TL_Type_S

For those of you in the snowbelt .. i.e. the midwest and anything east of the mississipi and above the mason-dixon ..

I need to purchase tires now .. and I wanna get the BEST dry/wet performance w/o KILLING myself in the snow ... i can deal w/ "poor" snow performance, but I don't want "deadly" winter performance...

thanks

civic4982

hmm.. I don't think there's such a thing as high performance tires that work in the snow...

from whta I've read the S03s work GREAT in the rain, though they're not the best summer only tires in dry weather anymore with some of the new companies coming out with newer styles... check out some of the reviews on tire rack ... they've got some good writeups if I remember right.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testSearch.jsp

try that link...

Chief F1 Fan

I live in Bflo and the stock tires get me through OK.

YuppieCL

i hear sumitomo makes a good performance all season tire.
you gotta sacrifice one thing to get another tho.
just get snow tires for the winter months

Scrib

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S

TL_Type_S

maybe I'll just keep my stock tires, .. put the rear ones up front, and do what you guys are saying and use them as winter tires... and get summer tires...

Slimey

I had this same question and went for the Sumitomo HTR+ in 235/45-17. It's received great reviews from places like TireRack as well as here last winter. So far, the summer performace is as good as I would expect for a high-performance all season tire.

I agree that having a separate winter and summer set-up may make sense to some and provides superior tread for the season; however, where I live I don't think it snows enough to justify a separate dedicated setup. On the other hand, it does snow enough to warrant all season tires. YMMV. IMHO...

Before I went looking for tires I was thinking about the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, however after bubbling problems in my stock tires it did not make sense to invest in another Michelin product. Of course, they have received a letter stating the same. I was shocked to read multiple reviews of our stock tire bubbling under a variety of conditions. I'm not buying another Michelin product again, assuming there are other easily available products that equal or surpass their product.

Take a look at the global survey results for the all season ultra high performance tire class on TireRack (TireRack sells and reviews most major brands of tire, except Toyo, Falken, and Nitto). Of the top models, there are some issues to note: 1) the all season version of the Pirelli PZero Nero is not available in a size for our car (damn!); 2) the Continental ContiExtremeContact recently pulled ahead of Sumi HTR+ and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S -- but note there are much less (about 1/4) miles recorded -- so this may be more of a review in evolution.

Here's another review of the Sumitomo HTR+ vs the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and the Pirelli P7000.

Enjoy the reading.

Scooter

SILVERADO

i have 10,000 miles on the sumi's and they are outstanding. don't know about snow.

Shystee

I'm running on Michelin Pilot Alpins during the winter, in Anchorage, Alaska I may add. They work great, and provide a good ride to boot.

Here's the link: http://www.michelinman.com/catalog/t...type=3&tire=10

clscls6s

Continental ContiExtremeContacts. The reviews on Tire Rack are great, even in the snow. Plus, they're very inexpensive. I'm thinking about a set for my modded Jetta Wolfsburg.

Also, there's the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, but they're pricey.

TL_Type_S

I'm leaning towards these Sumitomo's .. they're CHEAP! and they almost handle as well as the nearly twice as expensive Michelins Pilot Sports... what gives??

Now, can I go w/ the 235's, or do I need to safely stick w/ 225/45/17?? since I have the TL-S?

Thanks guys

CLUofI

I think the tire rack ratings are not completely universal especially when it come to completely different price ranges.

One thing is that many people will rate their performance while considering the cost. For example a 100 dollar tire that performes the same as a 250 dollar tire would be rated higher, because for the money they are better.

hemants

If I had to drive one tire all year round it would be the Nokian WR.

It is an all season tire in Finland but performs on par with other H rated snows in the winter (Pilot Alpin, LM22, etc.)

But of course, it is cheaper to buy a spare set of wheels and run seperate snow tires. Yes cheaper!

The time you spend running on $80 16 inch snows instead of 17 or 18 inch performance tires will more than pay for a spare set of wheels)

dogfight

I've used Firestone Winterfire tires on my Maxima, my wife's Caravan and now on my '98 2.3CL - they work really well for me in Vemont - I drive 65 miles a day roundtrip to work - ove some really hairy mountain roads and never been stopped by the weather yet. They are fairly inexpensive and available locally (bought steel wheels to mount them on).

Slimey

You may be right and there may be some cost bias in the consumer reviews, but with respect to the Sumitomo HTR+, these are not cheaply made crappy ass tires. These are quality tires that come at an economical price. As someone else pointed out before, they are essentially the same as the Dunlop SP5000 without a directional tread.

Sumitomo Tire is owned by Dunlop/Goodyear, and they are also merged with Ohtsu which makes Falken.

TL_Type_S -- Neither the Michelin Pilot A/S nor the Sumitomo HTR+ come with the proper load ratings for our car in the 225/45 size. I would (and did) step up to the 235/45-17 size to match load ratings and tire size/rollout (to keep the speedo/odo the same). Of course, you'll be mounting them out of spec if you do it on the stock 7" wide wheel, but many have done that here without incident. I have my tires mounted on 7.5" wheels so they are totally within specifications.

Bluto

What is the required min load rating?

CLS comes with 93. CLP has a 91.

Maybe I need to

Slimey

I cannot tell if you're joking or not.

Your load figures are correct. Most of the tires in the 215/50-17 or the 225/45-17 come with load ratings under 93. The stock MXM also has a re-enforced casing giving it a stock XL rating.

IMHO, I think the load rating consideration is as important as other specs. A tire with a higher load rating should have a stronger casing and hopefully flex less on hard turns. YMMV...

Bluto

Is the original equipment load capacity the required load capacity? Is their a 'required'?

93 = 1433 lbs. 5732 total.
90 = 1323 lbs. 5292 total.

The CL is 3500 lbs. So a properly inflated 90 should be fine? 7.7% less capacity.

Handling, cornering stability, and stiffness/flex will also vary by tire brand/model, not just load rating.

Slimey

I have to when I get home too! I seem to recall the 93 being the 'official' recommendation from Acura (CL-S) from the time I was researching new tires. Somehow I also seem to recall that EricL posted that during his research a conversation with Acura yielded a recommendation no less then a load of 91. Agreed.