Using my cousin's account to do a review of the Nitto NT05s (245-40-19 and 275-35-19) and Stop Tech Street Performance brake pads for my G37. I got all the service done from Lou at Amplified around 2 weeks ago. I had the stock RE050s for about 4 years now and they lasted around 29.5K miles. I don't really drive that aggressively (spirited driving here and there) so my wear was very good. My stock brakes were also a little worn so I decided to to change both front and rear as well. I also did a coolant and rear differential change.

The nitto NT05s are a definite improvement over the stock bridgestone RE050s as far as dry drip. you definitely get more steering feedback. You feel the road a little bit more but it's not as harsh as some people say it is. i do notice that going in and out of off ramps you get less tire squeal. On the bridgestone potenzas you can tell when it's about to reach the limit before it starts to "give up", the nittos don't. it's a little scary at first but i'm sure you can reach the limits better in a track environment. for everyday driving it's a bit of overkill (even for a little canyon cruising). i also noticed that when i take the car out really early in the morning that the tires are a little greasy...once warmed up they really perform. they also look great as they fill out the car better (especially from the rear). they look very aggressive but i think i'll only get half of the life from these that i got from the RE050s. the tread depth stock i believe is around 7/16 (anyone chime in and correct me if i am wrong). overall i am very satisfied with these. one little complaint is that after you run them hard...they smell like dogsh!t. no, i'm not kidding. i put on some maguire's purple tire shine gel (that smells like grape cough syrup) and now it smells like puke. lol.

the stop tech street performance pads dust a little more than stock. Amplified had only ordered the front ones as they made a mistake in ordering the posi-quiets for the rears. After a few stops i could feel that the fronts do bite much harder. i also notice that when you release and engage the brake you get a...noise...like the pad is so 'dug-in' that it emits a sort of 'creak'. it's not bad. i used to get them with hawk pads on other cars too. the rears were replaced with posi quiets. i was a little concerned about replacing them with different pads but for everyday driving it was a non issue. my reverse pad squeak is now gone too. i was hoping to get them replaced by hawks but it seemed it was a take it or leave it type of deal with Amplified.... still, i'm happy with the set up so far.

As far as the maintenance, Amplified did a great job. For a tire change, diff fluid replacement, coolant, brake pad and resurfacing the rotors, they definitely saved me some money over a dealer (about $400). the diff fluid was motul 90pa. heard good things about it. so it was great they put in some quality fluid in the car. one negative would be that they did take a while with all the service done. I came in at 11am and left around 5pm...and I was the only car there . but overall it was a great experience. i already got my injen intakes from them a few years back and i'll recommend them to anyone in a heart beat. it's great talking to lou as well. very knowledgeable about the industry.

great experience overall....but now my garage smells like puke and dogsh!t...lol

 

Nice review on the tire! I'm tire shopping too and it's always good to read up on what people's experiences are.

 

what size tires did you go with? OEM? or different couldn't tell

 

??? I posted the tire sizes. Did-+1. The picture doesn't do it justice but they are definatley wider than stock.