zot09

Has anyone given these tires a try? I'm probably going to replace my tires sometime next week, and I'm trying to decide what to get. I was originally thinking of getting some ultra-high-performance A/S Eagle F1's, but a lot of the reviews on Tire Rack are scaring me away. It seems as though every other one talks about how it has horrible road noise and sends odd shivers throughout the steering wheel, while on the other hand, most of the reviews on the grand touring A/S Bridgestones seem very favorable. I'm just worried that these tires will "separate" me from the road; I like to have a communicative feeling through my steering wheel.

Thanks

CDR

I replaced the original Michelins with Turanza Serenity tires (stock size) on my 2004, maybe 6 months ago. I was planning on changing to Bridgestone RE960s, but the tire shop persuaded me to try the Serenity instead since my driving style and need wasn't especially agressive. I wanted good handling and low road noise, prioritized above absolute handling performance.

I'm generally happy with the tires. The road noise is much less than stock and the ride is better. Handling / grip seems around the same as the stock Michelin, or at least not dramatically better (IMO).

One reservation I had about the RE960s were reports that they cause a 2-3 mpg loss. My average mileage with the Serenity models also seems to be down a little compared to the stock Michelin, maybe 2 mpg. That's a disappointment as well, but harder to tie specifically to the tires. Too many variables.

vidgamer

I recently got these tire for my wife's car (not an Acura). She was more concerned about road noise as well, but I still wanted a tire that was "good" and handled OK. I think the Serenity is a good compromise, but it is not a real "performance" tire, so I dunno how much to trust it on sporty maneuvering. If you drive normally, I think it grips well. It may be that it is still pretty good on performance, I just don't know how to compare, particularly between cars. I don't think you will be too separated from the road -- I noticed that I feel bumps, when driving over rough roads.

I would double-check and see what the speed rating is for our tire size -- higher speed ratings might imply a bit stiffer tire? I'm no tire expert, so maybe someone else can comment on that. I used Bridgestone's site, and they don't even offer that tire as a recommendation for our car -- I wonder why? (It doesn't suggest the F1 either, though, so maybe it doesn't mean anything, but I'm curious now....)

For myself (and the TSX) I wanted something that was a bit more performance oriented. I think I saw the noise and other comments about the F1 AS and decided against those as well. However, the Goodyear Eagle GTs seemed to have good comments all-around. I think they are probably a tad louder than stock, but not too bad. They seem to have really good grip, though, and I was pleasantly surprised, from an all-season tire.

zot09

Thanks for the input CDR and vidgamer, I appreciate it! I'm also thinking about the RE960s, and I'll look into the Eagle GT's!

vidgamer

If you're more concerned about road noise, you may want to not get the Eagle GT or other higher-performance (A/S or otherwise) tire. The more I drive on them, I definitely hear some road noise from the Eagle GTs, but the fun-to-drive factor far outweighs that.

If you can tolerate a bit of compromise in both comfort and performance, there are a number of A/S tires which seem to be highly regarded. After getting the Eagle GTs, I'm pretty happy with the performance. I don't think I need true summer UHP type tires. I really enjoyed grippy summer tires on my previous cars, and just lived with the 20,000 lifespan, but this seems almost as good performance on something that should last a lot longer. I don't think the (stock) TSX suspension is up to the level of my previous cars, so I'm not sure I'd even benefit from the ultimate tire anyway.

Even with the new tires, I still have the somewhat "twitchy" handling that I noticed since I first bought my TSX, so I don't think the overall character of the car feels that different, but it does seem to hold the curves better, etc.

TSXrocks

2004 TSX, finally changed my OEM Michelins after 71K miles . Apart from the tread life, they had no pros. Only cons. Bad dry grip, bad wet grip, noisy and don't even get me started about the grip in the snow. Agreed they are all seasons but still at least some would be nice. So recently it had been started snowing in Minneapolis, and my OEMs were at 3/8" tread so figured it was time to change tires.

After doing quite some research on tirerack, online forums, etc, decided to go for the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. And holy cow! They are awesome! Really quiet, the grip in the recent deluge of snow is super, do feel connected to the road quite a bit. Have not been able to test them for handling characteristics since haven't yet found a day where there is no snow on the roads, so keeping that for later.

But as of now very happy with my new tires!

BulldogHockey

Wow, my experience was 180 degrees from yours. I'm in Mpls also and have had terrible driving in snow and ice with these. My orange traction control light is on constantly! It's almost like they have an all season version and a summer version and I got the summer. I don't believe that to be the case though. I had read up on them too and felt it was the best choice.

I'm not sure why mine behave the way they do, but off they will come in a week. Returned to Bridgestone for full refund. Trying GY Assurance with Triple Tread.

jlukja

Keep us updated on your fuel economy as well. I was almost ready to go with the RE960 but read that mileage drops around 3mpg as compared to the stock Michelins. I want something quiet and sporty without sacraficing fuel economy. I'm hoping the Sereneties are it.

TSXrocks

Hmm... that's funny. I agree that the tires are not the best in snow, they are not winter tires of course, but they are so much better than the OEMs. Well, my VSA light does flicker while driving on the snow, but I haven't had any such moment where I was stopped on a very slight incline (eg a traffic light) and it took a serious amount of trouble trying to get the car to move. This use to happen a lot on my OEMs from the time I bought the car brand new. My VSA light would be constantly light on in these cases which meant the tires were continously slipping. A number of times I had to turn the VSA OFF to get the car to move. With the new tires I never had a time in this friggin' deluge of snow when I felt that I am not in control. Well, of course I certainly don't tear down the road in a snowstorm at 80 mph like some other stupid people, but that is whole another story.

Just as a test with these new Serenitys, I had driven my car up at the middle of a friend's snowy driveway which had a good steep incline.. maybe a 20-30 degree grade, and stopped and tried to finish the climb. Had no issues getting it to go up.

About the gas mileage, hard to tell right now, because it became really cold (< 0 F) right after I bought my tires. So my mileage certainly is down by about 4-5 mpg on average (city + highway) but don't know if that is due to all cold or cold + new tires. Can't really say.

About noise, I can vouch for these. We have this noisy concrete highway (US 169) and I don't know what they put in the concrete when on a bridge, but it sounds like high pitched squealing in practically all the cars I have been in, when driving on that rotten road. These new Serenitys certainly do dampen the noise by an appreciable margin.

yadnom

I'm also from TC area. I replaced the stocks w/some Goodyear Eagle GTs a few months ago. Dry and wet grip is pretty good. For snow, I get the orange light occasionally, mostly when pulling out at stop lights, but other than that, the car goes where I point it. For the amount of snow we've gotten so far, I'm pretty happy with the snow/winter performance.

As for road noise, thats a different story. That would be my only gripe about the tires, they are kinda loud.

I did notice a slight decrease in mileage like 2-3 mpg but I don't know if that has to do with the colder weather or if its the tires. I haven't really played with tire pressure, suppose I should though.

I originally went into Discount Tire looking for cheaper tires but when they didn't have the ones I wanted in stock, I was offered the GTs for the same price so I took them. Otherwise I probably wouldnt have them.

Oh yea, tread design looks pretty.

As with TSXrocks, same goes for me:

BulldogHockey

Yeah, I don't know. Maybe I got Turd-anza lemons or something. My stockers were never this bad, not even when they were practically bald.

I've got an '06 MT. I was pulling out of a store parking lot onto Hwy 10 this afternoon. I had LOTS of time. I was just sitting there spinning hardly moving, even in 2nd gear. And I was halfway out onto the hwy so I wasn't going to stop. Anyway I finally get traction and then it was a quick sprint into 3rd gear to avoid getting rear ended. Appointment is on Monday to put on the Triple Treads.

BulldogHockey

Update if anyone is still looking for all season tires in snow climates. I've had the Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads for a week now. At first they were pretty loud, now they don't seem any worse than the stock tires were. Still not as quiet as the Bridgestone Serenity's. The winter traction is pretty impressive with the Goodyears though, and I recommend them. I would guess this is about as good as it gets for snow/ice traction without buying a second set of rims with snow tires.

vollum

Any updates from folks who have put these tires on their TSX? I now live in St. Louis and am retired, so snow traction is not a big concern for me. I am interested in how quiet they are, whether fuel mileage is adversely impacted, and whether handling is adversely impacted relative to the OEM Michelins.

cober319

As far as MPG goes, I still have the OEM Michelins and my mileage has dropped a few MPGs once the cold set in. I think weather is more to blame than the tire itself. 3 mpg seems like a lot of drop for a properly inflated tire but maybe there is something I'm missing...

rdc

the bridgestones are a little bit heavy compared to michelin, maybe thats why the mpg drop a little. i almost bought the bridgestone re960 or the turanza serenity but instead i pick the mich exalto a/s im happy with it about 30k miles on it still has a lot of tread

C25A1guy

Hopefully I'm not too late. If you're going for a grand touring all season, get a set of Sumitomo's. They're cheap, grip well, moderate tread life (what you expect out of a fairly grippy tire) and they're quiet.

NwTSXmt

I purchased the Turanza Serenity for the wifes TSX about 4 months/2500 miles ago and could not be happier the tires are a perfect fit for a four banger people hauler...If I want performance I'll take the Vette...Good luck OP in your search

Spoon123

There is a thread ongoing in the TSX second-gen section regarding the ride quality:
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-problems-fixes-145/winter-ride-quality-704675/

Of particular concern is a perceived bumpy-ness of the drive. After going over small bumps, the car seems to bob-up-and-down (which doesn't necessarily bother everyone).

Would anyone who owns this tire recommend them to address this issue? Have you experienced a smoother ride at all?

Thanks!

Itchytoe

The bobbing up and down is far more likely a result of the shocks and struts than the tires. Your tires "settle down" after a bump in about a revolution or two, so you probably wouldn't even notice it if you tires were the culprit.

CDR

I've had the Turanza Serenity tires for over a year. Compared to the OEM Michelins, my experience is that the ride is definitely smoother and the road noise substantially less.

I'm not convinced the handling is better than the OEM tires, however. And as I mentioned a while back in this or another thread, I might have lost a little mileage.

Itchytoe

I just ordered a set of these to replace my stockies that are losing chunks of tread at a time. Stockies FTMFL! Hopefully they'll be what I hope for in tires. Not like they can be any worse than the stockies.

zot09

I got these roughly 3 months ago, and overall I'm very happy with them. Here are some quick points:

-Much more comfortable ride(even though having a smooth ride really isn't an priority for me).
-Less road noise, which is a huge plus. The stock tires were ridiculously loud on crappy SoCal highways.
-A slight drop in mileage, possibly 1 mpg.
-Handling seems to be slightly better than the stock tires, but it's nothing too big. I'd much rather go with the RE960's if you're looking for better performance, but the extra tread life in these tires made it a bit more appealing.
-What worried me when I first got the tires installed was how vague the communication was between the tires and steering wheel, and how light the steering effort was(I hate Lexus-like light steering). I guess all they needed was some wear, because it disappeared after the first hundred-ish miles and I'm happy with it.

I would definitely recommend these tires if you're looking for a better ride with slightly better grip. If you're looking for something really sticky, these probably aren't the tires for you.

tsxrocket

If you guys want quiet performance that looks great, go with Hankook Ventus V4's. I'm a tire wholesaler and have run those tires personally. They pull better than any other performance tire in the snow, stay quiet, and handle far better than either the Serenity's or Michelins. Any body who needs a set PM me

vollum

Thanks zot09....My timeline for replacing tires is Fall of 09. It sounds like the Serenitys may fit me well. I notice on Tire Rack that Michelin has apparently started to produce a new tire...forget the name but it is in the same Grand Touring class as the Serenity and our OEMS... According to the Tire Rack review it is way better than our OEMs and a hair better than the Serenity in handling but a hair worse than the Serenity in wet traction/performance. Cost is way less than the OEMs and about the same as the Serenity.

Itchytoe

I just had these installed today. I imediately noticed a reduction in noise and an increase in comfort. While driving down the road bumps seemed to make more noise, but it may just be because of the lower ambient noise. They weren't as responsive as the stockies, but my stockies were down to the wear bars and had about 5 more PSI in them. The new ones now have 68 miles on them, so they're not even broken in yet. I noticed that I got about half a mile per gallon less than the stockies, but air pressure could the reason for this. All in all, I'm pretty happy with them. Hopefully the response time will get better once they're broken in.

parag_a2z

Do the Bridgestone Turanza serenity, come in 215/50/17, i could not fine one, whats the size that i should go with stock wheels....no change

zot09

Yes, they do come in 215/50/17. Check tirerack

Itchytoe

Tirerack has them. That's where I got mine and they're 215/50/17.