forrie

Time for new tires! Dreaded expense.

However, I have the stock Michelin tires. There were "ok" -- for a while, at least; but didn't take long before they squeaked when taking a corner (not even too hard), which was a major turnoff.

I live in New England, so I've considered getting a separate set of Blizzaks for winter; but in terms of a new set of performance, all weather tires, I wonder if some folks here might make some recommendations? I don't want to spend 400.00+ a tire, so something that's at least realistic LOL

Thanks in advance.

andysinnh

I've got about 4500 miles on my '15 AWD and I've found that once in a while I can get a chirp when accelerating quickly into traffic, even on dry pavement. It concerned me a bit given that this is a sign that in the winter here in NH, that I might not be happy with the OEM tire traction. But the other day, I noticed something that I hadn't before.

I had to really hit the loud pedal to get out into traffic, and I got a much louder/longer loose tire squeal when taking off, and then I got a chirp after the shift into second gear! Now I know this thing has decent power, but I chalk a lot of this up to the behavior of the tires. I'm not going to jump and replace them until I know how they do when the weather gets uglier, but I've just got my caution raised...

My tire choice would not be to run dedicated snows (since I don't want to buy a separate set of wheels at this point) but to run a set of Nokian WR G3 SUV tires year-round. I've run the G2's on the kid's Ford Escape and they work well and wear better than I'd thought. The new G3's look better and I'm more than willing to give them a shot.

andy

Joe Las Vegas

Do what I do, buy from tirerack.com, get them delivered and get them installed at one of those fix flat places, cost me $16 per wheel to install and balance tires on my ohter car. Also, to save money, check the rear tires and if they still good, just replace the front tires with good A/S that have good ratings in snow and ice. The front tires do most of the work anyway, traction, braking and turning, so changing all is not necessary unless the rear tires are really bad.

johnrh

In my opinion, the above recommendation should NOT be followed.

Unless you want the back end swinging around when you hit the brakes on slippery surfaces such as ice, do NOT put 2 new tires on the front, and leave 2 old tires on the back. In wintry conditions, always put the tires with the best traction on the back if you are only changing 2 tires.

BTW, I think Andy's recommendation vis a vis the Nokians is a good one, especially if you don't have separate dedicated winter tires.

Sculldog3

Dedicated snows are the way to go, and aren't just for snowy roads. Winter tires work better when the temp dips below 40, and provide better stopping and cornering on dry winter roads. Michelin xi3's for me, great tires with a 40k warranty, rare for a snow tire. running these on the stock rims, and have the accessory rims for the regulars.

forrie

Andy, how much did a set of these Nokians run you?

I see some complaints about road noise; though, I think the noise cancellation of the stereo might compensate a bit (did you try this)?

You live near me, I'm in Derry, NH :-) So we drive in the same conditions.

Did you buy them online or?

yesrdx

There's a whole sub-section for "tires, wheels & suspension."
Tires, Wheels & Suspension - AcuraZine Community

Check out this thread - https://acurazine.com/forums/tires-w...ations-891136/

Joe Las Vegas

The old 2 new tires in the back was before ESC existed, that was to prevent tailfishing, if the 2 rear tires are STILL GOOD, then changing the front is OK, like I said, the front tires do all the work, they wear out 3 times faster than the rear ones. Think about it, don't you want the front tires to be real good? To have good braking and good traction? The rear tires on my other car are still good after 5 years, but I had to replace to front ones 2 years ago, because they were cracked and the tread was in the red, using a tread depth gauge. If you have money, change all 4, and see the difference in 2-3 years, I know you guys gonna say to rotate the tires, but I'm done with that too, always getting tons of vibration...

andysinnh

Hi there. I live in Merrimack, and there's a tire dealer on 101 in Amherst (halfway between Manchester and Milford) called Carson City Tire, and they have great prices on Nokian tires (and really do a great job with RoadForce balancing, free lifetime rotations and flat repair). Not sure of the actual cost of the WR G3 SUV's because I've not installed them yet. But if you follow a thread in this forum https://acurazine.com/forums/tires-w...-tires-932266/ you can see a couple of RDX owners who have run them with pretty good success. I've owned Nokian snow tires on various cars for years, and was a little skeptical about the all-weather year-round use, but the experience I had with the G2 SUV's on my son's car has been great, and I'm seriously considering them for year-round use on the RDX. I'm a michelin guy and love their tires, but the OEM tires on the RDX leave a lot to be desired traction-wise, and I'm not sure I want to pony up the extra $$ for dedicated winter rims AND the snows...

andy

forrie

Thanks, I didn't realize there was a separate section.

A couple of local friends emailed me saying they preferred Blizzaks in the winter and separate tires for performance in the summer. Given the amount of snow we're getting here in New England lately, I'm considering it.

I just don't want to pay for separate rims; egads.

Blizzaks have different models, too, which makes this more difficult to figure out.

As for general performance tires, I've always had "all season" or "all weather" tires on the SUVs I've had -- it's only when I got this RDX that I noticed the stock Michelins are kinda lousy and I'm not sure what to replace those with.


Thanks.

HotRodW

I highly recommend dedicated snows. Blizzaks are about as good as it gets. I run the DM-V1 on my Touareg, which offer unreal grip on snow and ice, but they do sacrifice a little dry performance versus some more performance-oriented winter tires. Bridgestone has just released a newer version (DM-V2), so the DM-V1's are on closeout right now at Tire Rack. Unless they offer longer wear, I can't imagine the new version is that much better.

Tire Rack DM-V1

For all seasons, the Pirelli Scorpion Verde Plus is highly rated. I run the previous version on my wife's Q5 in the warmer months, and we're pretty happy with them. I intend to get the new "Plus" version for my car when the stock Goodyears are shot.

Tire Rack Scorpion Verde Plus

If you don't want to deal with a second set of wheels, you might want to check some of your local installers. Some offer unlimited winter/summer mount and balancing for a fixed cost. At one time I believe Sears offered free lifetime swapping and storage if you purchased your winters from them. I can't say for sure, but I'll be surprised if they still offer that.

andysinnh

Couple of comments on topics in this thread:

1. I run Nokian snow tires and all-weather tires exclusively these days. I do this in part because my local dealer has great prices on these typically more-expensive tires. But I also find them to be a much better value than some of the others listed, and typically better in traction. The Michelin X-Ice line is OK (ran them on a couple of vehicles), and they wear pretty well, but their traction isn't as great in snow as the others (although ice is decent). Blizzaks are a great snow tire - for a while. They wear really fast, and once you get halfway down the tread depth, the rubber compound changes and the blizzaks fall off quickly.

The Nokian Hakka line somehow has the same gripping-quality of rubber the whole way down the tire - but they wear like iron. And they also somehow have low-rolling resistance capabilities, and my MPG's don't drop at all with them on (and in a couple examples even go up). I know you probably think I'm smoking something - or maybe looking at one example. But with 5 vehicles in my household, I go thru tires somewhat regularly, and have done a lot of real-world winter testing. My current stable has a set of NOkian Hakka R's on OEM wheels for the TL SH-AWD, a set of Hakka R2's on OEM wheels for the Mini hatch, and a set of Nokian Nordman (studded) on OEM wheels for the accord sedan.

2. I tend to shy away from doing mount/dismount seasonally for 2 sets of tires on a single set of rims. Over time, the risk of bead damage (even with modern equipment to do it right) exists, and the savings of 2 sets of tires on one rim will go away. I say you either pony up for a second set of rims, or find a tire that will run you year-round and fit your needs.

andy

HotRodW

I agree on the Nokians. We run the Hakka R SUV tire on my wife's car. Three full winters and the tread still looks amazing. I planned to get them for my Touareg, but they don't make the correct fitment for my winter wheels. In a way I was relieved ... as much as I like the tires, I have a real problem purchasing anything manufactured in Russia.