So, I'm about to buy new tires for my 2003 TL-S. It has stock rims and I have read quiet a bit about the ContiExtreme Contacts and General Exclaim UHP. They seem to be awesome tires for the money, but one thing that concerns me is this load rating thing.... apparently, the car vibrates the first 5-10 minutes because the tires develop flat spots? How bad is it? Is it bad for the car? Is this due to the load rating of those tires being lower: 90W vs 93V?
I would appreciate some feedback. I don't want to spend more than $120 per tire and the other ones in my price range seem like they won't last a long time.
Thanks!

 

I have the generals in 235-40-18 on my 01TL, enjoying their 2nd year of grippy fun
What flat spots?- thats old wives tales,,get in and drive

you are not close to the load rating limits- and dont cruise over 120 that often right?

 

get them balanced at a shop with `Hunter Road Force` machine- thats the ultimate in making them ride perfect
Call a few alignment/tire shops to see who has it

Check prices online and print them out- then go to local tire stores that carry general and they will meet or beat it, and be there when you need them for a nail fix or rebalance in the future.
Online prices sound great till you get to the installer shop and get jacked on that end

When then shop sells the tires and does the mounting- they make enough profit to work with you on the tire price,,they DO have room to negotiate in order to get a sale,,,its all about the sale NOT going across the street to the competition

 

Could it be that the flat spot problem only occurs in the 215/50/17s? Your tires are thinner... maybe that's why you don't notice that...01tl4tl?
Thanks for the recommendations, though. I got a local place to match the price for the Continentals... I am just a little nervous with some people reporting having a hard time getting them to balance.
Anyone else out there using this tires that can give me some feedback?

 

It seems to me that more people here complain about yokohama v4s causing flat spot/balance problems. I've only experienced slight flat spotting, and no balance problems. My only complaint with conti extremes was how noisey they got as they wore. Alignment and regular rotation helps.

 

as a licensed race car driver and crew, I know a little about tires and why they flat spot

Super soft rubber can and does flat spot if parked when super hot- like straight off the race track--you see teams jack the cars up right away..thats why--and to keep rocks from sticking to them and imbedding in the rubber as they cool, those are also slicks- no tread very thin carcass

The generals - while having 320 wear rating- thats low to middle- tires with 220 would be likely to get flat spots as they are much softer rubber compound

For the street driver- if you parked for 3-6 months on any tire there would be an issue.
Overnight or a week- you're kidding right?

Its not the tire size, keep them properly inflated AND have them mounted and balanced at a shop that uses a `Hunter Road Force balancer`- that accounts for anything going on with the tire constuction, rim runout AND will compute which tire should go where on the car for best ride and handling. It puts the wheel weights on the inside-middle area of the rim, not outer edges--the generals are directional-1 way tires so they go on left or right of car,,can be mouted to run on either side,.just dont run them `backwards` or it screws up the water dispersion of the tread pattern

The Generals need 40 psi or close depending on size- use the 80 percent rule

If you did actually feel flat spot- its a minor thup thup thup feel for a few minutes until the tires get warm..a few stop signs and turns..it takes my brakes that long to get some temp too

 

what does tirerack.com have to say about each of the tires?- you can click on a TL icon and it will only show reviews from TL owners--
each brand/model car reacts differently to a tire, so all I care about is what TL owners have to say

Tirerack- which does its own testing at its own track- independant of other influence, rated the general #1 in summer performance tire section--meaning the rubber compound is designed to work best at temps above 32F,,but its rated M&S due to the tread pattern is so good

other tires rated M&S, snow tires, are made with compounds that work well when at or below freezing temp for sustained periods, but they give up super sticky grip and wet braking ability in order to do it

 

That's helpful info. Do you have stock rims?

 

So, I went ahead and got new tires for my car. I ended up buying the Continental ContiExtreme Contacts at Discount Tire. They were nice enough to do the job for a comparable price to what tirerack was selling them.
These tires feel great... I did notice a little more noise than the Michelin's but that's what you get for a tire with better traction in the water... or supposedly so (I still have to drive my car in rain).
Also, the tires don't seem to be that bad in terms of developing a flat spot when sitting for too long. I am in Florida and have had a couple of cold days, so we'll see in the summer.
Thanks to all for your input.

BTW... Continental has a $75.00 mail in rebate for buying selected tires.

 

i had contiextreme contacts for 2 years. I got 35k out of them which I'm told is pretty good. They have very good dry and wet grip. Snow traction in their first year was surprisingly very good. Handling was good. Ride quality was great at first, but the last 5-10k the tires were falling fast and ride quality became poor and handling was crappy. The sidewall was stupid looking. Overall they are good for the money but don't expect them to be the best tires you've ever owned. I now have Yoko V4S tires and they are very solid all around tires with a 500 treadwear rating (60k mile tire) and the sidewall doesn't look stupid. They were $20 more each than the contiextremecontacts at Town Fair Tire.

 

i have general exclaim uhps on type s wheels. just want to warn you they have soft sidewalls and make steering response less crisp and in hard cornering they kind of roll onto the sidewalls. other then that, solid tire, great grip. remember the uhps are summer only tires.

my winter wheels are 205.50.16 conti premier contacts. they flat spot if left for more then 2 days in the cold. it takes over 10 miles to get rid of that shudder. i have had flat spotting with every type of continental tires i have had. i am not sure why i keep ending up with them.

 

Thanks for the info... those might be the next ones I buy... I don't know why, but I read somewhere in the forums that the V4S tires wouldn't last you more than 40k??? really weird... I guess it could depend on the driving style.
Thanks again for the warning about the last couple of thousand miles

 

I agree. The ExtremeContacts have a "funny-looking" sidewall that doesn't quite match a modern, high-performance street tire.

 

friend of mine told me that tires like that can save your life