woot427

iTrader: (5)

I have had my 2004 Acura TL (SSM) for a little over a year now, and have finally starting to do some mods. I think I have my heart set 100% on the RJ Inspyres -- still torn whether to go with Silver or Chrome. Silver is on 3-4 month back order, but chrome is in stock...whaddya guys think....

Anyways -- what should I wrap these in? Whe I bought the car it had Toyo Proxes 4's on them and they seem to be decent tires. From what I understand, this is not the tire that comes from the factory on Acuras so the previous owner put them on.

I was thinking of sticking with the Proxes 4 (235/40/18) or maybe going with the Toyo Proxes T1R.

Since I plan on taking the wheels off in the winter (therefore, not needing benefit of all season tire), would it be better to go with the T1Rs (for better performance), or is there not a big difference?

Or should I go with a completely different brand? When I spoke to Ron on the phone, he recommend the Toyo Proxes as well.

Also, where does everyone buy their tires? I called the dealership for a quote on tires as it would be convenient, so i wouldn't have to lug both wheels and tires to the dealer. While they weren't too expensive, I could definitelty save $ online. Has anyone shopped at treadepot.com before? They seemed to be the cheapest.

Sorry for long post, and thank you very much in advance for your help/opinions.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

I would suggest 245/40-18 and look online for savings, Tire Rack, Discount Tire, Tires-easy. If you're not familiar with the companies, they have authorized installers in given areas, but I would cetainly look for one that has a Hunter Road Force balancer.

As far as brand, model, look at the survey's on the Tire Rack site and go from there.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

What is the benefit of a shop with a Hunter Road Force balancer?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Seems to be a lot of problems getting the Acura wheel/tire assembly balanced properly so no vibration at higher speeds. A few years ago I went crazy trying to have the tire dealer remove the 68/75 mph vibration. He's been my go to guy for over 20 years and never a problem, but no luck with the Acura assemblies. After 5 tries, I had them done on a Hunter Road Force machine at another dealer, smooth as silk.

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/images/demo.cfm

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the info Turbonut! Much appreciated! I did a search to see what local shops had it, and it's almost everyone in my area.

The dealership I usually take my car to has it as well, so maybe that will be the best place to take it? Did the dealer near you not have one?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Our Acura dealer does not have a Hunter Road Force balancer, but I found one 5 minutes from the house.

If you want a wide, I wean wide all season tire, take a look at the Yoko W4s (9.2") 245/40-18 and compare the tread width with others. At $145 can't beat the price, great all around tire.

Ackin-4Life

I had Toyo T1S' years ago on my 98 ITR. They were pretty average for the price and quite frankly SUCKED compared to the BF KD's i had before them. The T1R's are grossly overpriced in my opinion. Toyo is a decent tire, but you can get a far better tire for less money. Depending on where you live, i HIGHLY suggest Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs (unless u need to run them in snow)....these tires have been unreal. After 5k miles they show very little wear despite a 200 tw rating and are stupid sticky in dry AND wet. To top it off they were only $129/tire for 17's....by far the best tire for the money!

Yoko, Michelin (epsecially), Bridgestone, and Pirellis make good models but are all grossly overpriced! Do the research.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the response, Ackin -- During the winter times, I will take these off and put the stock wheels and Toyo proxes 4 back on, so i suppose i might want to look for a summer/performance tire...

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Yoko S-Drive is a great, relatively inexpensive, Summer only max performance tire. My buddy has a set on his S4 and they are very reponsive tires and aren't incredibly noisy like a lot of others. I was seriously considering them prior to getting a UHP AS tire.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

I've used Kumho ASX before and have been pleased with the tire. But recently I've been a fan of the continental ContiExtreme. It's a performance all-season tire. It does great in the wet and excellent in the dry. It costs about the same as the Kumhos and has a treadlife of 400.

It is also a very light tire. From a performance standpoint a 17" conti. wil be 22lbs and the kumho is 25lbs. So it will afford you a lightweight wheel/tire combo.

Ackin-4Life

Direzza z1 Star Specs FTW....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ay.jsp?type=EP

Best rated summer tire on tirerack and the least expensive!!! Cant beat that!

woot427

iTrader: (5)

I can get a set of the General Exclaim UHPs for $489.68 shipped, plus a $50 rebate on top of that.

Good deal?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Good deal if you like that tire.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Seems to get all around decent reviews for the price of the tire. Never realized the tire decision was just as tough as the wheel decision. lol

woot427

iTrader: (5)

And also -- if im reading the guide on tirerack correctly, going with a 245/ instead of 235/ means its just a wider tire, correct? Is there any other benefit, or does it just look better?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

It's not only wider, it will be slightly taller. Need to examine all specifications before making the purchase as you will see a smaller tire size will actually have a larger tread width regardless of the advertised section width. I opted for 245/45-17's S.4 as they filled out the wheelwell more, had a wider tread to afford better ride and traction, and also better wheel protection, but to each their own as some opt for a smaller diameter tire to satisfy their taste.
Your choice as to the desired look your after.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Thanks again for your help. I think I see what you're talking about..

235/
http://ronjonwheels.com/ronjonimages/large/atls47.jpg

245/
http://ronjonwheels.com/ronjonimages/large/atls30.jpg

The 245/ definitely fills the wheelwell much more and seems to look better. both look decent, but there is a definite difference.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Wanted some more opinions from everyone. How do these deals sound:

TIRES AND WHEELS, SHIPPED PACKAGES



WITH BRIDGETSONE RE760 $2075.00

WITH GOODYEAR EAGLE GT $1950.00

WITH YOKOHAMA AVS ES 100$2000.00



ALLL PRICES INCLUDE MOUNTING,BALANCING,NITROGEN AND PACKAGING.

Wheels would be a new OEM set of 18" a-spec ...tirerack rates the RE760 as one of the best summer tires out there.

Good deal, or shop for tires elsewhere? I can get the wheels for $1k ..how much will balancing/mounting/alignment cost?

jnc2000

Please stay away from the ES 100. If you can get them to swap for the S.Drive you've got one hell of a deal.

I'm on the fence between the RE760 and S.Drive myself... ES 100's are on the car right now and lets just say yoko made a heck of an improvement when they discontinued the ES and went to the S.Drive.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Those are the only tires he's offering. I think I'm gonna get just the wheels from him. I believe I have my heart set of the General Exclaim UHP 235/40/18 -- $500 for all four, and there's a $50 rebate offer going on as well. But, I keep looking at the s.drivers myself....ill never make up my mind lol

jnc2000

I was on the fence as well between the UHP's and the S.Drives.... but between a local member pushing me to the UHP's and my local NTB beating tireack.com's price I ordered the Exclaim UHP.

265/35-18 all the way around. $639 installed plus I'll get the $50 visa card back

woot427

iTrader: (5)

yeah, thats a sweet deal. how do you like them so far? how many miles?

All the reviews are very positive. If I ever see something negative (and maybe they are isolated issues), is sometime they will hydroplane over "puddles" of water, or at high speeds, they mighrt sacrifice some performance. Regardless, I think im gonna go with them.


You say you bought them at a store ....I can't find any retailers/shops that offer that brand in my area.... its gonna be so annoying to lug four wheels and tires somewhere to get them mounted and balanced.

jnc2000

Don't have them yet... they had to special order them. Due to the weekend, and holiday I prob won't be able to get them mounted till Wed at the earliest.

I had this discussion with another member... we believe the comments regarding the softer sidewall are due partly to most of the General Exclaim UHP tires are SL rated... some are XL rated... Get the XL rated tire, which will have a higher load rating and you should be fine.

NTB here in Ohio is also known as Tire Kingdom in other parts of the US. Regarding finding them in a local tire shop... I recommend calling stores Tuesday. I have found almost every store locally carried General's line of passenger and LT tire.... very few had the UHP... none had the UHP in my size... further more no local tire shop had any real options outside Goodyear and Michelin in the 265/35-18

http://www.ntb.com/

http://www.tirekingdom.com/

When picking a size of a tire use 1010tires.com calculator...

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

After playing with that I found the 265/35-18 was the most ideal tire... pending clearance.

GL and let me know how things work out.

woot427

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the information. NTB doesn't advertise they carry General but they do?

Also, I see 235/40/18 and 245/40/18 are both SL rated ...what do you suggest I go with? 245/45/18 is XL rated, but then for me, the sidewall might be too large and might make the wheel look too small.

and that tire calculator is sweet...never knew about that.

jnc2000

They carry it... at least in Ohio... can't say much about the PA stores. Honestly that is the one thing that shy'd me away from the UHP's... I know my driving habits, and I can't stand a tire with a soft sidewall - (which IMO the ES100 exhibited)... thing is the ES100's had a load rating of XL... so I can't say if the load rating will correct the issue or not... It's really just a theory of mine ATM. The true test will be when I have them installed.

The 245/45-18 would throw off you speedometer and other instruments too much. IF you're worried about sidewall height stick with the the stock size... 255/35-18, 245/40-18 or depending on vehicle clearances a 265/35-18... just my

woot427

iTrader: (5)

well, i just bought them at tirerack, 235/40/18 -- $515 shipped, treadepot.com was $501 shipped ($485 shipped last week, and friken price went up), so since price difference only about $15, i went with tirerack, as i know many have ordered from them, and to avoid any issues.

What else do I need to buy -- valbe stems, lug nuts, lug nut locks? what is recommended? I dont want my new wheels/tires stolen, so im gonna add a tilt sensor to my directed python alarm as well.

I see all this talk bout gorilla locks, rays nuts (lol), but im confused by all of it.

thanks again for all your help.