So far my choices are narrowed to
Yokahama AVID V4S
Continental ExtremeContact DWS
Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza

I liked how stock tires handled, the only concern that they wear out at 30K miles.
any suggestions?

 

I have the Alenzas now. I like them, ride well and handle well with much better wear on the tires than the stock tires.

I have the Conti's on my Audi and given the choice between the two I would take the Conti's as they are better in the snow than the Alenza's.

 

I feel your pain as I just went through the same dilemma.

I was set on the Continental DWS, but the comments of them being "ugly tubes" made me think again, plus since I'm in Houston, the snow is very very rare.

So then it was the Prada-X or the Avid...and both had okay reviews, but then I remembered that Yokohoma had released a new tire - the Avid Envigor. At that time there were no reviews so I was on pause, but checking recently there were enough positive reviews to sway me. Most of those were from sports sedans, which matches the way I drive my RDX.

They were installed on Monday so I only have about 100 miles on them, but so far they are fantastic! Most noticeable is the lack of road noise. I used to have the stereo set up to raise the volume with speed...not any more! I turned that feature off and just love how silent they are.

As for performance, they seem to coast better and the ride seems just a touch smoother. Cornering has not been tested hard enough yet to comment, but it seems fine for the normal curves.

Lastly - they are rated for 60,000, so if they are worn out at 32,000 like the OEM's...I should get a good credit for something new.

 

I have actually just switched my OEM tires for a set of Dunlop Signature CS. Only 300 miles so far, but some rainy driving as well. For the price I consider these tires to be quite good; stiff sidewall, respectable traction in rain. Actually a little bit more road noise than the Michelin's but overall quite competitive.

Best advice is determine whether or not you need them for winter driving and buy the tires that are suited to your needs.

 

if weather is primary concern, there is nothing out there better than the DWS while also giving a sporty ride at the same time. If you dont have alot of bad weather, like snow/ice/rain...id go for the Yoko's. All things considered, i still think the DWS, since they are basically the same price as the Yoko's give you that added layer of just supreme all weather performance. they look like shit on the rim tho. that is the downside. but after wearing them in reaching 2k miles - they are SUPER SMOOTH, and quiet, and dont exhibit any of the uneasiness that the OEM's do, they are stable in corners, and i havent been able to chirp them so far, they also track excellently at higher speeds

 

where do you live? is there snow and rain where you live? if yes get the michelin hydroedge and its pretty good for both mileage and grip in rain/snow and dry. otherwise get the Yokohama.

 

i beg to differ....the latest tirerack winter/ice/wet weather tests show the DWS absolutely destroying all the other major brands in all weather traction. (for high performance all-seasons)

Re: Michelin
1. those tires are more geared for sedans, and will perform less favorably on larger vehicles, and they are loud
2. they are pretty much geared for rain and dry and not much else
3. they are not geared for a performance oriented machine like the RDX
4. not even sure you can get them in the proper size for the RDX, almost positive they are not offered in a 235/55, and their speed rating is terrible. (T)
5. they are budget rubber designed for mileage minded people

i would certainly NOT buy them over a DWS, and not over the Avids either, and in the most recent ratings on tirerack, they still placed 3rd to Goodyears offerings. There is much better rubber out there than the hydroedge, even if rain and snow is your only concern

if going to do recommendations, at least research your recommendation first

 

and im not trying to give you a hard time - but the tire purchase, for some reason, for the RDX, has become a really important issue on this board, so just trying to address the option tossing before someone may actually rely on it

 

For me snow is not much of a concern here in South New Jersey, rain is probably a concern, what about Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza? Excellent tread rating, marked as All season Grand Touring. The only concern each tire is like 4lb heaver... probably less sporty, RDX is not your typical truck, its somewhat a sporty car.

 

BTW, my Acura dealer charges about $20 (pretty much what other places charges) to mount and balance each tire. They also said I could have tirerack ship to them directly. I might go with the dealer, even though I found a decent local installer that can do it at the same price as tirerack (considering shipping cost and etc). So now in addition to not knowing what tire to order, I am also not sure if I should go through tirerack+Acura dealer vs. local installer. On one hand its easier to deal with the place that sold you tires and installed them, but on the other hand Acura dealer probably does it right...

 

Mike, I think DWS are out of my list because of looks. My wife is a primary driver on RDX, she will kill me if I put these ugly tires

 

Did you check with the parts dept if they will match tirerack's price what dealer do you use ? i have the 19 wheels looking for tires also looking at the michelin pilot sport

 

I was at the supermarket this past Friday after work and saw an RDX parked. The tires stood out from a distance so I knew they weren't OEM. At a closer look they were the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza in the stock 235/55/18 size. They looked pretty good!! Very agressive looking with really deep tread.

I am seriously considering dumping the stock Mich's next fall for the Alenzas. They actually give the RDX a "tougher" look too. Yet, my reasoning is not for looks per-say but rather I want a really good year round all season tire that can handle more than a couple inches of snow. My OEM Michs have less that 10K miles on them yet this past winter they proved to be a bit weak in the heavier snow. Granted, with SH-AWD I still got where I had to go but would have loved some better grip. I work in a business where the more winter weather there is the busier I am and need to be able to get to work regardless of snow, etc.

I'm still thinking it over but I'm glad I actually got to see the Alenzas installed on an RDX. Too bad the driver wasn't around as I would have liked to ask him or her some questions/opinions about the tires.

 

the DWS do look terrible, tire shine helps them but from a dead on side view, like i stated in another thread, you cant help but think they are inner tubes.

 

yokohama v4s vs dueler H/L Alenza, tough choice.... Here is the picture of Alenza on RDX, looks nice.. might even look nicer than yokohamas.


Not sure how extra weight (4 more pounds per tire compared to OEM) will make them behave. I did notice that OEM is also all season, so should be equivalent (except the extra weight). Treadlife should also be longer than yokohamas.

Will yokohama perform better in dry conditions? I don't care much about snow, but it rains a lot.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=114

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=95

tests for both...

 

Thanks for those links Mike.

My pain was with thinking about the new Yokahoma ENVigors, I could not wait for test results since my OEM's were so worn out.

But my choice was based on comments like this below from tirerack, and now that I have them I am very very happy. I was able to do some agressive driving tonight and they were fantastic. However, I cannot comment on how the DWS might be, they could be better, but until a comparison test, we can only speculate.



"I recently had Good Year F1 A/S tires on my Acura TL and only after a year if not less, I had the worse road noise ever. I logged in here and did the homework on tires. It was narrowed down quickly between Continental DWS and the new Yokohama ENVIGORs. Soon as I had them on and balanced I went straight to the highway to test the road noise. HEAVEN!!! Very little road noise and living in NYC with the thousands of pot holes from recent storms was a easy way to quickly gauge the reaction and feel of the tires. I'm very satisfied with the results. Bumps that my Good Years ran over felt like land mines. The Yokos make them feel like pebbles spitting from under the tire. When quickly moving to avoid a crater of a pothole the tires carried the weight of the car without any need to over compensate the steering to maintain lane position. LOVE THESE TIRES!!! I would think that these tires are good for all but definitely if you are an ACURA 04-08 driver please consider these tires. You won't be disappointed."

 

ah crap, ignore my suggestion for the hydroedge. i thought for a sec that rdx had 225mm instead of 235 tires. i personally would get the alpines again, they have been good tome here in canada used them both in winter and summer.

 

I like my Alenzas so far.

They are going to last me about twice as long as the OEMs, maybe 30k. I am almost down to the wear bars in the center of the tread (I had left them at winter pressure too long this spring and am paying for it with tread wear). Just passed my inspection, and I KNOW that is one of the things they try to get you on, so they must not be too bad yet. If I can get to August I will have maybe 32K and two years on them. I think the heat in the summer beats the crap out of them.

I have only driven them in snow once or twice, and they seemed pretty decent. I don't think I ever really drove the OEMs on snow. In rain they are way, way better than the OEMs. I like them--I will most likely just get another set. The Conti's may be better on snow, but that is not really relevant for me here in TX.

 

i love how people write off tires purely on looks. maybe its b/c im an engineer by trade, but to me its ALWAYS

function > form

but to each his own. i figure tires are the only things that stand btw my car and the road so i might as well get the best performing ones i can find given my budget.

 

which is why i still bought the DWS's

 

I too like my Alenza's so far. I also live in S. Jersey. Put about 1500 miles on in the last 6 weeks. Happy with dry and wet performance. In fact I have tried, as recently as last night in the rain, to get them to slip. Way more wet grip than OEM.

As far as DWS, I went with Alenza per recommendation from guys at tire store. They felt I'd be happier with these compared to DWS and OEM's. Just a matter of personal preference, no judgements here. They haven't yet steered me wrong. [the $100 rebate didn't hurt either] Mill St. Tire in Moorestown. I'd say give them a call.

 

i know it may seem bias to keep promoting the DWS...as im trying to remain unbiased even tho i own them...but when looking at objective testing, the DWS only drawback, and ever so minimal would be its dry road handling, but going over all the test results from tires in this category, the DWS are far superior when it comes to EVERYTHING that is not dry. you can confirm or dispel your beliefs by researching them against any other tire, including the alenza's, OEM, Mich Sport, etc. The ONLY tire on tire rack that nudged the DWS into a 2nd place were Pirelli P-Zero's (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=119) and the Mich Sports coming in literally tied w/the DWS...however, there are drastic differences when wet traction was thrown into the mix. That being the case, it is hard to pass them up on a purely objective basis and if you are in the area of 150 +/- a corner, there really is nothing that comes close to the DWS in all seasons.

That being said, if your buying motivation due to where you live is dry pavement, i wouldnt look at an all season at all, so thats my conclusion, id get a performance tire with some wet traction and forget all season all together. Id hammer home on performance and wet, and really get the most bang for my buck to make the RDX even better...if it werent for snow, id shop a way more aggressive sporty tire leaving the all season category.

 

..and lets just also say that all these tires are pretty good picks, no matter which one..so

 

I suggested to MIKE to get the DWS. I had established the DWS in the first stance before i suggested these to Mmike. I stand by that, Mike and I have been buddies for long time on here. So his word and my word are merit. It's not about looks at the end of the day, it's about performance, stability and SAFETY amongst weather conditions. DWS Makes the ride a lot smoother, and yes, i've tested these in RAIN & SNOW and on dry weather and yes dry weather handling gives minimal lee-way but we are talking bout ALL-weather TIRES. And like-wise, not being biased at all because we own them ,it's just the fact of the matter is, it outperforms All other tires in all-weather conditions. and also it comes 50k warrenty at best.

 

Furthermore, if like so, you live in more dry climate then others, go for the other tire, but i wouldnt recomment going back to MICH on the RDX.

 

I am engineer too, so what? My wife drives a car, the tires mentioned in these thread are all approximately similar to one another, so I don't see a big deal by considering the looks. If looks are not important, then why not buy ugliest car.

 

I'm an engineer, too. My take is that looks matter because, well, they matter. In general the population takes looks into consideration, so when a product is ugly (new TL nose anyone?), it makes people, even rational people, question the whole product because you know they made at least one bad decision. If they didn't care how it looked, what else is half baked? It may be totally unjustified, but, it could be true.

I like subarus, too. I always figured they were intentionally quirky to attract attention as a small player.

That being said, I don't think the Contis are THAT ugly. I also don't think the tread pattern of the Alenzas is all that great looking, either.

Discount Tire (I am not a Tire Rack fan) only throws up all-seasons when you plug in the RDX. I live in the Dallas suburbs. What are some good three season or summer tires that fit the RDX?

 

Well, I spent the last hour researching. I'm going to probably get the Contis. The Yoko Pradas and ENVigors (I think they replace the V4S's) are nice, but...

The weight swayed me. The Contis are only 28 lbs. The only thing weighed less were the cheapo General Exclaims.

I thought about the Advan ST's, but they are a pretty old tire (the Tire Rack test was from 2006!), and they are pigs at 33 lbs.

 

Just got a quote from my Acura dealer, and I have to admit I am very surprised. It would only cost me $20 more to go through the dealer vs tirerack. (all things considers: shipping, tax, and etc). I am going with the dealer for sure, I wonder if they will order from tirerack themselves

 

back to tires, does anyone understand a difference between Yokohama AVID ENVigor and Yokohama AVID V4S? I am scared of extra weight in Alenza...

 

I've got the Alenzas also. Here's my report on them: Bridgestone HL Alenzas

They are probably going to fall about 10000 short of the treadlife warranty. Good tire though.

 

that's OK, they all lie and exaggerate when it comes warranty (marketing crap), but if you got 50,000 miles out of them its very good.
My biggest concern is extra weight on Alenzas, is it even noticeable? you said they feel slower to start, but then its back to normal. Any noticeably decrease on MPG?

 

I got the impression that the V4S is being replaced by the ENVigors. The V4S is on closeout at tire rack and the ENVigors are new. They seem to be a very similar tire aimed at the same market. I don't know for sure, it just seems to make sense.

Edit: I just looked--even the tread looks similar.

 

Damn 5 minute thing:

It IS the replacement: http://yokohamatire.com/newsroom/index.php?q=node/162

 

thanks for the link, yep, its the replacement. so if I am going to get yokos, I will get envigor, for one thing it has higher UTGQ, and they probably made some improvements that's why they discountinuted to v4s.
too bad there are not that many reviews, but I would expect them to be identical to v4s.
Actually there are not that many choices for RDX... For my 2001 Acura CLS, I have plenty of things to chose with a lot of reviews...

 

I installed the Envigors about 45 days ago and now have about 2000 miles on them. I reported the unusual initial charateristic on understeer going to oversteer in an earlier posting; that has gone away. They handle with quite neutral characteristics. I find the handling to be equal to or better than the OEM Michelins. They are guaranteed for 60K miles. They are quieter than the Michelins. To answer one above question, they are replacing the V4S. Let me knowif there are any questions and I'll try to answer them.

 

If OEM tires cost the same as Yoko. Envigors, would you still buy them or go with OEM?

 

I would 100% go with the Envigors for the following:
- much longer tread life
- resistance to hydroplaning (the OEM were dangerous at 25K miles)
- comparable or better handling

No contest

 

Thanks, I think I am going to go with yoko Envigors as well. I am crossing out DWS because of looks (my wife drives RDX), and I think Alenzas might be too heavy and less sporty (might be good for areas with a lot of snow). ... and to buy OEM again for extra $400 would be insane.