swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Winter is around the corner and Kansas does get some snow

My falken are pretty much old....am satisfied with them because of the cost.....but then again done in 20K miles.....no i dont do burnouts, i drive spiritedly and dont squeal the tires or activate ABS while braking !!!

This time around I think am going to get some better tires.....here is what am looking at:

Continental Extreme Contact DWS: Heard a lot of good things about it. Tirerack has them unraked at $122 a piece...$488 for a set !!!!

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus: Great tires. Heard good things about it. But mileage drop by 3-4 MPG (yes I was shocked too, read it in some thread). Tirerack rating is 8.3, at $178 a piece ($70 MIR on a set of 4)...$642 for a set !!!!

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position:The good old Bridgestone name....Noisy ??? Traction ??? Tirerack has them ranked at 8.3....$180 a piece....$720 for a set....pricey !!!

Pirelli PZero Nero All Season: Decent priced !!! Tirerack has them rated at 7.9.....$159 a piece....$636 a set....

Other tires that interested me are:

Yokohama Avid W4S / Yokohama Advan S4
Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season

What am I looking for:

A all year long tire......with good dry/wet/snow traction.....less road noise.....last me a little more than 30K miles.....

Please chime in !!!

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Also what tire size would you go for ??? 235/45/17....225/35/17....245/35/17.....i like the stretched look LOL !!!

pikemike420

Just bought Sumitomo HTRIII at $93 a tire, and they are great. Do not, I repeat do not get directional tires, and dont get anything other than OEM sizes.

Etohprn247

iTrader: (6)

What's wrong with directional tires?

LaCostaRacer

^ If you have a properly aligned car, I don't see a big problem with directional tires. Directional tires require a Front-Rear rotation instead of the rear crossing pattern used for conventional tires. Therefore, you are more prone to wear out the directional tires if you happen to have alignment issues with toe or camber in both the front and rear for a side.

Directional tires will complicate things if you have an issue that requires replacing one of the tires- you'll be locked into getting an exact replacement or may need to buy a new set of 4 tires possibly. That's the risk, but there is a significant performance gain as well.

I just got new tires last Friday and I went for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. They are a huge improvement in performance over the stock Michelin MXV4 tires, but they are directional.

FYI, I haven't noticed the big gas mileage drop as claimed- it might be 1MPG based on 70 miles of driving on the new tires with a city commute. I use to get 18-19MPG with the stock MXV4's and I see 18 on the MID with the new tires. Not a huge deal and the MID is still climbing (I have the Nav hack with trip computer that gives 1/10 mpg increments) so it might wind up being a wash by the time I fill up anyway. I have noticed that these new tires stick very well on wet roads unlike the stock tires.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

It's early and need to kill some time before breakfast.
First, the Sumitomo HTRZIII are summer only tires so they can’t be used in the snow environment found in Kansas, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with directional tires. If there is a camber problem on one side, with rotation of non directional tires, all 4 will be ruined, not just two. Also if a single tire is needed for a replacement, once again not a problem, as the tire can be mounted to compensate for the rolling direction. I also recommend going to a 245/45-17 tire, more stability and only slightly taller. I have the Yokohama S.4 245/45-17 on the TL, but don’t drive it in winter so can’t report snow traction. Don’t think any ultra high performance tire is going to be excellent in snow, but if decent tread, should be more than adequate. The Yoko’s are fantastic, but they do flatspot when cold which is annoying, but dissipates after a mile or two.
Just my opinion:
Continental DWS-Complaints about sidewall weakness.
Bridgestone 960-Would never purchase Bridgestone’s, and the 960 has a narrow tread when compared to others in a particular size. Actually ½” less than the S.4 in 245.
Pirelli P Zero Nero-No feedback.
Michelin A/S Plus-No negatives as far as I can see.
Yokohama W4s-Widest tread width available at 9.2”, good inexpensive all around tire.
Yokohama S.4-Great ride, handling, tread width 8.7”.

As the tires are all rated 400, or higher, although not an industry wide standard, any of these tires will last more than 30K if taken care of and not abused, so it looks like you have a few to choose from.

ch35rp

I have the Continental Extreme Contacts in the 245/45/17 size. They are quieter and gripier than the original Bridgestones and Kumho's they replaced. I got 20K miles from the Bridgestones, 35K from the Kumho's. I have 46K on the Continentals and will have to replace soon. Will definately go with Continental again.

wahoo67

I have the original OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL42's on my 08 TL Auto. Current mileage is 49,500 on the tires. Just got back from the dealer. Vehicle Inspection report says the tires are at 60% left. They're quiet and handled well in New ENgland winter last year. We'll see this year. Brakes are at 80% Front and 50% Rear. Guess I can't complain about either. Car is GREAT!

Sandals

iTrader: (2)

I would go for the sport A/S plus. I got these on my dad's TL and what an improvement over stock. They grip very well on wet and dry and were not that much money. I heard that consumer reporter found that Michelin tires are the best with sport A/S as the leader.

millarduck

Keep in mind when you are talking about the prices at Tire Rack as "sets", you still need to pay for shipping and install. Your set price is a tire and install price with a local guy. Locals will match Tire Rack's pricing and you can save a hundred bucks easily, plus if you blow one out, you have a guy who stocks them locally. I went with Toyo Versado LXs, paid $660 for balance, install, alignment, disposal.

emas

I woul not just look at tire rack. In most cases discounttiredirect.com is cheaper.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Yokohama W4s-Widest tread width available at 9.2”, good inexpensive all around tire
Yokohama S.4-Great ride, handling, tread width 8.7”

- any inputs on these two tires for winters/snow ???

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

am honestly thinking between

Yoko Avid W4s and Continental DWS.....both seem like amazing tires....Continental DWS being compared to and ranked higher than Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.....and Yoko Avid W4s having pretty high customer satisfaction !!!!

The only thing making me lean towards the DWS is the warranty !!!

TLAwesome

If snow traction is important to you, forget either of the Yokohama offerings and go with the DWS. Both Yoko's are below average in snow, especially the W4S.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ and i just read the reviews online.....guess DWS it is

Thanks a lot all of you helping me select the tire !!!

dBex

I just got a set of the DWS's and they are fantastic. They are a huge step up from the stock tires and they are super quiet.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ ok 2 questions.....where did u get them from and how much LOL !!!!

but yeah good to see someone writing about those tires.....

how is the sidewall (what psi are you running) ??? also how is dry/wet traction ??

Thanks :P

pikemike420

I live in Miami, and I didnt realize the OP was from Kansas.

I had a set of directional Kumhos on the car and the noise they made was astounding especially on the highway. Could be just the tire, but the dealership warned me-DO NOT PUT DIRECTIONAL TIRES ON THIS CAR. This advice was given at 3 different dealerships.

For those who dont have to deal with snow:
-Original Michelins were OK at best
-Kumho Exstas-See above, and I would also add that the wet grip was TREMENDOUS! I could not get this car to lose grip at all.
-Sumitomo HTRIII-Pretty good thus far.

blkaspec

I have the P-Zero Neros here is MI, I am actually on my second set, and I really like...but they do have some down sides. They wear a long time, about 40k or just over, and they do a pretty good job in the summer at least for an all-season. They are not the best in the rain, they slip some, and they do trammel(sp?)...where they get caught up on grooves in the road and follow that path. I went through one complete winter with them and they did pretty good. I have 18" wheels so i dont have tons of sidewall, but thats where things go bad. If there is a big dump and you try to take off from a complete stop i found that i would actually drift sideways instead of moving forward....which can be scary. I will still dive in them in the snow but once it starts to dump i put on the winters. I went with the Michelin X-Ice Xi2 last winter and it was a huge improvement. I went with the smaller 17" so i had a little extra sidewall, and the rubber is suppose to last longer than other brands while still giving a great snow/ice grip. Thats all i know... good luck

Jaco

iTrader: (1)

I put DWS's on my car a couple of weeks ago it was ended up being $123 a tire including shipping from Discount. They have been great so far, I went with the stock sizing 235/45s. They initally put on some of the older conti extreme contacts and they looked a lot smaller in the wheel well compaired to when the DWS's were put on, it was a tire install mistake by discount.

dBex

I got them from discount tire.
The sidewall is pretty good. I am running 38f/35r and they hold a line really well.

Wet traction is incredible compared to the stock Mich.
Dry traction is very good and definitely better than stock.