bollingm

I am looking to soften and quite the ride of my 05 TL. I would also like to improve the snow traction if possible. I have checked out the review on TireRack and it seems our OEM MXM4’s do not rate very well and the highest ranked were the Bridgestone’s. Any opinions from the TL owners here would be appreciated. I drive more like a grandmother in the DC traffic so ride comfort and noise top my list flowed by handling ( not performance ) just inclement.

Also, since my tires only have about 1600 miles on them, is it possible to get some money back on them??

Thanks!!

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

I'd steer clear of the Bridgestone line. The LS-Z is a very quiet smooth running tire but at $225 a copy a very expensive alternative for a tire that is just ok. Be prepared to deal with flat spotting for any temp below 50* even if the car sits for an hour or two. When the temp gets really cold your car will feel like a model T for the first five miles until they warm up.

I recently had the LS-Z's on my car for about 3k miles and cut one of the tires. Seemed to cut very easy as the pot hole was very small that I hit.

My options were to replace the tire which would have cost over $250 for the one tire (and $250 for a tire that is marginally good by no means great seams pretty high to me) or sell the set and put my 18's back on.

I opted to put my 18's back on and run them year round. I have Falken ziex 512's on the 18's and they out perform the LS-Z in every way. The best thing about them is that you can get them at only a fraction of the cost of the LS-Z. I believe they are widley available for $85-95 each in the 17's and the 18's are only a few bucks more.

Do yourself a favor if you must change out your tires, sell them on ebay and take the proceeds and purchase a set a 512's, you won't be disappointed with the results.

Prolanman

I've been running with the OME MXM4's since October with not too many complaints. I'm going to run them until October of this year and switch to the Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S. They got a better review on Tirerack than the Michelin Pilot Sport AS. Not to mention that they're about $60 a tire cheaper.

bollingm

thanks for the input.

ibeplato

FWIW I priced the Pirellis on tire rack, when you add the cost of shipping, road hazard warranty and installation versus the cost of buying Pilot Sport A/S at Costco, the cost wasn't that different, about $30-40 per tire more, but with lifetime free rotation and balancing at any Costco. Costco includes the hazard warranty in the price as well.

Prolanman

I wouldn't trust Costco to install tires on my TL. There's too much of a chance of getting the rims scratched or them tightening the lug nuts too much and causing rotor warping. Just my personnal feelings though.

Simoncski

I took of my Michelins with 300 miles on them....I love my new Turanza LS-Z's. No flatspotting what so ever and it does get pretty cold up here

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

Pretty amazing that you could have no flat spotting and on my set it was far worse than the EL42.

If that is the case the Quality Control at Bridgestone sucks and I'm really begining to rethink my opinion of the company in general

Slinks

Bridgestone/Firestone does suck. I'm never going to willingly buy their tires.

SoldonTL

I put the Turanza Z rated on about a month ago. I have put 1000 mile on them and have been very impressed. Got out on the open road and took my TL to 130 for a few minutes just to see how it acted. Very impressed with the car as well as the tires. I agree when you first start out, about a mile or so, they are a little rough but after that they are very smooth. I got rid of the EL series that were on there more for the poor wet road service than any thing else. The car does ride much better. For the record I am running 36 PSI all around. The actual Bridgestone dealer has been instructed to beat any deal period so make sure you price them at a company owned store...............Good Luck

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=SoldonTL]I put the Turanza Z rated on about a month ago. I have put 1000 mile on them and have been very impressed. Got out on the open road and took my TL to 130 for a few minutes just to see how it acted. Very impressed with the car as well as the tires. I agree when you first start out, about a mile or so, they are a little rough but after that they are very smooth. I got rid of the EL series that were on there more for the poor wet road service than any thing else. The car does ride much better. For the record I am running 36 PSI all around. The actual Bridgestone dealer has been instructed to beat any deal period so make sure you price them at a company owned store...............Good Luck[/QU

I'm suprised you have felt any vibration living in Houston. It really is a cold weather problem. Take your car north to below freezing temps and I'm sure you will have a much different opinion. Mine flatspotted so bad that I could not drive over 55 mph, without my fillings rattling loose, until the tires warmed up.

I don't disagree with you though as it is a very nice tire for year round warm weather climates.

bollingm

ok, so I am really not getting a clear sense of what tire might offer a smoother/ more quite ride than the OEM ones. Or is there one? I am willing to give up some "performace" handling but not wet and or snow.

thanks.

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

I think you would be very happy with the Falken Ziex 512. It's as quiet as the LS-Z, it does not flatspot, it offers better dry performance than th LS-Z, winter performance is comprable to the LS-Z, wet weather the 512 feels better to me, and the best thing about the Falken is one can purchase three 512's for the price of one Bridgestone.

baby_igor

I traded my EL42 for LS-Z at the Mclean Firestone back in October when I bought my 04 TL. These tires are great. I park my car outside, and have had no issue in January with 9 degree morning starts. They are fun to drive on the windy, hilly back roads here in NVA. The Firestone factory stores have a fixed trade in program. I paid about $140 out of pocket to swap the EL42s out.

bollingm

baby_igor,
Thanks, good to know they were fine on these cold NVA morning we have had.