AWP34

I am in the market for some 245/45/18 tires. I have searched the boards and am looking for some tips on places to get the best prices and brands that have the best performance , quiet and comfortable ride, and economical price.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Chas2

Search in the Tires, Wheels and Suspension section. Lots of past advice there. Tires are a compromise, and you have put a stake in the ground, not just say best performance, etc.

Summer or all-season or winter? Then start looking on the Tire Rack and search out what others have said in the sub forum above.

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

You can never go wrong with http://www.tirerack.com/

Continental ExtremeContact DWS

About $150/ea but worth every dollar. Great performance in dry/wet and even snow, long life and little noise.
I've had them for 9k miles so far. Still like new.

1HOT NSX

Pirelli PZero Nero M+S. There is the older and the newer version, take the older - the new is XL (extra load) and the ride is less cushy. Steering response is great, very good in the rain, I've driven on 3-4 inches of snow and they have traction, very smooth ride for the performance and also very quiet. My highest recommendation. Tread wear is very good too.

037

I personally have tried Bridgestone RE960AS and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Pilots are the best imo but also the priciest.

Here is my list for price/performance.

1. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....L&autoModClar=

2. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....L&autoModClar=

3. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....L&autoModClar=

4. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....L&autoModClar=

Rob144

037 - How did you find the transition from the OEM MXM H4s to the Pilot A/S? How would you compare the two, plusses and minuses of the OEMs against the A/S?

037

I've had MXM4 on 3 cars that I owned (standard equipment) for my Maxima, TL and now my RL.

First time I didn't know too much better when I swapped Maxima to Pilot Sport A/S. Immediately I realized that slowing down is for losers and 90 degree turns are now safe.

MXM4s are tires that squeal with little provocation, have poor grip in the wet, and I wouldn't even test them in the snow.

The move to Pilot Sport A/S does give you bout 2mpg hit as they are stickier and cause more rolling resistance.

Rain? No problem! You will not have to slow down from your regular pace with Sport A/S.

In the winter, excellent forward traction, if you try to take a turn at speed you will slide just like anyone else on anything other than snow tires.

Braking looking forward is good, braking and turning on snow at speed...don't recommend it.

Pilot Sport A/S is the best all season tire that I have tried, it also seems to be one of the most expensive.

A cheaper alternative might be either PZeros or the RE960's from bridgestone.

The new Counti's DWS seem like a good choice too even though they are just A A rated and not AA A.

It all depends on your driving style.

If you never exceed the speed limit...MXM4 will serve you well. Did you look at their price tag lately? That's what you pay for a softer tire with a slightly better MPG.

But seriously? the price for them is crazy, I have no idea how anyone can justify it.

db22

I just replaced Pilot Sport A/S with the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. Check Tire Rack. These tires are way cheaper and are very close to the Sport A/S.

037

I'm not sure if you realized this but Pilot's are all season and Hankook are Max Performance Summer.

If Pilot's are still better that would mean Hankook's are garbage. I would hope a dedicated summer tire in the Max category is better than an all season tire.

Plus the tread rating is much lower and they barely have any reviews, no way to know how they hold up long term.

I think Pilot's win this comparison hands down.

db22

From Car and Driver:

Benchmark: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
Ninth: Ling Long L688
Eighth: Nitto Invo
Seventh: Falken Azenis RT-615
Sixth: Yokohama S.Drive
Fifth: BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW
Fourth: Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
Third: Kumho Ecsta XS
Second: Hankook Ventus V12 Evo
First: Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star
Deceptively quick” is a good summation of the Hankook Ventus V12 Evos because they often didn’t feel as strong as they actually were, particularly in the dry. Their fourth-place autocross time wasn’t spectacular, but they did outlap the benchmark Michelin PS2s. Geswein said the Hankooks felt “somewhat soft” and “imprecise,” although they were forgiving, yielding consistent laps with no surprises. Despite that feeling of softness, the V12 Evos somehow managed a second-place skidpad run of 0.93 g and were above average in braking. Hankook just launched a new extreme-performance Ventus R-S3 model, which wasn’t available in time for this test but likely has sharper dry responses.

In the wet, however, the V12s were as sporty and connected as they come, with grip second only to the PS2s’ and the best braking. The Hankooks were extremely consistent, likely because they were so well-behaved, which made them easy to drive quickly. Subjectively, they felt the best around the track, even though their time trailed slightly behind the Dunlops’.

With above-average wet and dry performances, and tying for quietest on the street loop, the V12 Evo is an impressive and well-rounded summer tire. And, at $106, it’s a bargain, too.

I'll let you know how mine work out but I have a few thousand miles on mine and wet and dry are boyh excellent.

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

Not to bash the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S completely but i already had two sets of these tires on my 2003 Nissan Maxima and for the $$$ they cost, i would never buy them again. My brother had them on his Infinity G35 and his experience was the same as mine.

What i don't like:

- Cost is way higher than anything else i've put on my cars in the last 9 years, yet they were not better than some of the much cheaper tires i had. If they were 30% cheaper, then i may consider them again.

- After 50%-60% wear, the Pilot Sport A/S did NOT perform well in wet and they became way too noisy. I drove in some serious rain with these Pilot Sports and with 45% rubber on them, it was scary!! I could not even do 60mph without my car floating left and right. Other cars were going faster than me left and right. Snow traction at this point was non-existent with a FWD car. (Maxima)
2 years later, i drove in the same conditions, same exact road, same car but with General Exclaim UHP tires and @80mph my car was planted to the road. I get the same sure footed feeling with my current ContiExtreme DWS tires and my RL.

- Tire wear is not impressive in my opinion. For tires that are rated at 400+ treadwear, i never got more than 26-27k miles out of them with regular rotation. At close to $200/ea, this is not acceptable.

*** The thing that i really liked about the Pilot Sport A/S tires was the responsiveness and overall handling in DRY weather. Never had a tire that was so predictable & precise in turns. They just stick to the road so well. Too bad they got so noisy when they aged.

My BEST all-season tire so far was the Bridgestone LS-V (discontinued). Extremely solid in rain even with 25% left on them, very quiet, good on snow, lasted for a long time, smooth, responsive and about 25% cheaper than Pilot Sport A/S. Too bad they don't sell these tires anymore. I hear good things about the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity.

037

db22, I based my comments on what you told me and after reading some reviews on TireRack.

Regardless of what C&D says, if you feel Pilot's handled better...then you've got a problem.

jeffL

perfect timing for this discussion as my '06 w/63k miles
on original tires needs help..The Michelin A/S+ was my first choice but I am put off by cost , mpg loss and some of the comments I've seen about reduced performance as they wear.
Tire Rack rates the Conti DWS very high and I see danmm7 agrees. I am also considering Toyo Versado but have not seen enough info on them yet.
I need all season performance including snow but can't stand a noisy tire on a car like ours. Maybe Conti is the winner...

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

So far (9k miles+) Continentals are very impressive wet or dry, yet the price was very acceptable. They show almost no wear. Btw, these tires have build in wear indicators on the center rib that show the letters "D" (dry), "W" (wet) and "S" (snow). As the tire wears down, you'll first loose the "S" (snow traction), then the "W" and finally the "D" letter. I still have all 3 letters on my tires and i am approaching 10k miles. I am not gentle with my car either.

Not sure if this offer is still there but I got a free Panasonic Digi Camera from tirerack when i bought a set of 4 tires. Sold the camera for $100 cash.

Chas2

Good to hear this. My last set of Conti Extreme Contacts were so bad, I could not wait to get rid of them. Very poor in the dry, but quite good in the wet and torrential wet. Very hard riding and noisy tire. Glad to see they remedied all of that.

23109VC

I live in so cal - and will be doing tires in the near future - given that I rarely even see rain... I'm leaning toward a summer tire - we do get rain, and lately we had a ton of it - but in general - we have dry weather 90%+ of the time...so I'd probably rather get a high perf summer tire for better dry grip...

the PS2s are great, had them on a former car, and I was amazed at how much grip they had, and despite being a high perf tire, they still had a decent level of comfort...

any of you guys have experience with summer tires on teh RL and suggest alternatives to the PS2 that might provide similar performance w/out the nasty price tag???

when I replace my tires, I'm changing hweels too. I currently have the $hitty MXM4s on the stocker 17s. I will either go to 18" or 19"s. haven't made up my mind. i think 19s look better, but 18s look fine too and are lss $$ both the wheels and tires..