I believe all 2nd gen RDX's come equipped with Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires, which are highly rated on TireRack.

If you have these tires, what's your opinion on them?

 

Glad you posted this. I was just about to ask owners how their Primacy's were holding up. I have only 1400 miles on mine, so it's too soon to comment.

In addition to wear, how is the road noise? I hate noisy tires.

 

I am at 8k and those tires look great. Rotated once at 6k. IMO Michelin makes the best tire and I have used them for years. Different models of Michelin and different cars but I have never gotten less than 70k from a set and never had a tire noise problem. Of course front to back rotation every 6k to 8k and proper front end alignment are critical. Shortly before we got the RDX I spent $900 on Michelins for my Titan pickup. A few months later we had a new roof put on. There are 22,000 nails in a 60 square roof and about 10% seem to hit the ground during tear off. For two weeks we parked in front of the house until I had swept the driveways each evening with a magnet. Proud to say I never had one in the tires.

 

Compared to the Toyo Versado CUV's that I recently installed, I would say they are quite noisy.
I was disappointed with the noise level of the RDX when I first bought it and blamed it on the vehicle. I was wrong, it's the tires.
There was another individual on this forum who did a 19" conversion with these tires and he too remarked how much quieter the vehicle was after the switch.

 

I'm also curious to know how folks find the tire handling capability. Do they feel mushy on corners, or fairly firm sidewalls?

I realize it may be difficult to differentiate tire performance with swaybar/suspension performance.

 

I have them stock on my c300. I have to say I can't wait to get rid of them. They are extremely noisy and the ride is rather rough. The handling doesn't fair well either but I can't say I've ever lost grip with them. They're a set of tires that does nothing great but everything okay. I'd recommend a more specialized set (comfort, sportiness, or weather handling) for the price because these aren't cheap either.

I do enjoy that they've lasted 46k miles so far and could go another 5k-10k.

 

Are you 100% certain that your tires are "Primacy MXM4", and NOT "Pilot Primacy" or "Pilot HX MXM4"? The latter two have horrible reviews and ratings.

Would appreciate if you could double check the tire model, as you're the first I've heard that dislikes the Primacy MXM4. Thanks!

 

I think you are talking about an entirely different tire.
2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 OEM Pilot HX MXM4
2013 Acura RDX OEM Primacy MXM4

 

Tire names are confusing. I had some kind of primacy's on my Inifniti M56, and I wasn't thrilled with them. They were wearing too fast and I thought they were pretty noisy, too. Not sure, but I think they were Pilot Primacy.

 

Yep, I know he is. Have a 2008 C300. The tires on that started out ok, but were noisy like you wouldn't believe after 15K. I got to the point where I refused to drive/ride in the car until my wife had them replaced with a set of Pilot Sport+. Now it's relatively quiet again.

The 2009 Tribute also has OEM Michelins. I forget the model, but these started out quiet but have developed a thumping noise over the period between 30-34K. Now I hate that car too. It's a shame because there's plenty of useful tread left on them.

I either personally rotate the tires or have a shop do it if it coincides with other maintenance on the cars every 5k.

 

My apologies! Just as a reference to everyone in the market for tires, stay away from the pilot hx mxm4 tires!

 

No worries! Glad to hear the Primacy MXM4 is not to blame.

I recall reading very negative reviews from many RSX, RL, previous-generation Accord, etc. owners who had OEM Pilot HX MXM4's.

 

I've got 5800 miles on mine and they seem almost like new. There is no noticable wear on the tires which I always check when I check tire pressures monthly.

I didn't think they are particularly noisy and the handling is fine for the driving I do. I typically do 80mph on my highway commute to work and back and they seem planted and stable. Most of my driving outside of my work commutes is much more tame as I have my dogs with me and don't like to throw them around the back

 

I would agree, I'm also at around 5400 total on the car, less a bit when the winter tires were on, and they are wearing fine. The Winters are Michelins as well, I found both those and the OEM tires are super quiet and the ride is great -- as another poster noted above, hard to go wrong with the higher end Michelins.

Handling is what it is for a small CUV with a higher center of gravity than a sedan, some weight to go with that, and a relatively high profile tire. If you take sharper corners at speed, it's not the most confidence inspiring feeling sometimes....but maybe you shouldn't be driving the CUV like a sports car. Also, I think the body roll contributes more here where it feels that the car is going to lose it -- tires actually aren't making any noise and are getting the job done. I remember reading that most driving is done way below the upper limits that the car magazines publish on skidpad grip/lateral cornering. If the RDX maxes out at probably the high .70's, most of us are probably working in the .4 - .5 range most of the time. Pulling max cornering numbers takes some intestinal fortitude, especially on public roads!

Consumer reports also did a review on tires a few months back, and the Primacy's came out on top as well.

 

Good points.

For clarification, Consumer Reports tested the Primacy MXV4's, not the Primacy MXM4's. The former is a more quiet, luxury-oriented tire but still highly-rated overall in the Grand Touring category.

 

I have over 6,000 miles on mine. Overall it's a very good tire. Have owned them before. I have owned many, many vehicles and have tried to buy the best tire for what my needs are. And I confer each time with the experts at Tire Rack. They don't have a "dog in the game" when it comes to products. They will tell you like it is....if a certain tire is great, good, OK, not so good, or stay away from this one!!!

The Primacy MXM4 and MXV4 are high quality tires, and that's why they are rated very high by all the testing. Are they the quietest....maybe not....but overall they do most everything well. And they got around extremely well this last winter with the heavy snow and icy conditions.

The Michelin HX MXM4 series are NOT that good. These are lousy. It's also a Grand Touring Tire...but, it rates lower than the Primacy series tires.....and what is weird....they are a lot more money. So, overall the Michelin Primacy's are the better tire between those 2. I've also noticed that Michelin tire prices have really gone up in the last year or so!!!!

I have a '13 TSX Spec Ed. and it came with the HX MXM4's. I knew right away that I was going to replace them. I called Tire Rack and discussed what was the hottest, latest, great, all weather tire going.

Continental had recently come out with a new series that topped their testing and all the crew there that tested them were raving about them.
It's the Pure Contact..with Eco Plus Technology.
I ordered them and put them on with the car having less than 100 miles. I'm storing the original Michelins.

These Contis are much quieter, ride much better and their wear rating is much higher. And I love them. They are quiet, and make the TSX ride much better than those HX model Michelins.

So, I'm thinking, when the Primacy's wear down, I will put these Contis on. Well, for now....guess again....they don't make them in the 235/60/18's that are on the RDX!!! At least not yet....I'm hoping they will in the future.

Take care one and all.

 

Just another example that, for tires, like everything else -- more expensive is not always better, even within the same brand name.

 

I don't plan on replacing the RDX tires; but I replaced the same size tires on our XC60(Pirelli Scorpion) with these Goodyears:
http://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/...41349532900000

If you, like me, use your RDX on-road only, the Goodyears were a very nice switch from the noisy Scorpions. High wear rating, low noise, fairly grippy and smooth...I'd take a look at the Goodyears if I had to purchase tires for the RDX. As it is, I think the factory tires are OK...not great wet traction and a little noisy on concrete; but not bad. If we see that we might buy out the lease as we near the end, I'd consider swapping the tires before they're worn out. Otherwise, I'm hoping they still look good after 36k miles.

 

I can tell you that the issue is not with the tires and definitely because of the suspension and RDX design.

As others have pointed out, these tires are very highly rated on tirerack. Not only are they highly rated there, but I have yet to be to tire dealership or a car dealership service department that didn't highly rate and recommend them.

I have had both the MXV4s and MXM4s in both 17 and 18 inch tires on other vehicles before, and they have been excellent and well deserved of their high ratings and reviews.

That tells me the problem lies with the lack of refinement in the RDX's suspension and design. The suspension lets too much road feel come into the cabin (especially on secondary roads) and you get to feel/hear those expansion joints and bumps. There isn't enough insulation letting to much road and wind noise into the cabinet. That isn't the tire's fault, it is the vehicles.

If I hadn't had such great experiences with the Primacy's in the past on other vehicles I might be more suspicious of them but that just isn't the case. I can only imagine how much worse the ride quality and sound would be if the RDX didn't come with such high quality OEM tires.