new tires for 18" wheels??? need opinions

[NJTom]

Hello All,

I recently bought a '09 genny with the premium package. Love the car but I realize the Dunlop 5000M are crap. I live in the northeast and already have a set of dedicated snows for the car but I still look at all-season tires just in case.
I want to replace the Dunlops before April when the 18" wheels go back on the car.

I'm asking for everyone's opinions on tires they like/don't like.
I lean towards Conti's DWS but I've read many stories on about the road force issues and possible pull to the left and right. Even though these are a top rated tire at a reasonable price, that makes me nervous that I'll be unhappy.

Even though I like 'carving' a good back road I do have to think about fuel economy and it's importance for the highway and suburban driving. I see the newer Genny get the Michelin Energy Saver A/S. For those with them, would you buy them again? Anyone decided on them and happy with the purchase? At $210 a tire on tirerack, it's a bit of stretch to spend but if worth it I would consider.

I'm also wondering about if a Grand Touring tire would be a better choice. Or an Ultra High Performance All Season?

Has anyone road on the following:
General G-Max AS-03
P Zero Nero A/S
Kumho Ecsta 4x

These are all within the $150-163 price range.

To sum it up I would like a comfortable, quiet tire with good handling and fuel economy. Is this possible?

Thanks for your input.

Tom

 

[Southern Boy]

I purchased a new set of wheels for my Genesis and went from 17” stock wheel to 18” TSW Sentterton Chrome 18X8 40mm offset wheels.

That put me in the market for a new set of shoes for my Genesis. I had a hard time with a thousand dollars for tires, so I did a little looking around for what was available.

My searches lead me to General G-Max AS03 ZR18 tires.

The Continental tire company bought General back in the late 90s along with Uniroyal and continues to manufacture tires under those brand names.

The bottom line is I purchased these tires (General G-Max AS03 225/50ZR18) for $574 delivered to the door from http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...018638&yr=2011.

General G-max AS03 comes with a 45 day Customer Satisfaction Trial. If you don’t love them they will replace them.

http://generaltire.custhelp.com/app/...detail/a_id/36

Information and video for General G-Max AS03 tires.

http://www.generaltire.com/tires/per...ce/g-max-as-03

http://generaltire.custhelp.com/app/...SFZQcWVPOWw=

I live in Florida so my main concern is wet and dry traction, but they also perform well in light snow.

I wanted a quite smooth ride and a good preforming tire at a reasonable price.
I have had these tries since June of 2012. The tires have about 7K miles on them and I’m very satisfied with them. IMPO for half the price and a 45 day Customer Satisfaction Trial they might be worth a look. Look at this video from General Tire Company:

http://generaltire.custhelp.com/app/...SFZQcWVPOWw=

Towards the end they talk about what causes road noise.

 

[homeofstone]

There are many threads on tires. Don't be mislead by tire companies' marketing. There is no industry standard as to what qualifies as a Ultra High performance tire or High performace tire, etc. Each tire company chooses how to classify their tires. Example is the Continental contact DWS and Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. The DWS is classified as a Ultra high performance and the Serenity is classified as a grand touring tire. However, they both have w speed rating and in test by tire rack and others they perform similar in g forces, braking, steering response, slalom times and lap times. this link may help http://www.sullivantirewholesale.com/Help/Understanding%20Tire%20Markings%20and%20Ratings.htm

 

[nb_mike]

I have a 2009 Sedan with Prem pkg. I got about 25K with the original Dunlaps. Very poor. I now have Pirelli Pzero Nero. 50K and going strong (75K combined). They are reasonably good in snow too.

 

[Southern Boy]

There are many threads on tires. Don't be mislead by tire companies' marketing. There is no industry standard as to what qualifies as a Ultra High performance tire or High performace tire, etc. Each tire company chooses how to classify their tires. Example is the Continental contact DWS and Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. The DWS is classified as a Ultra high performance and the Serenity is classified as a grand touring tire. However, they both have w speed rating and in test by tire rack and others they perform similar in g forces, braking, steering response, slalom times and lap times. this link may help http://www.sullivantirewholesale.com/Help/Understanding%20Tire%20Markings%20and%20Ratings.htm

Thanks for the hyperlink to tire markings. I didn't notice too much explanation about the DOT markings or maybe I just missed it, but this is important IMPO.

DOT Markings:
Each tire has a required Department of Transportation number imprinted on at least one of its sidewalls. That number begins with the letters "DOT" and may contain up to 12 additional numbers and letters.

The first and last digits are the most important for the tire owner. The first two letters/numbers identify the manufacturer of the tires. Prior to the year 2000, the last three digits of a DOT number represented the week (two digits) and the year (one digit) of production.

For example, if the last three digits are 439, the tire was produced in the 43rd week of 1999. Tires produced after January 1, 2000 have a four digit date code at the end of the DOT number. The first two digits represent the week of production and the last two digits represent the last two digits of the year of production.

So, 3500 as the last four numbers indicates that the tire was produced in the 35th week of the year 2000.

I was offered a set of tires once at (what I thought) was a really exceptional price, but when I checked the date of manufacture I found that they were 7 years old.

There’s some good info here to:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/brochure/info/tmpInfoTireTerm.jsp

 

[NJTom]

I've been reading many other reports about tires on many other cars but it is hard to find the right tires for our cars. That's why I asked here. What's better than asking the people with direct experience and know how their car has changed by the tires alone.

southern boy: Thanks for the information. My parents recently decided on General Altimax for their accord and love them. I'm leaning towards the G-Max too since the price is right and the trial period. Why did you get the 225/50/18 instead of the OEM size of 235/50/18?

homeofthestone: thanks for the website. I always enjoy reading new material about tires. I had not seen this one yet. This has lots of good info summarized.

nb mike: are the Pzero you have the all season or the summer?

 

[OneFunGenesis]

My guess is that he got 225/50 because of the price difference and the availability of more tires. I have noticed that 235/50 is harder to find.

 

[Southern Boy]

Why did you get the 225/50/18 instead of the OEM size of 235/50/18?

I purchased the General G-Max ZR225-50-18 because I was concerned about clearance of the tires and body parts.
Even though 235’s are listed as plus zero fitting looking at the clearances with the 225/55-17,s that were OEM on the car with 17x7 wheels I decided to play it safe since my Snetterton wheels are 18x9. And I went with an offset of 40mm.

As I was installing my first new tire I had mounted on the wheel I remember thinking “God I hope they fit.

There isn’t a heck of a lot of room between the inside of the front tires and components in the front wheel wells.

I also didn’t want the tires to stick out past the wheel wells edge, which I think they might look at how the 225’s fit.

Here’s a handy site to determine how changing the diameter of your wheels or tires will affect your speedometer mileage indication and shifting points.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[Flgatorfan]

I got new Pzero Neros a couple thousand miles ago to replace the Dunlops. CR has them rated #1.

 

[homeofstone]

I recently put a set of Cooper Zeon RS3-A on my 2005 Mercedes. They give a better ride than the Michelins that I had and handle better. I think the Bridgestone Serenity is quieter. Cooper Zeon RS3-A is rated high by consumer reports and did very well in MotorTrend' s test.

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[037]

I am riding on Continental DWS and have DW for summer tires, I am also in the North East and if you're expecting snow these are the best all season tires for snow/water.

I would also like to see the article that shows Serenity's performing on par with DWSs.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=124

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=147

and here is one for Serenity

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=138

 

[homeofstone]

I am riding on Continental DWS and have DW for summer tires, I am also in the North East and if you're expecting snow these are the best all season tires for snow/water.

I would also like to see the article that shows Serenity's performing on par with DWSs.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=124

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=147

and here is one for Serenity

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=138

compare these charts. the serenity is .92g lateral dws is .93g lateral, dry laps are close as are stopping distance less than one foot difference in dry http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=119

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=112 We have almost no snow so winter test are not on my radar.

 

[037]

compare these charts. the serenity is .92g lateral dws is .93g lateral, dry laps are close as are stopping distance less than one foot difference in dry http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=119

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=112 We have almost no snow so winter test are not on my radar.

Your comparison troubles me. Wherever you are, even if it doesn't snow, it must rain sometime right?

Well, why don't we look at the wet numbers shall we from the links you provided.

stopping distance is 85.90 feet for DWS vs 101.40 for Serenity's from 50mph.

15 feet difference, you want to put them in the same class? NEVER

 

[homeofstone]

Your comparison troubles me. Wherever you are, even if it doesn't snow, it must rain sometime right?

Well, why don't we look at the wet numbers shall we from the links you provided.

stopping distance is 85.90 feet for DWS vs 101.40 for Serenity's from 50mph.

15 feet difference, you want to put them in the same class? NEVER

Test are never exact but can be close if its the same car at the exact same weight with same driver, same day at the same track and air temperature and tires at same temperature and exact same pressure with the same amount of water on the road. That is why I used the word similar. Look at this test for the DWS where the wet braking is 114.60 from 50-0 and only .89g forcehttp://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=165

Here is another set of test, take a look at how bad the stopping and lateral g's are for these Ultra High Performance then look at the Grand touring test.http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=151

 

[037]

well, you seem convinced that Grand Touring Serenety's are just as good as Ultra High Performance DWSs, and you bring up results from TireRack who obviously don't know what they're doing as they put the tires in different categories. And since their tests are contradictory, we should just ignore them.

Enjoy your Serenity's while I will enjoy my DWS's. Because we live in a perfect world.