SweetJazz

I was thinking about replacing the 235/40-18 Yokohama ES100’s that came with the A-Spec wheels on my TL-S. After doing some research, the Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S are two top notch tires. I love the tread design of the Michelins but I have read slightly better tire wear/noise reviews with the Bridgestones. Which would you choose in size 245/40-18 and give some feedback if you already have either one?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Anything is better than Bridgestones IMHO. Check the tread width on the BS, only 8.2"
Go with Yokohama W4s at 9.2" and with a cost of $149 can't go wrong, or even the S.4 8.7", and they are fantastic tires.

D R E W

I currently have the Bridgestone RE960AS with 245/35R19 (front) and 275/30R19 (rear) tires.

It is true that the Bridgestones run narrow compared to other brands. The Michelins are wider and will look really beefy (as far as looks).

The Bridgestones actually take some time to warm up and will develop flat spots if the car sits over night in cold temps. I may return my Bridgestones.
Plus, the Bridgestones are more expensive. Go with the Michelins.

darksky

+1 for Michelin (mine are the 'Plus' version which was introduced in Aug of '08 btw).

I had a bad experience with the BS tires:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...1&postcount=23
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/michlen-pilot-sport-s-plus-first-500-miles-704011/

wps007

Tired all types of tire for the money Kumho the best

avs007

Both tires are great, I've run both... If you go for the michelin, get the "Plus" version, becuase that one has a treadwear warranty.

Ignoring a tire, because it's treadwidth is narrower is retarded. I've ran Avon M550s before, and despite it having a wider tread-width, it has less lateral grip from what I can tell. Same with the Continental ContiExtremeContact. Those have a wider treadwidth as well, but when I switched them to the RE960AS, I noticed significantly better lateral grip.

Some will say they have bad experiences with this tire, but really, any tire will have someone that had bad experiences with them. For example, when I ran the Pilot Sport A/S on my other car, it went bald after 20,000 miles, whereas the RE960AS on that car now currently has 20,000 miles on it, and the treads still look to have more than half left. Our TL, also has 960AS on it now, and it has a shade over 25k miles on it, and again, the treads are still looking great. When I originally bought these tires, people were praising the Goodyear Eagle F1/AS, but lately everyone I know with those tires are complaining about them.

I don't know about flatspots either. One of my cars sits outside, and I never noticed flat spots. Even when it sat out in the snow for two weeks. I also don't know about RE960AS being more than Michelins. My Pilot Sport A/S were definitely more expensive than the RE960AS. Edit: Nevermind, looks like the Plus versions are cheaper than the non plus versions I got previously.

If you are looking for 245/40-18, I still have two Michelin Pilot Sport A/S in that size sitting on a shelf in my garage. (They have 7/32" tread left). You can have them for free if you want, if you pay for shipping. Nothings wrong with these two tires, I just swapped em out when I decided to try a different make/model tire on the car.

avs007

I double checked the pricing... Looks like in the 245 size, the Pilots are cheaper. It's only the size I needed for my other car, the Pilots were more.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Retarded? It's proven that a wider tire will contribute to a better handling vehicle. Never tried the Avon M55, but as it's an XL (97W) rated tire with a sidewall stiffener, I would think it wouldn't distort under a load as long as the correct pressue is maintained.
The 245 BS is the same as a 225 Sumitomo and is 1/4" smaller than the 225 W4s.

Your decision as to which tire to purchase, but tread width does make a difference, at least to me, especially in a quality tire.

SweetJazz

Thanks for the writeup avs007. However, I'm planning on only buying new tires.

erick3

do the 960s even come in the size for our aspecs? i don't think they do - although i voted for them. i have a set of aspecs, gunmetal 8.5 - i did research and ended with 760 sports...

erick3

...you must be 18 by 8, huh? my fault...

RC51Ryder

I like the Bridgestones. I've have good experiences with them in the past on my other rides.

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

I have the Pilot Sport A/S on now and I like them, but I can spin them like no tomorrow. In 2nd gear(TL 6-speed) I can be going 30-40 MPH and when I punch it without using the clutch I spin them like mad. Heck I can spin the shit out of them, but its been very cold in Northern IL this year.

avs007

That's true if you are comparing like tires. However, when you start comparing across different brands/models of tires, that claim does not necessarily hold true anymore. That's why I was just saying that you have to evaluate all aspects of a tire. Just because it's wider does NOT automagically make it better handling. Using your logic, a K-Mart brand 255 width Z-rated tire will have superior handling than a 235 width Michelin Pilot Sport Z-rated tire? Just based on the treadwidth?

That's the part I was saying was retarded. Because if all you cared about was price and contact-patch width, you can get some pretty cheap chinese made Nankang tires, or Korean made Hankook tires

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

How do you know a K-Mart tire in 255, providing it's not made like a Bridgestone with narrow tread, wouldn't handle better than a 235 Michelin? They are both Z rated and will retain tread contact in excess of 149 mph. Many guys get great performance out of an inexpensive tire.
If you recall, the original analogy was between a BS and Michelin and I suggested the Yoko W4s because of its wider tread contact patch, all UHP tires.

avs007

That's why I mentioned the Continental ContiExtreme Contact and the Avon M550 A/S. They are both Z-rated, and they both have a bigger contact patch than the Potenza RE960AS, but they both handled worse than the Potenza RE960AS, from what I can tell when I drove on them. (As tested on same car, in the same sized tire)

I was just being sarcastic with the K-Mart thing. My point was that you shouldn't dismiss a tire soley on it's contact patch being a little smaller.

D R E W

I'm just giving the OP my experiences with these tires. He is trying to decide between the Bridgestones and Michelins and no other tires.