Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

with all the posts of the tire changes and such, im wonder if we need 2 change tires, which is better? the pilot's more expensive, the falken has a better review/ tirerack.com so which is better?

VTEC=happiness

Pilot Sports 2 would be my ultimate preference when money is no object, otherwise, get Falken Azenis ST115 like me!

3PUTT

since you are from DE, i would recommend the Falken Ziex 512. its an all season performance tire which got the best rating from Consumer Reports. if you have been searching around this board, you'll see a bunch of reviews from different owners, including myself.

i would also recommend going bigger...245/45/17.

VTEC=happiness

I have to ask a question....why is everyone on this board obsessed about bigger rubber?? A 245 is appropriate for a 19" wheel, but there is no good reason (from what I can tell) to have so much meat on a 17....why the overkill?

3PUTT

last time i checked, this was a board where people can offer recommendations. if a few people experience a better ride with 245's on 17" wheels, why not share with other owners and let the owner decide based on the reviews or advise given. like everything else, it is just a preference. just my 2 cents....no biggie...besides, i would not consider 10mm overkill.

cvajs

a 245mm tire on a 17" or 19" rim is suppose to have the same tread width, so what do you mean by ??

VTEC=happiness

You are increasing the tire size unnecessarily...that is all I am getting at...I can understand improving the rubber, but there is really no reason to increase tire size over factory specs. The 17 runs best with the 235 (per Acura), so why use a 245 when every tire place on earth will tell you that based on the width and diameter of our wheels, a 235 is enough.

If you'll lok back at my initial post, I was asking why people do it...still have not heard the idea behind deviating from factory specs and tire dealer recommendations.

3PUTT

as for my experience, the 245's improved my gas mileage and the ride quality as far as absorbing the road imperfections.

i am just curious to know if Acura picked 235's to help with the production costs/profit margin?? possible...since i really like the ride with the 245's.....

VTEC=happiness

Can't argue with your favorable experience

cvajs

yes, for the most part, US autos are equipped with tires that meet DOT requirements, as oppose to meeting the buyers' requirements.

Turanza EL42's are one sucky tire. at $99 per (retail) for Falken Ziex 512, someone on the tire side of the house just ain't doing their job.

inky

Low cost Falkens....

OK TL community. I sold my TL for $$ reasons. I had the new Acura EL’s but had a set of Falken 512’s which I ran for 1,000 miles. Tires are nearly new with no holes or other woes. I bought them for $100 a piece delivered and want to rid my garage of them. They are a great tire as evidenced by consumer reports Nov article. Energy efficient, quiet and good wet traction unlike the any version of the EL 42. I will ship and I assume UPS will cost me about $50. I will deal on these.
I would like to get back 50% of my costs ($200) and will pay half of shipping. So anyone game for $225 delivered to you or any offers out there. I live in Oklahoma and looking for reasonable offers but fair ones to you. reply here or jcro3717@aol.com. Will be out a while and check email Tues afternoon.

TBone2004

Do you work in Roseland? I see the exact car of this description (well, I can't verify the Filter) out in the parking lot. Obviously there are probably 20,000 made, but a match right down to the tires.....Just curious.

svtmike

I can think of one very practical reason to increase the width - to reduce the risk of curb rash on the stock rims.

Mike

tampajay

In Florida where we have lots of rain and wet streets at times, what tire would you recommend for best performance and traction. What is the difference between the Falken Ziex 512 vs the Falken Avenis ST115

lakeman

I know that the 512 is an all season tire, and the 115 is a "summer tire" (ie NO SNOW) and also supposed to be real quiet. I too would like to know what the difference in wet and dry handling is between the two tires? Anyone have any info?
I want the best overall handling and grip from my next set of tires and I am willing to compromise on the other issues.

Thanks in advance
lakeman

cvajs

st115 has 2 serious grooves, lending better water siphoning than the 512 tire. st115 is a "summer" tire while 512 is a "all season" tire. from what i've read thus far, st115 is a very quiet tire. for FL driving i would get st115's.

Nicki

Then you shouldn't deviate from the OEM EL42's huh?!

synoil

It's my experience up here in the Detroit area that wider tires in snow just
reduce the lbs/sq inch footprint of the tire thus reducing it's snow performance.
The skinnier the tire the better in snow. IMHO

Can't decide for winter between the Falken 512's or Pirelli P Zero Nero's M &S
or go right to a "snow" tire. We get snow up here but not a tremendous amount,
usually several big storms not 2-3" per day stuff.
Craig

cvajs

, PSI is the name of the game for slippery surfaces.

but i have to ask, if you are worried about ice/snow then why not a full fledged winter tire on some other rims just for winter ??? the extra cost of a set of ok rims with a good set of winter tires will pay for themselves the day you slip&slide with a all-season tire...

IMO, you could get a nice set of TSW rims and new tires for around the $1k mark. that would be $1k well spent to have control of the car in winter conditions...

synoil

I'll clear up what I'm doing. Shortly after delivery I removed the OEM wheels with 2nd try
BS EL42's on them and installed Falken Torque 5 gunmetal rims with Falken ZIEX 512's on them. I have been totally satisfied with this combo and the rims look great on my WDP TL.

So I have a set of new OEM rims with the new BS's in the basement. I intend on trading in the BS tires and gettinc a suitable all season/winter/snow set of tires to put on the OEM rims for winter. So I have already spent more than 1K on the fancy rims/tires and just need to
complete the setup with a decent tire selection for the OEM rims for winter here in the Detroit
area. Now Detroit is in Michigan and we do get some snow but this is not Buffallo where they really get some snow. Hence my consideration for all season tires with a decent snow/wet performance profile. I am begining to get your point of just getting a decent set of performance snow tires. I am/was about to order a set of Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S tires but looking at the pics they don't seem to have much rim protection as does the Falken's.
I was/am still considering another set of Falken 512's but wanted a different tire just for
comparo reasons.

What are the current opinions on snow tire brands and bang for the buck.

Craig

cvajs

i was really trying to peg you on the whole winter "performance" thing. it's your TL, a very nice sport-sedan, are you really gonna be testing tires in winter for the tire manufacturers, speeding around, braking hard in the corners, etc. when it's icey cold, slippery dusting of snow....

unfortunately, you may find that a 8" rim may be too wide for a 225 or narrower tire (i guess you'll need to check each tire's acceptable rim widths). the PSI thing is real, however you must account for footprint traction. a narrower tire may exert more PSI to the ground, but it's footprint will be smaller. you have to find that sweet spot. a good winter tire in the 235 width should work perfectly.

Yokohama is fairly low priced compared to some other name brands. check out their line of snow tires (they have "ice" and "winter" models) http://www.yokohamatire.com/searchresults.asp?id=s

if possible, when you get blasted with some cold snow, give us a update as to what tire and how it peformed. did you check any of the reviews at tirerack.com ???

synoil

The Yoko "winter" tire looks like a good bet. I'll do some research and pricing.
Craig

techguy

BTW. The service rep at Oakland Acura recommends replacing the stock with 245 - 45-17. He believies Acura could have been saving money by using the 235.

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

yea, i may also be considering the yoko or pzeros thanx