2008 G37 Tire Recommendations

[Garak]

Well, it's time for some new tires. It's rear wheel drive, with 225/50-18s all around.

The factory tires were Dunlops. I'm considering the Yokohama Avid Envigor, Michelin Primacy MXM4, and the Hankook Ventus V4 ES H105. Price is only an issue if one is ridiculously cheaper or more expensive than the others. Any comments or suggestions?

 

[HTSS_TR]

Of those 3 I would go with Primacy MXM4 and I would not consider Hankook Ventus V4 ES, but Hankook Ventus V12 Evo and V2 Concept are good. V12 Evo is very good summer tire but low tread life, V2 Concept is all-season.

If you go up in price a little, Michelin Pilot Super Sport is a very good summer tire.

 

[The Critic]

Primacy MXM4 for a good all-around tire, RE970AS for a more performance-oriented choice.

Neither choice will be fantastic in snow, but then again, what UHP all-seasons are?

 

[Garak]

@HTSS_TR: I may look into the V2. It seems that in Canada, we only have the V4 and Optimo readily available (aside from winter tires). I'm leaning towards all season tires, anticipating a bit of winter use. I put Optimos on the Audi, and they were decent, but I didn't hang onto it long enough to see how they would pan out over the long term.

@The Critic: The Primacy tires seem to definitely have good reviews. The Dunlops certainly weren't great in snow - not bad, bot not great. But, that's what the truck is for!

I miss the days when I had my old LTD and could get four new blems installed with an alignment for under $200.

 

[Indydriver]

Check out the Bridgestone Tire Advisor. You enter your top three priorities and it ranks options in your size while comparing several performance parameters on a ten point scale. It's the most useful tire selection tool on the web.

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/Home

 

[Garak]

Thanks for the link. Ironically, it brought up as first choice the RE970AS tires The Critic mentioned. I had glanced at them when checking the Tire Rack, but I may have to give them a closer look.

 

[dparm]

Those Primacys are an OLD tire design. I would keep looking.

My father has been running the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus on his G35 from the day he bought it (set number 3) and on my mom's old I30t (two sets). They've been very good tires.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Those Primacys are an OLD tire design. I would keep looking.

My father has been running the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus on his G35 from the day he bought it (set number 3) and on my mom's old I30t (two sets). They've been very good tires.


I believe you are mistaken..

the primacy mxm4 are a new design..

perhaps you are thinking of the
"PILOT MXM4"

Primacy mxm4 is a premium all season thats more performance orientated.
if you want one with better snow traction that would be the
primacy mxv4

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Those Primacys are an OLD tire design. I would keep looking.

My father has been running the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus on his G35 from the day he bought it (set number 3) and on my mom's old I30t (two sets). They've been very good tires.

No, the Primacy MXM4 is the newest tire of the Primacy line-up.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Of those 3 I would go with Primacy MXM4 and I would not consider Hankook Ventus V4 ES, but Hankook Ventus V12 Evo and V2 Concept are good. V12 Evo is very good summer tire but low tread life, V2 Concept is all-season.

If you go up in price a little, Michelin Pilot Super Sport is a very good summer tire.


Agree with everything said here.

 

[tightwad]

just to think outside the box for a minute, do you need an all-season tire? We put Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires on my niece's G35 about a year ago. They have done very well. Wear is excellent, and they got her around very well last winter. I can't disagree with the Primacy, though. They are excellent tires. I have the Primacy MXV4 on my Cadillac.

 

[Volvohead]

Agreed, the best documented UHP A/S tire in the snow and ice is the DWS. The DWS would be my first A/S choice that far north. Probably the closest UHP tire to a dedicated snow tread. I ran the original contiextreme, and it was unflappable in anything under 4 inches.

Although . . . the new RE970 is getting very strong snow/ice ratings on TR . . . but it's only a small sample. I am probably going to get these, as DWS won't fit the vehicle and the PS A/S+ is a really old design.

There are several flavors of Primacys. The MXV4 is the premium GT+ version, a terrific all-rounder, and priced accordingly. The MXM is a step down in my experience.

 

[Garak]

Well, I considered summer only tires, but the G will likely see at least intermittent use in the winter. It likely won't be enough use to justify dedicated winter tires, but it would preclude summer tires, which would be my ideal preference in an ideal world, of course.

After getting all my quotes back, it looks like the Michelins are the clear winner. The Yokohamas were the cheapest of the lot, with the Michelins, believe it or not, being only $20 more for the set of four. I was always under the impression that Michelins, especially in this line, would be very expensive. The Hankooks are an extra $150 and the Bridgestones are an extra $300.

So, would anyone vote for the Yokohamas over the Michelins? They're priced so close that the difference is inconsequential. I'm assuming the dealer suggested the Yokohamas in the first place to either save money (of all things) or they simply had them in stock.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
So, would anyone vote for the Yokohamas over the Michelins?

Not me. One thing you'll get with Michelin is very high quality control and very high uniformity which will minimize the amount of weights needed for balancing and any out-of-round issues which are really rare with Michelins.

My problem with Michelin in the past was that you would get an overpriced tire for the performance that it delivered. But in this case it sounds like they are one of the least expensive alternatives, so I say go for it.

 

[Garak]

Yep, that price really surprised me, Pete. I was thinking that if they're expensive in the States, I would really get hosed on them up here. Even up here, they had the reputation for being expensive, with Hankooks a common, cheaper alternative.

Clearly, this time, that's not the case. I had expected the Hankooks to beat everything, so I added that to my list for quotes. I threw in the Michelins, thinking they would simply be too high but would be a nice comparison and were a high quality tire.

As an aside, the other surprising thing about the quote was the lack of upsells. I had warned them already not to touch the oil. They only recommended a cabin filter, which I already have and can do myself. They want $110 for that, when I bought it for $30 and can do it in under half an hour.

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Garak

So, would anyone vote for the Yokohamas over the Michelins?


Not me. If you can tolerate the price, and the performance is competitive, few tires are as well made as a non-OE Michelin. You DO get what you pay for quality-wise.

When I look for new rubber, I look at Michelin first, and the sale is theirs to lose.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I agree with QP and VH, Michelin Primacy MXM4 is the right choice.

 

[mason1125]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with QP and VH, Michelin Primacy MXM4 is the right choice.


Cannot agree more! It's getting so popular here that it is getting more expensive since it has been introduced.

 

[Garak]

Well, we have enough opinions on the Michelins, so I think that's what I'll go with. It's quite the day when the Michelins are the second cheapest, and only a bit more than the absolute cheapest (at least on my list).

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Well, I considered summer only tires, but the G will likely see at least intermittent use in the winter. It likely won't be enough use to justify dedicated winter tires, but it would preclude summer tires, which would be my ideal preference in an ideal world, of course.

After getting all my quotes back, it looks like the Michelins are the clear winner. The Yokohamas were the cheapest of the lot, with the Michelins, believe it or not, being only $20 more for the set of four. I was always under the impression that Michelins, especially in this line, would be very expensive. The Hankooks are an extra $150 and the Bridgestones are an extra $300.

So, would anyone vote for the Yokohamas over the Michelins? They're priced so close that the difference is inconsequential. I'm assuming the dealer suggested the Yokohamas in the first place to either save money (of all things) or they simply had them in stock.

I would not pay Michelin-level pricing for a Yokohama, period.

Be sure to get an alignment. I recently had a "loaner set" of Primacy MXM4 on 17" wheels that were very noisy, presumably due to some alignment issue, even though the abnormal tread wear was not visible. Beware...