roadman

Have you been speaking to the District Manager for NJ ? I do not think the store has the authority to price adjust a swap

roadman

If the $353 includes a road harard warranty, then that is a decent deal. The LS-Z's have a 40k mileage warranty, 0 warranty for the EL-42's. Getting them from a Firestone dealer means you get lifetime rotation for free.

To get Mich Pilot A/S tires will cost you over $800 from Tirerack, and then you need to have them installed and balanced. The Pilot A/S are not a winter tire, you can drive them in an inch or 2 or snow but that is about it.

I drove someones TL that had Pilot A/S tires, and in my opinion they handled better, but for me I want a quieter and smoother tire, I do not need such a good handling tire that warrants tradeoffs in comfort.

As a side note I spoke to ACS for the 5th time concerning this problem and got through to a regional mgr for them. In then end it is clear that they are sticking to 2 statements:
1) the problems with the EL-42 are a normal charactersitic of the tire
2) the vibration is a normal characteristic of the drivetrain

Wonder if they will put those bits of info in the 2005' TL's product brochure

Michaelvg1

Actually BF called the store which then called me. I have to stop in tomorrow.
The question is, if they offer to replace them, should I try to get different tires? If so, which ones?

2004tlinNY1

Roadman

i am ambivalent about the swap. the dist manager indicates i can omit the road hazard, which drops the price by 35 per tire. but, i am not hearing overwhelming enthusiasm for the LSZ vs the EL42. Roadman: do you have the LSZ's??

thanks

rets

2004tlinNY1,

If it's only $35 per tire, I'd get LS-Z.

I had the same deal above, but it was cancelled by the District Manager in the second day after they promised me, due to the overwhelming phone calls to BS in the period of time.

But if you still have to pay $(353-35x4)=$213 for 4 LS-Zs, it's up to you...


I was dealing with different District Manager rather than yours. Please make your decision ASAP. In case, any unexpected calls may block your deal.

roadman

I heard the road hazard warranty was 10% of the full cost of the, which in the LS-Z's case is about $280, so $28 is the cost per tire. Where did they get $35 from ?

At this point I am believing 100% in what ACS is telling me, that the problems with the TL are problems in the design characteristics of the tires and drivetrain, they are aware of these problems yet choose to ignore them. I have filed a complaint with the appropriate agencies in order to get resolution.

acton

I replaced the EL-42's with LS-Z's about a week ago and am very pleased. I origianlly had the first set of EL-42's replaced with another set of EL-42's by the Acura dealer with no improvement. I had to pay Bridgestone $32 per tire for the LS-Z's. I agree that the flatspotting has not improved, but after a few miles it goes away and the ride on the LS-Z's is much queiter and smoother. It also appears that they may offer more protection for the rims. The comments on this board also indicate that the LS-Z's will perform better i in the rain and snow. For me it was worth the price to get rid of the EL-42's. By the way, the Bridgestone dealer said I was the first person with a TL to complain about the EL-42's.

Michaelvg1

Are they a lower profile looking tire?

rets

Congratulations. Probably you are really the first one complaining to your BS district or that local dealer. That's the reasonable price, and almost equal to "free swap" (LS-Z is costly).

LS-Z is definitely better in all of categories of tires if you compare with EL42.


So now, we have five guys with LS-Zs now...

2004tlinNY1

interesting, i also got the $32 a tire figure, but they added on mounting balancing, tire stem and tax. gets close to $200 out the door and $353 with road hazard.

i am still not sure it is worth it, since i will need to give back my current tires. i am guessing that the LSZ will not last the full lease and i will end up spending another chunk of $$$ for new tires near the end of the lease. so if i buy in the fall, i can ride the tires i want, then put the EL (extra lousy) 42s back on. if everyone was saying the LSZ was way better, then it would be worth it. but i don't hear any euphoria, i hear minor satisfaction.

roadman

It will be tough to get a 235/45-17 W or Z rated tire that is smooth and quiet. Not sure what Acura's goal was for the TL when they picked such an agressive size.

acton

I was a half expecting Bridgestone to add an additional amount for mounting and balancing but the total charge was $137 including tax (no road hazard). My main reason for the change, in addition to the elimination of the vibration, was to get a better tire for next winter's snow. The comments that I read on this board about the EL-42's and snow were not very encouraging.

rets

After replacing EL42s, I'm not sure who will have long jubilation since then, but you absolutely will have some excitement for a whlie because LS-Z is much much better than EL42.

What I worry for you (maybe I think too much) is that the deal you obtained from BS may not last too long if ppl, for example, bad me, keep calling to your district manager and make him feel there are overwhelming calls and complaint about EL42s, BS may realize they just cannot handle this anymore. BS may retract the offer to you in any time.

If you're not so hurried to get any swap to replace your EL42s, you have plenty of time to think it over. No one will push you.

My 0.02.

rets

roadman is right. This is the tricky size tire.

I'm interested to know what OEM tires would be for 05TL...