Posted by RM on December 01, 1997 at 02:52:51:
In Reply to: q45 posted by Tu on August 14, 1997 at 18:04:47:
I recently purchased a set of 235/45/17 Nitto Exit GT 501s' for my "93 Q. The 501s are a Z-rated tire and classed as Ultra High Performance. I was pleasantly surprised by the superb traction on wet pavement as well as dry from a tire not classed as an All-Season tire. My previous set of All-Season 15" Bridgestone Potenzas would spin when starting from 0mph if I attempted quick acceleration, but with my new set, I have noticed very little spinning under hard acceleration. On a recent highway trip, however, I noticed that the tires were more prone to hydroplaning than the 15"s were. I attribute this to the fact that a harder, wider, and lower-profile tire naturally tend to ride "on" the high-water instead of through it. Ride quality is considerably rougher over sharp bumps, but over smooth-highway, the ride quality is noticably better. Handling is superb, but then again, the Q is an excellent handling car to begin with. It only gets better with a good set of 17s. Noise was another concern of mine, but the Q naturally rides so quiet that I notice very little increase in tire/road noise if any at all.
To sum it all up, the Nitto 501 is a tire that I highly recommend when moving up to a 17" tire.
RM