Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
or you can order a 06, but pricing is not yet finalized.
I don't want a set of dedicated winter tires (although I realize they are absolutely the best in snow).
So, after looking at all the 265/50-20's I could find; I've decided to put on Falken Ziex S/TZ-04's. $165 ea. from Discount Tire. The tread blocks seem better suited for biting into snow and releasing it as well. (The 60 series Bridgstones on the 35 don't look particularly suited to snow either, IMHO.) The Disc. Tire sales guy felt the Falken would be much superior the RS-A.
Please understand, I've yet to actually drive on the Falkens so, this is speculative. As soon as I have some actual snow time on them I'll post my findings.
The ABS on the FX is quite evident and really gets your attention. I induced plenty making some hard stops in the snow covered parking field. Much more intrusive than any other car I've had.
I would much prefer having the differential lock mode of the earlier models over the "snow" mode of my '05
Anyone know why they changed it? I've never driven an '05 so I haven't tried one with snow mode, but in snow I really like the lock mode on my '03. Got my winter tires on last week, just before we got a 3" snow fall, so I'm good to go. It's below 0 as I'm typing this!
Then I drove 60 miles and the fuel gauge indicated slightly less than 3/4 tank. I could not believe it was that thirsty!!! Something is off. I use 91 octane.
I get on average (according to the monitor) 15.7 mpg with mostly highway driving. Is this normal? What do people get with their FX35's?
Also, when you fill up, what is the DTE(distance to empty) says? Mine is like 280 miles. Strange.
Any similar experiences? Is something broken?
I hope to have the Falkens on early next week.
Bottom line = wide tires act like snowshoes, the best solution is 17" wheels w/Blizzaks but why have a second set of tires for a vehicle they keep showing runnng through snowdrifts on TV? :mad: :mad: :mad:
Very likely, the one they keep showing running through snowdrifts on TV has winter tires on. My last 5 cars have all had AWD, and I've used winter tires on all of them, but I'm in Minnesota so they get good use. You can run a more aggressive summer tire in the other months, plus they last longer.
So much for buying an AWD vehicle.
My wife's Volvo XC70, on the other hand, with its Pirelli Scorpion OEMs is a tank in snow, it grips the road like a talon. It is actually a blast to drive in snow storms with the Volvo, an amazing car.
I feel that Infiniti has misrepresented, via its commercials and dealerships, what the FX can do for those of us who live in the snowbelt. After spending $40K plus on a "winter" car, it is extremely annoying to have to spend another $1,000 plus for winter tires and wheels. Jon.
Does anyone have any experience with scratched rims when installing new rubber? Could anyone specify what equipment is it that does not scratch the wheels?
FX35 is the best car I ever owned. Awesome handling, amazing power, great seats, tasteful interior, top-notch safety, short braking distances, sporty ride and of course who can forget the exhaust sound...
Have you taken out the FX w/the Proxies in the snow yet? I have Proxies as well & I'm very curious to know about it's performance in the snow. I had the tires siped for better traction but am still debating on whether or not to get Blizzaks put on for going skiing. The Blizzaks now come in 20's and I was thinking about getting those instead of getting new wheels and tires. We had a light dusting of snow/sleet and the siped proxies did ok but i felt like the vehicle fishtailed when turning corners.
I went to a local parking lot the day after and it had 4 or 5 inches of unplowed snow. The car did well, accelerated without slipping, braked well & turned without skidding. The only issue is that this was crunchy day-old snow, not the slippery wet type. I did look for snow mounds where the plow had gone by and crashed through them easily.
I will get out the next snowfall & put them to the full test but even after the trial run I did I can say they are way ahead of the uselss OEM's. Bottom Line: a step up but still need to test them more before I'd say forget the 20" Blizzaks (which must be new).
A note to those saying it is not the car's fault: COrrect BUT the manufacturer (Infiniti) should not have rolled out a new car knowing that winter tires were unavailable and you needed to buy smaller rims to make it a viable snow vehicle. Shame on me for not checking!
My point exactly. You spend $42K on a new AWD car and then find out you have to spend $1,200 for winter tires and rims...
Very excited that Blizzak has come out with 20 inch winter tires, love the FX so going to check those out. Jon.
I agree that the vehicle isn't the problem- it's well equipped to go into the snow, it's just finding tires and going to that extra expense that's the problem. Every tire expert I've spoken with says the narrower the tire, the better handling in the snow as the 20's will float. I had a 4Runner before and the 16" all seasons did great - I didn't need to get snow tires. - I should mention that living in Portland, OR we don't get a lot of snow fall here in the valley but I like to trek up to the mountain. .
Of course I thought about no snow tires but chain up if needed. The manual says you can fit chains on the rear but the tire shop said there may be an issue of them fitting with the 20's and the lower profile, etc.
:confuse:
topics...
Acceleration
Gas differential
Road behavior
Misc.
Thanks for the help. I am really a bit lost as to which to choose with the difference in price of some being small.
Thanks
KA
I think it all comes down to performance. If you want high performance go with the 45 - it will go from 0 to 60 in 6 (beats the cayanne). Otherwise go with the FX35 w/sport package if you want the 20" wheels (great handling in tight curves). I'm getting about 16 miles per the gallon w/the 35. . The 45 would be a bit less than that.
As would expect, the 6 cylinder gets better mileage, but it's not that significant - maybe 2-4 mpg better in combined city/highway driving. I drive mostly in the city/suburbs, in traffic with frequent stoplights, and have consistently averaged 16.0 - 16.6 mpg.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all of you while I am at it. Jon.
What's the dealio?
Which do you have if I may ask?
KA
I've been driving on them for about 2 weeks now and am quite satisfied. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we've not had any snow here on LI.
I can report that I find the ride more comfortable and while I'm sure the OEM RS-A's will outperform them in the dry, they certainly handle well enough. (Note: the Falkens are H rated, not Z as the RS-A's are.) The Falkens are fine in the rain and I would expect the much deeper and more widely spaced tread blocks to be far superior in the snow. As has been mentioned, wide tires are not ideal for snow. I knew this going in and figured I'd probably have to change tires. That being said I do agree with those of you who say that Infiniti does not really paint an accurate picture of the FX's adverse weather capabilities. Interestingly, Land Rover has shod its new Range Rover Sport with 275/40-20's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the snow comes (and I'm sure it will) I will report further.
A word about buying tires online: Dealing with Discount Tire Direct was fine and I had the tires in a couple of days. (Bought tires from Tire Rack a few years ago for my Jeep too.) But, getting them mounted, especially low profile 20 inchers, didn't prove so easy. Discount Tire has a list of recommended installers with prices for mounting and balancing. But, the first guy said he'd have to charge $50 each to do 20's. Next shop said he'd do them for $15 each but, when I got there said his machine could only handle 18's. Sorry, blah, blah. Next place out of business. Stopped at an STS shop who wanted $32 ea. But, couldn't do them that day. Finally I found a local private shop (not on the list) who did them all for an even $100.
So, it might be wise to check out the installers first and perhaps get some pricing on the tires from them before ordering.
To be continued
I replaced the OEM goodyears about 3 months ago. I have a 2003 FX 45. Replaced with Bridgestone Dueler H/L 265/50 R20. These are V rated.
Positives- Here in Salt Lake we can get snow/ice from Nov-March so the previous OEM's sucked in the rain and especially snow as you already probably know.
The Bridgestones are much better in the rain and snow, with much better traction and braking, although i would not want to take them up the canyons on a heavy snow day- but in moderate to light snow they do very well. Rain seems to be no problem for them.
Bridgestone should last above 30K miles if not a lot more with regular rotation and have a progressive tread compound that is not suppose to have major variances as the tires wear. The OEMS with regular roation and not too hard of driving style lasted 20K miles.
Negatives- Dry traction not as good as the OEM's. Also they seem to have a bit more road noise than the OEM's and are a bit harsher ride. This may be due to the tread block differences.
The Duelers ran me about $230 a piece installed by the local dealer. Had to wait about 3 weeks for them to come into stock in Oct.
FX45 rocks!
The accelaration and power will be noticeable between the two- everything else with 20 inchers is probably pretty close to being the same. (i am not sure if the FX45 is setup differently in the shocks/struts dept vs the 35.)
If the price is close, accessories are the same and the insurance is not an issue i would go with the FX45 obviously.
good luck.
I mistakenly said the RS-A's were Z rated. In fact, they're V rated.
I leased an 05 fx35 in september for my wife. Car is great but at 4,500 miles the break pads are squealing. My wife is very easy on cars so this seams wierd. I've also heard of problems with brake rotors on some Nissan/Infiniti models. Anyone else have this problem? ....Thanks, Dan
I agree with your PS cyrus. Just not happy with occasional rattles in a car of this class.