I just joined this awesome site today after lurking for many months researching possible cars I might purchase. The TL is at the top of my list for obvious reasons. One thing that I'm not sure about is the High Performance Tire package that comes as an option with the 6-speed. Is the only difference the brand and model of tires that come with the car? What brand and model of tire come with the High Performance Package? Do you feel it's worth it? I live near San Francisco so snow is not a factor at all in influencing what I get.

 

get the HPT if you are getting the 6MT then you are the type of driver that will appreciate its better performance. depending on the trim(navi or non-navi) the stock tires will either be michellin or bridgestones. the bridgestones being the crappier of the 2. the michellin is ok but not a performance tire. the HPT are yokohamas and are stickier tires. you will get better grip which will increase acceleration and handling a tad bit. since it doesn't snow where you are then get the HPT's. i would have gotten them but nyc winters are sometimes bad.

 

i dont know if 05 is different from the 04 but the hpt tires on the 04 were not yokos.... but bridgestones as well. the stock tires being turenzas and the hpt being potenzas i got the later and the 18" acura rim upgrade with yokohamas, i took the stock tl rims and the potenzas and mounted them on my sisters 03 accord.... and man does her car look good with them.

now i know that there have been some changes to the tries offered by acura, but from what i understand the tires were still bridgestone, although some are reporting michilins (heard with navi upgrade?). but the hpt should still be from my info the potenzas

hit me back if im wrong

i rode on the hpt and stock tires and the upgraded 18 rims. stock seemed very pillow like and the gave up the handling ghost sooner then i liked. the hpt tires (as my car was delivered) drove nice and was still a amooth ride but turn in was better and the car seemed to accelerate a little better and braking was aslo affected (all good things) and the the 18" rims (bought with car was on back order) like them the best, provide best performance. but also dont ride as well....

 

The HPT option comes with the Bridgestone Potenzas (RE030s). The Yokohamas come with the A-Spec Rims. I have the Potenzas and they are pretty nice. If you live in SFO, get the HPTs ! They are only $200 more (my dealer didnt even charge for them) but worth more money than that.

 

i thought that was the case.... is yours an 05? mine is an 04

 

mine's 05. you beat me to the reply by 2 minutes! Did u get the whole A-Spec or just the rims and tires? if latter, how much did it cost?

 

I would recommend the HPT's. The handle MUCH better than the EL 42's and look better too. They also have a good rim protector - saved me more than once.
One thing I noticed is that when driven hard they wear fairly fast, but if rotated regularly (I recommend every 3 to 5 K miles max) and driven moderately they last quite well. I have 15K miles and about 1/2 my tread left.

One other comment - the 030's have a non- directional tread which can be cross rotated. This helps to prevent excesive noise and evens out wear to some extent.

 

that two minutes was me typing..... but i still won... he he he

mine is an 04, my car is not aspec (although i am slowly converting it towards that direction. i bought the rims an tires with the car and the wing spoiler. im getting the suspension in the next 2 months or so and maybe the sterring wheel? ill let you know.

i bought mine with the car so they gave me a pretty nice discount 1600$ or so with rims and tires, my sales associate said it was one of the nicest (most loaded) tl's he ever sold other then the full blown aspec models.

i agree that if you like to "drive" your car, then hpt tires are the way to go.... if you want a pillow like ride and good tire life then buy the standard tires.

like lakeman said, rotate, rotate, rotate.... with any performance tire the more you rotate the better off you are

 

Do yourself a favor, DON'T GET THE HPT option. They're still Bullshitstones ..... any way you slice it. You have to decide whether you want a high performance tire that cannot be used for winter conditions or a good all around high performance all season tire. Here's Consumer Reports ratings to help you out:




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Dude, the OEM Bridgestone tires Acura uses suck (EL-42 and the Potenza 030)! When you are negotiating the sale, DUMP the Bridgestones! Most dealers with work through Tire Rack and get the tires you REALLY want. The tires shown in the above CR report are a mix of High Performance All-Seasons and Grand/Standard Touring tires. I'd recommend you aim for either an Ultra-High Performance all season (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, Pirelli Pzero Nero M/S, Toyo Proxy 4, etc...) or a Max Performance Summer tire (Michelin Pilot Sport, Pirelli Pzero Nero, Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position). I just bought a set of the gunmetal A-Spec rims with the Pirelli Pzero Nero M/S (245/40WR18) and they are amazing.

 

well, they're better than the el42.............

 

Wow, thanks for all the input! I was thinking they were probably Bridgestone Potenza RE30's but wasn't sure. When it comes to tires, I want the best I can get since when you think about it, they're the only part of the car touching the road! I currently have a 2002 Maxima 6-speed with Michelin Pilot Sport a/s and love them. Yeah they were pricey but a HUGE improvement over the OEM Potenza RE92's that came with my car. Dry traction is excellent but the wet traction is even more impressive.

Has anyone struck a deal with a dealer about swapping the Bridgestone RE30's for Michelin Pilot Sport a/s? If so, what was the deal? I doubt they'd do a straight up swap?

Again, thanks for all the input and advice!

 

The tires in the CR ratings lists are a mix of High performance All Season AND Non-Winter useable ultra high performance. The Falken tires at the top of the all season list are about ½ the price of the Michelins Pilot A/S's and perform every bit as well. Though they didn't rate the all season version of the Michelins, if you look at the 2nd chart, you'll see they rated the non-all season version. See the black circle for noise? Now check tirerack user reviews of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's. You'll see that despite their great performance, noise is the one complaint many people seem to have about them. Not trying to persuade you from any particular tire, but it's your car, your $$$. Do a forum search on Falken and read the reviews of other TL owners. Who knows, you might save yourself around $500 .... like I did.

If snow won't be a factor, check out Falken ST-451's.
Falken ST-451 Page
There's one user here in the forum that's beyond estatic with their performance.
Again, at about ½ the price of Michelin. And oh yes, Falkens are MADE IN JAPAN.
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Acuraluvr: I concur!

Yakuza70: Check with the Acura dealer's Parts Department. Since they handle all the swaps, you can ask them what their procedure is in dealing with a tire swap. You'll probably find they use Tire Rack.

DMZ: Good points. I think that either the Falkens or the Pirellis would be a good replacement choice. It just depends on which performance category Yakuza70 wants (High Perf All-Seasons or Ultra-High Perf All-Seasons).

 

Guys, I can speak with experience about the RE-030's. I got the HPT option, and thought they were pretty good tires until I hit a piece of metal and split the sidewall on one tire. I already had 3000 miles on the tires and knew I'd have to buy two tires to get the car in balance. Considering the price of the RE-030 tires, I dumped the 3 good tires and got a set of Mich. PS-2 HPT tires. They are in a different league than the Bridgestone tires. They're much quieter, more predictable in turns, and handle much better overall. Do yourself a favor and get PS-2's. They are arguably the best HPT tire on the market right now for this class car. It was the best money I spent on my car, and I'm actually glad I blew out the tire because if not, I'd probably still be driving on them now. Money well spent...IMHO. btw...they are ultra high performance and not for winter driving although they are great in the rain

 

you are right i was mistaken and thought the HPT's were the yoko's, but in fact they were just the potenzas instead of turanzas.

 

Automatic w/o Nav = Bridgestone Turanza EL-42
Auto or Manual w/Nav = Michelin Pilot MXM4
HPT = Bridgestone Potenza RE030
A-Spec Pkg. = Yokohama AVS ES100

 

perfect.... couldnt have said it better