though, the overall diameter is 26.03 which is so close to stock size its ridiculous. I'm anal retentive when it comes to my Q, everything has to be so close to factory recommended stuff, hence the analness on the diameter. I was thinking of possibly 255/45/17's??????

[22349.b.cvc]

Oh by the way do you think there will be any wheel rub with the 255's?

[PalmerWMD]

I have 255's right now, with no wheel rub at all.

Fred...

[22349.b.cvc]

That's good news, the diameter on the 255/45/17's is 26.03 so that sounds like it would be an awesome way to go. I guess I can forget about going to disneyland!

[Q45denver]

Azhitman wrote:"They are 16x7.5 chromed alloys from an '01 Q45, with Chokyomama 245/50VR16's (96) from Discount ($600/set).

If I had it to do over, I'd buy the Kumho's or Sumitomo's, in the 255 width."

I also have a set of these alloy wheels and wanted to try either the 245 or 255 size. I would prefer the 255 size to keep the speedo accurate but was concerned about tire rubbing and that they might be too wide for the rims. Also wouldn't the stated diameter be greater if fitting on a narrower than measured width rim. I'm currently leaning towards the 245 in a Continental ContiExtremeContact-see below link. These are available from TireRack for $69 each and get good reviews whereas the Korean makes don't seem to and are more expensive. The Conti's are all season and highly rated for snow. The diameter for this size would be 25.8" on 7 " rim vs. 25.9 " on stock 6.5" rim which is probably close enough. My only reservation at this time is the price which seems too low for a high quality tire.http://www.kumhousa.com/TireSelect/Tire ... models.asp

[szh]

Hi!

If you happen to stick with the OEM wheels 15" rim, then the Firestone SZ50EP is the best way to go! Look at Tirerack (at http://www.tirerack.com) for a 225/60-15 size that will work just about perfectly. These are the best tires I have ever owned, and the price is very reasonable at about $105 each.

They are super-quiet on the highway, brake and handle well in wet weather, etc. After installing them, I had another balance done at about 3k to 4k miles and the tech was amazed that two of the four tires did not need the weights changed; third was a minor change and the fourth had a nail (with patch repair so needed changes). This is indicative of a strong tire - which is what you need to handle the load of the Q.

You can find older posts from me with rave reviews on this tire ...

Z

[airman]

Beautifully - It actually is smoother with the wider meats that it was with the 215/65/15's. The handling change is like night and day. It takes a lot more aggressive acceleration in a turn to make the a$$-end step out, and it's very easy to steer with the throttle (whereas before you'd just spin and boil tires).

They are 16x7.5 chromed alloys from an '01 Q45, with Chokyomama 245/50VR16's (96) from Discount ($600/set).

If I had it to do over, I'd buy the Kumho's or Sumitomo's, in the 255 width.

Will this tire fit into 97q45t stock 16x7 rim?

[airman]

Will this tire fit into 97q45t stock 16x7 rim?

...found them, 245 will fit.

[reggiegsd]

I put a set of Yoko AVS Intermediates on my Q in August (about 15K miles ago). The fronts have about 3/4 of the tread left, just some mild feathering on the inside edges. But the rears are evenly worn to the wear bars.

What could cause that?

[Q45tech]

The 160 tread wear index is real on these tires - 16,000 mile life. Plus the power of the Q [slipping, spinning] that you don't hear or notice on acceleration wears the rears.

When I use [AVS I] I must rotate every 2,000-3,000 miles or less.

Just changed a set on my front after 11,000 miles but I must be using more camber than you - they get very noisey if not rotated on front often.

At $39 each vs $95-127 for Michelin which last twice as long with less capacity [for handling and braking]........I can afford it.

[Q45tech]

The only size AVS I still available at tirerack is 225/60/15 @$44..........gettem before they're gone.

[90Q45blue]

I have some Goodyear Touring TA's. I've been pretty happy with them.

Nick

[Q45tech]

http://www.bytewise.com/Market...w.pdf

It is amazing the variation of standards in perfection owners will accept as a decent tire on a Q.Over a year our tire scrap pile of removal usually sees at least every tire in 215-235/65-60/15 made.

It is very instructional to take an hour and look at all the tires worn, exploded, sidewall failures, tread patterns, etc.

From teeth rattling vibration [or left elbows worn and bleeding] at 70 mph, to side to side waddle at 25 mph, to a wide variation in noise level from frying eggs to whump whump.........all the tires they buy are [were] good [great].............until they spring for a set of Michelins Pilots non directionals.

I can't believe what owners will put up with!