Hello! I've a few questions Wiper arms etc
 

I've a '10 G37S sedan with 27k miles I bought new. 1) Has anyone else noticed or reported about the wiper arms being different colors? I bought my car in March of 2010 and noticed a few weeks ago the passenger side wiper arm was a dark grey color vs. driver's still black. I went to the dealership and the advisor and I noted even the newer loaner cars were the same. I then looked at a friends' w/only 3000 miles on his and you can already see the wiper arms with two diff colors. The Service manager as well as director were stumped. The thought was maybe it was because the pass. wiper arm was more exposed, but the lower portion is under the hood and is same color...

2) I drove a '12 G37 loaner...i could swear my "butt dyno" says it's stronger. Were there any changes/tweaks to motor since 2010?!

3) Needing new tires...was looking at Yokohama YK580 for increased wear although I'd rather have the Michelin Pilot super sports, but wifey not too happy about short tread life. What do you guys suggest?

Thank you!

1) UV exposure could be the reason...don't think a 2010 would already be showing wear on the wipers though. You sure you're not seeing things? lol. My buddy has a 2007 with almost 110k miles, half of them in the Florida sun, and his wipers are still the same color.

2) It probably is "stronger". The ECU is very good at learning driving styles. Since it's a loaner car, people probably redline it every time and drive it into the ground lol. As a result, the ECU learns this type of driving style.

3) Depends on your budget, but hands down I would take the Super Sports over any tire.

Tires: yes, the Michelin PSS are highly recommended, but check out the Continental Extreme Contact DWS. They are rated well with very good wear characteristics...

ECU learning capability - I agree with the above....if it constantly gets driven 'like you stole it', it responds better.

Thank you guys for responding. :) Seriously, OB g...we looked at more than one and when you look at them wiper arms (not the blades of course) they're different colors! Hmm, thank you for tip on the Conti's Malbec. Will check them out. Guys, I used to be an Audi fanatic and upgraded several things on them...this is years ago. I'm married and 45+ now, but looking at what you guys do to your cars here...what would be the best & least expensive upgrade I could do? We're in the process of selling our home and building a new one so not a good time to drop $ bomb on wife. I've been eyeballing some of ya'll's wheels/rims and I must say i'm envious ;)

In my opinion, sway bars will give you the most bang for your buck. For about ~$400, I don't think there's any other mod where you'll feel such a night and day difference.

This is very true. Huge improvement for our cars!

But how much rougher do you get in the ride?

I had CougarRed ask me about my Yokohama YK580 experience from Discount Tire, and here's what I wrote:

I've been happy with them - grip is great. They are quiet and look good, too. I wasn't crazy about the look of the tread design on the DWS but didn't want that to effect my decision. It didn't, but I think it was some saying the handling of the Yoko was a little better, so I went that route. I do like the tread design on the YK better.

It's hard to get them to break loose compared to the stock tires. It can be done out of a corner on dry cement, but I do notice when the do squeal its louder than the stock tires. I guess there is more friction breaking loose later, hence more noise.

Cornering seems great. I was a little iffy when I first put them on, but kept reminding myself they were new and needed a break in. They are predictable and sure now and I have about 6k on them. I don't regret buying at all, even put a set of them on my wife's Volvo two months ago. They are great in wet or dry. Wonderful wet grip, actually.

Plus, I really prefer dealing with Discount Tire. I like that I can go to any of them with great support. Got my first free rotation just last week. I don't buy the certs, though. I found out they are only good for two years, not the lifetime of the tire. I mean, TireRack is great and I've bought there before, but I find the service better from my many local DT Dallas area locations when I actually buy the tires from them.

I would recommend an alignment before every new set of tires. They will last longer if you do. Firestone offers a lifetime with unlimited visits for the price of 1.5 alignments. I had mine done at the dealership (Sewell of Dallas) since it was in there anyway for warranty work.