ak1

Hello everybody,

I have infiniti g37 sport with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A stock tires. My front tires have 4/32 and my rear tires have 2/32. I am looking for advice for 2 questions:
1) I am thinking to replace my stock Potenza RE050A tires with "Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position", they are less expensive and it looks like it is a newer model. I am trying to decide if I replace rear tires first and then front tires in several months or do 4 of them at once?

2) I would like to do alignment at the same time too. Does it make any difference if I do alignment with infiniti dealer or any other mechanic? I am asking becuase may be dealers have more experience with Infiniti and they will do it better?

Thank you in advance!

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

^^Those are actually onsale right now at tire rack.. $175 front, $225 rear IIRC. This is the tire im thinking of going with when I need 'em too. Read good reviews on the pilot super sport, but still keep seeing reports of soft sidewalls which is holding me back. The s04's are supposed to be an upgrade from the the re050a's. This applies to stock size tires. With 4/32's remaining, i'd just replace all 4 at once. Doing it half @ssed will leave you with strange handling characteristics.

The newest alignment equipment uses infrared sighting modules for the most precise measurement. As for the alignment itself, only toe is adjustable on the front. I don't recall if camber is adjustable on the rear with stock control arms or just toe also. Either way, if your old tires have worn evenly, chances are your alignment in spec or close to it. Also, there are alignment specs and preferred alignment specs. The latter is a subset of the former. Shops with experience with particular car models will have a better understanding of what the preferred specs are. This excludes most dealers who will only be concerned about getting the vehicle to spec.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Good post Solo, the rear camber is adjustable but not much range w/ the stock concentric slider. They will usually have enough range for a subtle drop but not much more. Same can be said of the toe bolt concentrics, not much adjustablilty but enough for a subtle drop.

ak1

I decided to replace all 4 tires at once, I bought Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position at tirerack, they are on sale right now, 120$ front tire and 167$ rear tire.
Thank you for your responses!

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

Wow.. prices went down again! These were the stock 225/50/18 and 245/45/18 sizes? Let us know what you think of these tires initially and after 500-1000 miles (break in).

Tazicon

iTrader: (1)

Thats a good price and I have heard good things about the pole positions. Let us know how you like them after you have put 1,000 miles on them or so.


opps beat me to it while I was on the phone! lol

ak1

Yes, stock size , 225/50R-18 ( $120.00) and 245/45R-18 ( $167.00). Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position. I could not understand myself why these tires were much less expensive than the original equipment tires Bridgestone Potenza RE050A ( $235.00 and $238.00 on tirerack).

Anyway, price is good for S-04 now and I am happy . I decided to buy them after reading good reviews. Also, Bridgestone site gave them as the first choice for g37s sedan.

I will post once I drive the first 1000 miles on them.

brizey

Might have to try these. I am trying to hold on to the end of the summer.

OEM tires are always overpriced because of the sheep that just automatically replace them with the same.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

If those Pole Positions are worthy, then that's an amazing price.

And while the RE050A aren't a bad tire, brizey, I agree with the sentiment that they aren't worth the price.

A high-end, 3-season tire is always the best handling mod anyone can do for their car. Any car.

brizey

Still thinking about these tires (Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position). They are so damned cheap. They came in second in car and driver's comparo last year to the Mich. PSS. Back then, they said the Michelin's were worth the $44 per set. But now that is more like $200-$300 for our car, not $44.

My tires are BEAT. Gonna still try to make labor day though, lol.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

Are you looking for someone to convince you to buy new tires?



It's for common sense safety. Just do it.

MACS

iTrader: (3)

My next set will be the PSS. My mind (right now) is made up.

brizey

lol. ok, ok. I'll do it this week. All the tires I would consider are special order at discount tire (there is one like five minutes from my house and they are pretty good dudes there). Still need to decide if the extra $200 for the Michelin's is worth it (Michelin has their sale going now, BTW...$70 off a set of four through 8/28). Was looking more last night...the Michelins have a warranty and the Bridgestones don't. But you get MIJ vs. US/France per TireRack if you go Bridgestone. The Michelins are lighter. AAARRRGGHGHG!

wgallupe

I put a set of Potenza SO-4 Pole Positions (225/50R-18) on my 2012 G37x and love them. The Michelin PSS were my first choice but the price difference was too much to ignore. I have no regrets as my car is a daily driver, not a track car!

The original 17" Goodyear RS-A's (and wheels) are now my winter set. The difference in performance is so huge that I actually dread the day when I will have to swap them for the season...

brizey

Thanks for the advice/review . I live in the DFW area and can work from home if the weather sucks, so I just leave the summer tires on. My experience is that even when it is ~30 degrees, as long as it is dry, etc, summer tires are OK to commute, etc. We have an RDX with all seasons anyway, so its not like we would be trapped at home or something.

Going to order the pole positions.