Highly Recommended Tires (Nexen N3000 255 45 18)

**Benjamin Simon** · 02-06-08 09:16 AM

Highly Recommended Tires (Nexen N3000 255 45 18)

I was rather disappointed with the OEM rubber. They had lots of road noise and wore out at 32K. Dry performance was more than fair, but absolutely not worth the money. I was on a quest to find great tires at a great price.

My wife had her tires done at a shop that highly recommended Nexen. She is not a performance driver, so she went with the all season N5000 Nexen. I was very impressed with her tires (Soft ride and quite) and I decided to look into models that might serve my needs. (soft ride, quite, and high performance, longevity)

I found the N3000. It has a cool V pattern thread. It was hard to find reviews. I wanted to make sure these tires were real performance tires and not just performance “looking” tires. After searching on the web, BMW and Lexus owners gave it high marks. I felt confident enough to try the tires.

I found the tires on Ebay for $407 shipped with no tax. I had a friend mount and road force balance them for $50. I watched him road force balance the tires and he said the adjustments were small suggesting the tires are well made. (I am really not sure how road force balancer works and if it can in fact convey this) He filled them with Nitrogen (34 PSI fronts 32 PSI rears) I put 255 45 18 on all four wheels. (I think the Nitro fill is stupid, but it was free)

After driving 30 miles, I am very very impressed. Road noise is almost eliminated. High speed handling/cornering is improved. (I would point out the additional variable of having 255 45 18 in the front (OEM where 245 50 18) could account for the increase in handling/cornering) Nonetheless, I did not comprise anything with going with this discount tire.

I have not driven on wet conditions and I will report back with updates on wear and wet performance.

From my understanding, this tire is poor in snow due to the V tread pattern. I live in the far south and it has not snowed her in 7 years. Next winter when I visit family up north I might be able to confirm this concern. If you live in snow areas and need a all season high performance tire, I suggest the N7000.

If you wanted some history on Nexen tire:
http://216.102.143.83/history.htm

**coati** · 02-06-08 09:00 PM

Thanks for the write-up & for suggesting/recommending Nexen tires.
I'd never heard of them prior to your thread.
Only Hankook.
The Korean tires are a very good value for the money I've heard.
While not my first choice in tires for my STS, I suppose for the price/performance you can't go wrong.

**shudog** · 02-06-08 09:27 PM

$407 is crazy cheap for tires on these cars... glad you're happy with them but I used to be a tire engineer and I truly believe you get what you pay for with tires

**Benjamin Simon** · 02-06-08 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by coati

Thanks for the write-up & for suggesting/recommending Nexen tires.
I'd never heard of them prior to your thread.
Only Hankook.
The Korean tires are a very good value for the money I've heard.
While not my first choice in tires for my STS, I suppose for the price/performance you can't go wrong.

I just cannot see paying almost $1300 for less quality OEM. And with all of high reviews on the BMW and Lexus forums I had to give them a try.

Originally Posted by shudog

$407 is crazy cheap for tires on these cars... glad you're happy with them but I used to be a tire engineer and I truly believe you get what you pay for with tires

That was/is my concern. Only time will tell.

On the other hand, I am just appalled at what I get for $1280 ($320 per tire with shipping and tax from tirerack.com) when buy OEM Michelin rubber. The tires are noisy and they wear out quickly. Sure they handled above average, but nothing more than that.

I realize I have only had the tires for 2 days and 100 miles, but when comparing the initial quality I would only pay an arbitrary amount of $300 for the pathetic Michelins. And since I do not feel the Michelin name is worth $980, I do not feel I will get what I paid for.

On another note, I drove in rain today. I am being very careful not to "try" to be pleased, but honestly, these tires did superb. I turn the TC off and took off. Yes, they would slip but a vast improvement from the OEM. One could argry the OEM tires were wore, but even when I first got the car with 12K on the tires, the tires were piss poor.

**MARKVIII** · 02-07-08 06:34 AM

i need tires soon on the rear..no way am i paying $300 for sh!t oem tires that do not last past 25k miles. i am going hankook or some other no name korean tire. for $90 each i can get three sets for the price of one set of oem. i have never found much difference in the drive/quality/road noise of individual tires. all i know is every set of Michelin tires i every had or purchase didn't last for long. a waste of money in my opinion. give me bridgestone or some other off brand any day.

**shudog** · 02-07-08 07:39 AM

I think most will agree that replacing the Michelins with something else is the way to go. Not to get totally technical, but tire grip is based on tread width & tread compound. A cheaper tire will have a more narrow width than a premium tire, even in the same size, to save on $$$. A premium compound contains alot of silica also which helps grip in cold/wet weather and increases wear. Higher silica content in the tread compound is also more expensive. Michelin uses a nylon spiral overwrap over the belts for increased high speed handling, which also makes the ride a bit noisier. Are the Nexen tires you bought speed rated up to 135+? If not, that could be part of the reason they are smoother riding and more quiet.

**Benjamin Simon** · 02-07-08 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by shudog

I think most will agree that replacing the Michelins with something else is the way to go. Not to get totally technical, but tire grip is based on tread width & tread compound. A cheaper tire will have a more narrow width than a premium tire, even in the same size, to save on $$$. A premium compound contains alot of silica also which helps grip in cold/wet weather and increases wear. Higher silica content in the tread compound is also more expensive. Michelin uses a nylon spiral overwrap over the belts for increased high speed handling, which also makes the ride a bit noisier. Are the Nexen tires you bought speed rated up to 135+? If not, that could be part of the reason they are smoother riding and more quiet.

They are Y rated which is up to 186 mph. Nexen claims they also use some type of nylon belt with multiple steel belts.

**Cajonkev** · 02-07-08 12:14 PM

I looked at the Nexen's and have a friend that wears them who is perfectly happy after 8k on them. Decided to put on the Kumho's instead myself but it is nice to have a couple of rated options to choose from.

**Lifer** · 03-26-08 08:51 PM

Benjamin Simon: How do feel about the Nexen N3000 now after almost two additional months of use on your STS? Are they quiet?

**thebigjimsho** · 04-07-08 10:08 PM

nexen tires parent company is michelin.

**Benjamin Simon** · 04-08-08 12:08 AM

Yes! The tires are very very quite. I was trying to listen to them with the windows down. Those damn michshitlins were so loud when I would come to a stop.
I have put 3000 miles on them. They are still very smooth and I have notice no treadwear. I am not sure what $300 a piece tires could do more than my $100 Nexens. I could not be more satisfied.

**Benjamin Simon** · 04-08-08 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by thebigjimsho

nexen tires parent company is michelin.

I am sorry Sir, I believe you are slightly misinformed.

http://www.nexentireusa.com/history.htm

According to their website:

June, 1987
Established a joint venture company with Michelin Korea Tire Co., Ltd. and with Michelin of France

August, 1991
Terminated the joint venture with Michelin; company name changes to Woosung Tire Corporation

**Onalaska** · 04-14-08 11:03 PM

I have the OEM Michelin 235's on the front and 255's on the back. The fronts are just about gone. Nexen does not make these sizes in a 17" tire. I am thinking about replacing the fronts with Nexen 7000 245's and when the rears need replacing going with the 245's there also so I can rotate them.

**Benjamin Simon** · 04-15-08 01:26 AM

Yes sir, that is correct.

The N7000 is a good all season choice. If I lived up north, I would have highly considered that model given the poor snow traction of a V tread in the N3000.

The N7000 was developed to “provide all-weather traction while minimizing compromizes in dry and wet road handling,” and is targeting sports cars, coupes and sedans that require year-round performance.

The tire features a jointless full cap ply for high speed steering, stability and durability; an optimized steel belt contour system; high tensile bead wire and bead profile for lower sidewall stiffness; a rigid shoulder block design for cornering and handling; twin center ribs for high speed stability; and circumferential and lateral grooves for water dispersal.

http://www.tiredeals4less.com/NEXEN_..._P3998C772.cfm

I have found ebay is the cheapest

My old lady has the N5000. If the N7000 is nearly as great as both of our tires models, you will be very pleased.

**Onalaska** · 04-15-08 07:01 AM

Benjamin, Thanks for the info. I was hoping the treadlife would be a little better on the 7000 vs 3000. Also they may be quieter since the tread is less aggressive. I live in East Texas so snow and ice are not a problem. I have a local tire store that can get them. I'll see how his price compares.