Darksyne

So I finally dug out the old 04 TL rims from my dad's garage and got them cleaned and ready to by my new summer rims and after a ton of research and patience I've decided to go with Cooper Tires Zeon RS3-G1 mainly because they were the best bang for the buck.


Shiny Rims



New Cooper Zeon RS3-G1's finally mounted on.

I've currently had the tires on for 2 weeks and about 500km so this is currently going to be a first impressions review but I'll be talking about how the tires performed in Dry, wet, and yes even Snowy conditions (this is Canadian spring after all and it's normal to experience all 4 seasons within the span of a week ). I'll also be providing updates as time goes on with these tires.

Darksyne

Wet Conditions:


It was rainy when I had the tires put on. Much better than the winters.

The first day I had with these tires it was pouring rain so it gave me a good idea on how well these tires handled the wet because I never broke traction while driving when giving a little go on the gas pedal.
These tires kept the car composed at the limits compared to the General Tire Altimax Arctic or Pirelli P7 Cinturato tires I had before on the stock rims. The Pirelli's kept squealing like a pig at the it's limits especially when launching the car and this was before I modified it with a new intake and exhaust.

It does help a ton that I have these tires mounted on larger wheels but I haven't hit the upper limits of these tires just yet but they already seem to have better wet traction than the Pirelli's. But also note that the P7 Cinturato's are also classified as low rolling resistance Touring Tires. I've yet to be worried about losing control in the wet where I'd always worried about the Pirelli's understeering so good sign for these tires.
Not to say the P7's were bad, they were a great and comfortable tire to daily drive in and were great at helping MPG on the highway, but I wanted better handling performance and so far the Cooper Zeon RS3-G1s have delivered.

Darksyne

Snowy Conditions:



Gotta love a freak Snow and Ice blizzard the day after you switch out your winter tires >.<


So much Snow and Ice build up it froze my wiper arms completely!

Oh boy if you lived in Ontario during the April Ice storm 2 weeks ago then you know how bad the blizzard conditions were especially since it happened the day after I put these tires on >.<
Now I will be comparing this to my General Tire Altimax Arctic winter tires since I never drove in the snow with my old Pirelli's and before I mention anything these were SEVERE winter conditions as it was a full on 2 day weekend blizzard and I had work both days...

When the light snow started going to work I noticed the tires performed about the same as wet conditions and the car handled just as well as my Winter tires.
But as the day went on the snow just kept coming and it mixed with freezing rain making it one of the worst possible winter conditions you could drive in and being April, most of the salt trucks and snow plows were already put away so all the streets were never cleared.

Now how did these tires perform? As scary as the drive was going home I was extremely impressed how well the tires maintained traction in all the slush and fresh snow. I drove slow and maintained speed but I never got stuck once and when the tires started to spin I was able to get traction back.
Now these tires were literally running on 100% life so I don't recommend running these every winter because these tires were at their maximum capabilities but considering the severe weather, they did a great job getting me home safely.
Now I've driven in blizzards in my General Tire winters and I did have more confidence driving with those on especially at higher speeds so the Cooper's won't be a replacement for winter tires.

That being said these tires are still capable of driving in winter conditions and get you where you need to go without worrying about sliding around and getting stuck. As long as you adhere to the conditions, keep a slow and steady pace and keep traction control off you will be fine in the snow.

Darksyne

Dry Conditions:



Shiny New Tanabe Exhaust


Some tireshine after a fresh carwash!


Side by side with the new 2018 TLX Elite V6 Loaner Car


Which rear end looks better? ;o

Now all I can say is that this car is FUN to drive around and push with these tires! I can definitely feel 0-60 runs are much quicker with far less wheel spin than the Pirelli P7's and I have the utmost confidence when Cornering at a high rate of speed.
Now bear in mind that I do have a Eibach sway bars in the front and back so the car is more planted than stock and the wheel's are 17inches instead of 16 so that helps a ton.

I've yet to really push these to their limit and I don't take this car to the track yet but I can tell the bar has been raised with these tires.
When I'm not pushing it and drive around normally to work these tires are surprisingly comfy and quiet about the same as the P7's and the steering response has been better than ever, even little turns feel so precise I love it!.
I do get more road feel because these tires are larger and wider but it isn't that bad, considering they handle the bumps very well and only feel only slightly stiffer than the Pirelli P7's but with much bigger performance gains.

Now yes these tires are still at 100% so I will be updating this thread as the tires break in more and wear on but so far I'm very Impressed with these tires.
They're Ultra high performance all season but have performance characteristics of a decent summer tire but with good tread life, comfortable ride, and winter driving capabilities.

For now I highly recommend these tires if you plan on putting performance all seasons on your Acura but not full on summers because of the fluctuations in weather conditions.
I originally wanted to spend twice as much money on Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires but Toronto Summers don't get hot enough, consistently enough to justify spending the extra money on them, as summer tires perform the best in warmer climates and I also need them to work when it gets chilly in the spring and fall months.

Darksyne

Price and First Impressions Verdict:


Breakdown of the Bill for the new tires.

Now I got incredibly lucky with the final cost on these tires as my dad was nice enough to give me his old rims at no cost and they were in excellent condition and I waited patiently enough for the spring tire sale at Canadian Tire.
I was researching for months deciding what tire to get, like I said I originally wanted Michelin Pilot Super Sports but a change in my financial situation has made me decided to shop a little more smarter and they barely dropped in price when on sale (like $20 bucks a tire...) around $920 a set at best.

So I started looking at tires that were around $500-650 a set and I considered Continental DWS-06, BF Goodrich g-force Sport COMP-2, even Firestone Indy 500 summer tires (great summer tires but had to be special ordered).
I was close to getting either the BF Goodrich or Firestone Tires but they were special order tires and never went on sale (I never pay full price for tires) and the Continental DWS got mixed reviews.

Once my co-worker introduced me to the Cooper Zeon RS3-G1 I was impressed with the reviews and the technology they put into those tires. The only thing I was disappointed was that they were made in China so I was wary on the quality as the tires wore so we'll find that out in the future.

The Cooper's were the same price (around $650) as the BF Goodrich COMP-2 and the Firestone Indy500's at full price but once the spring sale started the Coopers were 25% with a $100 mail in rebate which is insanely good for tires this price point so I went with the Coopers and to top it off Canadian Tire was having a 30X bonus Canadian tire money event .

They were $482 for the set making them the second cheapest tires they offered for my rim size and with Labor and additional warranty the bill came to $741. But the beauty of it I had $358 in Canadian tire money saved on my Credit card and I get an additional 17% off my statement (perks of working at Partsource) so the bill dropped to $383 and with the bonus points event I got back $53 Canadian Tire money back on my Card.
I plan on selling my old Pirelli's for a couple hundred bucks so with that and the $100 prepaid visa from the rebate coming in I'm practically paid next to nothing for new Tires and Rims

The deal was just too good I'd be stupid to ignore it otherwise I would've probably gone for the BF Goodrich Tires because they were the only ones made in the USA and they at least offered a $50 rebate.

But even at full price these are an amazing set of All Season tires and performed amazingly well for the money so I highly recommend getting them when they go on sale because of how cheap they get.
The only thing I hate about these tires the most is that they're made in China and I hate the feeling of not putting money back to support the American or European Worker but at least I'm supporting an American Tire Company.

I'll keep you guys posted and update this thread when necessary and give my final verdict once they wear out in a few years but for now I highly recommend checking out these tires, you won't be disappointed.