After researching lots of you fellow "g" owner's opinions, I pulled the trigger on a Tire Rack internet purchase for replacement tires on my '04 6MT (sport suspension with 215/55/17 Goodyear GSD's).

Had 24,910 miles on those original tires, ordered 235/50/17 Goodyear Eagle F1-GSD3's. Arrived in one day, as advertised. Installed the first 3 tires - no problems, but the last tire would not balance - machine kept reading "out of spec", and "unable to balance within parameters" (something to the effect).
Took one tire off that was already mounted, and tried to mount/balance the bad tire on that rim - still no good, so it's the tire . What the hell did I expect on the day that Gilligan died, huh ??

Installer called Tire Rack, they said to balance it as best as possible, mount this tire on the passenger side rear, and let me drive it until they can get a new tire to us next week. Said they'd pay for the reinstall and rebalance, up to $20. Good experience except for the bad tire so far, love the tires, but only have 50 miles on them at the moment. Installer and shop owner kept questioning me why I wanted these tires, saying they were too aggressive for my "G", that they could recommend many tires that would perform nearly as well and ride better/quieter, etc. I finally said "performance means the most to me - can you tell me I can do better for overall aggressive performance at this price point?" - they had no reply, so conversation over.

Important Note:
I was sure to choose an installer with a Hunter Road Force Balancer, which was good for me in this case. Installer said that if they'd used their "regular" spin balancer, it would not have detected the faulty tire. Then, I'd have come back after about 300-500 miles complaining, then they'd re-balance them, and I'd be back again at the 300-500 mile mark, until someone finally determined that the tire was faulty (or they spun it on their Roadforce balancer, which would then tell/confirm this). Either way, I'd have not gotten a new tire from Tire Rack after 300-500 miles, unless those miles fell under their 30 day satisfaction guarantee time limit. So, the Hunter Road Force balancer was good for more than just a better and more balanced ride, in this case, and was worth the extra $ on the balance.

My $0.02

 

Hope they get the new tire to you soon. You'll love those tires, they're awesome. I had to have mine hunter balanced too, but after that they were rock solid. So much so, in fact, that I NEVER had them balanced again even thru 4 or 5 rotations. They always wanted to balance AND rotate and I'd just say "no, leave the balance alone, just rotate"

They're soft tires so be sure and get them rotated every 3k.

 

would you happen to have a picture of the new tires on your G?

 

03SilverG:

I'll take some pics tomorrow, after I wash my car. It's all stock, but these tires are definitely a little wider than OEM - not any real "bulge" over the stock rims, though.

Doogie:

It was the reviews, opinions, and "hands on" experiences of everyone on this site, including your experiences with both The Tire Rack, and the GS-D3's in particular, that helped me decide to go this direction. I had "Road Force" balancing several times before, with other performance tires, never had any of them balanced after the initial install, either. The tire installer recommended frequent rotation for longer tire life, too - in fact, he recommended I rotate the tires every time I change the oil . "Make it a habit", he said.

Going to Tahoe tomorrow morning from my home here in the East (San Francisco) Bay, up wonderful, twisty, curvy, mountainous Hwy 88 - even though the tires are still new and a little "squirmy" - and I'll see how it feels. Should have about 400 miles on them when I get back.

Input Needed!:

The tire installer recommended 40 PSI in my new tires, and that's what he put in them upon installation. I've run 35-36 in the past in my performance tires, regardless of maximum allowed (sometimes up to 48 PSI !!). Ran 35 PSI in my stock Eagles, and they wore well. Is 40 PSI too much, causing uneven wear (meaning excess center wear), or is it necessary with these tires to keep the sidewall stiff, or ?? What do you think, guys ?

 

The sidewall is pretty stiff regardless. I ran mine (245/45/17) at 35 all round. Treadwear was perfectly even at the end of their life.

 

Thanks, Doogie - I'm lowering them to 35 PSI tomorrow morning in the garage, before I take my little trip. ($3+ a gallon - Yee-Haw!)...

 

I had the Goodyear DS3’s on my BMW 330i and I loved them. However, they don’t seem to make the DS3’s in a size that fits the 18” wheels on the 05 Sedan. Has anyone ordered a non standard size DS3 for the 18” sedan wheels. I noticed that your DS3s were a completely different size that your factory tire. Did they fit ok? Is that a bad thing to do. What tires are most people using on the 18” Sedan wheels? I have the Goodyear NCTs right now. They are ok but I would like something more like the GSD3s. Are the Goodyear supcars any good?

 

I ran through a set of the Eagle F1's on my G35 Sedan last year. They were 225/55R17 (the 235/50R17 wasn't available a year ago). I loved that tire. Very grippy, even in the rain. Be careful when the weather gets cold (50's or so or lower) -- being a summer tire compound, they get a little slippery when they're really cold, even on dry asphalt, until you run on them and warm them up. Keep the VDC engaged on cold mornings. 40psi is too high for regular driving. 35 is just fine, and that's how I ran on them. I cranked them up to 40 front/38 rear only on days when I was autocrossing (which was the main cause of them wearing down to the cord inside of a year -- however, they wore very evenly).

 

The fact that they wore evenly, including a season of autox'ing is impressive.

 

Here are some quick pics, taken on the run. I didn't have time for the sun to be in the right position, etc. - but this will give you some idea ...

 

A couple more ..

 

Go to WWW.tirerack.com and check out all the sizes for the Eagle GS-D3's. they probably have what you're looking for. As a general rule, manufacturers rarely put the max size tire on a rim, so you can usually upsize by a bit and still run stock rims. Usually, you go up 2 sizes in width (like from my stock 215's to my new 235's), and down one size in aspect ratio (stock was 55, new ones are 50's), so that you don't throw the speedometer off too much.
Search this site for the tire size calculator - I know it's a Mazda Miata website download, but there are several people on here who linked it for your direct access. The calculator will help you figure out what sizes best to replace yours with, and still keep the same (or nearly the same) overall circumference (keeping the speedo, odo, etc. correct). It also works if you wanted to see what size tire to run on a 20 inch rim (for example) and keep your speedo correct, etc., if you are thinking of changing rims, too.

Hope this helps.

 

How does putting a wider tire on increase the diameter? Does it cause the tire to bow out because the rim is not wide enough? Doesn’t this seriously damage the tires ability to wear properly? I want to get a good performance tire but I don’t want to sacrifice all tire durability for it. I don’t have many miles on my Goodyear’s right now but they seem ok? How does everyone else like the NCT tires? Are their any other tires that come on the G35 Sedan’s with the 18” wheels? Are those tires any better?

 

If you get tires with a larger width and same profile, the tire is going to have a bigger diameter. The profile number is actually a percentage of the width. Thus, when you get a widder width, you need to have a smaller profile size to keep the same dimensions. If that doesn't make sense, then you can do a google search for a better explanation.

 

Dbarnes,

Mind posting some mpg results with the new set of shoes? Need to know if it brings down the mpg's with wider tires.

Thanks...