Originally Posted by EEYORE

I and a buddy of mine were car shopping at the same time because both of our leases were expiring soon so we did it together. I wanted to get the G35 Sedan and my buddy was looking at various cars from different car makers. We had a good time shopping since we laughed at the useless sales people and their cars that were deficient in our expectations. For the most part there were only 2 cars that impressed him and they were the TL and the Charger HEMI. I asked him to try out a G35, but he had a concern with the RWD and the fact his driving experience was all FWD.

He did tryout the G35 and loved the sound of the engine rumble, the seating position and the feel of the car. But he was looking for gadgets I think and the G35 is really not a gadgety kind of car, its certainly a driver's car. Both of us did try out the Charger and the TL and I might add that the Charger is quite a BEAST if you asked me, but the MPGs on it was enough to make the Exxon Valdez look like a milk spill when given the boot.

My impressions of the TL was certainly a good one, but the lack lustre of the handling was much to be desired given the fact that I grew up on RWD, but had no choice when FWD was the most popular when it came to cars. The interior wasn't really up to par with issues with trim and fitting. The engine was quite nice, but the wind up of the torque felt rather slow. The Acura dealer did not have any 6 speed manual cars and my only choice was to test drive the auto-5 speed they had at the lot. Putting the TL in manual mode drove right bonkers!! I hated the tranny when it auto-shifted when I specifically wanted to hold that gear when I was taking a corner. I did feel the rear of the car roll when some oversteer was applied, but the VDC did not pick up on the wheelspin from the rear. Highway driving was smooth and when additional acceleration if needed at highway speed to overtake cars was there and fairly fast as the car was in the RPM range anyway.

Its styling was kind of mundane old looking come to think of it, even though it was black with the horridly puke looking butterscotch leather interior. I think what I really liked about the car was the front end and the fact that when you put the TL in reverse the side mirrors would lower down to the road to show your alignment with the parking spot, again gadgets. The car was more luxury oriented than being a luxury sports sedan and how it got classified as a sports sedan is beyond me as it certainly did not feel like one.

The G35 was a different story.... I did test drive a G35 sedan, but an auto-5 speed, however I did have a baseline of performance from my girlfriends coupe so I was a little biased as to what to expect. The G35 sedan matched or equaled the performance expectations I was looking for given the fact that I was going to gain another 18 HP with the 6-speed manual if I decided to get one. The handling was just superb and the torque was almost at the sweet spot. Cornering with the G35 was really nice and handled like it was on rails. I did scare the crap out the salesperson when I was cornering harder than the tire's traction could handle, but it was all good. I had no issues with the auto-5 speed as it held in gear as I expected until I shifted up. Comparing the weight ratio of both the TL and the G35, it was certainly no challenge here as the G35 was a much closer ride to BMWs remarkable 50/50 measurements.

After the test drive I was hooked and the impression of the drive stuck with me until me and my buddy decided on our final choices. He ended up with the TL and I got the G35 M6 Sedan. I still think he got screwed in the fun department on the TL, because everyday is a GRIN when I am driving.

Eeyore.

Originally Posted by pvansh

Does anybody know the going rate for decent winter tires and rims (steel and alloy) for the size the G35 sedan requires? Just trying to get an idea of how much it'll cost me.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by pvansh

Does anybody know the going rate for decent winter tires and rims (steel and alloy) for the size the G35 sedan requires? Just trying to get an idea of how much it'll cost me.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by usual_suspect

If you are looking at an '05 RWD sedan, you will need 17's to fit over the larger brakes. The first quote I got was for 225/55-17 Nokian RSi's on steels @ $1,300. I just got off the phone with my Infiniti dealer - they are telling me $1,842 w/alloys and $1,440 w/steels today, going on sale at the end of the month for $1,538 w/alloys and $1,214 for steels. This is for Toyo G02's. I need to phone Tire Trends now - they don't have any 17' steels on their site, but they have very good prices on tires. I know steels are ugly, but I think cheap alloys are worse.

Originally Posted by pvansh

That's a big difference compared to what Canuck paid! I guess 1200-1500 is pretty average?

Originally Posted by EEYORE

Hmmm... will 16' rims clear the brakes or should I get 17' for the sedan??

Originally Posted by usual_suspect

If I read your post correctly and your sedan is an '05 6MT, then 16's will not fit over the new larger brakes (12.6' front/12.1' rear). Only the G35x AWD sedan retained the smaller brakes in '05 (same brakes as all non-Brembo G35's in '03/'04). You will have to go to 17's to clear the front calipers on your car. It's pretty obvious if you look at the OEM 17' alloys on an '05 5AT sedan - tight fit.

Originally Posted by EEYORE

Hmm.... My GF has a set of tires and steel rims for her '03 G35 coupe with the sport package (includes the Brembo brakes). I will have to check the rim size and make sure they are 17'.

Originally Posted by canuck

16's are just fine. In fact, the Infiniti dealership in Halifax sells 16" as part of their winter package for the sedans......or at least they did last year.