Hi all,

I will be receiving my 05 18 sports rims soon and will be ordering tires for them. I've narrowed down to two tires in sizes of 245/45/18

Avon Tech M550 A/S:
$148 each
31 lbs
Rim Width Range (7.5 to 9)
Measuring Rim Width (8.5)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=0

Continental ContiExtremeContact:
$161 each
26 lbs
Rim Width Range (7.5 to 9)
Measuring Rim Width (8.0)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=1

Seems like the consensus on this forum is the lighter the better on the wheel/tires. The price difference is not much. Seems like the
Avon has better review and the Continental has a better tread life. I know the 05 sports are just at the minimum of meeting these tire sizes with the Avons recommending 8.5 inches and Continenal 8 inches.

What do you guys recommend? Also, I'll probably want to get a few things afterward...sorry for the long post.

1) OEM nissan wheel locks, are they good enough?
2) I'll rotate the tires myself later on and wants to know what's a good kit for jacks? and should I also buy a torque wrench?

Thanks...

 

+1 Avon Tech 550 A/S

 

You should have a torque wrench, the torque on these wheels is 80ft lbs. You can very easily over torque and wind up warped rotors. I got everything a Menards, which was a lot cheaper than say Sears.

 

I put the Avon 550's on at 48K miles and I have 65K now. So after 17K miles, they are still wearing really well. I would expect 50K at least from these. Good wet traction and quiet. Much better than the RS-A that came on the car. The only gripe I have is that the sidewall stiffness is not as good as a true high performance tire. The 550 is a good tire on the G for daily driving, just dont expect $250/tire track performance. But overall, value for the $ is hard to beat.

 

Two people are for Avon's so far . I am thinking about Avon's myself too but what about the 5 lb difference?

 

I do want to buy my own torque wrench. I've seen cheap ones as cheap as $25 bucks ranging up to $300+ or more. Why is there such a price difference? How much is your torque wrench? The one's I see only comes with one socket. What socket size is the g35's wheel lugs? Do you have to buy an extra socket just for wheels?

What about something like this?
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00944642000

or and electric one like this?
http://www.autobarn.net/all840017.html

Thanks...

 

Since I'll be receiving the tires/rims separately, is it possible to load all (FOUR) 18 inch tires and (FOUR) 18 inch rims in our G's to bring it to an installer? Anyone ever tried that?

 

That impact wrench is not a torque wrench - you don't want to use something like that on good wheels, just use a basic cross wrench to spin them off and on. You also don't want a cheap beam style torque wrench - get a decent "clicking" style wrench. Good torque wrenches are most accurate in the middle of their range, so don't buy a 0-80 ft/lb wrench for 80 ft/lb lugs. I use this one: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

The G35 has 21mm lugs. The wrench won't come with any sockets at all - just get a deep 21mm socket and a 5 inch extension. Tighten wheel lugs in a star pattern in at least 3 increments - just "snug" to center the wheels, then to 40, then 80 ft/lb.

 

80 sounds like a lot. I know I have seen that number in some nissan manual, but on the locking factory lugs it states 20ft/lb. If I was to go to 80 I would never be able to get them off in the field.

 

No, the manual states 80 ft/lb and 80-85 is pretty common for cars. You won't have any trouble getting them off unless you let some yo-yo hammer them on with an impact driver.

 

You think 80 is a lot. You should look at GM cars. My Pontiac's owners manual says the proper torque for the alloy wheels is 100 ft/pounds.

 

I have the ContiExtremeContact tires on my other car. They have phenominal snow traction

The steering response seemed a little mushy, but you could still take the corners fairly hard. The Yokohama AVS db tires I had on that car previously had superior steering response. I got 40,000 miles out of the yoko tires, but they get susceptible to hydroplaning after they wear a little. However, for the size I was using on that car, the Contis were V-Rated, and the Yokos were W-rated, so that may explain the steering response. So far I put on about 26,000 miles on the Contis and they are wearing very well. Looks like I can get atleast another 25,000 miles out of em', if they continue to weat at the same rate.

That's pretty damn good in my book, considering I like to beat on the car daily

 

21mm deep socket as in this? http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...Impact+Sockets

5 inch extension as in something like this? http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...et+Accessories

 

Thanks for your review. Seems the Contis have a very long life span.

 

Yeah, that extension is just what you need, it's long enough that your torque wrench will clear the wheels and fenders, but short enough for good leverage. You don't need an impact extension though, just a regular chrome one.

The socket you showed is deep enough, but it's an impact socket. A regular chrome socket will probably have a thinner wall, not as likely to rub inside the lug holes. Make sure it's six point like the one in the picture.

You'll also want one of these to run the nuts on (after you start them by hand) and off. http://www.maxpower-tools.com/manage...4101390516.jpg