Hello Everyone,

I have two questions for any of you:

#1) Since I've had my G Sedan for two years now, I no longer get free oil changes. Where are people taking their cars to & what type of oil are you having placed into the engine?

#2) Has anyone bought new tires for their sedan yet, with the "Sport Package"? If so, what tires are you placing onto your rims? I went to Discount tire this past weekend to look at and get some rates. My car only has 17.6k miles on it and I hate those stock sport package tires. They do not grip very well. I was give rates on the following (2) tires:

225/50/17 Michelin XGTZ4 @ $203.00/each
235/45/17 Yok ES100 @ $147.00/each

I may have typed in the incorrect stile of tire due to the handwriting.

Just give me your thoughts and ideas! Thanks

 

I usually buy my own oil, Castrol Syntec Synthetic Blend 5W-30 and have the dealer
change it for me. They usually charge me $30, plus they do all the other inspections.
As for tires, I had to replace my Bridgestone Turanzas EL42. I went with a different
dimention, changed from 215/55/R17 to 235/50/R17 and bought the Kumho ECSTA KHII
tires from Discount Tire. It cost a tad above $600 installed. I have enjoyed these tires
very much. The speedo error is less than 2%, so not a problem

 

Hey Cato,

I will be looking at it a little closer in '05. I'm not sure if I will continue to take my car to West Houston or not. I will go out and purchase better oil to be placed into my engine.

As for the tires, I will talk to a few of my friends down in the Valley when I fly there on Sunday.

 

I bought my car at Southwest. One thing I find wierd about they maintence is that you get 2 years of free oil changes or 6, which ever comes first. To me, that doesnt make sense, especially if you don't put more than 3k over a 3 month period (as my case). This weekend when I get my oil change, I'm going to ask them why is this and see if they will give me 8 changes. If not, I'll have to pull out my free year of oil changes and use that (got that with my deal). Once that is done, I plan to do the oil changes myself. It's easy, save you money and most importantly, you know EXACTLY what is being done to your car. Nothing like getting a quart less of oil when your not looking. As far as the tires, you might consider buying someones 17" on ebay or even 18". Many ppl are selling their wheel after they upgrade and have practically new tires with them. I've been tryinig to get 18" coupes and if you price them out, our 17" are 850 (at tyrerack) while 18" coupes are at most 1200. If you don't want 18", you can easily find 17" for about 800 which is the same price as new tire with new wheel. That is what I plan to do when my tires need replacing. GL

 

So, where are you guys buying your tires from. Locations or on the internet? Like I mensioned, i've only gone by discount tire.

In fact, I guess my sedan has a great amount of torque in my car. Since mine has the sport package, I can make my car slide sidways on a launch, without any problems. I really need a tire that can stick to the ground. Ugh...

 

The Sport package includes different wheels and tires, as well as the shocks and springs.
Other than than that, it is the same car. I put the Sport tuned suspension on my non-sport
G35 Sedan. I love the better handeling the suspension offers. I cannot make mine slide
sideways on launch, since I have new rubber. I first searched the internet for the tires I
wanted. After considering all the hassle of shipping, then taking the tires to a place for
installation, I decided to just have Discount Tire order them for me and install them. For
a few more dollars, I would rather be able to go back to Discount Tire if there were any
problems with the tires. Just my .02

 

Hey cato,

I'm finally back in Houston. I would like to see your G one of these days so I can see how it looks with the tires you bought. Drop me an e-mail @ srhtx@yahoo.com. Thanks!

 

Still get my changes at West Infiniti. Replaced Goodyear GSD with 235-45 17 Toyo Proxes 4. Same tread compound as the TS1 but in AS. Reviews can be seen on 1010tires. Great tire , I've got about 1200 miles on em without issues. They need about 35 psi on em since they have a reinforced sidewall. Excellent handling wet or dry and no noise. Speedo error is about 3.7% but no big issue, the rear end ratio is now about 3.5 so that's nice. $500 total from Discount installed with $40 tradein for two of the GSD.Another alternative for great bucks are the Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S but they are more than the Toyos.

 

Thanks JCV,

I would like to meet those of you who have changed to different tires so I can check them out and hear everyones comments.

I did like the look of the Mich. 225/50/17 XGT Z4. When I get to meet up with others, then I could get a better idea of what I will get.

 

IMHO the XGT Z4 sucks. Check this out on tire rack and 1010tires before you make the commitment. It's an old design Michelin and there's lots better out there for the money. Falken FK 451 have had good write ups also.

 

Well, lets see if we could get a few of use to meet during the day on a Saturday, or Sunday, in the month of January.

Also, does anyone wish to go to the Auto Show during the work week vs on a weekend? I hate the crouds on the weekends. Also, we are able to look at things more up-close monday thru thursday.

 

Can't go to the show, no time. Might make a weekend meeting on a Sunday or later Saturday depending on work and home. Live on North end of town off Louetta.

 

Cato,

I think I might do tires the cheap way. I had to place my G into the shop since the "slip" light & "brake" lights came on a few times this past weekend and week. They had to replace the front brake pads and add brake fluid into the car. My G only has 18.5K miles on it.

Also, in driving the '05 G, there are "2" things I hate about it. #1, the front seat head rest. That is going to cause me to have more brain damage quickly. It was hitting my head in the wrong place. #2, the front bumper. You would have to screw a licens plat frame onto the front of the car. Ugly. If they would keep it like the '03 & '04 front bumper set-up, then it would be great.

Now the power. Those '05's can move. I loved the power in the engine updates!!

 

18.5K miles means that your brakes were shot! I only get 15K from my brakes. I have
53K miles on my 3002 Sedan, had 3 sets of brakes already. 18.5K is pretty normal.

 

Well, I did not know that the G's pads would go out that quickly. I never knew that was the cause of those lights coming on in the dash.

I'm afraid to see what the cost is going to be on replacing them down the road.