I like Michelin's but they are pricey.

For bang for the buck I'd look at Kumho's I've had the 711's on a Saab, I heard great things about the Kumho ASX, they are cheaper than the Japanese Tire brands and are superior in my opinion and the reviews on TireRack.com.

John Sha
'03 G35 Sedan
'00 Saab 9-5 Aero
'01 Dodge Grand Caravan ES

I am looking at Avon M550 AS and Kuhmo ASX (both highly rated on TireRack.com) in the 235/50/17 for my '03 Sedan. Is anyone out there running either of these tires.

John Sha
'03 G35 Sedan
'00 Saab 9-5 Aero
'01 Dodge Grand Caravan ES

You might also consider the Avon M500 (if it is available in the right size.) It is perhaps better than the Avon M550. I think that maxnix has posted over in Infiniti General that he likes the M500 - albeit on an Acura Legend, as I recall.

On 17" G35 rims, some of the sedans have 7.0" rim width and some have 7.5" rim widths. Do you know the width and offset of yours? You might be able to change the tire size slightly and get a larger selection of tires.

For example, if the rim width is 7.5" with a 38-40mm offset (even a 45mm offset might work), you can fit 245/45-17 tires and these have a much larger selection of tire brand/models to choose from at Tire Rack.

Z

My Sedan has 17x7 wheels with a 45mm offset.
Do you think the 245/45/17 will work?
You are not kidding the is a much better selection in that size.

John Sha
'03 G35 Sedan
'00 Saab 9-5 Aero
'01 Dodge Grand Caravan ES

That will depend a lot of how the tire manufacturer measures them, of course! You cannot compare tires between vendors, of course.

FWIW, I drive pretty aggressively in my M45 and the OEM tires were Bridgestone Turanza ER33 with a UTQG of 140 A A. They still lasted 22k miles - about 60% highway driving.

Quote, originally posted by johnsha »

My Sedan has 17x7 wheels with a 45mm offset. Do you think the 245/45/17 will work? You are not kidding the is a much better selection in that size.

Hmmm, a tough call. The normal recommended minimum for a 245/45-17 is 7.5" rim width (a few manufacturers want 8.0") - no reputable vendor will make a guarantee for any less due to liability concerns.

My thought is that you might get away with 7.0", but the offset is a bit high. I think it will work, but an offset of 38mm to 40mm would be safer - to avoid contact with suspension components (particularly in the front.)

Of course, my comments are based on the fitment for an M45 and Q45 - the G35 may have different wheel well sizes ... but it is interesting that in the G35 Coupe, the 7.5" (and some 8.0" wheel) widths they use have 30mm and 33mm offsets.

So ... the bottom line is that you could try it and see! Or, consider asking the Tire Rack experts.

Z

Thanks,
Duggins1

Well of course! most tires are significantly different after they have 8,000 miles on them....they are optimized to score decently on test which have a 8k limit.

TireRack warns that half worn directional tires are not as good in rain as brand new ones. More from compound hardening than loss of tread depth.

All things being considered in identical tires, the hydroplane speed is a function of inflation pressure.........the higher you want the speed to be the more inflation the tires require to reduce the contact patch area to increase molecular friction..........weight per square inch of tread!

I always hear my brand new tires are so much better than my old worn out tire, well of course they are.

To achieve new performance you cannot depend on half worn tires!

They are pretty quiet. I'm not going to say they are the quietest tire out there, but they keep the road noise down to an acceptable level in my opinion.

All directional tires eventually feather thus increasing noise.

All in all Michelin spends the most research dollars to minimize noise on tread designs that lasts after the new has worn down.

Unfortunately many lesser brands use gross sonic cancellation which makes them acutally noiser when half worn to produce quiet when brand new.

"5º Pitch Noise Reduction is a specialized approach to tread pattern design that reduces tire noise levels for quieter driving. Tread block elements are arranged to produce noise-canceling sound waves when the tire is in motion. Because the sound waves created by the individual blocks constantly cancel each other out, the noise of the tire moving on the road surface is significantly reduced."

I wouldn't suggest the 245/45 wheel. Get the 235/50/17, its almost identical to oem tire specs. You will get a .5 wide contact patch and will fill out those fenders just abit. I would reconsider the AVONS as well, I believe they weight 31lbs, compared to the 26lbs stockers. I will probably go with the Kumho ecsta ASX's. 420 AA A, high performance all season.

Here's a link for pics of 235/50/17's on sedan.

http://users.ev1.net/~mre/tires/tires.htm

Factory Service Manuals can be found here

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." -Albert Einstein

However even swapping out to mediocre all season tires with 40,000 treadwear doesn't mean you don't have to replace them at 20,000 miles.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/p...c.pdf

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/p...g.pdf

We never see data from one of these:
http://www.mts.com/menusystem....=1177

if it has a 45k mile tread life warranty it woulld make up the price for two sets of tires only getting 20k miles tread.