Just got my new Anthracite/Ebony/AT/Nav. (I'll post pics tomorrow) This is without a doubt the nicest car I've ever had. I had a 95 TL and then an Infinity I30 and this is so much better. The quality of the interior is amazing, and the ride and handling is really a perfect blend of sport and luxory.

Now for the tires. Every one here is right, they SUCK! I had the flatspotting in the morning and the vibration between 50-60MPH. I bet they're all like that and some people just don't notice or don't realize how much smoother the ride is with better tires. I didn't even want to bother waiting for Acura to do something and I didn't want "better" EL42's anyway. Acura would have been much better off just charging a few hundred dollars more for the car and putting better tires on. (My wife's Accord comes with better tires!) I went to discount tire today, they gave me a $65 a tire credit for the Bridgestones and I got a new set of Mich Pilot Sport A.S's. There is NO comparison. Smoth, better grip, better turning and absolutely no vibration.

The nav is great and not at all complicated. Some of the voice commands are actually pretty useful. "play CD #3" for example is faster than trying to use the thumb controls or switching to the audio menu. I could live without it, but it is pretty cool. The stereo sounds great. I like treble and this sounds good to me. It's not as "bright" as some speakers but it's very clean. The subwoofer is especially tight, not sloppy at all. I bought The Coors "In Blue" on DVD-A and it's awesome!

The only things I miss from my Infinity are the auto headlights and the seat moving back out of the way when you take the key out of the ignition. Small things, but they would have been nice.

I'm thinking about either getting chrome rims or "anthracite" colored rims. If anyone has done that, post some pics.

 

Good move on the tires. No BS is the way to go.

Mike

 

Congrats on the car. I haven't had any tire problems except that they are not as good as "performance" tires I've had in the past, and I agree with what you did.

If only I could've done the same when I bought my car (5 months ago now).

 

you guys all realize that performance tires (either all-season or summer only) are MEANT to be softer for a tighter grip.

All performance tires will flat-spot to some degree if left in the same spot for more than a day, and it's WORSE in the cold.

 

Then my current set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (and every other tire I've ever had other than the EL42s) must not be performance tires, because they never flatspot to the point that it can be noticed while driving.

Mike

 

I'm lucky - I have a 3.5 mile drive out of my neighborhood, at low speeds, to "warm up" my tires each morning.

I just wonder what my neighbors will think of me weaving back and forth to heat them up on the way out!!!

HEHE

 

Congratulations.

So with that logic, no performance tire should EVER flat spot, right? Thanks for your expertise.

 

You said that every performance tire flatspots. I was providing counter-examples to your statement.

Mike

 

The vibration between 50 and 60 has nothing to do with flat spotting, it happens all the time, cold or warm, but only with the EL42's. With the Michelines there is no vibration at all. Let's face it, Acura built an incredible car and then screwed up by putting the crappiest tires possible on it.

 

My '01 Miata LS rides on Toyo T1-Ses.... Most would agree that these are "performance" tires and yet I have no "flat-spotting" issues. Flat-spotting is sort of an improper term as it's used to describe worn down areas caused by extreme braking sans ABS. The EL42's appear to have a problem with getting out-of-round after sitting for an extended period.

abwolf13 -- You wonder why you weren't given the option to spend a couple of hundred more for better tires, but you were given that option with the HPT.

That said, I'm sure that Honda had no idea of the problems with the EL42s (at least one would hope).

 

The HPT option cost a lot more than what I had to pay to trade my tires in on the Pilot Sports and besides those Yokohama tires are stiff and loud.