Replacement Tires for M56X

[stei7141]

Hi, everyone! So . . . my 2012 M56X is going to need some new tires -- the OEM Michelin Primacy have held up nicely for 60,000 miles, but they won't go forever. When I look at the options for replacement -- especially the user reviews on Tire Rack -- my heart sinks. Quality control on the Primacys has apparently gone way down since Michelin changed the makeup of the tire -- and in fact, Infiniti no longer specifies them as OEM tires on the current Q70. The top-performing candidates for replacement tires all have significant numbers of serious negatives in which (1) users report truly amazing defects, e.g., chunks of rubber flying off the tires after 10,000 miles, constant loud road noise, loss of traction performance after 10,000 miles, etc., and (2) retailers blame the users for "failure to rotate properly," or "failure to align frequently enough." It's grim. The only tire that seems to dodge *most* of these problems is the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus. I would welcome your thoughts, recent experiences, etc. on finding good replacement tires for the wonderful M56X.

Many thanks from a newbie on the forum.

[Larz]

Welcome to the forum!
To start, as you know, everyone here has a brand or type of tire they swear by. That's based on how they drive, where they live, and what they want in terms of handling and ride. Since you live in Maryland, you will need an all season (A/S) tire, but there are still gobs of options to choose from. I swear by Tire Rack but you have to remember that any individual who posts a review must be viewed with the following in mind:
You don't know how they drive, if they cared for their car properly, had tires rotated, balanced, or properly inflated. If their suspension is shot, or they never maintain the car or the tires properly, they will have a less positive review and the tires are not at fault.

First, consider how you drive and how you want the car to perform.
enhanced grip and handling: ultra high performance A/S or high performance A/S
standard handling and performance: choose touring, passenger, or standard A/S

The higher performance tires can produce slightly more road noise (barely noticeable) and might have a shorter tread life based on how you drive. The rest of the categories will usually be quieter, 'possibly' last slightly longer, but will not grip as well as the higher performance categories. In Maryland, you also have to consider snow traction. NO all-season tire is 100% perfect in snow, but some are rated better than others. Personally, I live in a place where snow would indicate climate change took a turn towards global disaster, LOL. However, I have driven in the north, in snow, at high and low speeds, surface roads and major motorways. To me, it's more HOW you drive in the snow than it is about the snow itself. I don't pay much attention if one brand is said to be better than another in snow because as long I drove to match the conditions, I get the most from my tires. And, if there is 6 inches or more of snow, you're basically screwed.

For me, I decided I wanted to have the feel and performance of a sport sedan without loosing comfort or having loud tires or spending a bloody fortune, but I also didn't want to be cheap and place myself or others at risk. I am not a heavy footed or light footed driver but a mixture of each depending on the moment. I live at near sea level so rain builds up very quickly into deep puddles on any road. I wanted good wet traction, confident braking, and lots of grip. I also wanted a wider tire than factory standard without having an adverse effect on the suspension, safety, etc. That's how I judged my tire choices. I needed a high performing A/S tire with low noise and great grip at a price I liked. I went with 255/40/19 Hankook S1noble2 tires and have NEVER been disappointed. I chose one size wider and also one size lower in sidewall to make up for increasing from 18 to 19 inch wheels. For you, it would be 255/45/18. It provides more tire surface in wet, snow, and dry but doesn't affect the height of the car or comfort.
I posted a review of these tires recently:
post6696317.html?hilit=s1noble2#p6696317

Decide what your perfect tire should be based on what you want in terms of performance, grip, handling, safety, and comfort. Then find the brand that best meets those goals at a price you can be happy with. Tire rack is perfect for this research and they run specials all the time on different brands.

I'm sure other will offer advise and the brands that seem to get the best reviews in here are the Hankook, Continental, Pirelli, and Michelin. All of these brands are available in touring and higher performance categories.

Best of luck with your decision.

[Ilya]

Welcome to the site!

I'm at ~22kmi on a set of Cinturato P7's and so far so good. I drive them hard so if I had to guess, I have another 10-15kmi left. By drive them hard I mean that I'm squeeling around exit ramps on the edge of what they can do, braking late/hard in the country, trying to break them loose around round-a-bouts, etc. I drive my car like I stole it, but I also maintain it religiously and thank it for giving me the pleasure of beating it into submission . Currently getting some vibration at higher speeds but I think my wheels are out of balance and/or something is bent. Roads SUCK here. Need to get over to Sears or similar shop and have them check the wheels out.

As for the P7's...I've had like 3 sets of Continental ExtremeContact DWS and one set of Michelin Primacy MXM4's in the last few years (between my 2011 M56x and my 2007 M35x)...I'd likely lean towards the following order: P7 > DWS > MXM4.

I'll likely go P7 again ($965/set from Tirerack) unless I decide to try the new ExtremeContact DWS 06 (different from the ExtremeContact DWS - $875/set from TR).

[dmclone]

I went with the Pirelli Cinturato P7's and when it came time to replace my wife's tires on her 2013 RDX I chose the same ones.

[Big_Tone]

My car had Nankang tires on the stock 18" wheels when I bought it. I had never heard of Nankang, but I must say they were GREAT tires.

[DredM56]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... eason+Plus

Saw this test when I was looking to see if they had Pilot Sport AS that fit the M.

[stei7141]

Many thanks, folks, for the warm welcome and the very useful leads. My tire guy of choice (Quality Discount Tire in Kensington) says I can limp through to the fall with my original Primacys (now at 65K miles!), but I'm NOT going to buy another set of those. Will share anything helpful that I learn along the way.

BTW, when I asked my local Infiniti dealer why the Primacys are no longer OEM on the current equivalent vehicle (Q70), he blushed, looked down at his shoes, and said, "Probably Michelin couldn't provide an adequate supply of those tires." Uh-huh.