Idiot queston here... I'm not a car enthusiast in general, but I'm in love with my TL 6MT

I've been reading a lot of negative comments about the stock tires that come with the TL -- people are referencing a Bridgestone EL42

My confusion is that I'm not able to match this model number up with anything on the website. The spec sheet ont the TL says they're "P235/45R17 93W Bridgestone Turanza All-Season"

When I bought my 6MT, the dealer put on the optional high-perf tires for me (free).. listed on the website and the invoice as "235/45R17 93W Bridgestone Potenza High-Performance"

Help me understand what I bought and how that fits into the complaints that are being generated about these tires. =)

 

The standard tire for 5AT and 6MT cars is the Bridgestone Turanza EL-42, which is the one causing the problem for some people.

The optional high performance tire you got, the Bridgestone Potenza, has not had any problems reported by owners, to my knowledge,

So drive and enjoy and be glad you got the better tire without the problems.

 

I had to pay for my 030's, but they were worth it. They grip like glue and at 6K miles are holding up well with minimal noise. There are many much better performance tires out there, but these are not bad. One thing about the HPT's is they have a wider tread than the all seasons and a good rim protector. Also I have had no problems with vibration or flat spotting. In Utah just DON'T drive them in the snow. I have heard they are awful in the white stuff.

 

I've already discovered they're horrible in the snow. I bought some nice (expensive) Blizacks that I've been having a good time with since I bought the car in January. They're performing really well in the snow. However, it's time to put the good ones on and I wanted to make sure I wasn't headed for trouble.

The dealer wouldn't sell me the stock tire on this car (which may be why they threw in the upgrade for "free"). Maybe they knew something about the stock tire too.

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

I, too had a dealer throw in the summer tires for no charge. I had heard the stories here, and told him I was looking for the sport tires, and the only 6mt in silver/ebony they had had the all-season tires, so they swaped them.

Are the summer tires really crappy in the snow?

 

Yes, I drove the high-perf summer tires in the snow for two days before I got into the service center to get my snow tires put on -- they're horrible. You might as well put the car on a pair of skis.

 

I have summer tires on my 2nd gen and in all honesty i see no diff...the car sucks in the snow either way.

 

Did you change out all four, or just the front? I was hoping I could get away with just the front...

 

Yes, you need snows for winter. The summer performance tires get hard in the cold, so they loose grip even if not snowing, untill the tire warms up after 15-20 miles depending on outside temps. Plus the summer has no sipes to get traction on snow and ice, and the grooves are not designed to compress snow to get traction.

Dont risk it unless you like ice skating with a car.