Hi,

We ordered a 2013 RDX (amber brownstone, AWD + tech package) 2 weeks ago, with an estimated 4-8 weeks until delivery.

While we're waiting I was pondering tires. When the OEMs wore out on our '03 I replaced them with directional (Bridgestone Potenza) tires and was impressed with the imrovement (much quieter, better traction, slightly better fuel economy). I also had directional tires fitted to our other car a couple of months ago with similar results, so was thinking of having alternative tires fitted to the RDX from new rather than waiting 4 or 5 years (at the low mileage we do).

There don't seem to be many choices in the appropriate size at the moment, and those that there are must be too new to have any reviews out yet that I've been able to find. So, I was wondering if any of you have had alternative tires fitted? Failing that, any thoughts on performance of the OEM tires?

From our test drive, the OEMs seemed to be ok (dry traction, which to be fair is 99% of the time in NM), in as much as you can tell so briefly, but the road noise did seem surprisingly loud, certainly louder than the TL with the Bridgestones.

Thanks for your help, and I'm looking forward to becoming part of the community in a few (hopefully) weeks!

Paul

 

Paul....congrats on your new RDX! I've had mine since last Sat. It's pretty darn nice.

You're right about the tire size. 235/60/18's are not plentiful at the moment. Why they chose that size.....well, I guess they're in "bed" with Michelin!! The Michelins that are on there are an excellent tire. They are Primacy MXM4 M&S tire....that are expensive. Go to Tire Rack.com and look them up. They also tested them and you can read about them and the comparison test they did with other brands.

You can call Tire Rack and talk to a tire pro. They are great. I don't know if you know much about them, but, they have their own test track, and a small fleet of BMW's that they use to test all the tires they sell. You get the straight scoop. They don't have " a dog in the hunt" and will guide you and are very honest...I feel....and I've purchased tires and wheels from them over the years.

One thing I have learned is that the Continental DWS tire is EXCELLENT!! I've got them on my '12 Accord Cpe. BUT.....at this time they don't make that size for the RDX. If they do sometime soon...I would HIGHLY recommend them. They are quiet, ride great, and are rated for some long tread life.

I had the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tire on my '11 CRV. They were great! I still have them mounted on Acura TSX A-spec wheels.
So, these RDX tires are very similar. Mine were rated for super high performance. The RDX tires are not quite the same speed and strength rating....but, I think I would leave them on....I am, until next year...and by then I'm hoping Conti will have this tire size. I could go to 255/55/18's..they have the exact same size diameter, which is 29"......but, I'm not going to do that this time. Done it before on other vehicles.

I hope this helps.

 

The stock michelins are very quiet. I don't think the expense of switching tires will be worth the benefit.

I run Blizzaks in the winters, which are directional, and I find that only being able to rotate them back/front isn't optimal for long tread wear and noise. The outside edges always wear more and impact the ride and noise level.

 

I like non-directional tires so I can cross rotate every other rotation for longer treadlife, even wear, and noise control. My front driver side tire seems to wear more compared to rear passenger side tire (mostly on the outside tread where most of force is applied during turning right and the extra weight of the vehicle/driver). I seem to turn right more compared to left in my daily commute back/forth to work (Right turns 12 times and left turns 9 times in the 16 mile roundtrip). Just having a front/back rotation is not enough for tire longevity if you have driving habits similar to mine.

I had directional tires on my TSX and I had to replace them early because the outside tread on the driver side wore down too quickly (I hit the corners a little too hard over time with Bridgestones pole positions + Progress RSB + A-spec suspension). Went with non-directional Conti DWS on both TSX and RDX.

 

For OEM tires, they aren't bad, but they are not as quiet as either the Bridgestone directional tires I had on the TL, or the Michelins on our Mustang. I had almost 30,000 miles on the Bridgestones and saw absolutely no signs of uneven wear (there is less than 10,000 miles on the Mustang's Michelins so its a bit early to tell, but so far they look fine).

I've had great results with directional tires so far (and I think both the X3 and Q5 have directional tires as OEM) so can only hope that by the time it comes to changing tires on the RDX there are a few more options.

 

 

Some of the OP's positive experience with tire replacements could be due to having swapped for a higher quality tire as a replacement. I had a Ford Escort GT back in the 80's that wore Goodyear Eagle GT tires. One caught a nail in the sidewall after the first few hundred miles so I replaced it at a local tire shop with another Eagle GT. After a few thousand miles I noticed the wear was really getting to the original tires but the replacement was holding up like new. I asked the guy at the tire shop about this and he let me in on the reason for this...Tire manufacturers make different compounds for OEM purposes and sell tires with the same model name aftermarket. The aftermarket tires of the same brand/model are almost always better than stock...chalk it up to cost savings for the car manufacturer.

 

You're supposed to flip 'em on the rim every other time.

Most places got lifetime rotation and balance..so you'll just have to pay for the mount once in a while.