g37brad

Hi guys,

I have a G37 Sedan Sport...leased it in May 09, and have 16k miles on it. I just recently looked at my rear tires, and they seem pretty worn. They have some tread, but I'm not really sure when they need to be replaced. Do I have to replace just the rear ones, or all 4? When does this normally need to be done? 15k miles seems pretty quick...Also how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks.

15951

16k miles is a pretty good run for stock summer tires in S. Florida. Mine are about half done at 5k and change. If the fronts are still fine, they can wait, but definitely replace them in pairs. If you're not going to replace the fronts yet, make sure you buy the same tires again. Expect to pay whatever the market demands! Check tirerack.com and others - you'll probably be looking at $400 or so to replace just the rears.

Generally speaking, if you're down to 1/16th or so, your tires are done. Do the penny test to quickly check.

g37brad

What exactly is the penny test, and how do I do it? Also how dangerous is it to drive on worn tires? I remember on my old dropped car, I was running on the tire with the actual thread showing...

Also is 15k a lot sooner then most cars? I know its apples and oranges, but I remember never changing the tires the whole time I had the car (37k miles)

christian655321

iTrader: (5)

i like having matching tires so i replaced all 4 and went with a plus zero size. expect to spend around 1k installed depending on what you get.

g37brad

1k!!!!!!!? I'm screwed.

clutch5

Tire rubber compounds are different (have different wear rates). Road surfaces have differing abrasiveness. Driving habits also affect wear rates. 16k miles isn't a bad lifetime for the generally cheesy factory tires put on cars these days.

You've spent serious coin on the car, maintaining and insuring it. Buy an actual tread depth gauge for measuring tread depth (something like this: Amazon.com: Milton S448 Tire Tread Depth Gauge: Automotive ).

Measure remaining tread on each tire in 3 places (inner, outer, center) and use the smallest measure. Absolute minimum remaining tread where the tires should be replaced is 2/32, but many experts think that is too risky and recommend 4/32 as the replacement point, especially if you drive in wet conditions every now and then.

Also, if the tread depth measures on a given tire are different by more than about 1/32 you may have other problems to fix (for example alignment, or tires not balanced right). Front to back, I think the general rule of thumb is they shouldn't be off by more than 2/32, but if you have different size front and back tires you cannot rotate them.

movinon

If you look at the sidewall there will be some delta symbols (triangles) running along the edge close to the thread. They are placed to show where the thread wear bars are located in the thread portion of the tire.
When the tire thread wears down to the point that the thread wear bars are flush to the tire thread, that is the tire manufacture's recommended time to replace the tires.
Tom

christian655321

iTrader: (5)

best bank for your buck is going to be Hankook tires, should be able to get them from tire rack for about 850-900 shipped give or take a few bucks, then probably 100 to mount and balance.. make sure you take it to a shop that is not going to scratch your rims. The dealer is a good place to go if you dont have a local shop - just have the tires shipped directly to them to avoid having to take them yourself.

Falcons023

i think 15 to 18k is the average for theses Summer OEM tires. I heard a lot of good things about Hankooks. Should be in most people's tire list.

colburs

I think our "S" tires have variable depth tread. I think the tread along the outer edge isn't s deep as the middle and inner edge. The shallow tread performs better (less tread squirm). Take a look at yours closely and see if this is the case. Use the wear bars moted above to determine when to replace them.

I always recommend Michelin's. They are the best. I have personal experience with lots of brands and in general you get what you pay for which is why Michelin's are more money.

I don't know what average wear is for our tires. Mine have 13K miles and the rears are half worn.

s2ktoEvo

If you plan on buying the same model/make of tire, you can just replace the rear. If you want to use a different brand, you should replace all 4.

As previously mentioned, just look at the wear marker. I get a good chuckle out of all the different crap people use to measure tread wear when the manufacturer took care of it for you.

6mtg37s

iTrader: (1)

Get hankook evos for the rear, good tires and much cheaper than the re050s, nothing will happen if you fix two max perf. Summer tires dont worry. Let your front ones stay for now.

needsoju

Yeah, these tires for G are expensive.
But replacing at 15k seems premature.. Burn some rubber?

smashhell

15k is actually pretty typical for sports tires. since sport tires aren't made to last long.

You can always just replace those tires with some of the regular tires, I replaced mine with comfort tires that have a lifespan of 50k miles. And it only costed me $500 buck.

roots4x

I rode my 2007 G35 coupe 19" Bridgestone potenza RE050A tires for over 22k with quite a bit of spirited driving. Actually, with my winter tires added in, I probably drove them for under 18k. I traded it in the other day and it probably still had a couple thousand miles left on them.

The best way to check is to use the wear indicator. As long as the tread wears evenly (be religious about tire pressure), you can wear them down quite a bit before having to worry too much. The only catch is your wet road performance will be extremely diminished. On dry road, you can go all the way down to the wear indicators and you'll be totally safe. It's just those rainy days you have to be especially careful for.