Project VTec

I'm located in rochester ny, where we see all four seasons. I'm looking for a tire that can handle snow,slush and ice but still perform well when cornering and flooring the pedal. On my previous car I used Goodyear Assurance Tripletred's and fell in love. Highly recommend them. However I'm not having luck finding them in appropriate sizes for the 17x8 stock wheel. I've also seen a few threads about straying from the stock 235/45 to a 255/40 which seems to look real clean and provide additional rim protection. Thanks for help guys!

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Hankook ventus s1 noble2
continental DWS

sonny@tirerack

DWS is going to provide good dry traction decent steering response. Great wet traction and very good snow traction for an all season.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

I always recommend 245/45-17 although many have other thoughts, but with the GoodYear Triple Tred, they do have them in 235/45-17.
I have the GY Assurance ComforTred Touring (V rated) on our '08 knock around car, best tire I've ever owned for all around use. Was always a Michelin fan, but the last few sets have been poor, so GY to the #1 spot on my list.

NBP04TL4ME

+1 for the DWS. Highly recommended.

Tom Champagne

I hope you're right...I'm getting a set installed tomorrow...

Will Y.

Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position.

I'm happy with the dry and wet grip.
Tire Rack's testing indicates that the DWS and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 are better in snow than the Pole Positions. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 came in 1st in the testing of all-season UHP tires, BTW.

nfnsquared

x2 for DWS.

I am currently running a set of Sears Roadhandler Sports (because I blew two tires and couldn't wait for DWS' to be shipped). I really like them so far. The true test comes in another month or so...

But the A/S-3 comes in a distant 6th in the survey:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

And I see (as I predicted) that the DWS has regained the #1 spot in the surveys...

NBP04TL4ME

He works for the largest web company that sells them and has access to all sorts of customer reviews and data.

As an aside, I put them on the Accord used by my kids a year ago and have been very happy - snow traction included. Only downside reported by some is a soft sidewall, but if you aren't driving aggressively through the curves or for NASCAR, you will be fine.

Will Y.

I tend to rely on professional & instrumented testing and usually don't give too much credence to general user surveys unless the survey is for ease-of-use or ergonomic concerns.

Interestingly, the Advan S.4 tires previously on my TL are rated higher in the survey than the Potenza RE970 tires currently on the car, but I think the RE970 is a better tire overall.

nfnsquared

First significant snow today, about 4". The Roadhandlers absolutely suck in snow. Stay away.

flyromeo3

im on my 2nd set of DWS.
they are great in light snow but, living in Pennsylvania warrants snow tires for me.
so I have a set of DWS and during the heavier snow months I switch out to my snow tire combo ( snow tires are Blizzaks )

Only concern i've had with the DWS is flat spotting.

NBP04TL4ME

Sounds like a good and road safe combination. However seeing you have dedicated snows, you might want to consider getting dedicated Summer only tires. That's what I did (Michelin Pilot Super Sports and Blizzaks) and couldn't be happier

nfnsquared

After yesterday's miserable snow experience with the Roadhandlers, I took the plunge and ordered a set of dedicated winter wheels/tires today from Tirerack. Free mounting/Hunter road force balancing and free Road Hazard. I also ordered their wall mount tire/wheel rack. $1210 delivered (after rebate). Review to follow...

225/45R-17 Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT XL
MSW Type 12 bright silver

sonny@tirerack

You will be very pleased, I am sure! PM me your order number if you like and I will do my best to expedite the order for you.

nfnsquared

Thanks, Sonny!! PM sent.

NBP04TL4ME

Congrats nfn

nfnsquared

Well, I'll have to report that I am very unimpressed with TireRack's speediness. I ordered this wheel/tire set on Friday before noon. They were open on Friday and both the tires and wheels were in stock. They sent me an email this morning saying they had been shipped, however, UPS shows nothing for the tracking #'s.

An email to Tirerack revealed that they won't ship out until this evening, which means it will be Monday at the earliest before they arrive. So that means it took TireRack over 3 full days to get them on the UPS truck. Not a great performance IMO.

sonny@tirerack

I apologize for the delay. Normally the package would have arrived much quicker (usually next business day), but we experienced an extraordinarily high volume of orders. I will relay your frustration to the salesman you worked with.

NBP04TL4ME

Well at least with ordering a full package they should bolt right on and you don't have to worry about loosing more time with mounting and balancing.

nfnsquared

Yeah, I just really expected them to arrive within 5 business days of ordering. I understand that surge orders can effect shipping times, it's just a let down to not have them this week. I wish the agent I dealt with had told me to expect a delay (it wasn't Sonny).

The good news is that no snow is forecast between now and Monday and you're right: They'll bolt right on in my garage within an hour of arrival

I should also report that Sonny made a very satisfactory customer service response to my shipping delay

NBP04TL4ME

Congrats! It's good to know people in high or at least the right places!!

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

All things being equal, a 235 is going to perform better in snow than 255. I'm in Utica, so I know the snow all too well, lol. That said, I'll be ordering some DWS's soon and may go 245/45-17. 235's on the stock wheels look a little lame. 245 is a good compromise.

nfnsquared

Wheels/tires came in last evening. Very well packed! Centering rings were already installed on the wheels which was a nice surprise. Tires had stickers to identify driver/passenger side (directional tread). Installed easily. Only driven locally at speeds up to 60 and everything is fine. Road test tomorrow at full highway speeds.

Very pleased so far. I think the wheels look good on the car. Time will tell about the tires' performance in snow. Took a quick, crappy shot while at the gas station:

sonny@tirerack

Looks really good! Glad you are pleased with the product so far!

NBP04TL4ME

Looks good!! Best of luck with the snow performance, but I'm sure you will be pleased.

Red89gt

What make/model wheels are those?
They look great.

edit: I am a tard, I just missed it while reading this on my tiny phone screen:MSW Type 12 bright silver

nfnsquared

You got it!! Thanks!! Very pleased so far These are intended as winter wheels, but if they hold up I may just buy a second set and retire the stockies. Only $117 each.

emas

I just had my snow put on yesterday, and took off the Contis DWS. Have to say I am very disappointed. They were a GREAT all around tire until the hit 25k, and then got real loud. At 35k they are shot... very disappointed. Looking for an alternative now.

NBP04TL4ME

They have a 50K warranty, did you go to a dealer and complain / work something out?

emas

Yes, no questions asked, they are giving me $50/tire towards a new purchase.

NBP04TL4ME

Sounds like a pretty decent allowance based on the mileage you did get. Any idea yet what you are going to replace them with?
I have them on my daughter's Accord and have been happy with them so far, but it's only been 13 months and about 12K.

emas

Am trying to figure it out now. Honestly thought that I would be buying another set of the DWS. Don't get me wrong they were a great handling and performance tire, until I hit 25k miles. Then they got REAL loud, and progressively louder, and just started to fall apart. I was shocked when I saw the conndition they were in yesterday when they came off.

Am trying to figure out what to get now, have narrowed it down to the Hankook S1 Noble2, Pirelli PZero, Michelin Pilot Sport, Good Year Eagle Sport, or a different type of Conti's. ... suggestions welcome.

NBP04TL4ME

What are your priorities and in what order? What is your budget? If you haven't already, you should spend some time on tirerack.com. Sounds like you already have dedicated snows, so why not go with a Summer only tire? I can highly recommend the Michelin Pilot Super Sport.

emas

After the experience with the DWS getting soo loud, I am looking to sacrifice some performance for more quiet and ride comfort. Have spent a fair amount of time on the Tire Rack site and am somewhere between the Hankook and the Pirelli (I think).
Am not considering summer tires because of the risk of still getting caught in an early (October/November), or late (April) snow storm here is western Mass. And, because from what I've read the summer tires tend to wear faster.
Thanks for sharing your experience

NBP04TL4ME

Summer tires do tend to wear more quickly as they use softer compounds to help achieve those levels of performance. The Michelin Pilot Super Sports have a tread wear rating of 300. Also keep in mind you are only using them roughly half the year.
You might want to look at the Michelin A/S 3's as well. Just some thoughts, but it looks like you are making an informed decision.

nfnsquared

Well, that didn't last long. My right rear WRT suddenly went flat today on the way to see "American Sniper". Fortunately, I was only 1/2 mile from a gas station and aired it up there.

Pressure held, so I figured what ever punctured the tire was temporarily seated well enough to block any leaking air. I drove another 1/2 mile to Sears to find out they could fit me in in about 3 hours. Perfect timing, movie would be over just in time for the appointment.

2.5 hours later, I came out of the movie and tire was still holding full pressure. Drove 1 block (Sears and the Cinema are in the same mall) to Sears. They pulled the tire and found broken belts on the tire. They dipped it and could find no leak anywhere, nor any sign of puncture. WTF??

I had just rotated the tires myself for the first time (~4K miles) two days ago and everything was fine.

I called the 3rd party road hazard company (the tires came with TireRack's 2-year road hazard warranty) and they want the tire shipped back to them before they'll consider honoring the warranty. In the meantime, I had to fork over $163 to have TireRack ship a replacement tire to Sears (I understand this was to be expected).

We may or may not know more after Sears gets the tire off the wheel. They were closing for the day and will probably not de-mount the tire until the new one arrives. At any rate, I certainly hope this isn't any issue with the tire design. We shall see and I'll keep you updated...

NBP04TL4ME

Sorry to here nfn. Please keep us posted.

Red89gt

Let us know what you end up going with. I am on my second set of conti dws on my TL and I need another set now. They lasted about 40k miles with rotation every oil change. Looking at hankooks as well, wish they would run a sale soon with rebates.

nfnsquared

UPDATE:

Well, after they got the tire off the rim, they could find no puncture damage or anything sticking through the inside of the tire. Zero evidence of road hazard damage...

So, that changes everything. Now the tire has to be shipped back to TireRack instead of Sonsio (the road hazard warranty company) for inspection and a replacement under the manufacturer's warranty.

More updates when I have them....