daverman

OK, after 6100 miles on the TL-S I finally understand what people mean when they say that stock tires suck. I'm starting to notice more and more that the tires start to squeal when I take corners hard. The car itself is hardly leaning or losing control, but the tires are on the edge of their grip envelope. Now I'm not keen on drifting around highway on-ramps, so I definitely think that the stock tires need a lot more grip to match the rest of the car.

typeSmaximum

Yup, the tires do suck. And I think they are all weather, and I live in a hot climate. Anyhow, if I'm changing tires, I think I will get wider and lighter rims also.

Anyone know of ligher wheels, and how heavy these are?

daverman

I think I'll wait for the factory tires to wear out (probably about 40,000 miles or so) before buying new shoes for the TLS. I definitely want all-weather tires because Kansas weather is very unpredictable, and we do get moderate snow here. I don't think I'll change my wheels either, unless I get a really good bargain. Any suggestions?

typeSmaximum

Well either way, these tires must go. I have some yokohama AVS Sport Decibls on my Vette, these have great wet and dry traction, nice thread design, and make no tire noise at all!!

Only other tires I have tried for a perfromance car. Most of the goodyear stuff was not too hot and just over priced.

EricL

The 7" wide rims on the CLS are about 26lbs. The stock tires are not very light considering how wobbly the sidewalls are (I have four of them up the street -- so I know first hand). I believe the 6.5" rims are about 3 lbs lighter (not sure).

The Yoko AVS DBs are going on my wife's Altima (size issue). I've only heard great reports on them.

AS far as lighter wheels, the SSRs on my car weigh about 14 lbs per wheel and Volks (and others) make some nice lightweight forged wheels. Expect to pay $$$ for well made lightweight wheels. (lots of benefits – acceleration, handling, road feel, etc)

Road Rage

Yeah, invest in some 16" steel wheels and get snow tires, and good summer rubber for the rest of the year. I switch over to my SSR's.

If you must "all-season" (which means you have a compromised tire all season) consider the BF Goodrich's and the new Dunlop A2.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

I love it when people say, "Man I can smoke the tires in 1st and 2nd gear". Of course, with those sh!tty stock tires, you could peel out in a Yugo.

Road Rage

I can peel out in my Yugo??!!! Hell, I have been lookling for a reason to dump my TLS and get back in my sporty Yugo ride. Now, I have had some part on order for a while from Milosevic Autoparts...guess that is what happens when one buys a car from a country heading toward civil war.

I hope I do not have the same problem with my Taliban 2000 goat mobile.

BB16

Now thats just a cheesy car

I hear the F15 customized Afganmobiles are going to be a real HOT item also

seotaiji

michelin makes noise tires, I'm plan to change my tires and the rims. Going with kumho, toyo, or yoko. Heard that they are quieter than stock and performance is better.

BMW74

From experience I can tell you that Toyos handle much better, HOWEVER, they are much louder than the stock Michelins! Plust the tread life on the Toyos is questionable in my opinion. I have put about 12K on mine the front tires are worn down.

1000bpm

Anyone had any experience with the Dunlop Sport SP 5000's or the Yoko AVS DB's?

Also will the stock TLS rims take a 215/55/17 tire?? What about a 225/45/17 tire? I'm new to this tire sizing science so bear with my ignorance.

Main objective is to improve the ride quality and reduce tire noise, hence the Dunlops & Yoko's.

BakedWafer

Mine squeal a lot to. They suck BUT will become my winter tires!

edgalang

WHy would you ever want to go to a higher profile tire with the stock TLS rims (I'm reffering to the 215/55/17 comment). People here have already tried the Yokohama AVS db's and can vouch that 235/45/17 wont rub. I myself am going the Yokohama route when it comes down to replacing the OEM Michelins just for the ride quality and noise reductions alone.

jbrown

Here is a simple formula for guesstimating tire size, it is not completely correct since the rim width can play a large factor in actual tire height since the sidewalls may be stretched out or compressed in to fit the rim. Anyway, here it is:

((Wx(P/100)x2)/25.4)+R = H

W = tread width in millimeters (215, 225, 235, etc.)
P = tire profile in per cent (35, 40, 45, 50, etc.)
R = rim diameter in inches (16, 17, 18, etc.)
H = overall tire height in inches

i.e. 215/50/17 = W/P/R = ((215x(50/100)x2)/25.4)+17 = 25.465

The answer will be the overall tire height in inches (or at least pretty close).

If you don't want to do the math, here are a few standards that may fit a TL-S:
205/60/16 = 25.685 (stock TL)
215/50/17 = 25.465 (stock TL-S)
235/45/17 = 25.327
245/45/17 = 25.681
225/45/18 = 25.972
245/40/18 = 25.717
215/40/19 = 25.772
235/35/19 = 25.476

http://www.tirerack.com has some good brand-specific data on the tires they sell.

It is very important to stay close to the factory tire size or else major safety systems in your car could fail, ABS, VSA, VTEC, etc. All of these systems rely on vehicle speed sensors to function properly. Not to mention throwing off the speedometer and subjecting you to the possibility of speeding accidentally instead of on purpose.

EricL

This link will return equivalent tires in varying wheel sizes and profiles; it is an alternative to the Miata tire calc link...

http://www.dsm.org/tools/tiresize.htm

ACURA TYPE S CL

but if u check out the price on our stock tires.that will cost a bit expensive on each one...it is not a zr tires does not mean that tire is suck.however.i do feel our stock tires are pretty cool..at least good for all seasons.

pianoman41

I've got the Z-rated Sport SP 5000's on my '97 Maxima SE and love them. Awesome wet and dry grip and acceptable in moderate snow. Plus they're not that noisy. Best thing is I've got almost 35,000 miles on them (on Z-rated tires!!) and they still have a lot of tread left.

1000bpm

jbrown, edgalang, pianoman41, EricL ..... thks for the feedback.

Am I correct in assuming that the lower your tire profile the more tire noise & road feedback you're going to have? So if you went from a 50 to say a 45 or 35 wouldn't the ride quality suffer considerably.

My dilemna here is that i'm trying to decrease tire noise and improve ride quality. In a perfect world all roads would be glass smooth and you could go with the lowest profile tires possible without thinking twice. The reality is that the the roads around here really suck, not to mention the've decided to dig up half the roads around where I live all at the same time.

So I guess my question is, given the stock TLS rims .... can I play around with tire sizes to improve ride quality? Or am I better off sticking with 215/50/17's?

1000bpm

Are our stock TLS rims 17" or 16.5"??

mike_snyder

I had SP5000s on my Integra GSR. I only put a 1500 miles on them before I sold it, (to get the TLS! ) but I liked them overall. The tires were pretty quiet, good wet/dry traction. I did think they made me feel a little removed from the road though, more like a touring tire than a High Perf. tire, IMHO. They did hold the road well, just noticed a little delayed steering response. It could have been due to the newness of the tire though

jbn

Stock TLS rims are 17" x6.5" in the U.S.
In Canada they are 17" x 7".

bricot

You are correct the lower the profile the more road noise will be transmitted and increased 'feel' of the road surface. The difference between a 50 series and 45 series tires is very noticeable. So if your emphasis is to decrease road noise and minimize feeling every bump in the road, you will be better off staying with 50's. Not to mention if you live around real bad roads, the lower the series of tire, the more likely you are to bend/damage one.

I dropped to 45's and when these are worn out, I will seriously consider going back to 50's.

typeSmaximum

SSRs on my car weigh about 14 lbs? Where can I see a picture of these?

Xorg

I put a set of Falken high performance tires on the my TLS, and the difference is noticable. A bit more road noise, but the grip like crazy.

BlackShadow

Same here. I have Falken high performance tires on my chrome rims and its great. But I still use the OEM rims/tires for the winter.

DJ Iceman

After the stock tires wore out, I put Pirellis on both my Acura and BMW (P6000 Sport Veloce all-season on the CL and PZero on the Bimmer). I have been very happy with the performance, ride comfort, noise level, and wear of those tires. When you go shopping for Yokohamas or Toyos or whatever, take a look at Pirelli, too.