beekermartin

I just ordered a set of the 18" A-spec wheels. I have been reading a lot of reviews on tire rack but there are so few RL reviews that I can't decide what tire to try.

I am looking for a good all season tire. I live in RI and I will be driving the car in the winter. My wife has a Honda Pilot that I will drive when the snow is very heavy but I will take the RL unless they are calling for a significant amount of snow. I would like a tire that is fairly quiet, handles well in the dry as well as the wet and has decent tread life.

I understand tires are always a compromise. I am willing to give up some dry traction for better all season traction. Which is why I am not looking for summer tires. I also no the RL is a heavy car. So one tire that might work well on a Honda Accord may not work well on the RL.

I am not usually a big fan of Michelin's. I always felt the MXV4s were very prone to hydro planning in heavy rain. I do have Michelin's truck tires on my wife's pilot and I had them on a Ridgeline I owned in the past and they were excellent.

I saw the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's and they seem to be a good option. Any other recommendations???

beekermartin

Also, I know the Continental Extreme Contact DWS is a highly rated tire but I just don't trust that tread pattern. Every tire I have seen with any type of odd tread pattern has chopped badly as they aged. Maybe that won't happen with the DWS but I am concerned about it.

BDoggPrelude

The Michelin Pilot A/S3 is the best all season tire on the market right now. It will give up a little bit of snow traction to the Continental DWS but will outperform it in every other category. The DWS is a great tire though. Just be aware that they have had sidewall durability and flat spotting issues. If you can stomach the price, the Michelin A/S3 is the way to go.

NBP04TL4ME

I had 4 Continental Extreme Contact DWS mounted on my daughter's Honda Accord and went through this past winter with no issues (I'm in SE Mass) at all. Admittedly there is some sidewall softness but neither of my daughters are NASCAR drivers. Have never experienced flatspotting. Depends on your budget, I guess. I went with these because I found 2 brand new ones on CL for cheap. Bought the other two to make a full set and if memory serves, overall much less expensive than the Michelins. I am a Michelin fan FWIW.

beekermartin

On Tire Rack The Pilot AS3's are $177 for 96 V speed/load rating and $195 for the Y 100 rating. I assume the V rated is fine but I am not positive about that. I don't plan on going over the max V rating of 149mph!

The DWS's are $175 and they are Y 100 rated.

Again my biggest concern with the DWS is the odd tread pattern. I am very concerned about them chopping or becoming very noisy as they age. I work for a Honda dealer and have seen several different odd tread pattern tires cause those issues as they aged. The more conventional pattern of the Pilot AS3's seem to give the most consistent performance throughout their tread life. Of course I have seen conventional tread patterns chop badly as well but not as often.

NBP04TL4ME

beeker -

Just curious - who do you work for? Majestic?

beekermartin

Yes, in Lincoln, RI. I am the sales manager. I have worked for them for 17 years.

NBP04TL4ME

Nice. My wife leased her 91 Accord there - pre me. We then leased a 94 Accord from Mike Rebola - I know he has been at Herb Chambers in Seekonk for quite awhile. When we moved to MA have been using MA dealerships and have switched to Acura and Lexus. We do have an 09 Accord for our daughters though.
We were always treated well there

beekermartin

I'm glad to hear that. If you ever need any help with your daughters Accord let me know. I can't help much in terms of the Acura. Most of the parts are Acura only, as I am finding out!

I just bought a 2005 RL at the auction and I am slowly turning it into a nice car. Right now it needs the usual, tires, brakes, dash bulbs, leather repair, etc. I was going to buy out my 2011 Accord lease but I missed driving an RL. I had a 1998 and a 2000 and I really like them. Honda's are great practical cars but the Acura's are just a bit nicer.

NBP04TL4ME

Appreciate the offer, but as I'm sure you know, there isn't much we need to do to it. It just runs and runs......... However we might need another car in about a year as my oldest will likely be taking the Accord to school as she will need one there. Time will tell.
For the RL, I might guess there are many unique parts, but for the TL and I'm guessing the TSX there are lots of parts that cross over to a Honda P/N and are a good bit cheaper too.

beekermartin

That's true. We have sold many TSX and TLs and most parts we are able to get ourselves. The RL is very different and has many unique parts it seems.

NBP04TL4ME

This might be blasphemy from your perspective and you likely have an Acura contact seeing you are in the business, but these guys have always been very competitive on OEM parts for my TLS and the Accord as well as our former MDX.

http://acura.bernardiparts.com/
http://www.bernardiparts.com/

beekermartin

Thanks for the links! We usually buy stuff form First Acura in Seekonk or the Acura store in West Warwick owned by the Penske group. I imagine the online prices are lower than most local stores will offer me. Most stores have strict policies of 25% over cost is the lowest they will go!

Just an FYI for you too. Our stores online site is www.hondaautomotiveparts.com. I don't know if that is ok for me to list here but I figured it can't hurt if anyone is looking for Honda parts.

NBP04TL4ME

Thanks for your link as well. I added it my favorites as it never hurts to have multiple sources to check.

beekermartin

So back to the original topic of this thread. Lol

If I decide to go with the Pilot AS3's is 96 V rated ok or should I pay more for the 100 Y? Any other recommendations?

Iakonafuji

iTrader: (1)

96V is more than enough, you should be solid with those.

NBP04TL4ME

Weren't the OEM tires 98 V? I wouldn't be as concerned with the speed rating as making sure the load rating is sufficient. Admittedly the difference between 98 and 96 isn't that much but still less than OEM. Will you run into a problem - probably not but just want you to be informed.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=35

BDoggPrelude

You can run the 96V but I would recommend the 100Y. Better to go up on the load and/or speed rating than down. Also, the Y rated version will be a better dry handling tire. Speed ratings are not always just about the top speed of a particular tire. You also have to consider what it is about that tire that makes it able to sustain the extra speed. Typically a beefier belt package and a tread composition that can handle the added heat are added to the construction. I have a coworker with a WRX that had went from Y rated A/S3's to the H rated A/S3's and he noticed a huge difference in the handling between the different speed ratings on the same tire.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

FWIW I have a set of DWS that are near end of life and the chopping is bad.

beekermartin

That answers that! I had a feeling that would happen with that tread pattern.

I am leaning towards the AS3's. I need to decide if it is worth spending more for the 100 Y versus the 96 V...

NBP04TL4ME

What size are you looking at?

beekermartin

245/45/r18

NBP04TL4ME

Was just wondering if a slightly different size might be a good compromise of load rating and price, but it doesn't appear to be the case - at least not on this particular tire.

beekermartin

Gotcha. I never thought of that. I appreciate you looking into that.

I can't imagine there being a big difference between 96 V and 100 Y but I am far from a tire expert. I will say that I just checked the door label and the original tire was 98 V. So going down to a lower load rating is not ideal. If I decide to go with the AS3's I will probably get the 100 Y since the RL is so heavy. Going to a lower load rating than stock on such a heavy car is probably not a good idea.

NBP04TL4ME

If it were me, I would be going up not down in load rating. As a gentle reminder, the tires are the only thing between you and the ground, so I tend not to skimp on tires.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

I would follow BDoggPrelude's advice, he knows his stuff.

beekermartin

I found a set of Goodyear Eagle LS2 on Craigslist with supposedly 75% tread life. He is asking $250 for the set. Might be worth a shot at that price. I believe they are 100 load rating but only H speed rated if I am reading the specs correctly on Goodyear's site. I don't plan on every going over 100 mph so they might work fine.

Those are the same tires that come on some of the Accord Sports. They are slightly smaller and extremely cheap on tirerack for the Sport, $84 a piece! We haven't had any issues with them on the Accords.

NBP04TL4ME

I have done very well finding tires on CL. I have primarily purchased winter tires and gotten multiple seasons out of them, but as mentioned above, found two brand new Conti's for short $$. For $250 - it may be a good deal, just do your reading on tirerack.com to make sure they are a decent tire. Plus I'm sure you can get a reasonable good deal on mounting and balancing - LOL

NBP04TL4ME

This tire ranks #26 out of 30 in the Grand Touring All Season category. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=GTAS

Probably would not be my first choice, but you may have more first hand experience.

beekermartin

I just heard back from the guy who listed them. They are sold.

I did read a few reviews stating how bad they were. Probably a good thing they are already sold.

beekermartin

I guess the 245/45r18 in that tire is completely different than the tire 235/45r18 on the Accord Sports. It is a "run on flat" tire. Not a true run flat but has some ability to run with no pressure. That usually means a very stiff side wall and horrible ride.

jrocka312

iTrader: (2)

I have had the Nitto Motivo's on my ride for awhile now. They have been spectacular. Great tread life, solid performance, amazing wet traction...love them!

NBP04TL4ME

These tires are listed as #7 on the same list in the same category. You could then list/sell the rims on CL to defray the cost. You could even list these for sale here on AZ and I would imagine they would go pretty quick.
I know you recently ordered your A-Specs, but hell I think these would bolt right on to your RL.

http://worcester.craigslist.org/pts/4565204668.html

beekermartin

I don't know if those rims fit the RL or not but wow that is a good deal! Those tires are very expensive. Might be worth it. Thanks for the link!

NBP04TL4ME

I believe the bolt pattern on the RL is 5x120 so like I said I think these will bolt right on - not positive. The other thing I'm not positive of is whether the TPMS is compatible 13 TL -> 05 RL
It is a very good deal considering they are brand new tires, rims, TPMS and center caps........

beekermartin

The biggest issue is clearing the front brake caliper of the RL.

NBP04TL4ME

Clearing the caliper is a concern, but that would be secondary to the rims actually fitting on the hub and unless you are considering actually bolting these on, you are really only after the tires, right?

beekermartin

Yup! I already emailed the seller. I would use the tires and then sell the wheels. Great idea!

NBP04TL4ME

Just make sure when you hear back from the seller, you know exactly which Michelin model tire this is and what the load rating is. Michelin has a number of tire models and some are good and others not so much. I looked at the ad again, and I may have misread the model. Just don't want to steer you wrong

beekermartin

I just checked on Tire Rack for a 2013 TL OE tire and it is rated at 96v.