aGenKa

anyone drive around in this tropical storm/hurricane?

if so, what were your results?
what tires were you running?

Brokedoc

I was driving when the remnants of the last hurricane flooded NY a couple of weeks ago and I had no traction problems with my Falken 512s.

rets

I had problems to control my EL42s in Nov while driving in super thunderstorm in TN, from Nashville to Memphis.

neuronbob

We got almost three inches of rain where I live today as leftovers from Ivan, but I had absolutely no traction problems with my Falken 512s either. Do you have the POS EL42s?

JetJock

Just got Michelin Pilot Sport PS-2's. I got caught in the worst thunderstorm I've ever seen. The rain was pouring down so fast that the wipers wouldn't even keep the windshield clear. I eventually pulled over under a bridge, but before I stopped driving in this insane weather, I checked out the tires at approx. 70mph. These tires are just awesome, I had no control issues, the car drove steady with no hydroplaneing, and the "feel" of the car was great....the car felt in control the whole time, and as I applied the brakes to slow down, the ABS never kicked in. All I can say is these are some great tires, and seem to be "synergestic" with the suspension on the car....they work "together" like no other tire I've ever driven.

aloedesign

I just got my 04 TL on Thursday. I drove my coworker home after a tornado hit one of the buildings at work yesterday. I have the EL42's and they worked absolutely fine. I think you guys are making too big a deal about these tires. My sales rep told me they were fixed within the first 3 months of the car's release, and I decided to give them a try, despite all the complaining that goes on about them here. So far, I've driven from Ohio to DC, and up a mountain on wet roads. They obviously aren't racing tires, but they are fine for me, and probably 95% of TL owners. They just earned a bad rep and it stuck.

mwm

I drove home from work Thursday afternoon in central Georgia as Ivan storms pounded us. I have stock EL42s and i had no ploblems.

berlinrl

I have the orignal EL42s on my car and I'm also a Pittsburgher.

I drove home from work yesterday, around 4:30 from Churchill to Gibsonia on turnpike.
I am not comfortable driving over 55-60 in these tires in such heavy rain, as I've already
experienced some serious hydroplaning in the car.

Any advice on replacement tires ? I want an all-season tire that will be good in the snow
and hills of W. PA. I currently have 6300 miles on my TL.

aGenKa

berlinrl, let me know what you come up w/, i've called numerous stores in the area, almost none give any value to used tires.

2 tires everyone seem to recommend:
falken 512
michilen pilot sport a/s

johnny_software

Pittsburghers: I drove from Indianola to Point Breeze on Friday the 17th at around 4:30 and it was TERRIFYING. Of course, I was in a rental Suzuki Aerio "graciously" comped to me by my dealer while my TL was having a paint flaw fixed. I swear that thing had ten inch tires or something. But don't get me wrong, I'm grateful I didn't have to wade the TL through the flood. Especially on the Turanzas

rets

Maybe ppl could save those old EL42s. Just MAYBE.

If 05TL does come out with new standard tires (not EL42s), maybe, some dealers would say OK to swap tires for you... JUST MAYBE.

AcidHorse

What? No results with the RE030 HPT's in the rain? I have yet to drive in rain on mine.

SilverSpike

I decidend to buy a TL for lots of reasons, but on all of my test drives, I was pretty disapointed in the lack-luster handling characteristics.

After a month an a half of VERY FRUSTRATING and worthless waiting for SSM/Quartz/Navi to come in to San Diego, CA, I was in San Antonio & decided to stop into Gunn Acura (AWESOME DEALERSHIP!!) to see what they had. Bingo! They had exactly the car I wanted (for $2000 less than I'd have had to pay in San Diego.) I bought it immediately.

I drove home accross west Texas through a two-day rainstrom and was white-knuckled the whole way. The hydroplaning and total lack of control for much of the trip was so terrible that I couldn't drive over 45-50 MPH... and yes, I was apparently the only one with this problem. Other cars (even trucks) were flying by me at incredible speeds.

I was having serious buyer's remorse over the my purchase of my TL.

Upon arrival in San Diego, I immediately went to the dealership nearest my home & office. Since I hadn't purchased it from them they had no sympathy WHATSOEVER for my plight. I was devastated. But I remembered reading some complaints about the stock tires on this forum. I logged on and read everything I could about tires. I read independant (non TL owners) reviews of the most popular replacements on this board.

Was not thrilled at the prospect of investing a bunch of money to replace the tires in a brand new car, but decided I really had no other choice. Discount tire had some awesome 18" wheels & a great price for the Michelin Pilot Sports, plust agreed to buy the POS tires that came on the car! They even offered to let me try the Michelins for a week, & if I wasn't happy, they'd reverse the whole deal & take back the Michelins for a full refund. What did I have to lose?

An hour later they were installed on my TL. I drove out of Discount Tire & took them for a rigorous run up to Julian, through twisting mountain roads and I have never looked back.

The Michelin Pilot Sports absolutely changed the whole feel of the car, I know that's partially due to the larger 18" wheels and lower profile of the new tires, but the difference is just astonishing!

I can fly around corners and curves at scarey speeds and these puppys won't give the slightest squeek. These are sticky tires! Like Velcro, they stick to the road!

Day to day handling at freeway speeds is nimble and sure-footed, I feel 100% more confident in the safety of this car with the Pilots. They're much quieter and sacrifice none of the comfy ride the TL is known for.

Now let's talk about the rain. Whether a first light sprinkle on oily and dusty secondary highways, or a heavy downpour on the freeway at 75 MPH, it's as if it's not raining at all. I've encountered a few heavy rainstorms will out of town, and have not experienced any hydroplaning at all. None.

I've had the car just over five weeks, but have put over 3,500 miles on it already. Puting the Pilots on my TL was the best investment I ever made. It has revolutionized the whole experience of driving this car, which, btw, is now the best driving, best handling, most comfortable and favorite car I have ever owned.

My suggestion? Driving on the EL42s is a scarey and unpleasant at best - and could be dangerous. Pick out new wheels (18" is perfect) and buy the Pilots BEFORE you buy the TL. Then drive straight to the tire store and have them put on. You will be a happy TL owner!

criss

I drove from DC to my parents house north of Pittsburgh last Friday. I have never seen so much rain at one time. There were places flooded that I thought were too high to get that much water. For those of you in the Pittsburgh area I hope you all made out OK.

I switched out the EL42 for Falken 512s in August so I was not worried about traction or lack of it. My main concern was making sure the water I was running through was not high enough to get sucked into the stock air intake. I came up 422 and 28 and they were both flooded and covered with mudslides. Within an hour after I got to my parents both roads were shut down. The image of boats sitting in the fountian on the Triangle was astonishing!!!