Tripp11

Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures, and markets Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton and associate and private brand tires. The company is focused on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agricultural and other tires to its customers in North America.

Pulled from their site.

Tread

Neversat and all else Sean has ASKED THAT WE NOT CALL HIM.

He has enough information, flatspoting and vibration, and that he will work on this.

But continued calls will only hamper his work.

He promises to have a reply by this friday.

THANKS!

neversat

Great- If he has what he needs then let him do his work. He seems to be on top of it.

feironman

Just signed deal yesterday on a 5A NAVI coming in on Feb 10th . I had the opportunity to drive their demo for a week while my RL that I'm trading in for the TL was being repaired for a leak in the coolant system. It's been in the shop at least 6 times and they even replaced the block and still haven't found the problem (repairs all done under the extended warranty I bought). I suggest everyone consider purchasing one. It saved me $$$$ eventhough they never found the problem. After reading the review on the TL, I decided to purchase one.

While driving the demo, I definitely noticed the vibration but thought the tires were out of balance. But after reading complaints on Tirerack.com and here, I brought it up to the sales manager who my family has known for years and he was unaware of the issue existed. I thought he was being up front and he has even offered to provide me with a swap in tires before I take delivery if I give him what I want and its an equitable swap. I was about to tell him the Neros but I'm thinking I should wait to see what Acura comes back with. ANY THOUGHTS? I will let you know that this car is awesome to drive after driving their demo for a week. Much different than the RL. Now if those idiots at VERIZON will just come out with a BT phone I'll be happy.

LED Master

feironman,

Go with the PZero Neros, they will be better than ANY replacement Acura does and you won't have to worry about it later.

The EL-42's are touring tires, where the Pzeron Neros are performance tires so the handeling will be even sharper.

Also, the EL-42's do not have good snow traction, the snow tread depth portion of the EL-42 tires are not what they should be, even the firestone tech center said they are only good for up to 1" of snow, being in NJ, you will need the better traction.

From what I have heard from Firestone, they are changing the belts on the EL-42, so go with the upgrade from the dealer for sure! (who knows when Acura will really replace the tires?)

RhodeRunner

Update!

Looks like the new Bridgestones are on the way. Just got a call stating this.

BTW I am not getting the replacement Bridgestones.

dcarlinf1

Is that all the info you have? Since they called you they had to tell you more than they "are on the way". The more details you can provide, the better. Thanks.

Corn

Who gave you the call? My service advisor is still playing the "we don't know anything about no bad tires" story. Basically my vibration and the terrible pull to the left are figments of my imagination as far as my dealer is concerned.

ramilford

My dealer still "knows nothing" also. Doesn't anyone have FACTS on this? Enough rumors please!

RhodeRunner

He said that the tires are on the way. I told him that I do not want Bridgestones, period. So I am getting Pilot Sport AS, I only have to pay for mounting.

dcarlinf1

Excellent. That is exactly what I want as well. Only I want 18" tires to go on the 18" wheels I haven't bought yet.

Tread

Rhode, the dealer must be picking up the pilot sports for you, the new tires are EL-42 from what I have heard

RhodeRunner

Tread- that is correct, which is why I must pay for them to be mounted. However, $100 for an upgrade in the tires is well worth it to me. Frankly, I don't think I would ever buy a Firestone product again.

Teh Jatt

Thank god you didnt say that you wont buy Acura again

digital_b

my dealer told me that acura is considering the pilot sports as of 2/2 when I put my deposit down but that nothing was official. I told him to swap out the bridgestones for the pilots and it cost me 458. I dont mind since it eliminates the problem before it starts. tire rack rates the pilot sports highly.

frqwntbyr

Warining w/the pilot sport a/s: I did that swap because I had to. Needed superb hydroplaning resistance and better snow and ice traction than the TLs offered. Noise IS an issue...you'll hear them. The ELs, for all their problems, did handle much better than the PS A/S...and the more I look at them, they appear to look like a set of 185/70's. Tread patten tricks the eye a bit, and I'm told the contact patch is smaller than the PZeros. In otherwords, get the A/S's to save your butt in the rain or snow, but not for looks.

DMZ

If you're gonna replace the tires, I'd rely on those wonderful folks from Consumer Reports who rated the TL so highly and get Falkens:

http://www.acura-tl.com/gallery/show...t=7&thecat=500

The TL owners in this forum who've gotten them are absolutely delighted. And they're noiseless compared to the Michelin Pilot Sports.

DavidNJ

There is also a new Kumho coming out: the ECSTA ASX. It is supposed to be an ultra high performance all-season tire. However, a look at its tread will show it to have spacing between the Falken ST115 and ZE512 in size and of course way smaller than the Pilot Sport A/S, PZero Nero A/S, or RE950.

youngmic

DMZ, Which issue of Consumer Reports is that from?

lindros2

Acura is replacing Bridgestones with other Bridgestones EL-42's...

svtmike

The sidewall flex of the EL42's was downright unnerving in my book. The Pilot Sport A/S is a worlds better tire for handling, steering response, snow traction, rain traction, and dry traction. The _only_ things the EL42 has on the Pilot Sport A/S (as far as being a performance tire) is that it is slightly quieter and the ride slightly softer.

Mike

Hybrid

Given the same tire pressure, the contact patch is the same size no matter what size tire you put on the car. Big wide tires give a contact patch thats wide buy short. Narrow tires would give a contact patch thats skinny, side to side, but long. That's basic physics. It's also why a wider tire really doesn't stick to the road any better than a skinny tire. (And why semi-trucks and dually pickups aren't cornering heros. Are the best autocross cars the ones with the widest tires?). Tire Rack's site used to have articles that backed this up. (Probably still do. Almost every time I make this statement on a forum, people try to argue it. Try web searches first.)

That isn't to say that wider tires have no advantages. They build up heat less at high speeds and, all else being equal, will last longer due to just having more rubber. They have disadvantages too, of course, like noise, tramlining, worse performance in snow, etc.

The tread width on our EL42's is reported as 7.5 inches on Bridgestone's website. I don't see this number on Michelin's site. So I went to the garage to measure my Michelins, and found that the number appears to be subject to interpretation. The part of the tread that clearly is contacting the road (greyer in color on a used tire) measures slightly over 7 inches. With aggressive driving, that number would increase, as the sidewalls would flex more. Plus, I'm using a couple of psi higher than Acura recommends, which will mean a little less tread contacts the road. The actual tread width, buy my interpretation, is about 8 inches. (That's the width of the tread pattern on the face of the tire, not including the slightly different pattern that wraps onto the sidewall). Measuring the total width of everything that could be considered patterned tread, it's about 9 inches. That's not a useful number, however.

Both Michelin and Bridgestone do publish "section width" numbers: Michelin 9.3 inches, Bridgestone 9.2 inches.

DavidNJ

While its true that 35psi requires a fixed contact area for a given weight, smaller tires require higher pressures for the same load. My Yukon XL has 245/75 tires, but requires 80psi for 3042# capacity.

Until your in the 20s, a larger tire will usually improve handling, if the geometry (offset, scrub radius) is not disturbed.

hdrasin

About two weeks ago I had to purchase (based on neck and back problems) replacement tires for the EL-42's on the TL. Based on reviews here and on the net, I chose the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I can report that the ride comfort is substantially improved, and vibration is much reduced. Whereas before, it felt like I was driving a car without shock absorbers -- now it's more controlled. It's still not like a Rolls-Royce, but I don't expect that. My body is not vibrating all over when I drive on the freeways now. Three calls over a nine-day period to my "case (mis)manager" at Acura finally resulted in a return call today after I left for work. So much for customer service. All I was trying to find out was who to submit to bill to for reimbursement of the newly purchased tires. Anyway, let's see what happens. I can forgive them for making a mistake and installing mismatched tires on the car, but I can't forgive them for stonewalling and failing to accept responsibility for this.

cullal

I just replaced the Bridgestone EL42's with Falken ZIEX 512. After driving just 20 miles all I can say is ... What a difference these tires make.... No Vibrations, Nosie (whats that!!!)... This is the best $500 I have spent ....
.

DMZ

Congrats cullal!

You should start a new thread with that 1st sentence as the title!

http://www.acura-tl.com/gallery/show...t=7&thecat=500


They're only $104 each from www.discounttiredirect.com with free shipping!

cma04TL

Hi guys,

New to the board but I have been reading it alot. I just bought a 04 TL black on black 6 spd navi and already have a pull to the left with some flat spots on the tires. I took it to the dealer today and was told that Acura will be replacing the Bridgestones. I was put on a list. The dealer tried to tell me that only 5% of the new TLs are affected. I would like to buy the 18in wheels and put on some Michelins and give acura the tire bill!

Tripp11

Greetings, new forum member!!

IMHO, the most Acura is going to do is either have ACS or the local dealer contact those individuals who have logged complaints relative to the old EL42's and offer to mount and balance the new, retooled EL42's on their TL at no cost to the owner. I think the days of anyone from Acura authorizing to pay for a different tire to put on a TL are done...except if the individual dealerships are offering to do it as a good faith gesture and Acura doesn't reimburse the dealerships for this type of expenditure.

I hope the new retooled EL42 takes care of your flatspotting problem, though.

Good luck!

abarsami

Which is better for tl? Quieter ride and better handling than stock tires... in rain and dry?

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S - approx $199
Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S - approx $125

Acura offers both of these right?

When I get my TL I can just ask to replace stock tires with these?

TZVECL

I'm not sure about Acura "offering" either of these.

If you read the MANY posts on the subject (this is just one of a few threads), you'll see that people are going crazy trying to convince their dealers, or Acura corporate in California to pay for new tires. When I say new here, I mean NOT new Bridgestones.

I think the current score is (from memory, please don't flame me if I am off:

Acura corporate: 1* (* But I think this is the retooled
Bridgestone)
Dealers: 5 or 7 (or something like that)


That being said, I am one of the lucky 7. I called ACS to register my complaint. Then I met with the dealer GM for about 8 minutes, calmly explained the problem, and gave him info from this website and tirerack. He said "don't worry - Acura knows, a fix is on the way by Feb." Then I got a call back later saying that the would get me whatever tires I wanted.

The Pilot Sport A/S's have transformed the car. No flat spotting, significantly less vibration (I still feel it ever so slightly in the 50-60 range, and over 80, but it's much less), and no hydroplaning.

I feel much more confident in the car's handling now. I cannot speak to the Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S.

lflorack

And the rest of us decided that our safety and enjoyment of the car was worth our out-of-pocket expense to purchase upgrades ourselves. In my case, I also bought the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's and LOVE how the car drives now. I'm happy for you and the others who didn't have to pay your own way but I still feel I did the right thing.


We agree completely on the Pilots.

svtmike

Lflorack,

Did they use a Hunter Roadforce balancer on your tires? My car is smooth as glass with the Pilot Sport A/S - not even a hint of the vibrations.

Mike

lflorack

Just so we're clear, the quote you posted regarding some remaining vibration at some speeds wasn't mine (It was TZVECL). I have absolutely no vibrations with the Pilot Sport A/S's at any speed (up to 95 so far). But to answer your specific question, no they didn't use a Hunter Roadforce balancer.

Glad we all like our Pilot's

Note: I went back to re-read the quoted messages. Now I see why you thought I have some vibrations. Sorry. I was agreeing about the great handling of the Pilots -- not the still-existing vibrations at some speeds (which I don't have).

gotsand?

I agree totally with Lflorack. I replaced the Bridgestone EL42s with Michelin Pilot Sports (at my own expense) and the car runs and handles like I expected it to when I bought it (also at my own expense). No vibrations and excellent handling and I've been in California snow even though I live in the Arizona desert.

RhodeRunner

Don't know if you all read my update in the first post of this thread. As of today my car is wearing a new set of shoes- on Acura's dime, 'cept I had to pay for the mount and balance...

dcarlinf1

Nope, didn't notice. Congrats. What dealer is it that was so accomodating? They should be recognized for what they did.

Also, what did you say exactly to convince them to install Michelins? I'm sure it was more than "no thanks" on the bridgestones.

RhodeRunner

I pretty much said "no thanks" to the Bridgestones. They said that I am the customer and that they want to make me happy. I will NEVER buy another car with stock Bridgestones, or any Firestone product for that matter.

dcarlinf1

I hope my dealer is that cooperative. I too do not ever want Bridgestones again...ever.

lindros2

Dealers got billed BACK for replacing with non-Bridgestones and are now strictly following Acura policy....

inky

Acura is not replacing all these tires. It is hit and miss depending on how the dealer and regional reps feel that day. They have some customer money and when it is gone it is gone. My efforts thru Acura Corporate (client services) has been ongoing.
1. They acknowledge the problem
2. they acknowledge that a 33k car should not have this problem.
3. They said car is safe.
4. They said engineers looking at some solutions and that I was on the list for any fix.
5. I felt I was being handled.
6. Acura is hoping for warmer weather and this goes away for quite a while.
bottom line: this tire has no place on a lux car. My TSX has Pilot A/S and they were great.