es466

Hello all --

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas. I picked up my first Acura, a 2008 base TL, last Saturday and so far I'm just loving it. Thanks to all who responded to the thread I posted re: the new car last week.

I had a question for all of you fellow 3G TL owners -- what kind of tires do you prefer for your machine, and why?

The reason I ask is that my TL has a set of Firestone Wide Oval "Indy 500" Firehawks, which is a summer performance tire. I love the handling... the ride and noise factors, not so much. I've always driven like an old man, anyways... LOL (I'm 46).

Is there a smooth, quiet tire out there that's especially well-suited for the 3G TL? Especially one that might also be well-suited for the snowy/icy weather we tend to get here in central Indiana.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/recommendations you can provide!

csmeance

Great all around summer tire: Continental DW

Amazing All-Season Tire: Continental DWS

The DW is on my 760 and handles the power amazingly well. The car is nice and quiet and drives like a dream with these tires. I've had probably 3-4 different tires on the 760 before I stopped bothering Discount Tire with the DW.

The DWS is on my TL and will soon be on my MDX! These have been amazing the time I've had them on the TL. Nice and quiet with a great ride, great performance and with 45K on them they still have another few thousand miles of tread left on them! Plus I've plowed though 2-3 inches of snow in the DWS and folks have plowed though much more without any sort of issues!

Will Y.

Very recent thread with another new member from Indiana seeking tire advice: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/new-tires-all-season-driving-indiana-875779/.

Welcome to AZ!

beyond 1000

Continental DWS and don't go elsewhere. Radical tread pattern and top rated in it's class. Rock solid sidewall to boot.

I have the same car as you in WDP.

Stuntdoogie

I just bought 245/45/17 Kuhmo Ecsta 4x for my Base 06 and dont regret it sofar. Quiet, Comfy,Handles very well in dry and wet.

Cbosa17

I went with BFG's g-force Comp-2 in a 255/40-17 and love them. The ride is very quite and the grip is there when I need it. My wife does complain that she can't tell what speed she is going on the highway though

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

this is my first ever cool ass car.
ive always had econo boxes that sucked and wasnt worth the time modding.
this machine puts out a decent amount of horsepower.
(the most Ive ever had in a vehicle)
Since Im in a more stable job and can afford to mod the car how I please, I decided to run dedicated summer tires ALL year long.
it helps that I live in Houston and it is summer ALL year long.

Ive tried two "summer tires"
these are strictly summers!!
the first one Ive ever tried was the Nitto NT05s
and when I say summer tire, it looks like a racing slick.

this second tire I just recently bought is the Dunlop Direzza star specs.

these two tires are one of the best summers available
but you will have to compromise noise and tire tread life.

I love them and would never go back to an all season tire.

happyboy

You need 2 sets of tires: dedicated winter tires and straight-up summer rubber...

cabose369

I am running Michelin Super Sports for the Summer and they are hands down the best tires I have ever used. Holy grip much. Whether it is rain or dry these tires are glued to the road. Love them.

es466

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and replies. Any opinions on the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus?

csmeance

It's a grand touring tire that's Low Rolling Resistance (supposed to give better MPG). The Tires that we are talking about are MUCH different than this.

The DWS is a Ultra High Performance, All season (UHPAS) tire while these are Grand Touring Tires. They are tires that give a comfortable ride for all seasons with nothing outstanding about them (grand touring).

The DWS (UHPAS) is the only sort of all season tire that can plow through multiple inches of snow with no issue. The Turanza's you linked are only good for LIGHT snow which is less than an inch. Plus the DWS is about 50 dollars cheaper a tire and has almost the same tread life as the Serenity (Dependent on which speed spec you get).

Look on tirerack.com for a bit more info and reading about tires. If snow performance is a big concern, the DWS is the CLEAR winner. If you already have a set of snow tires, then that changes the game a bit and opens up a few much better possibilities.

Jackass

We have the Turanza Serenity (not the plus) on my wife's Equinox and have been extremely pleased with them. They have handled any "spirited" driving I have thrown at them with ease....of course what is "spirited" driving for me is probably/possibly regular daily driving for many others.

Assuming Indiana winters are about the same as Kansas City winters, the Turanza Serenity should have no issues. That should also mean the DWS will handle it with ease as well based on posts from other users. I have Primacy MXM4 on mine and absolutely love how quiet and smooth my car is again. If I hadn't been doing a warranty claim with Michelin, I had planned on switching to the Serenity+ or the DWS on my TL as well.

sleeper22

Michelin Primacy MXM4 if you drive like an old man and want a good all around performer. It's a Touring tire and not all out performance. I love mine as I wanted a quiet tire that would wear well and offer good all around performance. They haven't disappointed.

es466

I've decided to purchase a set of Michelin Primacy MXM4s for my TL.... I've had a set of MXV4s on my 03 Accord V6 and was very happy with their ride comfort, so I'm going to stay with the Michelin brand

dannyz

Depends on what you want. For uncompromising dry I'm really impressed with Dunlop Direzza Z1s on my star specs 300ZX--scary traction, but also very predictable at breakaway when driven hard. But for a long-legged cruiser like the TL S I prefer top-line quiet, long wearing, safe in the wet, actually work in the snow, all weather tires like the Michelin Primacy.

es466

Quick update. After calling around this past week and inquiring about a set of Michelin Primacy MXM4s only to find out that there was a 6-10 week wait, I ended up having the Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires installed today. So far, so good, and a big improvement in quietness and ride quality over the Firestone Firehawk Wide Ovals that were on the car when I bought it six weeks ago. Plus, time was of the essence as the Firestones are not suited to winter weather.
Thanks again for all of your input. I've always been a Michelin guy and have never owned Continentals before, but based on inital experience I think I'll be happy with the DWS.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I hope they work out for you. The DWS' were horrible for me, but seems like most people love them.

buzzkill911

I've had the DWS for a month now with a few recent snow storms and I'm happy to report they work as well as people say. So far so good!

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

The Conti DWS should treat you well. It's the only tire I've run since I took the crappy Turanza's off from the dealer. I've been happy with them in all respects, especially snow traction.

I'll be switching to a summer tire come the end of March though. The DWS is a great all season and very good in the snow. And because it's still plenty capable on dry, it's a good tire to run in the winter vs. dedicated snow tires which typically handle like truck tires on dry pavement (and wear out quicker too). But you take a compromise in the summer with the DWS. I find it to have a rather soft sidewall - good for comfort and cruising but not as great for handling. A stiffer summer tire would make a significant difference in dry conditions. I'm probably going to give the Nitto NT05's a try this summer then switch back to my set of DWS in the winter.

es466

Quick bump/update -- I've had the Continential Extreme Contact DWS tires for a little over a month and had the opportunity to drive them home this evening in fairly heavy snow -- IMO they were every bit as advertised on snowy roads. Good grip and cornering -- I'm a fan!

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I hope they last you more than 20k miles..

zachlone

my next set of tires will be conti DWS

jack the ex-cynic

i love the conti DWS but as someone else said you can tear through them quick. i ran through mine in less than 2 years, definitely less than 40k on them, but i drive pretty aggressively too.

looking at summer tires now so as not to waste the conti's needlessly and trying to decide between pilot super sports and potenza re-11. my last two sets of summer tires were potenzas (OEM 030s and then RE760s), and they were great in the dry but scary in the wet.

the re-11s are more expensive and look like racing slicks vs. the michelins so i'm leaning toward the super sports since it rains like a monsoon here during the summer and i've had enough hydroplaning at highway speeds for one lifetime.

jolery999

I purchased my 05 TL 6 Speed a few years ago and have been loving it. I replaced the bald tires it came with, with Goodyear Eagle GT's of some sort, burned through those in about 8,000 miles. Had a blowout on a roadtrip to California, replaced with the only thing I could find locally, cheap Rotalla F107 tires on the rear, later with Conti Extreme Contact DWS on the front after extensive research. The DWS have lasted 15K and they have maybe 2/32" left. The Rotalla have lasted about 22K and have about 4/32" left - much better life but slid a bit when I had them on the front. The car was aligned recently, and it was barely out of alignment. Have rotated although not as often as recommended. A little frustrated as I look for options for my next set - I agree the DWS perform very well, just don't know how people are getting so many miles out of them?! I drive like a bat out of hell, and take curves as fast as possible, and enjoy doing so. Yes this eats rubber, I know.

Any recommendations from those who have burned through Conti tires? Anyone found anything that lasts longer, and performs decent?

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

Lol where were you when I got called out for making "poor life choices" for choosing the DWS. Lol. Yeah that really happened.

The Michelin A/S 3's are supposed to be really good too. Cost a little more but the performance is better. Personally prefer the DWS since it provides better ride quality. Does mush the ride a little bit but can't complain when it gets wet or snowy. Feels a lot more confident then. Under aggressive driving though the tires do wear a little quick.

Great tires other than that.

Mr Marco

^Aaand the drama continues. I sincerely hoped you could move on, but at this point I am convinced that you have another 20 years of hard life lessons ahead...

ez12a

I just had continental dws thrown on yesterday. replaced a set of fairly worn Hankook V12 EVOs (2 more worn than the other, bought at different times). The pair that was the most worn had 28k miles on them. Pretty good considering they're summer performance tires with a tread wear rating of 280.

My first impressions of DWS: definitely stiffer from the get go. I've read V12s have a weak sidewall for a performance tire, so that could be a factor along with the slower wearing tread compound. I also upsized to a wider tire with 255/40-17 vs stock dimensions for the v12.

tread on the DWS looks like a beast though. If i can get 28k (probably 30k if i really rode them down to the indicators) on the V12s i expect approx double from the DWS.

I hate cars

For extreme no compromise traction and response, there are basically 3 tires out there that stand far above the rest. The Nitto NT05, Dunlop Star Specs, and the Hankook RS3.

Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. None will last that long. I typically get 12,000 miles out of my NT05s but I drive the car 3 miles a day during the work week so wear is not an issue for me. All of these tires are excellent in the wet, all channel water away (hydroplaning resistance) pretty well as most summer tires do.

The Star Specs come with more tread than the NT05 and many say they don't require as much heat to work well but many say the NT05 has a very slight advantage in outright grip. It seems like the NT05 has a bigger advantage on the heavier cars and less of an advantage on the lighter cars. My driving style at the track usually means quite a bit of sliding around and the NT05 will go full out all day without getting greasy and losing traction.

The RS3 is about as close as you can come to a race tire that has good street manners. Many people are running almost the same times on the RS3 as they do on their R comps. These will be my next tire, my first departure from the NT05 in many years. They have a very low tread wear rating but they come with more tread than the NT05 so it may even out in the end. This is considered the grippiest non race tire available.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I want the RS3's NEXTT!!!!!!!!!

i_love_cars

iTrader: (1)

if I haven't sold the TL by summer, I'm definitely picking up a set of RS-3's. You can't go wrong for grip with those.

TLMax07

Michelin Pilot Sport/ Super Sports
++1!