sftroy

Anyone have these tires on their TL? My research on the web & Tire Rack show that people love them. Any other recommendations? I'm looking for solid wet traction, low noise and decent tread wear . . .

thx -
SFTROY

TLVR

It seems to be a new tire Bridgestone has come out with. Yes, it has high ratings so far, but did you notice that milage covered by this tire has been low since it is just out. I am a little leery of Bridgestone after getting stuck with the EL 42 for a year.

sftroy

40K warranty seems normal for BS. On my 04TL (EL42 w/flatspotting, vibs, etc) BS took back my tires and let me upgrade to a Potenza something (forgot what type) but I found them to be quite good. Much better than the POS Michelins I have on my 05TL and the EL42s. I'm optimistic about the Potenza PP . . . but I can still back out of the deal as the tires are being ordered.

It seems like the Michelin Pilot Sports are popular on the TL.

baby_igor

I will also put in a good vote for BS. They let me trade in my EL42 for LS-Z for $100 when the car was new. The LS-Z's have been great (about 35,000 on them so far). But to buy them new is very pricey.

Wanta04TL

I put them on this past Monday. Much quieter than my Toyo Proxes 4 and the 40K tread warranty is pretty good for UHPT. Them seem to stick well. It rained once and they seemed to hold well but wasn't a downpour so I couldn't tell. Wish I had more data to give you on them. I bought them b/c I had a flat in my Toyos and they tread was too low to repair. The store guy told me they had just seen a demo on the tires b/c Bridgestone realized they had either crappy EL42 type tires or tires that were as expensive or more than Michelins and weren't as good. Bridgestone apparently brought these out just for what I was looking for - quality and affordability. They aren't dirt cheap, but I like them and if I can get 40K out of them, then even better. The look good too! I couldn't find anything negative on them either. No flatspotting as they don't have the polyester band in them.

sftroy

Thanks for the info. How is the road noise? I'm worried that moving to UHPT from GT will result in a louder cabin.

On my 04TL I put the LS-Zs - only had the car for a short while after but they were much better than the EL42s. They are, however, more expensive than the PPs.

sftroy

Wanta04TL

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I wouldn't say the were silent, but compared to the Toyo Proxes 4 s I had on before, they are SILENT. They really are a good tire and quieter. I don't have a lot of UHPT experience but I'm told they are all noisy. I would not classify these tires as noisy. Hope that helps. I can also say that I like to take the clover leaf highway exits as fast as possible just for fun and these don't squeel like my toyos did.

sftroy

Thanks for the reply. They are being installed right now . . . so I'll put them to good use on my commute home. I'll let you know what I think in a week or so...

sftroy

XS2K

Hey Baby Igor: Where did you go to trade up from the EL 42's. I just got my new TL and have been reading the crap reviews on this tire and have been wondering if I could trade them in while new (200 mi.). I do not want to go into the winter in Colorado with this tire or have my wife find out the hard way that she is driving on slicks. Thanks for your help.

baby_igor

Not sure if the program is still active, but I drove to the nearest Firestone retailer

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare...cate/index.jsp

and told the manager I wanted to trade to the LS-Z and he set it right up. This was October 04'

XS2K

Thanks to everyone on this forum, I was spared the pain and suffering of driving my spanking new TL on the EL 42's. At only 300 miles, I took Baby Igor's advice and went to the local Bridgestone dealer where I have purchased numerous sets of tires. He swapped for the Turanza LS-Z's, which were one of Tire Rack's best rated M&S tire in the Grand Touring category, for a bargain total of $213. It was great to read all of your reviews, coupled with the Tire Rack reviews, to keep me from having to suffer with this tire.

sftroy

Yep. Firestone is taking back the PPs as they have a 30 day return policy. The PPs grip very well and have good wet handling, but they flat spot. My TL was parked for 3 days and when I got on the freeway (1/2 mile from pkg lot) the car vibrated and made a vib noise for about 3 miles. Annoying. The tires also are somewhat louder than I'm used to and offer a lot of road feel.

I'm getting the LS-Z's put on - I really liked them before on my 04tl. The extra $ is worth the extra comfort and silence....

Cheers,
SFTroy

Rocketsfan

FYI : I just had a set of these 960's put on this past Friday.

My history of tires :

EL 42's - crappy tire that wore down too quickly and wasn't very good performance-wise.

Falken Ziex 512's - very good handling and sticky tire for the first several thousand miles, but didn't last overly long. I didn't pay much for them, but then they didn't last too long either, so I don't know if I saved much. Like others, I think they got rather noisy by the time I took them off the car for good.

Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S - very very good tire that lasted something like 30k or so I believe. Great handling and stuck to the road. They didn't seem to stick as well as the new 512's, but even though they had worn down, they still had decent traction. Loud as hell by the time I took them off, though. Had a tendency to tramline. I would still recommend them to anyone looking for an all-season tire.

Bridgestone RE 960AS Pole Position - I've only put about 100 or so miles on this set, but from initial driving experience, they absorb the bumps pretty good. They stick really well. I haven't tested wet traction much (although it did rain around here today). Road noise is there, but for performance tires, that's to be expected. I need to check what kind of pressure they put into the tires (forgot to). If I remember, I'll come back and post more info once I've driven more on them. Love the tires, though. I'm not sure if they're worth the extra price over the Neros, but they seem to be very good tires so far.

sftroy

Wish you luck with them. I drove with someone yesteday and they complained about the road noise from the PPs. The flatspotting drives me crazy. The LS-Zs are being installed right now.... more $$ but worth it for me.

sftroy

Rocketsfan

I think the issue here is of taste more than anything else since the I believe the LS-Z and RE960 are in two different tire classes. The RE960 is performance tire while the LS-Z is a touring or grand touring tire (I think). It should have a slightly better ride, while the 960 should have more road feel as well as a tighter grip on the road. Some people like one over the other - nothing wrong with that.

Wanta04TL

I haven't had any flatspotting, so that is bizarre. I CERTAINLY know what flatspotting is after having the crappy EL-42s. Also, I thought this tire didn't have the nylon or polyester belt or whatever (sorry for my ignorance) that caused the flatspotting in the el-42s and other tires.

waahu

After searching the web and the forum here I am considering the RE960AS PP's. I currently have Toyo Proxes which is a good tire but hoping the PP's are quieter and don't flat spot as much as the Toyo's.

Wanted to check on anyone's experience with the PP's especially now that we have had some cold weather and to see how much they flat spot if at all. Thanks

hybridamp

I'm very curious also, how are they in snow?

I was going to buy a set of Toyo Proxes 4, but it seems that the 960AS might actually be better...?

DC5 SLEEPER

Great write up, I need tires really bad the stock ones have no thread left . I was thinking about going with the Falken 512 they look really sticky but after reading your post I changed my mind. Im looking for a real sticky tire thats going handle in all types of weather. Which is the best tire for that?

TL-k100guy

I have an '07 TL, non-navi, with about 550 miles on the odometer. After getting over the euphoria of owning a great car, I noticed pretty quickly the road noise and rough ride. At first I thought, well it's a sporty car and it's to be expected. Then, after researching the Bridgestone Turanza el 42 OEM tires in the TL forum (this thread and others) and finding nothing but complaints, and then visiting Tirerack.com and seeing the poor rating for el 42, I too am going to upgrade. I'm thinking of the Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z's, which are highly rated on Tirerack, and am about to make a call to my Acura salesman to see what they can do for me. Good luck on that, I suppose. I'll try Acura customer service and then Bridgestone to see if I can get any satisfaction, short of simply ponying up the full price ($212 each) for the new tires.

BTW, I've seen several messages on other threads that mentioned BMW having a better and quieter ride than the TL. Maybe for older models without the run flat tires. But it seems the run flats that are stock on new beemers are pretty much hated. See this thread on Edmunds for info: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.efceb01/0