I am having my tires replaced at my local Bridgestone dealer because I do not like the look or handling of the stock Turanza EL42s. I can feel side wall flex in hard cornoring situations, such as on ramps. I also do not like the "rolled in" look of the side walls on the stock tires. I went to the Bridgestone corp. website and looked up the specs on the EL42s and my new choice the Potenza S-03. The S-03 in the same size is almost 1" wider at the contact patch. Also the side walls are much more stiff which should reduce the feel of "flex" under hard cornoring. I had S-03s on my Integra and I loved the consistancy of the tire during all driving conditions. (Since I live in Alabama it does not snow, thank God!) Does anyone else think that the Turanzas are too soft for the performance of the 6MT? Also is $170 per tire a good price for 235/45/17 S-03s?

 

Yes...I have noticed it on the merge from onramps as well. I just plugged my back tire from a nice 3 inch long nail and noticed how well the side wall did hold up to 0 psi. The tire height lost about 1 inch and that is all. I was very concerned about the rims touching the ground and getting screwed up. So as my car sat out in this Thanksgiving Baton Roughe monsoon waiting to get fixed I did some homework and found these tires that will be installed on the next tire replacment.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3

They look awesome and the overall ratings are very hard to beat.

 

According to tirerack.com, the Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z would be a MUCH better choice... but don't take my word for it, look at comments from other owners of the tire. <- see link

 

Thanks, I looked at the Turanza LS Z via your link. They are impressive. Maybe that is why they cost $30 more per tire. I will cosider them when I return to the Bridgestone dealer on Monday.

 

Another Bridgestone that looks good is the new RE750. Should be a few $ less and may be a little quieter than the S-03's. It likely will not handle as well however. I don't have first hand knowledge, but gleaned this from the surveys and user's coments at tirerack.com. Do a search for 235/45-17 with Bridgestone as manufacturer. Please report back on your choice and how you like'um.

 

I put Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S on mine and I think they are far better then the stock Bridgestones. If you can go with a summer only tire the S-03s are great tires.

 

Chadr, After my last post I went to tire rack and actually looked at all the test data on S-03's, RE 750, and Pirelli Nero M&S. Those Nero's are HOT. They got really good handling numbers, very close to the Summer tires. Dry Cornering at .93 and the slalom (4.32 secs) was better than the S-03's (on two diff. cars however)
Chplummer, If you would consider something other than Bridgestone, I would look at the Nero M&S ($127 at tirerack). If you still want Max summer and want to save a little, the Goodyear F1 DS-G3 ($153, tirerack) look to be as good as the S-03's Just my 2cents.

Chadr, keep us posted on your tires.

 

I had the Pzero Nero M+S installed on my car this past Monday. MUCH better than the Turanza's and very, very quiet. Solved all of my vibration issues. I like these tires especially considering the relatively low price.

Ryan

 

Keep us posted. Quiet tires are very important to me. I do want good handling (which the Nero M&S's seem to have), but not with noise. I am getting the HPT 030's on the car rather than the EL42's, but I will switch if they are noisy.

 

My take on the Pirellis thus far:

Performance - Only have about 350 miles on them thus far so they are not fully "broken in" yet. The dry performance is excellent they provide great feedback when going towards the limits of the tire. They will not get noisey until the very edge of their grip levels. Wet performance is excellent, however even with good tires the power and FWD will allow you to break them loose if you are too aggressive. The sidewall on these is FAR stiffer then the stock tires and thus turn-in and over-roll are far better then the stock tires.

Noise - they are VERY quiet. With these on the car it is perhaps the quietest car I have been in (comparable to high end BMW, Benz, Audi).

Ride Comfort - they are stiffer then the stock tires so I think they are a little more harsh but I was looking for a sportier ride so they do not bother me at all. Compared to my RX-8 it is like riding in a lexus. Compared to my Jetta it is far more compliant and to my Audis I would say it is similar to a standard A4 and softer then my S4.

Thats my take currently, cannot comment on the snow traction yet.

 

Hey, thanks for all the feedback on the tire choice out their. I will check @ Tire Rack to seel how well the Pzero Neros look. I like Bridgestone but am will to use another manufacture if the price/spec are right. Due to some racing bias I don,t care for Goodyear (NASCAR redneck racin') or Michelin (just 'cause). Anyway I wiil let you guys know what I get next week.

 

Chadr/Rhaas:

Nice posts! That's what makes this site SO valuable to TL owners. Based on multiple posts from multiple threads, it's apparent there are issues with the OEM Turanzas. It seems important that owners push the issue until Acura/Bridgestone appropriately address it. From what I've seen over the past week, the two most logical alternatives are:

Bridgestone Turanza LS-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....20Nero%20M%26S

Extremely interesting is the similarity in tread pattern between the two. A coincidence???

I'll be interested to read follow-ups on performance, particularly posts that compare ride to the OEMs, since that is the common denominator we all have.

Are there any alternatives to removing new OEM Turanzas and letting them sit in your garage while shelling out $500-$800 for a set of tires that work?

 

The tread pattern (similar) in the Pzero Nero M+S and Turanza LS-Z is what makes the tire so quiet from everything I have read.

Also, the Pzero's have a little more rubber meeting the road (or at least it appears that way) than the old EL42's which is nice.

Ryan

 

I put the RE750's on 18" wheels and love them! I can hear them only with the radio off and at lower speeds, silent on the freeway, handle EXCELLENT!

 

My S-03s came in today. I'm having them installed on Thursday. Will keep everyone posted.

 

I had the Goodyear Eagle F-1s on my '02 Type S before I traded that car in for the 04. They were amazing tires. Check them out on tirerack...they're worth a look.

 

I sold my stock Turanzas. Didn't get much for them but hell anything is better then nothing. In the end I paid about $340 for the Pirellis after selling the Turanzas. I wish Acura would change the stock tires to something decent. I bet the reviews would be a great deal better with better stock tires.

 

ChadR:

Thx. Do any major retailers carry your Pirelli's, or is TireRack the way to go.

 

I want a smooth ride ,which tire will make the car FEEL smoother?

 

chadr, You nailed it when you wrote about why manufactures don't use better OEM tires. It is so short-sided to think that saving a few dollars won't make a difference. Owners , reviewers, automotive press, car mags would experience the car at its potential thus increasing approval and sales. They did such a nice job on the rest of the car why go cheap on the tires? From day one I have had problems with the EL-42s. Balancing, flatspots, out of round. My dealer, Bloomington Acura, is working hard on trying to solve this problem. That

 

chadr, You nailed it when you wrote about why manufactures don't use better OEM tires. It is so short-sided to think that saving a few dollars won't make a difference. Owners , reviewers, automotive press, car mags would experience the car at its potential thus increasing approval and sales. They did such a nice job on the rest of the car why go cheap on the tires? From day one I have had problems with the EL-42s. Balancing, flatspots, out of round. My dealer, Bloomington Acura, is working hard on trying to solve this problem. That I appreciate!

 

I now have my new S-03s installed. I plan on spending some quality time in my TL today. So far the main differance that I have noticed is the shorter braking distances. The turn in seems to be quicker as well as more feel from the steering and susspension. The increase in tire noise is very small. Overall so far I am very pleased. I will report on agressive handling soon.

 

ChPlummer:

Why did you not go with the Turanza LS-Z's?

Did you ask the Bridgestone dealer if the Turanza LS-Z's would flat spot also?

I am considering the LS-Z's but am afrarid they will flat spot like the EL42's.

You must not get snow going with the S 03's.

 

What would be the widest tire patch available for the TL? I saw the Yokohama ES100 and they looked like they would be a good performance tire also?

 

I had these tires on my TL Type S and they were awesome.

 

I was able to get my local Firestone retailer to buy back my Turanzas and installed the Potenzas 750. Night and day difference. There is hardly any vibration whatsoever at any speed. Much better conrnering and handling. I also whent with 245/45/17. This has reduced quite a bit the light feeling of the steering wheel at speed. It also protects the rims quite nicely.

I would highly recommend the tire changeout.
Based on other threads, I hope Acura acknowledges the TL owners that have spent the money to prove that their stock tires where in fact a bad decision for a high performance car.

 

DaveB99 I chose the S-03s because of previous expereance. I had them on my Integra Type R. I love them because of their cosistancy in all coditions (except snow). By the way I think the last time it snowed here was 1992.

 

rkilian, I am considering the RE750's as well. How is the noise level? This is very improtant to me.

Chplummer, rkilian noted that the RE750 tires "reduced quite a bit the light feeling of the steering wheel at speed." Did you find a similar change with the S03's?

Thanks in advance

 

Well we got about 7 inches of snow this weekend where I live and I got to drive the Pirellis in it and gauge their effectiveness. The snow was a wet heavy snow and by the time I was driving was packed mostly to ice.

For the most part they did pretty well in the inclement weather. Because first gear is short and designed for torque it is easy to get them spinning starting from a stop in first (remedy was to just start in second which proved very effective). In actual driving conditions they worked very well and I didn't notice slippage or ill behavior when under motion.

I like the Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S a lot. For those of us that live in an area with inclement weather and who don't feel like dealing with swapping tires for winter they are an excellent choice.

Only places I have seen them so far is TireRack and Discount Tire. Bang for the buck this is a great tire.

 

Based on past experience with other Pirelli's is to rotate your tires religiously. While tire rotation is a good idea for all tires but more so with Pirelli’s, they get very loud if you don’t. I had very good luck with Michelin A/S tires on my last car but they are kind of pricey.

 

ES 100s are the best value in a performance tire. They don't have the ultimate performance of an upper echelon tire like an AVS Sport, Pilot Sport, SO-3, P-Zero, etc., but most people will not notice the difference.

I put about 27k and one two-day driving school at Road America on my 225/50/16 ES 100s. They are the summer rubber for my 325i. They still look near brand new and have tons of tread.

I will be getting the 18s with the Yokos. I can't wait, although so far I am loving my Blizzak LM22s for the winter.

 

Ditto on the ES100s...awesome bang for the buck. They are the third set of tires I've had on my 98 Eclipse Spyder and are simply outstanding compared to the previous rubber I've had (OEM Eagle RS-A...a very sorry tire, and Nitto 450...substantially better than the Eagle but NOISY as all hell).

 

lakeman yes the S-03s do reduce the light feeling at speed. I think the RE-750s would be a good choice as well. I looked at the ES100s, but was not sure about the quality as I have had no expereance with Yokohama tires. I lean towards Potenzas due to the fact the nearly every car that I have owened in the past 7 years have had them. One type of tire that I would not recomend are the 0?0 Potenzas. I had a set of 010s on my Integra and did not like them. Poor wet grip and fair dry traction. If you want ultimate consistancy go with the S-03s.
P.S. If you live where it does not snow, or don't mind having a wheel/tire package for winter.

 

Does anyone know how long I can expect the stock Turanza tires 235/45-17 to last? My TL is 3 weeks old - I'm not crazy about the stock tires - just wondering how long I can expect them to last so I can think about some better replacements. Can't justify doing it now and tossing the stocks in the garage or something

 

Wow, nobody is talking about Toyo`s at all. How about the Toyo F4? I ahve them on my 99 Maxima and love them. I don`t know what I will replace the Michelins on my 06 MT with yet.

 

My 2005 TL 6MT has ~21K miles and the original EL42's (revised formula) are down to the treadwear bars. I plan to replace them with Avon A/S M550's next week. They are fair to below average tires and their dry/wet traction gets worst as they age and wear. They also are poor with traction/grip communication at the limit.