Tire Woes 19" Rays

[Sentientbydesign]

I just purchased an 05 coupe with the sports rims and the tires need to be replaced.

I can't afford $250/tire.

I'm debating between putting some Nankang NS-II or moving to a different size tire up front for more options.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for being a poor G owner.

[RED_DET]

Try 245/35/19 front and 255/40/19 rear.

tire rack has the fronts in several different brands:

Avon TechM500 for $173 ea/ Ultra High performance summer tire

General Exclaim UHP for $130 ea/ Ultra High performance summer tire

Kumho ESCTA SPT for $152 ea/Ultra High peformance summer tire (that I use)

Rear tires:

Kumho ESCTA SPT for $161 ea/Ultra High performance tire

Rear tires with oem tire size, 245/40/19:

Kumho ESCTA SPT for $160ea/ Ultra High performance tire

So looks like you get the kumhos for $750 and have someone install them for another $100. Sounds like a damn good price to me.

[RED_DET]

Forgot to add the price for the stock oem fronts, 225/40/19.

Tire rack has them for $140 ea. So I don't see why you should have to change tires sizes unless you wanted something different.

[BigWill]

I a

Try 245/35/19 front and 255/40/19 rear.

tire rack has the fronts in several different brands:

Avon TechM500 for $173 ea/ Ultra High performance summer tire

General Exclaim UHP for $130 ea/ Ultra High performance summer tire

Kumho ESCTA SPT for $152 ea/Ultra High peformance summer tire (that I use)

Rear tires:

Kumho ESCTA SPT for $161 ea/Ultra High performance tire

Rear tires with oem tire size, 245/40/19:

Kumho ESCTA SPT for $160ea/ Ultra High performance tire

So looks like you get the kumhos for $750 and have someone install them for another $100. Sounds like a damn good price to me.

I agree with him...

I have heard good things about General Exclaims.

[Q45tech]

When you buy a used performance car important to reserve enough CASH to maintain it.....[usually $2,500 to fix the things deferred by previous owners].........tires, brakes, fluids, services luckily gasoline now cost more than maintenance.

[joe603]

I payed $900 (shipping + install cost) for my Toyo's!

Check out this site: http://www.tiredeals4less.com/index.cfm

I'm running:

245/35 -19 front275/35 -19 rear

[Sentientbydesign]

Forgot to add the price for the stock oem fronts, 225/40/19.

Tire rack has them for $140 ea. So I don't see why you should have to change tires sizes unless you wanted something different.

Tirerack didn't show me these tires as an option for my car. Actually, I tried searching by size at work and the cookies seemed to force me to look at what they recommended.

Thank you for the heads up.

You guys pay $100 bucks for installs? Does that come with some kind of warranty or other perks? I think I pay $80 if I go to Discount Tire and $40 if I go to the local mom and pop shop (That includes mounting, balancing, and typically disposal).

I'm seriously thinking about trying out the Kuhmo Ecsta SPT. Hopefully the grip won't be much less than these RE050 As because I can slide around in them like I'm on ice.

Q45Tech: I expected to pay around $1500-$2000 to restore the car, but my wife and I ended up with a $500 deductible payment for her car, $1000 downpayment on mine. Christmas. And possibly a new clutch on her car if the insurance doesn't cover it.

So there is about $3000. My main goals right now are front tires and a lifetime alignment. I'll work on rear tires and scratch repairs later.

[etschell]

tires are expensive. right now i need new rears, but seeing as my car is offset, 225 45 and 245 45 18's i think i may just replace the whole set. any suggestions?? I know the nitto 555s are cheap ($588 shipped) but the problem is installation....

anyone in the miami area know a good installer who will do the 555s for me?

[Sentientbydesign]

I'm not sure about Miami, but out here in Socal, all of the unincorporated (county) areas have little tire shops that will install for $10-$15. Actually, I know of a few places in LA that will do it for that price too. I'd just pull up the yellow pages and call a few places. Even the big guys might surprise you.

[rn79870]

What about tire mileage? When I was looking for a new car, I saw warnings on several makes that cars with >18 inch tires could be expected to wear out tires much more frequently... Like 12k or so for tire life. Has anyone experienced this IRL?

[Sentientbydesign]

What basis is there for that claim?

The only logical thought that crosses my mind is that most vehicles equipped with larger rims are probably performance oriented which suggests performance tires which have significantly shorter life.

To be honest though, even on performance tires, driving style and tire maintenance plays a huge roll.

I had a set of USED Bridgestone Potenza RE040s on my I30. They were take offs from 350Zs at a Nissan Dealership. The tires had about 80-90% tread left on them. The treadwear rating on the tires are 140 (the lowest value I've seen on any tire) and they lasted over 20,000 miles.

I made sure not to push them too hard and I got frequent alignments (lifetime alignment policy).

The guys who wear through a set of tires in 8k-10k do so because they beat on their tires. Taking hard turns, peeling out, and not keeping your suspension aligned all play a part in short life tires.

I could have easily gotten 30k miles out of those tires had they been new and I rotated them as recommended (only did twice).

In regards to the next set of tires. I think I'm going to move up to a 235/35/ZR19. The 225s are a little too narrow for my taste and the 235s will add less than half an inch.

[blues t]

[QUOTE=Sentientbydesign]I just purchased an 05 coupe with the sports rims and the tires need to be replaced.

I can't afford $250/tire.

I got a set of stock 19in bridgstone tires 225/40 and 245/40 that I took off and put some snow tires on.don't need the tires no more because I got a set of rims for the summer,then for the snow I got the stock rim with snow tires.if you want them I'll sell it for $675 shipped..tires are still very good with only 3000 miles on it before it was taken off.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

Go for the General Exclaim's they rock.. I don't think you can get them in 19's....

But if you have 18's i would get get Rear 275 40 18 $136 ()up front i would go with 245 45 18 $122

Very sticky Tires... Great in rain... And last like 40k miles

DJ

[haloseven]

Shop around for someone to install if you buy from tire rack. Here in Pittsburgh, the prices ranged from 15$/wheel to 45$ per wheel. Some of these guys are just jealous of tire rack, because even with shipping, sometimes tire rack beats their prices.

BUSCH BROTHERS TIRE ROCKS

[Jacko3]

I think the Bridgestone Potenzas (RE0050E) is the best. It is expensive, however. I have 16,000 miles on it with just a single rotation and the threads are still looking good. I think the tire will go 20,000 to 25,000 miles before replacement. I have a 2007 G-35 Coupe, 6MT, RAS, NAV, VLSD. I will be buying the same tires again. For a high performance car, 20,000 to 25,000 is excellent wear on a low profile tire.

Everything about the G in terms of maintenance is expensive. 4-wheel brake job at the dealership may set you back about $500 or more. OEM clutch replacement will set you back about $1,200 without fly-wheel replacement, if burn marks are not found. With fly-wheel replacement, you are looking at $2,000. The premium gas it uses alone is crazy expensive.

The G-35 is a car that requires specifics just as any other real sports car. Right now, I am changing the OEM filters every 10,000 miles. Alingments should be done every 15,000 miles. The oil recommended for use is a blend, which is about $1.00 to $1.50 per can above dyno oil. Most delaerships use Pennzoil 5w-30 blend. Avoid synthetic on the G-35 if you can. Engine was actually built with dyno oil in mind.

However, I have come to discover that the Pennzoil blend the dealerships use may not be a true blend. Recently changed oil and swithched to Castrol Syn Blend. Suddenly, my car feels awake, and the new oil change does not muffle the sound of the exhaust as the Pennzoil Blend does after a few days after oil change. Again, another sign of how the G-35 is sensitive to the type of oil you use. So, I suspect Pennzoil blend has more dyno oil in it than synthetic, while Catsrol Synblend seems to have more synthetic in it than dyno.

Just my 2 cents.

[Sentientbydesign]

Jacko3

I don't mean to contradict you, but the syntetic oil will improve engine wear on just about any vehicle.

I just spoke with the service department at my local infiniti and they offer Motul pure Sythetic. They used to offer Mobil 1.

I have heard that a break in period is typically advisable before changing to synthetic to allow for proper seating, but Sythetic oil is designed to be used as a lubricant, whereas conventional is broken down and reformulated to be used as a lubricant.

If I can extend my change interval, improve efficiency, and decrease wear on my engine, why wouldn't I go with synthetic?

As for the Bridgestones. They aren't bad on wear, but they have a very low durometer rating and wet traction is so so. Also consider that the coupe setup is staggered which means NO tire rotation unless you want to dismount and remount side to side.

[Jacko3]

Hello SentientBy Design:

Actually, you don't contradict me. And, you are right! I was advised to give the engine a break in of about 15,000 miles before using synthetic. Why i have issues with synthetic is the price! Is it worth the $6.00 per quart in term of efficiency when gas prices are already over $3.00? IMHO, I would rather buty the blend at $3.75 per quart and pocket the change. Again, because of my religiously changing my oil at 3,000 miles, I see no reason to do synthetic. With blend, I can go an extra 200- 300 miles over 3,000 miles before an oil change. Thus, my comments about avoiding synthetic oil. I think a good blend oil will do just fine and I just dsicovered Catsrol GTX SynBlend 5w-30 with GTX technology, which is doing wonders to my engine. It is making me drive the car harder. I use dino Catsrol GTX on my second car with over 200,000 miles on it. I have never replaced the timing chain on that little monster till date, and the car does not smoke. I dog the car out. So, I know the value of Castrol GTX technology.

As for the tires, Re0050Es are not the best in the rain. But if you really want to keep a good tire for a while, they are the way to go. If you have to take a loan to get them, it maybe well worth it.

[Sentientbydesign]

Check out Amsoil.

They have up to 25,000 mile change intervals. 17,000 under "severe" driving.

Paying twice as much for oil and having it last 5x-8x longer with reduced engine wear AND a slight fuel economy boost is definately the way I go.

I work 7 days a week and drive about 400 miles per week. I don't have the time or desire to change my oil every 6 weeks.

I completely respect your opinion though.

As for the RE050s. I've gone through 2 sets of them and I love the dry cornering abilities. I still want to try out a set of RE750s if I can find them.

I'm pretty sure I'll be trying out the Kumhos before resorting to the Potenzas again. Hopefully I don't regret it.