rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I have the OEM Yokohama AVS ES100s on my 18" A-Spec wheels. I realize the tire is W-rated and the rubber is soft but these tires are SOFT!! Maybe I'm not used to it because this is the first car I've owned with high-performance tires. Thing is, I know quite a bit about tires. I used to sell them. I know tires like these can wear out in 30k miles but I am a careful driver and try to be conscious about extending tire life.

They have been wearing suuuper quickly lately and the car has been driven about 1500 miles/month. I only been using the wheels for the summer, I use the stock 17s for winter. I put the wheels on in April (4 months ago...less than 6k miles ago) and they had a tread depth of at least 8-9/32nds at the time. Now the front tires look like this:






The rear tires are OK and are wearing normally at about 6-7/32nds. It's these fronts that are wearing fast. The shoulder of the tire is seeing more advanced wear. I will of course rotate the tires. This could also happen with underinflation but the pressure is closely checked and always 39/36psi. I think the alignment is fine, my car is not even a year old and has hit 17k miles.

The tires are so soft I can literally rub the tire really hard with my fingers and the rubber actually rubs off on my skin?? Kinda like a pencil eraser! Also on close inspection (2nd pic) I see actual "cracks" or cuts in the rubber?? I don't know if it's maybe because of sharp surfaces actually cutting/piercing the tire because it's so soft?? ( I don't travel on gravel roads at all, I live in downtown Chicago.) I've never seen this appearance on a tire.

Or is it dry rotting? I see possible signs of this by little wrinkles here and there. The wheels/tires were used so I don't know their age. But they can't be older than 4 yrs. old. I don't think that is old enough to make an issue.

Other reasons I don't like these tires? At very low speeds (<5 mph) I get a spaced, intermittent very low rumble or hum. I think one of the tires is out of round or something. Then at high speeds the tires are just outright LOUD and seem to have more friction/higher rolling resistance than my stockers. Also the tires tramline like CRAZY!! If I hit any uneven pavement or catch a ditch my car just darts or jerks. Really irritating! You have to always keep a tight grip on the steering wheel and wrestle the car at times. All of this disappears with my stock 17s. Can anyone else relate to any of this??

Why do I keep my A-Specs on? Well the car handles a lot better with great grip on those freeway ramps! Ride is firmed up a bit more the way I like it. And of course the car looks beautiful!!

On replacement I definitely NOT doing Yokos again. I am looking for a definitive answer for if 265/35/18s will be feasible/advisable as replacements?
Anybody else experience this?

01tl4tl

What are the numbers on the sidewall for traction and treadwear?

calgary2800

That experience you have reminds me of how stupid I was to buy Falken Tires. First it was the Ziex 512 and than the ST-115. My experience is pretty close to yours especially with the ST-115.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I can't get to the car right now, but they are listed on tirerack.com as 280 for treadwear and an AA for traction. (unless they are changed and different on my old tires; I doubt it.)

Frankly 280 is quite good. Many tires in this category are 220 or 240 usually. Then again we've been taught that treadwear is not particularly accurate nor good for comparison accross manufacturers.

AA is as good a rating as you can get for traction. A for temperture too. By the numbers this tire does very well.

One thing to remember is these are OEM equipped tires so even if you replace with these while you are under your car's factory warranty, a dealer is less likely to "blame" suspension related problems on your "bad" non-Acura-approved tires.

I would also mention it does quite well in rain/wet weather too, the nice looking "Pilot-sportish" V-shaped sipes contributing to it.

And the one last advantage of this tire? It's price. It is definitely cheaper than the competition. Usually Falkens, Sumitmos, Kumhos etc. are the tires in this category which are more of the budget brands. Yokos are considered among the high-end brands.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I can tell you for a fact Falkens are garbage. The price is right for sure. But they are not made robust at all. Floppy, weak sidewall we used to kick the tires around in the stockroom like they were nothing. They felt lighter than the other serious high-performance tires. On a nice Z-rated tire, the sidewalls are so stiff you can literally stand on the tire with no air in it! Believe it!

Why did they sell? A few years back it was #1 in consumer's reports for some reason. Some people would demand for them against my advice. People would come back and say they weren't wearing right.

fish008

Since you use to sell tires...what do you think is the best brand, or what are some good brands and what should be avoided?

To answer your first question...I think that the largest tire I have seen put on a stock A-spec wheel (is your A-spec wheel and 04 or 05/06?) is a 255/40/18.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I've talked about this awhile back before, but I'll say it again. Most people think tires are just black rubber things on your wheels and the only difference is the tread shapes and price. Nothing can be further from the truth. Your car can behave like night and day depending what tires you choose. Handling, safety, noise, grip, compliance, etc. are all variables that can change depending on what you choose.

In general money is of course the more important factor, the more you pay the better a tire is BUT not always! Also when I say a tire is "garbage" maybe I'm exaggerating. here's why.

In the world of S and T and H-rated tires there are a LOT of tires that really are pure garbage. The difference between a really good tire and bad tire is really big. There are a lot of no-name brands out there people will throw on their minivans to save $50. It shocks me thinking they can trust riding on tires like that having their kids in there. A lot of tires are just meant to meet bare minimum standards, sell at a budget price and sell in volume. Your car will behave nothing like it did from the factory.

When you get into the category of V, W and Y rated tires the difference is smaller. Why do I say this? Well if a company has the advanced technology to create a high-performance tire, it means they have a fairly good ability to make tires in general. And a Z-rated tire usually is just great. Like I said , try pushing down on a T-rated tire. It will smush down with no air in it. The sidewalls on a Z-rated tire are so rigid you can't push down on them easily. You can understand why a car will feel like "It's cornering on rails!". There are less and less out there as Ws and Ys are taking over.

Why still contrasting opinions? It is a more niche market. Enthusiasts are the consumers in this category. They tend to be more critical, me included.. (just take a look at the opinions on tirerack.com) Just small differences can have you totally knocking a decent tire. The greatest component is really safety. If a tire slips easily in braking or hydroplanes like crazy, in my opinion it's not a safe tire. No good, just stay away from it!

So if I say Falkens are "garbage" I don't mean to say they are as bad as some S-rated tires I've seen....I just mean there are better W-rated tires out there. You will not believe this, but Sumitomo makes a $95 tire for my A-Specs. They aren't the greatest but they aren't as bad as you'd think either.

Just remember, it has been awhile since I sold tires so what I know is a bit dated. There maybe a few new breakthroughs here and there. Ever since I became knowledgable though it sparked an interest so I do try to keep reading up on it.

There are going to be a million people saying different things but I am base my opinions on that;
1) How much R&D goes into the tires. These big companies usually spend the most on advertising too. They care about going the distance and making a better tire.
2) I used to handle and throw these tires around all day. I could see 1st hand how heavy/robust their construction is (regardless of all the bogus advertising and cut-away diagrams they use), how strong they are, how nice the rubber compound is, How detailed/effective the tread design is etc. etc.
3) Customer feedback, the most important factor. You get people saying contrasting things all the time but for certain brands/models a general opinion pans out after awhile and I would get a good picture. The greatest indicator is a repeat customer who insists on the EXACT model tire everytime.
4) My own personal experience with tires I've bought.

The best V-rated tire? Believe it or not I LOVED the BF Goodrich Traction T/As. Michelins are great too but they are so much more expensive. BFs are essentially the same company. They have an excellent high traction compund, are built very robust and beefy to take a beating. They are V-rated and come with a 50k warranty. No tire has all these features. I confirmed all this by buying them on my old BMW 540i and LOVED them!! When I sold the car 2 1/2 yrs. later the tires looked like NEW still measuring 9/32nds!

Best high-performance tire? I LOVE MICHELIN PILOT SPORTS. Michelin makes great tires. Spend greatly on R&D. If I can say anything bad, they are known to have sidewalls that can get damaged easily and they are overpriced. They wear OK and I have seen more repeat customers for these tires more than any other high-performance tire. If I had the money I'd get these....Just can't afford $1k in tires right now. Newer Pilot Cup tires are supposedly awesome too. I think the PS3s are over-rated.

I also like the Bridgestone Pole positions, Goodyear F1s and Pirelli P-Zero Assimetricos (overpriced).

Tires I feel are OK or mid-grade have their greatest advantage in price: Kumhos (Ecsta MX or SPTs.) , Sumitomos, Hankooks, Nittos, Toyos,

I am not a fan of Dunlops (Hi-performance lines), Contis, Yokos (High-performance lines), Avons, Falkens, Uniroyals, Generals or Firestones.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

After searching I see that 04 rims are 8.5" and 05+ rims are 8". 255/40/18s will fit as thoroughly shown on many threads. I believe I have '04 8.5" A-Specs if I remember correctly, but I have to check that.

265/35/18s require 9" rims I believe but there have been some people who have supposedly done it on the 8.5". I was just curious to hear opinions on this and maybe see some pics?

johnny--2k

stupid question, but.....

When was the last time you rotated them? I do mine every 5000 miles if not sooner (4500) and the wear is very even on my Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Positions, again, a soft tire.....very soft.

Pocus

I have had and still have the same issues you described.
The first pair of the Yoko's lasted me 2 summers. They were loud and always felt like I was correcting the car when I drove on certain roads. I really have no complaints except for the noise. The wear was pretty much what I had expected.

I bought them again because:
1. Good deal when I went looking for new tires this spring.
2. They have great grip wet/dry.
3. Wanted to give them another chance. I had already driven on the tire and knew what to expect of them.

This time around the wear seems pretty good with 4500 mile on them and 1 rotation. I've been checking the pressure about every 3 days. I did not do this on the first set and had some pressure issue back then. Also, I don't know if I am just used to the noise, but they do not seem as loud.

Yoko is replacing this tire with:
Replacement

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

Years ago I put a 265 on a 8.5" wheel and had no problems...

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

Here are my 255/40/18's. I replace them every spring as they are good for about 15k. If there is any tread still left on them at the end of summer they still go into the garbage can as they usually have become too loud for every day driving.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

those 255s look great, I was lookin at your threads before hondafans. It's probably what I was going to end up doing realistically. I REALLY have to get some curb protection! My rims get banged up from all the parallel parking in the city. It's just way too easy to damage these wheels, just a little touch and it's done for! I just wanted to see if I could push the envelope and do 265s. I wanted to see pics though to make sure it isn't too over the top for me. I love thick tires but it has to look right.

JD you say you put 265s on an 8.5" but what was the exact size? Aspect ratios and even minute differences across brands can mean some tires can squeeze on and others just won't fit. Also there's the issue of offset and rubbing so I wanted to know how they fare on a TL specifically and with A-spec wheels in particular.

I put my tires on in April and they've driven maybe 6K I think. It's time to rotate, I know, just lazy. It's about my "half way mark" of my summer use. Based on my driving I figure I should have this schedule: A-Specs on in late March/Early April. Rotate late July/early August. Stock 17s back on end of November with rotated positions. I'm starting to realize I may need more attention than that!

When I replace my tires I'll be happy to get free rotations/balances, my only problem is I know those clowns like to scratch rims. Ah well, my wife has curbed enough of them, I'm tired (pun) of doing the rotations myself!