I had Hankook Ventus V4's on my '09 G37xS since approximately 25K miles on the car. Well now, I am currently right at 55K miles. At 50K, they were looking pretty shagged, but I actually ran with them for almost another 5000 miles. The tires were good, communicated good road feel and handled great. Although, they transmitted A LOT of noise at highway speed, as well as being kinda harsh when comparing them to the OEM rubber, this helped factor in my decision to find a different set than what I was currently running on.
I did quite a bit of research, and going on previous experience on other vehicles I have owned in the past, I chose the Michelin Primacy MXM4 as shown below. When shopping for new rubber, I typically consider the following: handling, comfort, braking performance, and long lasting. There will be a certain amount of compromise on any one of these aspects to get what you are looking for, such as: if you want a great handling tire, you will have to get a certain one that may not last as long as the others. I have trouble with these compromises, as I want them to last...AND be a better than average at handling and braking.
Here's what I can tell you all about them from what I have seen in the past two weeks (almost 600 miles so far).
Traction/braking performance - We got snow here at the beginning of the week, not really enough to give her the full snow test, but the roads were slushy and the Michelin's didn't have any trouble going around corners. Acceleration is prompt and unexciting, as the tires have great grip, dry or wet, whether going or stopping. Very satisfying.
Comfort - I consider comfort pretty high on my list (kinda weird, considering I have this car right?), and comfort to me means that they should soak up the bumps in the road, and you should be able to carry on a conversation inside the car at highway speeds without having to yell over the tires/road noise. These babies deliver in that respect! They are very quiet at speed, and also expansion joints and the wonderful Colorado roads (sarcastic...especially in the first month of spring) are taken without any excessive drama...just nice and quietly doing their jobs out there.
Handling - Now this is where I may have been a bit misled by the reviews, and also the Michelin Man himself. The Michelin site lists these as a 10 out of 10 on the handling scale, and I would give them more like a 7. When taking a one of my favorite turns on my way to work, I notice that they seem to be a little uneasy when going through at a spirited pace. They are giving the feedback that is telling me they don't have much left at 45 around the same curve that I would take closer to 50 with the last set. I don't always take every turn like I need to make a quick lap, but when I do, it's nice to know that I have that capability in my arsenal. I have found where they put the compromise in these shoes. I am going to have to live with it, because...
Long life - These puppies have a 55,000 mile warranty. So, while I don't have the answer to that question yet, I get to live with the fact that even though they will do most things well, one thing that they DON'T do great is one of the things I like most about the G37....handle unlike most 'sedans' on the road.
If it sounds like I am selling them pretty bad, I'm not. They are fine and they will do the job, and do it for most people without them noticing that handling isn't their strongest suit, at least in my opinion.
I will add more to this as I experience more time with the new treads is experienced.
Pics taken from my phone, so, yeah...
