droideka

For the last three weeks I've been spinning my wheels and plowing through every turn. At 19K miles the stock Michelins were shot and in desperate need of replacement. After a bit of debate regarding how much I wanted to spend on a car that I would be returning in twelve months, I decided on the Bridgestone Potenza RE730 in 225/45/17. The difference in sidewall height is only 6.25mm and negligable upon visual inspection. The additional 10mm of contact patch more than makes up for the loss in sidewall height.

Front 3/4 View:


Rear Quarter Side View:

<font size="1" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Yeah, I know, you can smuggle bodies in that wheel gap, but I'm not going to "spring" for springs with
only a year left on the lease.</font>

Impressions
Grip, grip and more grip! These babies STICK in the corners now and don't even begin to break loose. Turns that I would plow through just last week are a new experience with these tires and bring new life to my driving enjoyment. I love the aggressive tread pattern and can't wait to try them in the rain, as I understand they are a phenomenal wet weather tire. Anyone who's floundering over "invasive" procedures like springs or sways should try the rubber upgrade first. I can't imagine how much ass you could kick with springs, sways AND new rubber...

Road noise is somewhat noticeable IF you're trying desperately to hear something. I rarely, if ever, drive without the stereo on so this is a non-issue for me. The one thing some drivers may not appreciate is the considerably stiffer sidewall which induces a heightened sensitivity to bumps in the road. I for one do not mind this and prefer to be more in tune with the feedback from the tires, but some people may not like the added harshness.

Costs
I looked to my local retailers first when shopping. Discount Tire could order the tires, but at a cost of $187 each. I found the same tire on Tirerack.com for only $135 each and $41.20 for FedEx 2-day economy shipping. I did however have the tires shipped to Discount Tire for mounting and balance which ran $79.96 for a grand total of $661.16. If I had bought the tires locally from Discount, I would have ended up paying damn near $900 after tax.

Lastly, The Tirerack kicked so much ass during my customer experience. Within ten minutes of placing my order online, I was contacted via phone by a Tirerack representative (Wendy) to make sure that I did indeed want the 225 and not the 215 size tires. At the end of the call I asked if my tires would make it by Friday (ordered on Wednesday), but Wendy thought it would be more like Monday. Low and behold, when I checked the FedEx site to track my shipment on Thursday, Wendy had gone out of her way to get my tires out the night before. Thanks, Wendy!!!

EDIT: Added road noise and handling comments to Impressions.

[This message has been edited by droideka (edited 04-01-2001).]

JZ

Prepare to lose about 30 miles per tank due to all of that grip. I agree though, these are awesome tires at a great price and Tirerack does have great customer service!! Enjoy.

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Black/black CLS
Comptech headers, springs, swaybars
Koni yellows
PIAA 19169 road lamps
Solaris Hi beams
Potenza RE730 225/45/17
Red AEM CAI
35% mirror tint next

H@mmerm@n

Droideka and JZ: did you guys consider the Toyo Proxes as well before settling on the Potenza, or were you always certain that you wanted the Potenzas? Or did you get a deal you just couldn't refuse?

Just curious, as I'm still riding on the stock rubber and now clearly feeling its limits with the recent addition of the Comptech sways.

------------------
Mike
2001 Satin Silver CL-S
Comptech headers, sways, PIAA 19169

"Never underestimate the power of a dark CLown!" - Darph Bobo

droideka

Personally, no, because they were not available via Tirerack. JZ is the reason I ever even considered the RE730. I am EXTREMELY happy with the performance of the tires, and even more so with the unbeatable price. If I was keeping this car, I probably would have gone the extra mile and gone with S-02 Pole Positions, or the Michelin Pilot Sports.



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a study in pimp daddy gold

Red Rider

Droid,thanks for the great post.As a guy who just got sways and knows the stockers need to go it's good to get this kind of feedback.I'm pretty sure i'm gonna go with the Toyo Proxes but i may do some more investigating on the potenzas.


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San Marino Red
Spoiler
Comptech Headers
Comptech Sways

JZ

I saw the aggressive tread pattern, the unbeatable price and read all of the positive feedback from owners on the tirerack site. Plus, I didn't have a lick of knowledge about Toyo tires.

------------------
Black/black CLS
Comptech headers, springs, swaybars
Koni yellows
PIAA 19169 road lamps
Solaris Hi beams
Potenza RE730 225/45/17
Red AEM CAI
35% mirror tint next

deadlyCL-S

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/kumho/ku_712.jsp

i am getting these from tire rack, their ratings are up there...and its realllly inexpensive, to me the most important thing about tires are tread wear..this should last me 3 summers, then i'l put my stock tires on that still have good amount of tread left, and sell the car..


droideka, what is road noise like? louder or quieter than stock?

JZ

Don't worry about the tread wear--I've had mine for almost 10k and they still look new. I really though they would've worn more by now since they are soft, but nope. You can't notice any difference in road noise--although when turning them at a stop you can actually hear them gripping the road.



------------------
Black/black CLS
Comptech headers, springs, swaybars
Koni yellows
PIAA 19169 road lamps
Solaris Hi beams
Potenza RE730 225/45/17
Red AEM CAI
35% mirror tint next

[This message has been edited by JZ (edited 04-01-2001).]

droideka

I apologize for leaving this out. Go back and read my "Impressions" section again.



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a study in pimp daddy gold

superdds

nice tires. i'm contemplating the potenzas now, but will the 45 series throw off the speedometer?

superdds

lead_sled_dog

droideka,

This is one of the best posts on this board! As someone who is deciding on sways, tires, and other stuff, this sure helps. I will look hard at these tires PLUS the sways.

Thanks again.

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Rex -
'01 CL Type S - Satin Silver, Navi, BBS RK
Lic: THX CBOE
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...770&p=36712116

buddha

How do you figure?
Granted tires are different from one manufacurer to the next, just going by the the numbers alone would give you a 2% difference in speed at 70 mph. 215 50 17 gives you 70 mph, while 225 45 17 would read about 68.65. Factor in tire wear and such and it should be neglible.

droideka

Yes. By exactly 1.932591218305506%. Use this calculator to see the results of deviating from stock sizes.

[This message has been edited by droideka (edited 04-02-2001).]

superdds

thanks man.

superdds

droideka

buddha, I believe JZ's referring to how much more gas you'll burn through because of the ability to corner faster.



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'01 CL-S|Sundance Gold|Spoiler|35% Tint|Bridgestone Potenza RE730 225/45/17
a study in pimp daddy gold

Type S

that is the tyre i always want to get..how much is one?

------------------
2001 Acura Red CL Type S.
1997 Honda Civic EX.
!!!! VTEC Power !!!!
Powered by HONDA
Powered by MUGEN

typescl@yahoo.com

tel1sps

Do ya really lose that much in gas mileage?



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2001 Silver 3.2CLS
-Muds, Spoiler, Hardwire 8500, Prolarg M-6 lamps
Planning: Comptech Headers, Sways, CAI

Chief F1 Fan

if you want 730's, call John at tirenet: 888-261-9566. I got 16's for 104 delivered for my gsx.

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'01 Satin Silver CL-S, tint, Momo Cobra Carbon, Mobil1, V1, 19169's

NY Lic.- F1 FAN
Future mods: Comptech springs, sways & headers
17" wheels (Heidfelds, Racing Harts or Volks) with S-02's
aerokit?

1995 Mitsu GSX, no mods
NY Lic.-I LV F1

JZ

You all may think I'm nuts, but when you put on fatter, stickier tires you dramatically increase the amount of rolling friction to be overcome and you spend more gas!!

Why do you think Michelin has Energy compounds--they are specifically developed compounds that are fairly hard to give better gas mileage. I'm sure they are part of the reason the CLS has the stated gas mileage numbers it does.

When I had stock tires I would get 300 miles/tank before the light came on almost religiously. With the new tires I was geting a bit over 270. With the addition of the CAI I am back up to around 290 miles per tank.

Try it and see for yourself. I too was quite shocked.

------------------
Black/black CLS
Comptech headers, springs, swaybars
Koni yellows
PIAA 19169 road lamps
Solaris Hi beams
Potenza RE730 225/45/17
Red AEM CAI
35% mirror tint next

Chief F1 Fan

To lose 30 miles per tank would be a small cost IMO to gain the performance our cars are capable of in return.

------------------
'01 Satin Silver CL-S, tint, Momo Cobra Carbon, Mobil1, V1, 19169's

NY Lic.- F1 FAN
Future mods: Comptech springs, sways & headers
17" wheels (Heidfelds, Racing Harts or Volks) with S-02's
aerokit?

1995 Mitsu GSX, no mods
NY Lic.-I LV F1

Chrisbert

What JZ is referring to is known in the business as "rolling resistance". Think of it as the miniscule difference in the amount of energy required to "unstick" the tire from the road surface, but that miniscule difference multiplied by the number of revolutions the tire must make...say in 300 miles, that would be 233,984.5183308459 revolutions. It can make a difference.

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01 CL-S San Marino Red/Black, K&N drop in, no nav, rear wing, otherwise stock thus far, has an appetite for Bavarian cars.

DrJeckle and Hyde

OK, Dr's simple stock vs. sticky tire simulation project:

Required materials:
1. empty toilet paper roll (no t/p on it)
2. some Teflon tape (Plumber's tape -- white and really slick)
3. some double sided sticky tape

Take a toilet paper roll (with out the paper):

Cover the entire roll with Teflon tape, now roll it back and forth on a table or get a plank and see how easy it rolls down an inclined plank.

NOW cover the entire roll (after removing the Teflon tape) with double sided sticky tape. Put IT on a table or on the inclined plank. Notice how it sticks and is hard to push. If it is put at the top of the incline, it just sits there.

IT IS JUST like the tires. The stock tires are just like Teflon -- they are easy to roll but slide all over the road (ok, not that much)

The sticky replacement tires are like the roll with a layer of stick-um. They stick like crazy for: stopping, starting, and cornering, but they take more power to roll.

Count on loosing about 10% of your gas mileage. You will gain more than 10% stick.




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Dr's car's is stealthy -- able to sneak up on unsuspecting victims

goldn1

droideka/jz-

any plans for snow tires for the winter instead of the Potenza's?

I keep reading reviews saying they aren't the least bit safe in the snow...

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2001 Acura CL Type S, black/ebony, spoiler, 35% tint, V1, comptech springs, weather mats, polarg m-6 road lamps, piaas everywhere else
aim:silvn1
goldn1

JZ

I don't plan on getting snow tires. We have been having very mild winters for quite some time now and when it snows I just stay in. But, don't be fooled into thinking that the Potenzas are any worse in the snow than any other Z-rated, fat low profile tires--they are all going to suck. But, to be safe you do want to get heading home as soon as snow starts just to be safe--they are no good in the snow at all, trust me.

------------------
Black/black CLS
Comptech headers, springs, swaybars
Koni yellows
Polarg M6 road lamps
Solaris Hi beams
Potenza RE730 225/45/17
Red AEM CAI
Denso Iridium plugs
35% metallic tint

JRock

Man if i had a set of those, I'd park with my front wheels crooked so I could intimidate people with the tread pattern.


-J

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2001 CL-S Aegean Blue/black interior spoiler, wheel locks, no-navi
Stock for now.
50% tint sides, 35% back.

Chris

damn this post is old.....

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Acura 3.2CL Type-S w/ Navigation
Black/Ebony

H&R Sport Springs | Pirelli P7000 Supersport 235/40ZR17 on stock rims | Neuspeed Tower Strut Bar | Custom CAI | Cleared Headlights, PIAA 19169 | Tint all around | Mesh Grill | Dual 12'' Alpine Type-S Subs | Kenwood KAC-728S Amp | RÄZO real carbon pedals

Caddyİ

So, CAI actually does Increase your Gas Mileage, provided your NOT always @ 4500RPM + COrrect ?



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2001 CL-S Silver
Comptech Headers
Comptech Sways
14 % Tint
Viper 550 Alarm