Hey Guys,

I've got a quick question regarding the traction on my TL-S 6psd. I've noticed whenever its wet or even remotely damp, the car manages to trip the VSA a couple of times and I can even feel the LSD working at slower speeds around corners. All of these launches are normal drive-offs and aren't under hard acceleration, quick clutch "dumps" or tight corners. My car has brand new all-season tires on it too.

I'm just wondering if this normal for this car, is there some sort of problem or could it be that the car needs a set of high-performance tires such as a Michellin Pilot Super Sport to increase traction

 

Ding Ding Ding DIng Ding!

 

stickier tire compound eliminate wheel spin = no VSA light.

 

fuarrkkkkkk, can't believe brand new tires are this garbage

what tires you guys running? I want to hear a couple of good alternatives in the case that PSS aren't available wherever I go or if there's a deal on something else

 

Ive ran Nitto NT05's.
Great tire for absolute traction. in my experience, needs to be warmed up to operating temperatures for maximum grip, also very finicky on air pressure. Got sloppy at the end of its life

ive also tried Dunlops Direzza star spec z1.
also a great tire! doesnt get as sloppy as the NT05's when cold. and doesnt need constant air pressure monitoring. also, as life decreases, wasnt as sloppy as NTO5's life decreased.

my next summer tire i want to try is the Hankook RS-3s.

 

I've heard good things about Hankook RS3's from a guy who has a set on his S4. I've also thought about Continental ExtremeContact DW since my workplace (Audi dealership) uses this tire a lot on their performance vehicles but it may be hard to find my size from them

 

How do you feel the LSD?
Is it like a slight click in the steering wheel?

 

We all assume the wheels & tires are properly sized, right?

If you derogate from the proper size it can throw the VSA off guard. Just damp outside seems excessive for you to spin the tires on every stop sign, unless you like to drop the clutch.

 

It's hard to explain but I guess "slight clicking" in the steering wheel somehwat describes the sensation

The tires are the proper size, 235/45R17, but they are from some Fuzion brand which is the cheapest tire offered by Acura dealerships. I'm assuming the previous owner just threw on em on to pass safety inspection. I'm not saying every stop sign (depends on the slope I suppose) but today it happened a handful of times today & I just decided to say fuck it and ask if new tires would be the solution instead of throwing money & finding out I still have traction issues.

 

I thought I broke my LSD one time.
medium to hard launch all the way to redline in first and I felt the transmission shift weight underneath me.
felt very odd to drive.
read acurazine and like WebMD, I was convinced I broke the LSD based off the symptoms.

went to inspect the car and I only broke the lower transmission mount

 

LOL "WebMD." Every car forum is the WebMD for car owners. I feel the same way

 

you dont even have to get summers, just a better brand/rubber compound than Fuzion.

 

I'm going to get pure summer performance tire since I have a set of winters anyways plus I always wanted a set of good tires but not this earlythere goes my mod money

 

I got Michellin Super sport and it stick down the road like glue, I got no wheel spin (well unless I turn off the VSA and launch in first gear). I also had Michellin sport A/S on the Lexus and it also stick to the road well. BTW remember performance summer tires will give you good traction during summer and during fall time where temp drop so does your traction. Summer tire will wear quicker than all season or gran touring tires.

 

I usually throw my winters on around early November anyways so I won't be rolling the dice too much if I have performance summer rubber. I drive about 8,000km/year & with that being split 30/60 (winter/summer set) between the two sets, I'm not too worried about the summers wearing out very quickly unless its a whole lot worse than A/S tires...

 

I had the same problem when I had michelin primacy mxm4. The tires would spin easy on damp roads even when I wasn't accelerating hard. I have michelin pilot super sports now and went wider. I still get a little wheel spin but only when I'm accelerating quickly. The grip is much better though and I've been really happy since I swapped mine. Try selling the fusion tires or depending on how long you have had them you may be able to swap them out if you aren't happy.

 

A/S tire is consider last longer than SS by me. I replace my SS in the TL since last year thank giving and now the treads is about 7/12.

 

yeah, here in Houston, I can run a Summer all year long. Butt, that's about it...a year.

sucks when all 4 are like 8 hundred something....

 

^^^^ this due to the special concrete road instead of asphalt pavement lol.

 

I thought about going a little wider for my next tire but only if the price is right compared to a 235 width. I'll probably sell the Fuzion tires since they're are virtually brand spanking new. If I end up grabbing a summer set I'll do it in the middle of winter to see if I can hone in on lower prices

Well fuck, I guess its just the trade off I'll have to pay for... litreally & more frequently that is

 

fuzion tires are horrible, i bet that's the entire reason it's happening. i've added a decent amount of bolt on hp, and i've barely ever had vsa come on in the 7 years i've owned the car (i always get decent tires, but then again i do hours and hours of research haha)

i've recently been looking at new tires (because I might get a new wheel setup), and i was talking to sonny at tirerack (vendor here) and he said the continental extremecontact dws 06 are really good. the previous model dws are some of the best selling tires but i never got them because they had a soft sidewall. they have stiffened it up 35% and the car got super good reviews all over for amazing wet traction, very good dry traction, and good handling in snow (i dont' have snow here). my next tire will be that one, it's an all season that performs like a summer. and it has a really long tread warranty too. plus it's 4 pounds lighter than my current tires (bridgestone re970as, which have amazing dry and wet grip)!!

it sucks to spend money but i would switch tires right away. they are a very overlooked "mod" and are huge influences on handling and performance, not to mention overall safety.

 

I literally just installed Continental ExtremeContact DWs on my TL yesterday. They gripped the road so well! It just rained a lot today and when I drove in it it handled the wet road just as if it were dry. I even took a couple turns fast and when I would normally fish tail pretty good, they just grabbed onto the road and never lost grip! I'm in love with these tires! I highly recommend.

FYI: I just bought brand new A-Spec wheels and opted to go with a 245/40/18 as opposed to the factory 235/40/18 size and IMO they fit the wheel perfectly!

 

Trust me I'm a guy who does his research whenever doing anything car-related but these tires were put on by the previous owner right before I bought the car. But for a brand new tire these things are pretty fucking shit to say the least. I looked at tire-rack for tires but with the rate of CDN to USD I think its just going to be too expensive from there. I understand the importance of good tires but as you said it just sucks to spend money especially since the tires on the car are good tread-wise. At the moment I just wanted to do my motor mounts and replace the bolts on my A/C compressor but now I gotta really think where I want to put my money now.

I swear 245 is the factory width for a-specs, no? Anyways thats good to hear from an ECDW user!

 

I just recently went with Pirelli Pzero all season plus and am very impressed.

 

Running nitto motivo 245-40-18 on my 8.5 aspecs real happy with the way they stick to the ground. Don't drive it in the rain so I can't tell you how they do there.

 

just curious, how come you didn't go with the new DWS 06? They are closing out the old DWS model and this is the new improved version (handling, traction, tread life, mpg, etc)

 

Hankook ventus Evo v12's are treating me well and pretty cheap for performance tires. You can go to a 255 on the stock rim for more grip. Hankook tires should be available in Canada.

 

Love the Pilot Super Sport. I'm running 245/40/18 on ASPEC 18x8 with ASPEC suspension. Highly recommended since you indicated that you switch to winter tires as needed.

 

you can get Super Sport for about $320 per set, that what I paid. The DWS live longer than michellin but the grip is nowhere near the michellin. My A/S and especially SS always asking for more speed and steering input during cornering.

 

I've had Fuzion UHP tires on a beater before, they were bad. I could squeal the tires at every corner during the summer on dry pavement... On a 2.0L protege... lol
Thread wear was ok though, but that's the only decent thing about them.

I agree they're garbage, if you only drive 8K km a year then just switch to your winter ones sooner rather than later. It's about to get cold anyway.

 

I'll keep that in mind, I don't think I'll be running a wider tire since its just gonna cost a lot more than I thought.

$320 for a set?!?!?!?! All the places I've checked in my area are asking $200 per tire alone I need to find a hook-up in Ontario this is just ridiculous

Yeah I'm ready to swap my winters soon, a lot of places are having installation specials so might as well. All I need to do is get my hands on some TL alloys to throw on my winter tires now

 

For sure, got my winters on the TL stockies and the summer on the aftermarket. When winter/summer comes I jack up the car and bolt them on quick and easy. Once the tires are rimmed anyway most places don't charge much to put them on.

 

I'm gonna grab some 04-06 TL wheels for winter, hate the look of steelies. I don't have much time plus I'll end up having to go to the dealer anyways to get the TPMS reset

 

Steelies are uglies, not worthy of the TL haha

 

It's not the tires themselves that are the problem. Well, they are, byut the bigger problem is that you (or whoever else) bought run of the mill tires for a car that should use stickier compounds.

I personally, am a firm believer that "all season" tires should be renamed "all compromise" tires. Why? Because they are death traps in the snow/ice, and they have mediocre grip in dry and wet weather, at best.

There are lots of tire options available. Just go to TireRack online, input your car, and see what comes up.

HOWEVER- a stickier tire for the summer should NOT be used below 45F (7C), because the rubber compound becomes firm as the temperatures dip, making them unsafe also. In that case, you need a dedicated winter set.

Or, get a "high performance" set of all seasons. I'm sure they exist. But they still are an all around compromise, if you want only one set of tires.

 

I've never had to reset my TPMS. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong, I dunno, but when I switch between my summers and winters, the TPMS automatically adjusts on it's own to the car, after about an hour of driving.

 

I have Dunlop Direzza DZ02. Really good traction, handling and overall feel IMO. Got 4 of them for about 700$ (canadian). Probably going to downgrade to DZ01 next year since they get real good reviews also and the deals are a little better, or so I've heard.

 

I too had this problem frequently with the michelin mxm4's that were on the car when I bought it. It got so annoying to the point where I would turn off the traction control as soon as I got in the car. No more traction problems after getting Michelin Pilot Sport A/S-3's in 255/40r17 unless I launch aggressively from a stop. I have about 15k on them so far and I have no complaints yet. Many people complain about the A/S-3's getting loud after some wear but I haven't experienced that. They do great in the dry and in the rain, but I can't say how they do in snow yet. I have a set of blizzaks for winter duty anyway, so it doesn't matter if they suck as bad as a lot of reviews say.

Also, the car should reset the TMPS on its own.

 

I'm totally with you on all season tires, they are absolute garbage in the winter. All-weather tires on the other hand aren't bad but I'm not looking into them so whatever.. Again as I said I have a winter set so I don't care about cold-temp or snow/ice performance. I looked at tirerack & their prices are pretty good but I'm just hoping the CDN dollar gets a little stronger

Wait they reset on their own? I never knew that, in my mom's CRV we always had the TPMS reset... I'm guessing the TPMS light stays on for a bit until the car gets driven around?

Pilot Sport A/S-3's are priced pretty well but at this point I think it might be worth it to go PSS if I were to purchase a Michelin tire. Again, I never knew the TPMS resets on its own

 

Unfortunately I don't have any input on the PSS vs the A/S-3's, but if they end up being better or on par in performance/life then you probably won't be disappointed. There is a thread on here about going up to 255/40's on the stock waffles and it is worth reading if you are contemplating going wider. 245/45's are also a popular upgrade but there are certain trade-offs with either one just like every other mod out there. Personally, I'm glad I went with 255's and I will probably stick with them next time tires are due. Read up!