Swat Dude

I took my TL back to the dealer to fix two problems that were not corrected on my warranty visit the first time. (Please see my other post for what a joke the dealer is.) Well, I got a brand new 2004 TL Loaner with 23 miles on it and guess what, that thing shook like Beyonce's rear between 50 and 60 mph. So it looks to me like Acura is still pumping out new TL's with crappy tires. Has anyone tried going directly to Bridgestone as opposed to their dealer??? Acura of Tempe traded my tires out for ones on another loaner and the problem has almost all but gone away. I'm still worried that the wobble isn't completely gone since it has been so hot here.

rets

They're crappy tires, yes, I'm gonna sell them, anyone needs them?

It's time to have the better tires... :o

Aquineas

I hate The Turanzas from my Altima SE days. They are absolutely horrid in the rain. But as far as the flat-spotting problem, I'm not seeing it. My car was built this month. Maybe it's because it didn't sit very long?

neuronbob

I told the dealer to throw them out when I had the Falkens installed.

rets

Ha, that's the way I probably will end next week, the dealer seems ok to give me some limited credits back if no ones need my tires. :o

roadman

Spoke to guy yesterday who changed his tires to 235/50-17 and had Eagle RS-A's on his '04 TL.

He fought with ACS for months before finally getting his dealer to buy back his EL-42's for $40 per tire (4k miles on the tires). He loves the new tires, said that the slightly taller sidewall makes the car much more comfortable.

What is odd is that our cars were next to each other and his tire looked wider than mine, definately up to the edge of the rim, where mine ends short of the rim. Not sure why that is they are both 235 wide.

He never heard of this site, boy is he in for a lot of reading when he gets around to check us out.

smeds

I have a friend who works for Firestone/Bridgestone who may be able to swap out my Turanzas. What tires do you guys recommend.

s54

After having the dealer put on two "new" sets of EL 42s on and still having the flat spotting and vibration issues with 3900 miles, the dealer finally put on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for free.

Suffice it to say that both issues are now resolved. I for one will never buy another Acura/Honda product, although I think the dealer was just following procedure. Acura Corporate knows it has a problem, as I have had the same vibration problems that SWAT had will the four loaners they have given me. Yet, Acura is trying to sweep a major design issue under the rug.

I feel pity for the saps that just deal with it - just what Acura is hoping will happen.

The sad thing is that the car runs amazingly with the Michelins, but Acura must have been trying to save a little dough with the Bridgestone's.

S

djmgolf2000

What is the price difference of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and the EL42's? How much is Acura really saving? Has anyone had any luck getting them swapped out prior to taking delivery from the dealer?

gpman

we should all call and demand from a.c.s. a new set of michelin sport a/s.these b.s.
42s are not acceptable. I have vibration 5 to 10 miles a day first and then it smooths out. These tires are just crap.

dheel

Do you find the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's any louder than the EL42's any more harsh-riding?
I know the handling would be improved greatly, but I tend to like a quiet, smooth, not harsh-riding tire.

dheel

Think the stock size would be H rated, by him choosing to go to 50 series he got the V rated version. Did he say how noise, ride, handling was compared to the EL42's? ... I mentioned one time maybe going up in sidewall size it may help out in flatspotting. Other posters said by increasing size it would be a stiffer sidewall and ride would be harsher. Don't know if that's the case or not though.

smeds

I had Michelins on all my previous cars, however, I may be able to swap out the Turanza with the Polenza(sp), and pay the difference. Anyone know how good the Polenza's are. They're rated performance tires.

s54

Only marginally more noise - not enough to think twice about. Besides, it drowns out the pops and rattles that the XM doesn't. S

roadman

I spoke to a Rep at Tirerack about the height. The stock EL-42 is WR rated, if one went to a 50 series WR rated tire, the sidewall would have to be very firm, firmer than a 45 series tire to accomodate the speed rating. A 50 series WR would ride rougher than a 45 series WR tire.

A lesser speed rating would be needed to get a comfortable tire. Realistically do we need WR (168 mph), going to a Z (149mph) or an H (130mph) is even a stretch, but these tires would be better riding than the WR's.

This explains why the LS-Z is a better riding tire than the EL-42, it does not need to support as high a speed, hence it does not need to be as firm.

dheel

I have looked at the new Yokohama Avid H4S, it's H-rated in the stock TL size. Seems like it should be a decent tire with handling and long tweadwear. Seems the Avid 4HS has a higher load rating than the EL42's though, is reinforced compared to standard load for the EL42's. Sounds like it should be internally a stronger tire.
I have the Avid Touring's on my Accord and really like them, handle fairly well for a 80,000 mile touring tire, really quiet too.
.... I haven't found my LS-Z's to ride much or any better than the EL42's. I suggested about the speed rating before and someone posted that the LS-Z's are actually firmer. Said the Z-rating is for speeds 149mph and higher and the W-rating is just up to 168mph? So I assume the LS-Z's may have a stiffer sidewall.
Don't know if this has been posted before but here is article on flatspotting-

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...atspotting.jsp

Ken7

Bob, how do you find the ride & noise with the Falkens relative to the ELs? Do you find they handle road irregularities better (less jarring) than the ELs? I know Consumer Reports found them quiet and comfortable.

yzfrebel

I agree with you. I just had the new EL 42s put on. Still has the same problem in the morning though not as bad. But I think this is due more to the weather than the tires.

When I called ACS they said just give the new tires a try. So I reminded them that it is now JUNE so the cold weather flatspotting will not be as bad. But I live in NM and it still can drop into the 40s at night. I also told the ACS rep that I would put money on Acura not having these tires on the 05 in August.

I Believe that this is going to be a huge PR nightmare for Acura if they don't get their act together. Their hardliner stance on this is so RIDICULOUS that is becoming kinda funny to me. I wonder if 60 minutes or Dateline would cover something like this?

Toronto-TL'04

Because my car was vibrating at highway speeds, my dealer replaced a rim they said I bent, then when that didn't help reluctantly replaced my original Bridgestones by Bridgestones with "a new rubber compound" -- which performed worse than the first -- then reluctantly replaced the tires with Michelin Pilot A/S's; then arranged for a high-speed balance on the car -- all with the result that the vibration is much reduced, but still there and unacceptable. They insist the problem could only be with the tires and the suspension, etc. is fine. I'll continue to pursue with the dealer and Acura, but would like to hear from anyone with further ideas about what could be causing the vibration. Acura is starting (again) to tell me that it's all in my head -- but from what I read in this forum, it's clearly not.

04TLMan

Has anyone just gone with the Summer tire package and bought winter rims and tires? I looking into this and not sure how good the summer tires are. Also can not find a 17 winter tire. Looks like I hae to go down in rim size. This may be good to have higher aspect ratio tires to protect from NE potholes. Looks like could go with 205/65/15 or 225/55/16 winter tires.

roadman

ACS handles PR nightmares very well. The EL-42 issue is no where as widespread as the '02 and '03 TL-S Tranny issue. Mine had 4 alone and every time I had them replaced the dealer had a few other's in there for the same problem.

As for the Vibration, ACS told me that the vibration is a "Normal Characteristic of the car" . I have filed a complaint with the NHSTA to see if they also feel that a vibration should be designed into a vehicle and what impact that has on safety. I am not an expert, let the experts decide if the vibration is safe

999999

over in the sticky fitment thread. I listed a few I found that fit based on listings on the tire companies' websites.

Ken7

I am still amazed that with all the reviews on this car, there isn't one I've read that mentioned anything about vibration. I've had my new TL for about a month now and the only vibration I've expreienced is the few times I've had a bit of flat spotting with the new ELs.

roadman

Ken,

Actually there was by Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press. The link is posted someplace on this forum

Ken7

Thanks roadman, I'll look for it.

rets

I wonder why, too. Besides TOV in Atlanta, I'm not sure how many magazine/review editors actaully drove 04TL home and tested it in their familiar environment. Perhaps, most of editors realistically test-drove the well-tuned 04TLs offered by Acura Engineering Dept. I'm sure those cars only had very limited characteristic factors. Plus, a lot of 04TL 6MT came with HPTs for those editors, at least not all vehicles equiped with EL42s.

:o

pressrun

Took my other car into a local Firestone service shop that does good work for me...while there started asking about his experience with EL42s. Needless to say he had an evil smile and chuckle for me. His comment was that he'd never even steer someone towards these tires, if he even had them anymore. Bridgestone/Firestone has switched all their tires over to the new "Uni-T" design/line, so getting ahold of the ELs are nearly impossible. He says (and I'd have to agree) that it looks like Acura cut a corner by buying out the remaining ELs that were being phased out anyway. :shit:
Thanks for going the extra mile Acura!

Big Ped

Heard you mention the Falcons a few times. I had flcons on my old TL before I turned it in for the new one. I was almost as sad to see the falcons go as I did the whole rest of the car. They were only three weeks old when I turned the car in at the end of the lease. I was originally going to buy out my car, but then had the last minute revelation and got the 04 TL. No time to sell them so I turned them in.

Hey looking to put Falcons on my 04 TL. What size and model did you get, how much did you pay and where did you get it from if you don't mind please. I had the Azenus and got them from Tires.com.

Thanks!

dheel

I know lots of posters on here have got the Falken 512's, and say good things about them.
hptire.net has them for 84.00 a piece, guess it depends on your shipping area but four tires+shipping for me would be 380.00, not bad price.

Big Ped

Thanks Dheel,

I had the Azenas, how do they compare with the 512's. Is the main difference that the 512s are all weather and Azenas are purely summer??

dheel

From what I have read I think that is the main difference, with the 512's being all-season and the Azenis ST115's are summer tires. There are posts on both tires, both get good reviews.

rets

Guys, if interesting in knowing more about Falkens, you could check here.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...475#post816475

sradbims76

I have heard about flat-spotting during the winter months in NJ, but customers who bought TL's from me have not complained about it. Apparently, and I have been told this by other customers, the tires only flat-spot when sitting overnight in freezing weather. I have yet to hear about flat-spotting in warm weather. I have confirmed this by driving our demo TL in cold weather first thing in the morning.

rets

I'm lucky that my 04TL only experienced flatspot once since last Oct. But what I don't like with EL42s is the hydroplaning. IMO.

yzfrebel

I live in New Mexico at 4900 ft above sea level where it is in the 90s during the day and low 50s at night. I am still get flat spotting in the mornings in June.

dheel

I have flatspotting in the morning regardless of temp, it depends on if the car was driven the day before. I have not driven the the car for a day or two and has been between 60-70 degrees the next morning and will flatspot. So it's my conclusion the temp has little to do with it, it depends on if it's sit without being driven for a day or so.

roadman

Mine flatspots virtually every mornings, the warmer mornings though result in the problem going away much faster than when it is very cold.

While at the dealer the service mgr took me out in a different '04 that was sitting overnight, and that also flatspotted. Temps were in the low 60's.

Big Ped

Sorry for asking a silly question. What is flatspoting and what problems does it cause?

Thanks!

rets

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...atspotting.jsp

Big Ped

Thanks for the link rets.