I just purchased a 2005 TL and looking to buy tires to help promote a quieter sound and smoother ride. Can anyone recommend good tires for this purpose, maybe a link?

I will also take suggestions for suspension or other lower end tweaks or upgrades.

 

Update:
I want to add that wet and snow is not out the door. I do live in Ohio and we do get a few months of snow here, as well as rain fairly often in Sprint/Summer. So Quiet being number 1 on my list, I don't want deathly low ratings for snow and rain.

I am also on stock rims, 17x8?

 

Had Cooper CS4's on my 1G CL and they were silent from 100% tread to 10%, great tires for being quiet.

 

If you want the most quiet tires for your TL, then your going to want to look at the all season grand touring! I would recommend the Bridgestone Serenity's if money is no object and the Kumho Escta LX Platinum if money is a object! They are going to be the most quiet tires you'll ever be able to get on the TL!

If you go up to the high performance and ultra high performance category, your going to sacrifice more in noise and ride levels in order to have all season road grip and better handling capabilities!

 

Stay away from the Perelli P-Zero Neros---loudest tires I have ever ridden on.
I just replaced them with Falken ZX912 and I am very impressed with the noise level (or lack thereof). Hopefully, they will remain this quiet throughout the 40000 mile treadlife warranty.

 

The best tire ever.... Continental Extreme Contact DWS. The most comfortable and best bang for the buck tires. I have them and love them.

 

Yeah, I'm waiting. They've pushed the backorder date to Aug now....

 

This might not be as much of a question with road noise, but is there a difference in the ride smoothness with 17"s or 18"s? I guess that would affect road noise too, but i was wondering because i just bought an 05 TL and was wondering whether to get 17s or 18s on it.

 

As a note, I have the FALKEN ZE912s also.

Initially a great tire. Then they get LOUD, LOUD, LOUD after about 12k miles or so...

Also, they don't last anywhere NEAR the 40k warranty.

HOWEVER, with that being said, this is my second set. I got ~23k out of the first and called Discount Tire Direct to ask what gives? Under the 40k warranty, they sent me a new set delivered to my door for $300. And I got them in the infamous 255/40/17 size. So I figured I would take them for $300 for a set of 4 new tires in that size.

Had they not prorated me, my original replacement for these Falkens was going to be the Goodyear Eagle GT. And in fact I will be getting these in 5k miles, as my Falkens are AGAIN about to go out. This time I got about ~25k out of them.

I will be buying 245/45/17 this time, and the price for the Goodyears at Discount Tire Direct is $130 a piece right now.

 

I'm a tire snob. I've had Michelins, Yokohamas, Bridgestones on my '05 TL. I purchased a set of Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's about 5,000 miles ago. These are by far the BEST tires I've ever run and also the least expensive tires. They show no sign of wear in 5k miles, They are SUPER quiet and handle GREAT! I would highly recommend them to anyone. As for snow driving. I don't know. I have a set of dedicated snows on rims that I run.

 

Some interesting recomendations so far. I know most tires are pretty good under 50-10 miles... I def want them to be quiet through the whole life of the thread. Any of these tires last past 10-12k miles?

 

Agreed, get them in 245/45/17 size- quiet as can be, still with great handling. I have the Kumho LX Platinums on the CTS- great wear and very quiet as well.

 

ditto on the Conti DWSs...I am approaching 15k miles (245/40/18) on them and they still look like new and are super quiet. Some will complain about them having soft sidewalls, but for the TL, i think they provide a perfect blend of agressiveness and comfort. i prefer them over the Michilen Piliots Sports I had on my previous TL. They handle great in the snow and rain as well.

 

The conti DWS are supposed to be one of the greatest Ultra High Performance All Season tires ever created, everyone LOVES them.

That being said, theyre impossbile to find in stock!! So I went with Goodyear Eagle GT's and theyre actually quieter than I expected them to be.

 

I hope the Goodyear's work out for you, but I have read many many reviews from owners who say they lose tread and get loud very very quickly compared to the other A/S UHP tires!

 

How about 245/40/17? Whats the difference?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...1085000P?mv=rr

Im hoping to have a local store order them for me rather than an online retailer.

 

go with either

235/45R17 - Stock size

245/45R17 - Slightly wider but slightly taller as well

255/40R17 - Wider than stock, slightly shorter sidewall

 

Hmm, thanks for the info on tire sizes. So do you think the 245/40/17 from Sears would do the trick with no problems?

 

I have the v12s as well, so far i love them, very quiet and great grip. They are summer only though.

 

Nevermind, I found these:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...oreOpenDayInd=

235/45/R17 94W

Can anyone tell me what the 94W means and if its the correct size?

 

x2 on this ... cheap and ride well

 

94 is the load range-- it's higher than the OEM tire and thus is fine.
W is the speed rating and is good, as it is the OEM tires' speed rating.

The tire size is the correct OEM size.

 

I find this hard to believe. Do you have the older model or new AS? The newer model is a much better tire. Mine are very quiet and perform very well.

 

Believe it---those things HOWLED!
I've had the Falkens on for ~5K now---still no issues!

 

I have them on the RL. 9K miles so far and they've been amazing. Very quiet and soft.

 

i just got these tires to replace my very worn out Yokohama WS4's....i love the Continental DWS, they are quiet and smoooooooth!!! i can't wait to see how these handle in the snow, since the yokohamas were complete CRAP in snow (they really should NOT list the yokohamas as an all-season tire)....the Continentals are supposed to be one of the best all-season tires out there. i had to search around and found them in-stock at a Discount Tire close to my work as it seems they are pretty much back-ordered everywhere!

 

Be aware, you need to add $16 per tire to that price (handling charge, as SEARS puts it), so actual price is $135. And for you military folks, don't forget to ask about their military discount.

 

My P-Zero's are very quite. Maybe something was wrong with yours?

 

I agree.

Were they the newer or older ones? He didn't answer that.

 

That makes sense b/c on the 2 comparison tests that tirerack did, the Pirelli's consistently were the highest ranked by them for best ride quality and lowest noise level of the UHP all seasons they tested, even more then the Pilot Sport A/S Plus!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=126

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=119

 

I put Yokohama Envigor 245/45/17's on my care earlier in the summer. They are a quiet tire. I bought them from tire rack and they are priced pretty fair. I had Goodyear F1's prior to this and only got 20,000 miles out of them, and I don't abuse them at all. Even with frequent rotations they were shot at 20k.

 

Yeah I've the P-Zero Nero on my TL for a bit now, around 4-5 months. Again, I'm very pleased.

P-Zero Nero's are also non-directional.

I did a ton of research before I purchased. One thing I noticed is that no matter what brand/model, every tire has a few bad reviews from random customers.

 

The only problem with tire racks professional reviews/comparisons of tires is that they are testing the tire when they are brand new. Ride quality and noise level are going to be optimal on a tire at that age but as many know, they can be completely different when they have 10k, 20k, 30k+ miles etc compared to the others. Its hard to judge those factors.

I try to read as many consumer reviews of those tires at 10k, 20k, 30k miles b/c those are the ones that really count when finding out how that tire holds up in all categories, especially noise and ride quality, once it has a lot of wear on it.

 

Don't know if you have read any reviews on the Bridgestone RE760 Sports (Summer Tire), but I have them on my TL, and they are quiet, handle very well dry/wet, and I have a little over 20K on them. I don't know how many miles their rated for, but I hope to get another 7-10K. Just another option to look at for summer tires.

As far as suspension mods, check out every thread by I Hate Cars under the suspension section.

 

The Kumho Ecsta ASX are pretty good..
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....20Transmission

 

Thinking about getting the Yoko AVID ENVigor for both cars. Any thoughts on handling and grip? Hate to give up on the MICH Pilot Sport PS2, but we need something for the Oregon rain and I don't want to shell out $1,200+ every 25K.

 

I went with 245/45/17's on my car, so they are a little taller than the factory tires. This is great for quietness over expansion joints, rail road tracks and rough roads. The Envigors are not an ultra high performance tire, nor are they a strictly touring tire. They truly fall in between. They have good grip, wet and dry. IMO they grip better than the stock Michelin tires for the TL. I got my tires from Tire Rack, they did have the best price, even with shipping charges. I don't have a lot of miles on these tires, but so far I like them. If they last 40,000+ miles, I will be completely satisfied. I plan on rotating every 3000 miles, in hopes of extending tread life.

 

Thanks^! I think I will put the Yoko's on the RDX, and go with Mich A/S plus on the 4G TL. Wife is primarily driver of the TL and so far it looks like she will squeeze 28K out of the PS2’s. I, on the other hand, drive like an Italian. We will see which one lasts longer.

 

my rims rims on rolling on Continental Extreme Contact DW (not DWS all weather) I live in Hawaii and 80 percent shine here. And if it rains it's rarely pours too hard. But I would have to say that compared to the stock tires it's a big difference for keeping me on the ground and really smooth and quite too. It's so quiet that the other day on a smooth stretch I was going 60mph and I thought my car died on me when I needed to dramaticaly slow down for the next light (testing the grips lol). I had to rev it to see if the car was still on. hehehe. Anyway they are one of the best tires i've had. Awesome ride very smooth and very quite and not sacrificing extreme grip on road surfaces!!!!

 

My P-Zero Neros came with the car when I bought it. As I mentioned, I thought they were great when they were new. After 30K or so, they started getting noisy. By the time I replaced them, they were howling.
I admit, I may be a random consumer with my complaint, but I believe there are a few others with similar experience, according to a thread in the 3G Garage. So I don't feel my experience is a one-off type thing.