Ok, hello to everyone. Im new, and have some questions. First off, my name is Matt. I dont personally own a G35, I have a Lancer. My dad, however, recently purchased a G35 coupe, auto with the performance package. (auto with performance package, some might call that an oximoron) At any rate, I figured I would familiarize myself with his car because Im sure I will be working on it sonner or later.

Ok, so heres the questions. First of all, dad has the 18s with the Pilot sports. The other day he was driving and drove over a small pothole, and the front tire just shreaded itself. He did pull over before rim damage occured though. My question is has this happened to anyone else? I worked as an intern at Goodyears tech center for the last few years, so I consider myself knowledgable on tires. When I first saw the front tires on the G35, they gave the appearence that they are almost too narrow for the rims. (The way the sidewall of the tire slopes inward, rather than being verticle) Just wondering if anyone else has shreaded a tire?

Second question involves intakes. I did some quick reading and saw Stillen has one, as well as Injen. I know from my experiences with Lancers and Injen that problems might rear their ugly head. I was wondering what everyones opinion is on aftermarket intake types? The way I see it, the stock setup on the G35 coupe is damn good, and Im not sure how much better it might get. (perhaps a different filter design is all thats needed)

Also, does anyone have an aftermarket exhaust on their car at this point? Ill assume that like the350Z, intakes and exhausts will not make huge gains with already decently designed stock components. Just wondering if anyone has any magic exhaust setups to share.

And finally, (thanks for hanging in there), has anyone run an auto G35 coupe at the track? Im going to run my dads G35 at Route 66 for him in Chicago (he seems to think my 21 year old reflexes might be better for 1320 feet than his 62 year old reflexes) and was wondering what kind of times to expect. Thanks everyone.

Ah yes, almost forgot, anyone have suggestions on a wheel tire combo for winter? Have some ideas, but if anyone knows of a good deal, it would be greatly appreaciated.



Since when does hitting a pothole cost $322? Thanks a bunch Michelin...<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by Tristar51 on 06/30/03 06:44 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

Hi, welcome to the forum, I want to answer all of your questions, but the lack of time....heh...

Just a quick tip, whenever racing, make sure to turn off VDC, there is a small button switch on the left of the steering column by where the trunk release is.

As for aftermarket intakes, Injen's is most popular, however, this car has an adaptive ECU so the power gain from the CAI will become non-existant after a few weeks. The way to solve this is to unplug the battery for 6-12 hours, to reset the ECU.

I also have noticed that the front tires are like that...i remember people saying that they've measured the rims and they seem a little wider than what the specs indicate.

<font color=green>-Rambo</font color=green>
G35c 6MT DG/Willow

 

I've not heard of anyone else having a tire shred like that.. probably just a defective tire.. should be able to get it replaced under warranty.

 

All I know is I hate Michelins, so I'm not surprised it shredded. I can't wait until these Pilots need to be replaced. I prefer Goodyear and BF Goodrich (I know BFG is owned by Michelin, but their tires seem to be better). I would love a set of G-Force KDW's on this car, but haven't checked if they make the right size for this car.

I don't think the aftermarket intakes are worth it - the gains appear to be marginal at best on this car.

As for exhaust, I think Borla's system and a set of headers will be the best for probably about a 20hp gain.

As for pure winter tires, I've heard Blizzaks are hard to beat, but haven't tried them.

2003 G35C, 6MT, DG/G, Aero/Nav/Premium
2002 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue/Black

 

i have also heard that blizzacks are the best when it comes to the snow. Also heard they may come out with 18 blizzacks this year.