Does anyone have any experience with these tires? Tirerack recommended them for my 05-MT-TL. Reading the reviews doesn't help as the ratings are all over the map. The overall rating is good 8+ out of 10, so it may be just some isolated bad cases but there are quite a few. They're cheap! I was just going to go with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S but they are more than double the price. Lastly, I have never purchased tires online as I usually go to Discount Tire locally because they wil rotate and balance for free (I know - its buried in the purchase price) which is convenient especially when I drive close to 25k miles a year - which is equivalent to about 4 or 5 rotations and balances. Admittedly, I am also a little nervous about purchasing these tires (cheap = you get what you paid for) and purchasing tires online and how it compares to the overall value of the tire purchase.

Thanks is advance to those that respond.

 

I'm a long-time Tire Rack customer, but the South Bend location is about 30 minutes away so it's a no-brainer for me. They have excellent mounting and balancing facilities, and guys who understand that dings and scratches are unacceptable when buying new rims and tires (hard to find that attitude at a Sears, or an Acura dealer for that matter).

I did months of research and the 'Rack put on the Avon Tech M550's, which were either #1 or #2 in their category at the time. They were very affordable, about $110 a tire at that point. They were a noticeable upgrade from the pretty worn-out Bridgestones that I was riding on at the time. They were less substantial-appearing, which I didn't like almost immediately. The rim-protection bead was pretty much a joke, and they just didn't have the size or visual appeal that the OEMs had. I'm kinda picky.

A year and a few months later, I was convinced that I had a wheel bearing going out, as there was a warbly feel and groaning vibration at anything over about 15 MPH. Replacing the tires with the now-standard Michelin MXM's removed all the noise, and put that extra touch of cushion back in the ride that you need on Michigan roads. They also look much nicer, plain and simple. The rim recess bead is beefy like the Bridgestones, and the overall look of the tire is 'larger'. I know everyone's gonna call me out on my assessment of the 'appearance' of a tire, but like I said, I'm picky and I notice small stuff. The Michelins were well over $200 a tire and worth every penny for the improvement in ride quality and lack of noise.

As an aisde, I cannot stress how 'sold' I am now on having the alignment done at the same time as the tires. I had it done at the dealer so I could be reasonably confident that it would be done to the 'correct' specs. I bought my '04 used, about 8 months old with 15K rounds on it, and I had no idea of how comfortable it was capable of being until I got the Michelins on and the alignment done. I didn't think it would be that important for such a new car, but it was in my case. I'll be having it done on any new/used car I get in the future.

 

So you now have Michelin MXM's? Did you really think the front alignment was necessary considering the low mileage that you had on the car? Did you notice a pull or something? Further research and I'm now thinking of the Yokohama ADVAN S.4. A little less expensive but with all the performance of the Michelins.

 

I had the Kumho's on my previous car. I was very pleased with it.

Also, I have been buying all my tires from Tirerack.com for a few years now. I think they are great, prompt shipping, good prices. Also I use the tirerack website to find an installer for the tires. The service stations are reviewed on the site so that is what I used.

Good luck.

 

I'm running these ASX's and I think they're good all-around tires.

Likes: Price, tread wear, decent traction in various weather conditions.

Dislikes: Flatspotting when cold, soft-ish sidewalls, only adequate amount of traction... I can easily break traction in 1st and 2nd gear at WOT.

These are certainly better than EL42's and MXM4's, though, and I'm happy with 'em.

BTW, I got my set from Discount after mentioning Tire Rack's price, which they price-matched and then added the mounting/balancing/etc fees.

Also, run a search here on these tires, and you'll find plenty of info/threads.

 

They are a very good brand of tires. I had them on my 98 Diamante over a year ago. They performed like they were suppose to.

 

I run these on my 00 TL right now. Great tire for the money. I've had zero problems with them. Overall, I'd say 8/10.

 

i just got these put on my 04 TL about 2 weeks ago and they are great...originally i was wanting michelin's, but they weren't in stock and i wasn't sure about ordering off of tirerack and then finding a shop to put them on, so i just went to sears...they had a sale going on, so i got them for about $132 per tire...i don't have any experience with michelin or any other name brand being used on the TL, but these kumho tires work awesome...the dry and wet traction is very good for the price you pay...i would say you're not making a bad decision by going with these...

 

I ended getting Toyo Proxes 4 (245-45-17). I thought about about the 255-40-17's that Inaccurate tried. His tires sure looked good but I was a little nervous because of "bow effect" the tire dealer warned me about. I don't know if the "bow effect" was real or not but had nothing to counter the comment so now I have the 245-45-17's. All I can say is WOW! They look wide as hell! Also, the day after I had them put on, we got 4-inches of snow and I had to drive 45 miles during the whole snow event. All I can say is they were absolutley great in the snow and I was passing people left and right with no hint of losing control (VSA only blinked a few times during hard acceleration to get around someone). I'll post some pics (of that wide stance she has now) when I get a chance.

 

I have the Khumos and now have 20,000 miles on them. I got the 245/45/17's which provide a little more sidewall protection and a little better cushion to the ride. They are quiet and handle well in rain and snow; they are much quieter than the EL-42s. Sears and Pep Boys now carry them for $90-$95, although I paid $98+$10 for shipping from TireRack when nobody had them in NJ. The only problem I now have is some whining, which started after rotating them, occurring mostly between 40-60mph. Possibly the larger size is causing some bad wear. They flat spot a little in winter, but it's much less noticeable than the EL-42s. I will probably get 30,000 on them and will probably buy them again.

 

+1 for the snow traction
+2 for the dry
+3 for the wet one of the best AS tires I've owned. I'll be swapping out the turanzas before heavy snowfall

 

I have these tires on my car right now and have 40,000 miles on them. For the money you can not beat them. They are a good all around tire. I am sticking with these tires for now on

 

I posted a comment below in Feb, saying the Kumhos are pretty good. However, it's now it's April and I have 25000 on the Kumhos and I won't quiite get 30000 on them - that's OK, but I was hoping for better wear. I found the Hankook Ventus V4 ES H105 (Z rated) on Discounttires Direct for $95 but with installation at a DTD dealer, it comes to $136 - still a good deal... Then I found the same tires at Pep Boys for $99 and $30 for installation, including road hazard warranty - better deal. Treadwear warranty on the Hankooks is 40k vs 30k for the Kumhos. From the few reviews I found, they sound OK and the Discounttire dealer said they are putting more of the Hankook Ventus on acuras, jags and lexus with postive feedback. I'll probably go for them. I had the Kumhos in 245/45W17 but I think I'll go back to the 235/45W17s because I got excessive center wear on the larger tire, even though I ran at a lower pressure to try to compensate. The 245s are only .3" wider so they look about the same.

 

I had these tires on my 98 Diamante in a 235/40-18 over a year ago. They are great overall, have a good tread life and are cheaper than other quality brand tires. One of the beauties of this tire is that it’s an all season asymmetrical tire; meaning that it can be rotated to either side during normal rotation unlike directional tires. Not sure as to where you live but they are not that great in snow. They are second best to me next to Falken ST-115's which I'm currently seeking to buy for my 06 TL. These Falken tires are the quietest and responsive tires that I've ever owned; and they too are not super expensive. Not sure what you look for when buying tires but I look for quietness first. The original tires(Bridgestone Potenza series) on my TL are loud as hell and pick up all types of road noise; and yes I know they are semi low profile tires but there are better tires being sold like the Falken ST-115's which I had in a 235/35-19. You have a specific question PM me.

 

[QUOTE=ndx2]I'm running these ASX's and I think they're good all-around tires.

QUOTE]


Do you drive a new generation Acura TL? What size is your ASX tire?
I drive a 06 TL and I have an alignment problem. Dealer can't seems to fix the problem. Does your car pull to the right?

 

As I said in my post, I have 245-45W17 Kumho ASX tires. They are worn out at 24,000. I will get either Falken 512s or Hankook ventus V4 h105s next - The Kumhos are quiet riding and good handling (only fair in the snow) but I had hoped for longer life. Hankooks cost the same and Falkens cost less than the Kumhos and they are alll rated for roughly 24-30,000 miles. Many posts on this forum praise the Falkens. If all these performance tires have the same life, I'll go for the Falkens for less money. The tire dealers all tell me to rotate often and align yearly. Not doing so caused mine to cup and now they sing annoyingly. Also, 245s wore out in the middle, so I'm going back to 235s.

 

I have experience with 2 Falken tires, the 512 and now the ST-115. Both of these tires wear about the same and from my 1st hand experience will not last over 30k. Both handle excellent but its kind of well known Falken tires do not have long tread life.

 

Just got rid of the kumhos after 26k miles (they were slicks) and got the Hankook Ventus V4 ES tires in 235-45ZR17. Pep Boys had them for "buy 3 get the 4th free" ($75/tire). Ride is extremely quiet and less bumpy than the kumhos, even compared to when the kumhos were new. These, however, need to be broken in meaning they are a little squishy when new; but even after 200 miles handling is pretty tight and responsive. I suspect they will handle as well as any of the more expensive ones, but they are a much better buy. The entire job was $507 including taxes, mount, balance, road hazard and 4 wheel alignment. Dealer said to rotate every oil change to get better milage - hankook says 40k miles...we'll see.

 

Tire Rack is a complete joke. I've ordered from them twice, and both times I received terrible service.

The first time, they sent me the wrong rear springs in the box. They never got back to me, on several occasions, like they promised they would while my car sat crooked. They admitted to it and asked me to try them again.

After a long time, I was ready to give them another shot. I ordered some BBS wheels with, coincidentally, the Kumho ASX tires (my second set, and I'm pretty happy with them).

One of the wheels came with a very noticeable scratch on a spoke and the center cap scuffed up. I sent an E-mail to the agent I was dealing with from the get-go, and he basically brushed me off.

Fucking assholes is what I would call them. They just don't give a shit if you have a problem. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I gave them a second chance and they made a fool out of me. I will never spend a penny with them again. They fucking suck.

Oh, and both times, I was 100% polite, understanding and professional. Either way, I still got screwed.