LMAO again Turbonut! How dare you exaggerate the TL's weight?!? After all, it's practically as light as an NSX!!!

 

on tirerack.com the General's Exclaim UHP are listed as a summer ultra high performance tire but people seem to be using them as all season long so are they only meant for summer or can they be used all season? I only ask because they are rated pretty highly and don't cost an arm and a leg!

 

smarty,

I have the General Exclaim UHPs (in fact, the photo of the tire with the uneven wear is my Exclaims, I'm embarrassed to say). So I think I am fairly qualified to tell you about the pros and cons of the tire.

I have had many types of tires on my '99 TL, including the Nitto NT450, the g-Force Sports, the Michelin X-Ice and Blizzak WS-60s. The Exclaim UHPs have been the most comfortable and quiet of them all. Note that I had the OE Michelin touring tires on my brand-new car for about a day when I took them off for the Nitto450s, so I don't remember how the OE tires were. How does it compare to the Touring tires in ride comfort? I have no personal basis for comparison but later tonight I'll find some reviews for you (they might not be in English but we'll translate them).

The other two qualities of the Exclaim UHP is the straight-line hydroplaning capability of the tire, which is outstanding, and the low-rolling resistance.

Are there downsides to the Exclaim UHP? Of course. This is not a real all-season tire, and I would not want to drive in the snow with them. They have very little siping, so ice traction will be abysmal. The tread void area is mostly in the form of water channels, which is great for hydroplaning resistance but lousy for evacuating snow. In other words, you need to really be careful in winter weather with this tire.

Finally, great hydroplaning resistance in a straight line does not translate to great hydroplaning resistance in the curves, where it isn't as confident. Nor is its braking in the wet anything above average (my g-Force Sports had far better wet & dry braking). Finally, the soft sidewall of the Exclaim UHPs, while allowing the great ride quality, made it not as sharp in handling as the g-Force Sports which had horrid ride quality but very precise steering feel and great cornering potential.

But I guess the bottom line is, would I buy the Exclaim UHPs again? Most definitely, yes.

 

I have the General Exclaim UHPs (in fact, the photo of the tire with the uneven wear is my Exclaims, I'm embarrassed to say). So I think I am fairly qualified to tell you about the pros and cons of the tire.

if that is the case and you have uneven wear, as the picture shows, it is because of the tire or do you have an alignment issue? I don't want to get Generals and then have a uneven wear and lousy tread-life?

I want a tire that gives great ride quality and noise control and lasts for at least 20-30k miles, plus I don't want to spend a ton of money on tires so that eliminates the Bridgestones and the majority of the Michelins, I don't want to spend more than 175 bucks a tire because I'm not sure I'll be keeping the car at the end of the lease or not because I have had some power steering and quality issues with my car!

 

one thing I forgot to ask you TLAwesome is, now I am at the point I'm caring grand touring tires to all season and ultra all season high performance tires and is the ride quality and noise comfort of a grand touring tire level the same as the ultra high performance tires? I don't think it would be since those tires are designed for different reasons so I would think you should only be comparing grand touring to grand touring and ultra high performance to ultra high performance!

 

damn tirerack for not offering toyo tires, I want some reviews and prices for the toyo versado LX so I can compare it to the Kumho Ecsta Platinum!!!

 

They are good tires. I had them on my G35 and liked them.

 

Hankook V12 Evo are awesome tires for dry and wet. For the price, and how sticky they are. They are well worth it. Now if you need snow tires, look away. But these have great reviews all over the net.

 

From the General Tire website-Exclaim UHP:
http://www.generaltire.com/tires/T1/Exclaim-UHP
The ultra-high performance you need in all season conditions. This tire features a silica compound for remarkable traction and mileage.

The reason the ride is so accommodating is that the tire is lacking the heavy internal sidewall/tread material, and that allows the tire to be the lightest 235/45-17 made, only 20.1 lbs.

 

I had an alignment issue. Brought it to a firestone dealership and they did nothing to help it. Brought it to my Acura dealer for the alignment and it didn't help, but then I brought it back to my Acura dealership a second time (no charge) and they got it right. Of course, I let too much time go by and I'll have to replace the Exclaims sooner that I would have had I been more on top of the alignment issue.

 

Turbo,

Yes, it's true General markets them as all-season, and the compound won't get hard as rock in cold weather. But that doesn't mean they're not dangerous when it comes to snow. Tirerack knows better and is not concerned about marketing... they list it as a UHP summer tire.

 

If u want cheap, decent grand touring tires I would recommend BFG grand touring tires. Great tire wear and good grip. Forgot how noisy they were tho.

 

My friend, a quick comparison of the links I gave you to tirerack's tests shows that when a tire manufacturer calls a tire a "Grand Touring" tire, it doesn't mean it's going to deliver the same ride & noise quality of another manufacturer's grand touring tires. Case in point: The Continental ContiProContact, which was near the bottom of that list in terms of ride & noise comfort (in other words, it was beaten by most UHP A/S tires).

I'm reluctant to show you Consumer Report's test results, because they do have some inconsistencies with Tirerack's tests, and I'm much more inclined to go with tirerack. But here it is for what it's worth to you:

 

And what exact BFG grand touring tire actually comes in a 235/45R17 size?

 

I'm reluctant to show you Consumer Report's test results, because they do have some inconsistencies with Tirerack's tests, and I'm much more inclined to go with tirerack. But here it is for what it's worth to you

I agree with you completely; something just doesn't seem right with the ratings and reviews that CR is using; tirerack's ratings and reviews seem much more in depth and detailed with empirical and consumer evidence

I have the tires narrowed down to about 5 or 6 I'll have to decide between and they range from Grand Touring all the way up to Ultra High Performance All Season tires which were rated the highest in regards to ride quality/noise comfort and longer treadlife; I'll make a final decision when I get closer to the replacement date so that make my final decision based on price and any manufacture discounts available at the time

My final picks are Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX, Toyo Versado LX, Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, Yokohama ADVAN S4, Pirelli PZero Nero A/S All Seasons, and General Exclaim UHP; based on price the Michelin Pilot Sports are most likely out because they are almost $200 a tire so the rest are still in contention

Please feel free to offer your opinions on which one out of this group I have named is going to give me the best ride quality, lowest noise, and longest tread-life!!!

Thanks Again For Everyone's Help and Suggestions Thus Far!!

 

My Turanza EL-42's look like that. Inside wears more. I had the alignment checked and everything is within spec.

And who can tell anything about tires in 30 days? Maybe traction and noise, but uneven wear?

 

 

It’s early and some time before breakfast, so, I wouldn't go that far as to agree 100% with Tire Rack. Years ago Tire Rack stated that a certain BGF tire wasn't snow rated, as they didn't meet the severe winter traction standard and have the snowflake seal, but after checking the company records and documentation, it proved the Rack was incorrect in their declaration, and it was changed.

If you read some of the reviews you’ll find it quite interesting e.g. Pilot Exalto-One review stated it was quiet, another noisy, one handled great, another not great in turns etc., so it becomes just as this Forum, very subjective, but trying to compare the tires you have listed is a far stretch. The cost for the low end @ $100 to the high end, double @ $200. Just keep in mind, the $200 tire is a much better tire, as far as construction, than the $100 tire, so once again, look at the tire weight difference and it will give an indication of the construction content. You’re also looking at 93 and 97 load rated tires, and with the higher load rating, normally you’ll also experience a harsher ride.

One item no one has mentioned, but I will, look at the 245/45-17 size to replace the OE 235/45-17, but that would knock out a couple of your choices as the tire is not available in any size larger than 235.

Good Luck, now it’s time for breakfast.

 

I'll admit I skipped a few posts, but I haven't seen any mention of Cooper tires. I have Coopers on a 97 Volvo S90 and they've been great. I just put Cooper Zeon A/S on my 04 TL. They replaced the Yokohama A4S tires that I had on there. The Yokos were horribly loud at 41K miles. As I recall they were loud when new. With only about 100 miles onthe Coopers I can say that they are much, much, much quieter than the Yokohamas were.

 

Don't skip posts. Cooper has no suitable tire in a 235/45R17 for the OP.

 

Conusmer Reports "final scores" and "best picks" often factor in price at a heavy weight. It can cause and "OK" low price tire to look as good a "Very Good" high price tire. That can be part of the reason for the difference between CR and other ratings.

Tire Rack Survey's and Reviews ARE subjective. The key it the Survery Results over a large number of miles; a consensus opinion will prevail. Always be leary of Survery Reuslts when the model has a small number of total miles reported - the tire is too new to have a consistent history.

Case in point, Goodyear F1 A/S. Great intial testing and high review marks. Then noise and balance started to become consistent issue - noise especially as the tires got miles on them. It took about a year, iirc, for the Survey scores to start dropping, but they did, like a rock, and they were a reasonable reflcection of what the tire was really like over time.

 

I do see where you are coming from; I've seen several reviews of the Yokohama ADVAN S4 that they start out good with ride quality and noise but deteriorate in those two areas pretty quickly when it gets a couple thousands miles on them of wear so I guess you have to take it with a grain a salt

What I really like about tirerack.com is typically, each tire has on average at least 60 consumer reviews, I usually try to read the reviews pertaining to the TL specifically and other luxury sports sedan who have at least 20-30k miles on them to get a really good impression of what the tire is actually like both from the beginning that they had it till it has some decent tread wear

 

Smarty666, I've gone through a few sets of tires and seen the pro's and con's of them, and here is my on everything:

Brigestone makes some great tires, but they do make some insanely horrible ones as well. Michelin is the same way, they make the PS2's which are used on nearly every exotic car made, however they also make some POS's. The company making the tires has no real bearing on the tire, it is the research, design and testing that goes into the tire that makes it what it is.

The problems you state in your first post need to be detailed one by one first to figure out what is going on.

I have Bridgestone Turanza Serenity tires on my car and they have about 12k miles on them, despite having them properly balanced, rotated, and inflated
They have 12k miles on them, meaning by warranty specs you should have used up about 3/32nds of tread leaving you with 8/32nds of tread on the tires as they sit. (tires have a 45K warranty on them)
At what pressure have you had them inflated? When did you check? What did you use to check it? Where did you have the tires balanced? Machine used?

all four tires are beginning to wear unevenly
This means that the tires are either/and inflated improperly or your car has an improper alignment.

I'm starting to feel the vibrations/shimmy in the steering wheel/seats/pedals etc doing any thing above 50 mph
This means one of your tires is not balanced properly. A balanced tire will not cause any sort of vibration. The TL's suspension design causes it to be very vulnerable to ride harshness due to improper balances. The only machine tires should be balanced on are the Hunter Road Force machines, these will ensure that the tire is balanced properly.

also, the car tends to pull toward the right as soon as I let go of the wheel;

The car pulling to the side could be a number of things. The first is the obvious, alignment. The second is somewhat less obvious, but makes a huge difference, the crown made into the road. (roads are make at a slight angle to help ease drainage during heavy rains, this can cause the car to steer right) The third factor is a defective tire, you may have have a separated or damaged cord inside the tire thus causing it to pull to one side, and as well it may explain the misbalanced tire causing a vibration.


It appears that you are simply unhappy because the service centers you have gone to have not done their job properly. You stated you went to an acura dealership and they did a "courtesy" alignment. Ask them for a printout of the alignment specs, before and after. If they fail to provide one, that means that they never did it and just told you they did. As well go to a shop that uses the Hunter Road Force Machines to balance tires. My local Discount Tire uses one, you should call and ask around.

Also for the price these tires go for, 230 dollars, you could have gotten a much better tire. I love my Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position 960's and bought them a second time around for about 140 each. My first set got me 40K, and I hope this next one will too.

As far as the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus, stay away from them. My BMW has eaten these POS"s for breakfast and spit them out. A 40K tire is only going to give me about 20K. (they are wearing evenly, properly inflated and aligned). As well I lost 1.5 MPG, ABS is now very touchy (meaning they are prone to skid) and as well they stick like shit against the wall. Skidding in the rain is as simple as pressing the gas to about 2K revs. If I didn't have TCS or ABS I'd probably wouldn't be posting this.

I think tires that you would like would be the Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid (High Performance All-Season) or the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S (High Performance All-Season) or the Yokohama AVID V4s (High Performance All-Season).

All tires give great comfort and as well great road manners. I'd say to go with the Yokos if you want to trade off a bit more comfort for a slight loss in handling. I'd say go with the Brigestone if you wanted a tire that hits all the categories well, or if you want something a bit sportier to go with the Exalto's.

 

How'd you get them for $140? Is that installed with road hazard warranty?

Have you tried the G019's yourself on the TL?

 

Now my take is that after numerous Bridestones over the years, I'd never purchase any tire with Bridgestone on the side. Take a look at the OE size, 235/45 and compare the tread width as the Bridgestone's consistently have the least amount. 960 7.8", S.4 8.3", and the EL42 comes in at a whopping 7.5", while the W4s is at 8.7". Quite a difference. Even the 225/45 S.4 is still wider than the 235 960’s.
Thought this was going to easy, and you’ve got to love these tire threads.
Just more food for thought.

 

I happen to agree with every point you made above except I do want to point out that Tirerack's experts' reviews have both subjective as well as objective components. For example, the lap times, cornering and brake tests are objective, whereas ride quality scores are subjective.

 

Now my take is that after numerous Bridestones over the years, I'd never purchase any tire with Bridgestone on the side. Take a look at the OE size, 235/45 and compare the tread width as the Bridgestone's consistently have the least amount. 960 7.8", S.4 8.3", and the EL42 comes in at a whopping 7.5", while the W4s is at 8.7". Quite a difference. Even the 225/45 S.4 is still wider than the 235 960’s.
Thought this was going to easy, and you’ve got to love these tire threads.
Just more food for thought

I agree completely, these are going to be my last Bridgestone Tires for a sedan ever; I have never had good luck over the years with Bridgestone's on a sedan; now that is not to say Brigestone doesn't make a good tire; I have had nothing but good luck with Bridgestone, especially the Potenza's, with the luxury SUVs I have had over the years so I do agree not all tires from Bridgestone are bad

But I do think their tires for family and luxury sedans suck!!! especially for how ridiculously expensive they are; Bridgestone is even more expensive then Michelin in some circumstances!!

Oh and by the way, I keep my tires at the recommended cold pressure, usually 34 PSI fronts and 33 PSI rears and I usually check the pressure by hand at least once a week, especially at this time of year when the temperature flucuates between cold and warm often on!!

But I'm defininetly going to check to see if Goodyear and Acura use the Hunter Roadforce balances because everytime I've gone into Goodyear to have my tires rotated every 5k miles, they have told me that at least 1 or 2 of my tires were very out of balance and that shouldn't be happening everytime I take it in for rotation so I definitely am going to look into this matter

Plus I'm going to get another front end alignment done at my next rotation and I'll make sure where ever I get it done I get a detailed printout stating that they aligned it and what they found!!!

 

I'm surprised to see this...I've read here and talked with a few buddies here who have the Pilot Sport AS on Audis & BMWs and have yet to hear a complaint about them. I was considering them to replace my W4Ses once they wear out...

 

The consumers who post on tirerack piss me off when they write about the wrong tire. It looks like the people who are giving negative reviews about the PZero Nero A/S are actually talking about the PZero Nero M+S.

The PZero Nero M+S is basically Pirelli's summer PZero Nero with an all-season compound. It was never a good all-season tire accordingly. Hell, it doesn't even have sipes in the treadblock.

The PZero Nero A/S have two major obvious improvements. First is a continuous center rib. Second, heavy siping. Whether the internal construction was changed because the tire is marketed to the North America, I can't say for sure ... but I believe so. Comparing the PZero Nero A/S tires with the same size Nero M+S, the Nero A/S weigh more... sometimes by a considerable (more than 1lb) amount. I don't think the higher tread to void ratio of the A/S can account for that much of a weight difference.

 

The Pilot Sport A/S PLUS is one of the best UHP A/S tires, the occassional naysayer notwithstanding. It has a 45,000 treadwear warranty so if they are down to 2/32" at 20,000, he'll get new tires at less than half the price, not including mounting & balancing:

http://www.tirerack.com/images/pdf/warranty/MICH1.pdf

 

The Pilot Sport A/S PLUS is one of the best UHP A/S tires, the occassional naysayer notwithstanding. It has a 45,000 treadwear warranty so if they are down to 2/32" at 20,000, he'll get new tires at less than half the price, not including mounting & balancing:

If money was no object, I probably would get these as my replacement tire but unfortunately money is a factor here

I know tirerack went with the Pirelli's as giving the best ride quality and noise comfort but between the Pirelli PZero Nero A/S, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus, Yokohama ADVAN S4, and the General Exclaim UHP do you still think the Pirelli gives the best ride quality and noise comfort of those four ultra high performance all season tires?

I know in the Grand Touring Category the Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX gave a better ride quality and noise comfort then the Goodyear Eagle Response Edge on tirerack and I personally don't think the Kumho's are any better than the Toyo Versado LX

On both tirerack and consumer reports the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S was rated very highly for all season capability and ride quality/noise comfort and they are little bit less money than the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S but they are only H rated but I read several reviews of 3rd generation TL owners on tirerack with these tires how have between 20-30k miles on them and just rave how well they are and how the tread is lasting!

So I]ve slowly narrowing the list down to four tires now, the Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX, which is my fall back tire, the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S, Pirelli PZero Nero A/S, and General Exclaim UHP

* these four tires have a good blend of decent ride quality/noise comfort, low to mild handling capabilities, and my price range for tires

 

Here, let's make it simple smarty:

If price is the most important, get the General Exclaim UHP.
Pros: Decent ride and noise quality, great price, great hydroplaning resistance (in straight line), "W" speed-rated.
Cons: Good but not great dry handling and cornering. Questionable snow traction. Horrible ice traction.

If winter traction is important, get the Extreme DWS
Pros: Great all around tire, BEST UHP A/S in the wet and snow, reasonably priced, "W"-speed rated.
Cons: Not the greatest in the dry, average ride and noise quality.

If ride & noise is top concern
PZero Nero A/S. Bottom line, there's no way in hell I will recommend to you the Platinum LX after seeing the objective ratings, as I do not believe they are safe.

I'm really leaning to the PZero's for you smarty, as I indicated in my very first response. Tirerack says they have a 40,000 mile warranty, but I can't confirm that at Pirelli's website or in the .pdf brochure. A call to tirerack is in order to confirm the mileage warranty, if any.

Finally, I have reservations recommending an "H"-speed rated tire when your OE is "W". Thus, I'm not recommending the Pilot Exalto A/S. Again, if I were to go down from the "W", I'd be recommending the Nitto NT850 which you really haven't commented on... and I don't know why. The NT850 is exaclty the kind of luxury touring tire you seek, with a 50,000 mile warranty and a 30-day test drive. It's just "V"-rated instead of "W". And its not tested anywhere. But subjective reviews have been positive.

 

Again, if I were to go down from the "W", I'd be recommending the Nitto NT850 which you really haven't commented on... and I don't know why. The NT850 is exaclty the kind of luxury touring tire you seek, with a 50,000 mile warranty and a 30-day test drive.

the reason why I'm not considering the NT850 is several fold,

one I don't really want to get a tire that hasn't been professionally tested and reviewed because I like to take professional reviews and consumer reviews together to get a tires overall impressions,

two I do not have any tire dealers anywhere close to me that sell these tires, I've checked my local dealers and the Nitto website and they list no dealers in my area and so I would have to order them and I don't trust my local dealers to mount and balance tires they don't even sell or deal with on a regular basis and if I wanted to return them I don't want to run into a problem with Nitto that "oh well you didn't have them put on by a dealer that sells/deals with our tires on a regular basis so we have no idea if they were put on or run correctly so the return is void"

and the third reason is that it's been my experience that 30 days is no where near enough time to know if a tire is going to be a good tire or not because almost all of my tires I have had over the years have been great and on their best behavior for the first couple thousand miles!

I probably will most likely eliminate the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S because going down two speed ratings might cause some issues with the tires in the long run and I don't want to run into a problem with Acura or Michelin in regards to warranty when they find out I put tires on with two speed ratings lower than what they should be

So now I'm left with the General Exclaim UHP, Pirelli PZero Nero A/S All Seasons, and Kumho Platinum LX; TLAwesome how would you rate the General's for winter driving? tirerack said they shouldn't be use for winter driving and I live in NJ where the winter's are a hit or a miss and I would most likely need tires that could be driven in light snow at the most so I don't want to get the Generals and then have a problem all winter long anytime it snows?

You say the Kumho's are not the great in regards to handling and winter weather traction? was this on tirerack, consumerreports, etc? I'd love to read about it because if the Kumho's sacrifice a little bit in regards to winter weather traction and handling thats okay to me as long as they give a good ride quality and low noise thats whats most important to me!

 

I'm in Long Island, where the winters are hit or miss too (except I go to VT to ski so I always get winter tires). I had driven in the snow once on the UHPs during a freak snow storm either very early in the season. I could get them to slide easily. I wouldn't want to have to drive them in any significant amount of snow.

The Kumho's were rated poor in the snow by Consumer Reports. That, along with the "average" ride comfort score by Consumer Reports, coupled with the horrid objective results from Tirerack's test make me wonder why you're still considering the darn things.

This leaves us back to the Pirelli PZero Nero All-Seasons, which should have better snow traction than either the Generals or the Kumho's, but which would not be as good as something with a more aggressive all-season tread design such as the Continental DWS.

 

This leaves us back to the Pirelli PZero Nero All-Seasons, which should have better snow traction than either the Generals or the Kumho's, but which would not be as good as something with a more aggressive all-season tread design such as the Continental DWS

Agreed, the more and more I read about them, the more I like the Pirelli PZero Nero All-Seasons; they got the best score for ride quality and noise comfort on tirerack test of them with the BF Goodrich, Continentals, and Michelins and their price is pretty decent, right in the middle and like I've said ride quality and noise comfort are the most important factors for me

I wish tirerack.com had a head to head test that involved the Pirelli's and the Yokohama ADVAN S4s because I've had all season Yokohama's before and I had a good experience with them in regards to handling and all-weather traction but despite the avg consumer ratings on tirerack for ride quality/noise comfort being higher for the Yokies, I still think the Pirelli would be better in those departments than the Yokohama's!!

I keep coming back to the Pirelli's each time I go over it so as long as their price doesn't shoot up to the Michelin/Bridgestone area I think I'll go with them!!!

 

There is no law or stipulation that using tires that are not W rated will void the warranty. What warranty are referring to that a lesser speed rated tire will void? If the transmsission lets go, do you really believe that the warranty will be voided because of the tire?

Also the S.4, although a great tire, I have the 245/45, good ride, great handling, but it will flat spot after sitting in the cold.

Once again you had better look at the load rating if you want a good riding tire, as some you've listed are an XL, 97 rated tire, and most any UHP tire will afford a harsh ride, at least to some degree. Stick with a lower speed rated tire and you'll be much happier.
Time to watch some football.

 

Also the S.4, although a great tire, I have the 245/45, good ride, great handling, but it will flat spot after sitting in the cold.

Once again you had better look at the load rating if you want a good riding tire, as some you've listed are an XL, 97 rated tire, and most any UHP tire will afford a harsh ride, at least to some degree. Stick with a lower speed rated tire and you'll be much happier.

Well I can't get too picky when it comes to speed and load rating because there are only a small amount of tires that fit the TL's size and give very good ride quality and noise comfort; I'm surprised you have flat spot trouble because your tires are 94W just like my Serenity's are and I've never had a flat spot problem with them at all; the only difference is mine are grand touring and yours is UHP so I don't know if that is the reason or if that is a specific characteristic of Yokies specifically, because I had AVID W4s a few years ago on my Infiniti and they rode and handled great but they too flat spotted at certain cold temperatures so I think that might be something specific to Yokohama

I know that UHP tires give a little more in ride harshness then Grand Touring is suppose to but I mean I've run out of options in the Grand Touring category, Primacy MXV4s don't come in the TL's tire size, I can't afford another set of Serenity's, TLAwesome says that the Kumho's are terrible in handling and traction in almost all conditions, and the ResponseEdges are no better than the Kumho's so I'm left with UHP and as you say if they give a little up in terms of ride quality and noise comfort I want something that has the best and most quiet ride in the UHP category and tirerack tests and consumer reviews indicates that the Pirelli's fit that bill in giving the best ride quality and noise comfort of the UHP tires

Now I know the Pirelli's have a 97W load and speed rating but if I eliminate them because there are 97 and not 94 then I have to choose another UHP that has a much harsher and noisier ride and I don't want that

You say the Michelin Exaltos are okay, while TLAwesome says he doesn't recommend them for the TL, but these Exaltos are not that cheap either and are at the upper end of my price range for tires

I'll have to wait and see what things are like financially for me when I'm ready to get tires

 

Well depending on how long the wait, the Nokian eNTYRE might be available. If it is available in the 235/45R17 size, it will probably carry a "V" speed rating and be up there with the best touring tires in terms of ride comfort and all-season performance.

 

Many UHP tires will flatspot and the S.4 is one of them. It will clear up in a mile or so, but just wanted you to know that is a characteristic of the tire. The W4s will flat spot also, as Southern Boy has them on one of his TL's and noticed the condition after the car had been sitting. Our modified RX7 Turbo has Continental Sport Contact on the rear, W rated, and no flatspotting.

 

Hi guys, here is a quick update to my tire situation; I did have a severe mis-alignment of the wheels and according to the tire shop that did my all wheel alignment, the replacement of the steering gearbox by Acura to fix a power steering fluid leak I was having, most likely was the cause of the mis-alignment and the reason why I had such uneven tire wear on my front tires

of course, Acura will not accept any responsibility and I am just happy I caught this now before I drove any further because the car no longer pulls to the right when I let go of the wheel and some of the shimmering/vibrations has stopped but not completely

I just had the serenity's rotated and re-balanced and found that the ones in the front (with the uneven wear) had 4-32nds on them and are now on the rear of the car and the rear tires (which are now on the front) are at 8-32nds; the tire guy told me I'll probably be able to get to 20k miles on the serenity's before I need replacements which is what I'm figuring

so I have about 4k miles more till I get new tires and I've finally decided after extensive research and the problems I've had with grand touring tires on the TL to just go ahead and get ultra high performance tires because I think when it comes down to it the TL is designed and works best with ultra high performance tires

I've continued to do extensive research online and have read in-depth tests and reviews on both consumer reports and tirerack and have narrowed down my UHP options to the Pirelli PZero Nero A/S All Seasons, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus, Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position, and Continental ExtremeContactDWS

I've decided not to let money be a factor since I'm going to have the car for awhile and I want the tires to last; again my highest priority for tires is best ride quality and lowest noise level, followed by long treadlife, and lastly handling/traction

Of the four tires I mentioned, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, and Pirelli which one do you guys think is the best for best ride quality and lowest noise level??? I'm leaning more toward the Pirellis or Michelins but what do you guys think???

Oh by the way, Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!