Replacement tires

[Jbo]

I'm looking for actual user response here on replacing tires. Car is 5.0 Rspec that came with Bridgestone PO4's. I'm very satisfied with tires and car except tire life ( 17,000) miles. I do not want to mess with ride( read make it much stiffer) and have narrowed it down to Michelin MXM4's, Michelin pilot sport a/s plus, Continental DWS's or Bridgestone Potenza RE970 A S's. All will be 245/45/19's. I guess at least two these can NOT be cross rotated. This is not a price issue...as I can put the PO4's on for less than most of alternatives....but a mile rating issue for me as well as maintaining the ride and handling characteristics. Car will probably NEVER see snow, but much much rain here in SW FL. I have tried Kumos, Yokos, BFGs in past on other cars and not been happy with outcomes. Actual user responses are very very welcome..good and bad characteristics are what I need to know. Thanks to all who assist me in a confusing quest!

 

[scottdk]

A tire much like what came on your car would be the Conti DW's (summer compound and same performance category just like the S-04's are) and many reviews are on tirerack with excellent treadwear and life. Check it out. I run the same tire on the R-Spec wheel and have been satisfied. They stick like glue and are quiet, and ride very smooth too.

 

[Jbo]

Scott,
What type of tread life are you forecasting based on length of time on car? What did these replace?
Jim

 

[homeofstone]

I'm looking for actual user response here on replacing tires. Car is 5.0 Rspec that came with Bridgestone PO4's. I'm very satisfied with tires and car except tire life ( 17,000) miles. I do not want to mess with ride( read make it much stiffer) and have narrowed it down to Michelin MXM4's, Michelin pilot sport a/s plus, Continental DWS's or Bridgestone Potenza RE970 A S's. All will be 245/45/19's. I guess at least two these can NOT be cross rotated. This is not a price issue...as I can put the PO4's on for less than most of alternatives....but a mile rating issue for me as well as maintaining the ride and handling characteristics. Car will probably NEVER see snow, but much much rain here in SW FL. I have tried Kumos, Yokos, BFGs in past on other cars and not been happy with outcomes. Actual user responses are very very welcome..good and bad characteristics are what I need to know. Thanks to all who assist me in a confusing quest!

Do a google search on the Michelin Pilot sport a/s plus, pulling. It has pulling problems and a rough ride, also as it wears it gets noisy. You may also want to check out the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus in a W rating, check tirerack.com test on these and MotorTrend.

 

[scottdk]

Scott,
What type of tread life are you forecasting based on length of time on car? What did these replace?
Jim

I had the OEM all season R Spec Conti tire on the R Spec wheels when I bought them, but I sold the tires to a member on here and got the Summer tires. Prior to that on the 18" wheels I had a set of Sumitomo HTR ZIII's which were great in terms of performance for the buck, but they wear pretty damn quick and the DW's are way quieter and have a smoother ride and have more grip in wet and dry. I'd be happy with 30,000 miles out of this tire, but we will see if that happens. I've only done the ESC mod once and that won't help my tire life that's for sure I am quite a spirited driver, more than most people I'm sure. To put cost into perspective the Sumitomo's were about $800 installed and the DW's were about $1,000 installed. If I can get 30,000 miles out of the DW's that's a savings since 2 sets of the Sumitomo's would be $1,600 and would only give at best case senario 10,000 more miles vs 1 set of the DW's. However, the DW's may last longer then anticipated. Currently, I have about 6,000 hard miles on my tires and they still look new. On the DW"s tread they actually have Tuned Performance Indicators - visible letters molded into the second rib from the outboard shoulder to alert drivers of the tire's performance levels. A visible "DW" indicates the tire has sufficient tread depth for dry and most wet road conditions and after the "W" has worn away, the remaining "D" indicates the tire has appropriate tread depth for dry conditions only. Plenty of "W" left on mine. Member WallyMN is currently on his 2nd set of DW's and he said he's really pleased with him. Last time he reported to the forum he had around 77,000 miles on his car I believe, but I don't recall how many he got out of the 1st set.

 

[Jbo]

Thanks, I'll be interested in what else I find from other responders.

 

[homeofstone]

I have put over 45,000 miles on each of the four sets of Serenitys I have had on an Acura and now I am on the second set on my Genesis that has 76,000 miles on the odometer now.