LynnR0

2004 TL, 73k miles on it. Have had Pirelli Nero M&S, Bridgestone Potenza RE960's on it - currently have the Bridgestones. HATE them - vibrate like crazy are loud and worn out after just 20k miles. TERRIBLE tires. I really dont mind spending decent $ on tires IF they are worth it but my past 2 experiences havent been all that great.
Any suggestions for a decent, quieter tire than the 2 I mentioned above?
As you might be able to tell, I am at my wits end with tires and would really appreciate some help....
Thanks TOO much!
~Lynn

01tl4tl

use the search feature- this topic has been posted to death
look at www.tirerack.com for ideas

LynnR0

Thanks for your help?
I have been on the phone w/The Tire Rack, looked on their site and did look at this site........and I do know how to use the search feature

Guess you're tired of seeing this topic - I apologize for my oversight - I am just such an indecisive person that I like to "hear" things firsthand. And to be perfectly honest with you my past 2 purchases were based on The Tire Racks recommendations and I wasnt happy with either one........so I dont have much faith in them either. I just wanted some suggestions from those "in the trenches", not people that test drive cars........
~Lynn

jginnane

We're going from Michelin Pilot MXM4s -- 60,000 miles on a treadwear rating of 300 -- to the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS with treadwear 400. Tomorrow, in fact. Your experience -- only 20K on a set -- says that we don't drive the same way.

I'd suggest looking at the other pieces: suspension, road force balancing, etc. etc. Beyond that -- tire inflation, resisting the urge to "drift" look they do in the movies, making sure your emergency brake is off, don't drive with your left foot on that big pedal -- y'know, the usual.

RickyRatchet

look into the Toyo Proxie 4's, i haven't tried them myself but i plan on buying a set in the spring.

LynnR0

LOL - I am certainly not a drifter (although it does look fun, doesnt it? ) , have never driven w/the e-brake on and NEVER drive with my foot on the brake. Never ever ever.
The Potenza RE960's have been a problem for me since I got them put on my car - and yes, I did have a full wheel alignment etc when they were put on. I even brought the car back to a different shop after a little while for them to be checked out again b/c of the loudness and vibrating these tires give off and everything was fine - I was told its just the nature of these particular tires. While some may have had luck with them, Ive had nothing but aggravation and have been *extremely* unhappy with them. I sincerely hope you fall into the category of being hopelessly in love with them b/c if you're not, you will be miserable for the duration that you have these things on your car.
Good luck w/the new sneakers
~Lynn

NedShneebly

General Exclaim UHP's ftw. 4th best tested UHP (tirerack) and probably the cheapest in category - just bought a set of 245/35/19's for $570 shipped from tirerack.

Lots of devoted Falken fans on the forum.

jginnane

One option you may consider -- look at the Grand Touring AS instead of UHP AS category. I was weighing this for a long time, because the Goodyear Eagle Response Edge is a net price of $112 each this month (after rebate) and, as a GT, is supposedly a smoother / quieter tire. It would have been similar to the Michelin Pilot MXM4s we have, except for a higher tirerack rating and not $262 apiece.

You don't post a location, but that also affects tire choice. North of NYC we would have looked at Goodyear Eagle F1 AS because of the more aggressive tread (on snow). Down here along the Jersey Coast, rain is more an issue than snow so you'd weigh the geometries differently.

But of you're chewing up premium tires, the ResponseEdge at least has a 40K treadwear warranty.

One other thing. The 04's had the issue with the too-active rear suspension causing massive rear toe-in under load -- so the back tires would wear out quickly. There was a service procedure where they installed better stops limiting the rear suspension travel. If you never had it done -- that could well be why you wear out the rubber so quickly, especially if you carry any weight in the trunk. (This was the greatest contributor to the Turanza EL42 wear issue, aside from that being an all-around sucky tire.)

csmeance

20K out of the potenza's I have them with around 20K and they are at around 5/32nds... and the roads here aren't nice, I went though some falkens in 20K and the Michelin MX4M's in 20K too.

LynnR0

No, Ive never had the service procedure performed that you mention. Was it a recall issue or just something they do when / if they feel like it, and would I have to pay?
The rears do seem to wear much more quickly than the fronts, so maybe this is the likely cause.....if you could direct me to the info you are referring to I would **really** appreciate it so I can call my dealer and talk to them.
I live in Northern NJ and am getting ready to move to lower NYS, so snow is a factor in my tire decisions.
And just as a side note, dealers are STILL recommending the Turanza EL 42's!!?!! I asked them (Open Raod Acura of Wayne) what tire they recommend and the response was "The ONLY tire that should be on that car is the Turanza EL42!" I told them no thank you and that they are far worse than any other tire Ive had so I will not be using them again.
Geez, I never for the life of me thought replacing tires on a car would be so darned challenging!
Thanks everyone for all of your help and suggestions, I really appreciate it!
~Lynn

LynnR0

Scratch that - I found the service bulletin. Called my service advisor and because I dont have the original equipment on the car (I replaced the tires a couple times and the rims), AND because it is out of warranty she is saying this will not apply to me. I explained to her I dont want the tires (Turanza EL42's) and the alignment, but if they could do the rear bumper stops in the very least I'd be happy. Now Ive been complaining about tire wear for a LONG time now so hopefully she has it documented it somewhere but my greatest fear is that the majority (if not all) of my complaining was done at the dealership I purchased my car at, which I no longer use for service. I cant even begin to tell you the amount I complained about this issue and I was told there was nothing that could be done......
Hopefully she will be able to get the bump stops covered under a Goodwill deal, but I have my doubts..... We shall see.......
Thanks again everyone!
~Lynn

TLAwesome

Lynn,

Front wheel drive cars typically wear out the front tires faster, if the tires are not rotated on a regular schedule. It seems that your car may be subject to the service bulletin, and if your car matches the VINs, you should get the new bump stops or this will continue to happen.

Yours is the first complaint I've read here about the RE960s. They obviously should not be vibrating like crazy or be particularly loud. Do they seem to vibrate at a certain time, for example, at high speeds or when braking? Did you have similar problems with the OE tires and the Pirellis?

There have been suggestions made in this thread that I do not think would be suitable for you. The Exclaim UHPs, for example (which I own and love), have lackluster snow traction despite being labelled M&S, and the ice traction of the UHPs is abysmal (no sipes). The Toyo Proxes 4 is also horrible on snow, as well as being a fairly old design. People should stop recommending the Proxes 4 as it is no longer a competitive UHP A/S tire.

As for the service bulleting, if your car is under the VINs listed, and if your first complaint was made within the warranty period, then I believe the dealer would have had a legal obligation to at least advise you of the service bulleting and offer you the opportunity to at least upgrade the stops. As a result of their negligence in failing to diagnose why your tires were wearing prematurely, you've now had premature wear on three sets of tires. Find out when you first notified them of the problem and, if it was in the warranty period, make sure they give you the new stops for free. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to ask a lawyer-friend to send them a letter saying that they owe you for three sets of prematurely worn tires, breach of warranty, etc., etc., etc.

Lastly, jginnane's suggestion to consider Grand Touring tires is not a bad suggestion, as these tires tend to be far more quiet and pleasing to drive than UHP A/S tires, all at the expense of performance handling, which may not be an issue for you if you don't corner hard and drive aggressively. That being said, based upon Tirerack's independent tests, the Bridgestone Serenity is a better peforming Grand Touring tire than the Eagle Response Edge. I don't think the Response Edge will be particularly good in the snow due to its tread design. The Cooper CS4 is one of the better Grand Touring tires, but make sure any tire you get has at least a "V" speed rating.

jginnane

If you click my username and check posts from Jan-Feb 2006, I was pretty fired up about the EL42s. Especially when the back end of the car was jumping sideways 6" in light snow. The full warranty replacement I had might have just been to shut me up, because I was ready for war. (If you are ready to bring a pack of screaming babies into a car dealership on a busy Saturday morning to press your point about car safety, the Other Guy -- namely, Joe the sales manager -- might be inclined to avert.

(We did get RE960s put on today, and qualitatively it's like graduating from Folgers to Starbucks.)

lowgrowl

I have Yokohama W4's. I have no regrets. Quiet, wearing well, affordable, and give good performance. Always liked Yokohama tires

UplandTLsleeping

Im riding on faulken azenis. Forget about them. My first set went raw in 5 months, now, the new ones are only 6weeks old and Im tearing through them. Waste of money

05tlguy

After MUCH anal researching and deliberating, I put a set of 245/45 general altimax hp's on my 05 tl... They fit the needs i have very well--quiet, smooth ,handle very well after break in { and proper inflation}, will wear forever, and{ looks like} snow traction will be far above average... note.. they are not uhp tires, but they are as close as you will find for a lot less money and very good performance.--- btw the "H" rating doesnt concern me as i will never get remotely close to 130 mph in this car. Check out the ratings on tire rack.. BTW- they look good too! hope this helps