Anyone have experience with these tires? I'm in a 2016 TLX SH-AWD now. Interested in jumping on the A-SPEC but I'm not that enamored with the Eagle LS2 on the TLX now...

 

I've had two new cars come with RS-As, in both cases they were so bad I yanked them off the cars before they had 500 miles on them. Absolute crap tires.

 

That's another $1K to replace tires. I would try negotiating that into the deal when purchasing. I read someone negotiating on one of these forums having the dealer swap them out before purchasing.

 

I've been a long time buyer of tires from Tire Rack. They don't have a dog in the hunt. They are honest and open and test all the tires they sell. They have a dry/wet track in South Bend, IN and a winter track in Europe.
You can call and ask one of the techs what they know about a certain tire...compared to another etc. They do tell it like it is. They've also had to drive their BMW's with different tires on their tracks.

They also show all the comments from owners of whatever make of tire...and what vehicle they own, etc. Then there are owner's ratings. Plus you can read how that tire tested against a same level of A/S tires.

The RS-A...does NOT look good. It's way down on the list of similar tires in that group and many people do not like them. I've never owned them...and from what I've learned I would take them off and put on the
Michelins of my choice. Expensive I know to have to do that....but, OEM tires just are not the "top of the line" tires a manufacturer makes. If you can make a deal during the buying process good, but, I've played with that
issue more than once. If they take your tires....they are USED....and they go in to the Parts Dept. Then they will find, usually, a USED vehicle on the lot that could use them. You won't get much at all for them, 'cause again,
they are considered USED tires. That's how the industry of tires works. To us...we say..."but, they are brand new...10 miles on them." Makes no difference....they are USED tires.

 

Totally agree that Tirerack is best source for ratings. Over the years, generally the brands that usually are highest rated within most categories seem to be:
1. Michelin
2. Pirelli
3. Continental
4. Everyone else
There are exceptions of course. Those top three also are selected as OEM for most premium/ultra-premium vehicles (N/I off-road). Would have preferred Honda select Michelin for RDX intro. Bean counters always have influence. At least the Conti's on non-A-Spec are rated fairly high.

 

I used to be a big time Conti tire guy. But, after 2 incidents with them....I've gone to Michelins...high end ones. I had a sidewall Conti crack open, and another literally explode in to shreds...wife driving about 35-40 on a newly
paved city street. Very low miles on that one. Now, what caused it?....no way to tell since she couldn't pull off, but, limped with a crawl to a gas station not far away. Of course that helped destroy the tire more, but, she had
no choice. She saved the wheel too! Wow, I was proud! LOL! Couldn't park it in the driving lane. But, both those issues just turned me off of Contis. Right, wrong...indifferent...it was my choice and I feel better buying high end Michelins. And even the Tire Rack guys said,
they have better luck with the MIch. than Conti's.. have had sidewall issues with the Contis. They don't like admitting to that much, but, they will be honest when pressed and tell you what they have seen and heard.

 

Acura used to include Michelins as the OEM tires on many of its vehicles. I would greatly prefer those over Goodyears or Contis. My A4 came with Pirellis, which is the first time I have had them. I have been pleased with them so far.

 

Yes, Honda Motor Corp. must of bought many train loads of Primacy MXM4's.....which were std on Gen 2 RDX's.....as well as other Honda/Acura products. That's an OK Mich. tire....but, not their best. I'm running them now
on my '17 RDX. If I don't trade for a '19...I will replace them before winter with their top Mich. Still have lots of tread left, so I leave them on as a good "trade tire" to have. Which is, was the stock tire it came with anyway.

 

 

RS-A's suck pretty hard. I drove on them for year before the hydroplaning got too bad even at 60% tread, they are garbage.

 

Well, it seems the praise for RS-As is pretty universal.

 

I'd love to know the background leading up to Acura speccing the RS-A. There are many better all season performance tire options. I could understand it if the RS-A was a top performer, had a high tread wear rating, or was especially efficient/LRR, but it's none of those. You'd think the engineers would have some say. So how does it happen? Purely based on Acura's bulk price?

 

i think it is based purely on bulk price. Acura has been using low rated Goodyear tires on the TLX ever since it was introduced in 2014.

 

I suspect you're right. It's amazing how manufacturers don't seem to care how frustrated owners get with the OE tires, but they go out of their way to find room for a dozen cup holders, and to one-up their closest competitors on the number of LED ambient light color selections.

 

 

What has always baffled me about the RS-A was the retail price for replacement tires; back when they came on a 2009 model I bought, they were something like $250 per skin from TireRack; I replaced them with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss for roughly $160 per. To think they could ask that much for such a crappy tire, much worse than even some of their own lesser expensive tires, and keep a straight face, just cracks me up.

 

 

This just seems odd. Will have to confirm, but it seems like only the A-Spec version is getting the RS-As. Advance seems to be sporting Continentals and the NAIAS Tech version had the Goodyear F1s. I guess I have a year to figure out what to do.

Edit: Looks like both Base and Tech get Continentals.


Base


Tech

 

That's correct, and it was documented in the press release. The 20" Accessory wheels should have the RS-A's also.

 

I actually like the looks of the 19" Glint Black alloy rims better than the A-Spec 20" Shark Gray wheels. Considering the A-Spec tire combo gets 1 lower hwy mpgs and the OEM Goodyears are not that great, the dealership might do a 1-for-1 swap with the 19"?

 

So is the general consensus here that the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (255/45R20) is the preferred tire for this car, considering that it's for normal use in the Northeast US?

Tire Rack has them for $915 for 4. I am thinking of getting a price from the Acura Dealer for these. I doubt they would offer any credit for the Goodyears. If money does not allow, I may have to just wear out the Goodyears myself first.

 

The A/S 3+ a great tire if you're looking for performance all-season. The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 is a darn good tire, too, and it should save you some money. The Michelin Premier LTX is a more comfort-oriented all-season tire. It's what I chose when I was shopping recently

 

 

 

I have a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 in 255/45R20 on my 1g RDX right now. These are fantastic tires with plenty of grip. Noise level is good but the 1g RDX isn't known to be quiet so that doesn't mean much.

 

20 years ago, I had a Pontiac with Eagle RSAs.
They sucked and I replaced them with Michelin Pilot A/S (first gen). Loved them but, they didn't last long.

My TLX came with Goodyear Eagle LS2s. They were quiet and rode nicely but, were total s**t in rain and snow.
Replaced them with Continental ExtremeContact DWS-06.
They've been great for 30,000 miles.

My RDX has the Conti CrossContact Sport LX. The reviews aren't stellar but, I'm hoping they're OK.

Acura dealers have been pretty flexible with the TLX on swapping out the Goodyears for Michelin A/S 3+ if the customer presses the issue.
I would definitely have the conversation about the ASpec

 

I don't think I saw it here...

Can someone confirm which tires the Advanced trim comes with?

 

^ Conti CrossContact LX

 

Thanks for such a quick reply.

Would this be the same regardless of which wheels I select with the car? There are several sizes and choices...

 

I'm not sure what you're asking. That said, different diameter wheels will absolutely require different sized tires.

 

All 19" packages have the same Continental tires -- at least at launch.

 

Sorry.
the question was whether the Continental tires come with the Advanced trim regardless of the wheel selection I make.
If I choose the larger, upgraded Diamond Cut wheels, for example, would they come with the same model of tires, just in the different size to match the wheel?

 

No, the 20" accessory wheels would have the A-Spec's Eagle RS-A's.

 

Has anyone gotten a deal on ordering/buying the car with different tires? Should one expect a dealer to make such a deal and take back the Goodyears?

 

So, would you guys take a $300 credit on the goodyears and paid $700 to get, let's say, a set of Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport?

 

I just got a deal from my dealership (I haven't taken delivery of the car yet, 2-3 weeks away still), and they offered to match the TireRack price on the Michelin's or Continentals discussed above, give me $150 per tire for the RS-A's, and I pay for the mounting and balancing.

I said "YES!"

 

Good call!

 

Great to know this can be done.

 

Acura is likely paying less for the Goodyears.

 

The last car I bought which came with RS-As was delivered with those tires; the day I drove the car home I ordered a new set of skins and had my dealership do the swap for free (this had been agreed upon when I bought the car). I then took the tires home and listed them on Craig's list; given the high relative price for new RS-As I figured I'd sell them one by each to someone who'd hit a piece of road junk and needed one tire. Some guy came by the very next day and bought all four for more than I paid for the new rubber. Go figure.