robnalex

About 5 months ago I purchased 4 new Pilot Sport A/S tires, and have had a series of problems with pulling. Michelin had replaced 3 or 4 of them and we got things so the car was tracking pretty straight. And yes, we've done alignments and other troubleshooting.

Recently I hit a pot hole and damaged a tire which Sears replaced with a new one, and once again the car is pulling hard to the right.

At this point, Michelin is willing to replace all 4 tires with the tire model of my choice, but say they cannot guarantee that I won't have similar problems if they replace with the Pilot Sport A/S.

Any suggestions? (And please, don't be cute and recommend other than Michelin, since Michelin is willing to replace all 4 tires.)
I've looked at Pilot MXM and MXM4. The closest size in the MXM is 225/45/17. Will that work?

chikai

huh...MXM4 is the one that comes on the car OEM. They are horrible tires.

what size Pilots were you running. Could it be that they were the wrong size and they didn't fit correctly.

robnalex

Size is correct: 225/50/Z17.

Scooter

interesting...this is the 1st case i've heard of with these tires...i've had mine on since March with no issues...same sizes and everything...who did yer alignments and other troubleshooting???

Zapata

go with pilot sports They are super gripy!!

chikai

maybe you have a bent rim???

Dave

I switched from the stock tire size to 235-45-17 and have been very happy. You could try that size and they will fit on the stock rim.

robnalex

Alignment was checked by both my Acura dealer and a local independent honda shop I trust.

But I've got to make a decision. Michelin is pushing to replace with MXM4, which are the stocks most of us got with our cars. I threw away a perfectly good set of those to get better performance, so I really don't want to go there. Nobody has anything good to say about those tires.

I'm leaning toward having them replace all 4 with the same Pilot Sport A/S. I figure if I still have trouble I can sell them on eBay and try something else.

Any suggestions are welcome.

robnalex

It would help to know if anyone else driving a CL-S with Pilot Sport or Pilot Sport A/S has trouble with pulling (to the right) or drifting. Are you guys saying your cars track pretty straight with these tires?

Scrib

No problems here with the 225/50 Pilot A/S.

They've been great so far.

BigPimp

Something tells me its not the tires, but I could be wrong.

Pilot Sports are one of the best ranking A/S sport rated tires out there. I think something is up with your car, maybe you should look into that.

robnalex

If the wheels are OK and the alignment is OK what else is there to check?

EricL

Is the car new or used?

If it is used, can you get someone to check car's frame and see if it’s damaged?

You didn't mention the size of the A/S tires...

Scooter

same as most of us...225/50/17

i don't have a prob with pulling in any direction...i just have rubbing problems when i turn the wheel, and that's on a CT drop

robnalex

The car was purchased new. The tires are 225/50/Z17

Scooter

what speeds does it pull at????

does it happen at WOT??

dmcconnell

I have about 23 K on my Pilot Sport A/S and these are definitely the best all-season tires I have ever purchased. For $200 a pop they should be the best!

You mention the alignment was checked. Did you have the wheels for being bent (or warped) ?

robnalex

Hey, Scooter-

Pulls at all speeds. Don't know what "WOT" is?

Just got off the phone with Michelin. They are going to replace all 4 with new pilot sport a/s, and unless one of the replacements is clearly defective, I've got to live with 'em.

Prior to this last replacement the car was tracking pretty straight. And these tires are more sensitive than most to road slope and characteristics, which is OK, but with the last replacement tire the car would head straight for the curb if you take your hands off the wheel for 2 seconds.

Wish me luck. If this new set doesn't work out I may me posting here with 4 new pilot sport a/s tires for sale!

robnalex

We checked the wheels- they are all perfectly true.

Scrib

How is the tire wear at 23K???


robnalex - Costco couldn't balance my tires for a shit, nor could another tire shop. I ended up getting them balanced by one of those hi-tech balancing machines. Paid close to 100 bucks for the balance, but it cured my vibration problem.

This isn't meant to sound stupid, but were the tires balanced properly? Costco's machine wasn't calabrated properly, and the other shop had 16 year old kids doing the job.

robnalex

Scrib- Although one might be skeptical of a Sears automotive shop, the manager here knows what he's doing. And they have the equiptment to balance on a "flange" to center the inside of the wheel perfectly. But bad balancing doesn't result in the pulling problems I've had, but will cause the vibrations you experienced.

robnalex

Scrib- Does your car track pretty straight? In other words, on a straight flat road, can you take your hands off the wheel for say, 5-7 seconds before the car starts to drift right or left?

dmcconnell

Scrib,

How is the tire wear at 23K??? Tread is almost done. I figure I will get ~28K miles from them. Some would try & get 30K - 35K out of them, but the performance falloff at the end of the tire's life is too great for me.

Scrib

Yep, no problems what-so-ever. The car will track perfectly, each and every time.

Scrib

Damn, I was hoping to get more out of these badboys. I've only got about 5K on them. Look brand new still.

EricL

I mentioned the SSR Competitions (17" x 8" +48 offset) + Comptech springs + Toyo 235/45-17 T1S + Konis caused rubbing. The change to 225/45-17 T1s stops the rubbing problem that you describe. With the above-mentioned setup, the addition of the Konis – in place of the stock factory CLS shocks -- changed the suspension enough to cause the front tires to rub on the front wheel wells.

It seems that the CLS is very sensitive to tire height. Calc the difference between the following: 225/50-17 vs. 215/50-17 and 235/45-17 vs. 225/45-17. I believe a tire with a smaller rolling radius and diameter would help if it has a robust load rating (Perhaps a 245/40-17 would fit without rubbing on a carefully sized wheel even if the car was lowered a bit.)

A slightly beefier bump stop replacement might come in handy for certain applications!