When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Please help as I have struggled to find the perfect tire for this car! Otherwise I love it, however the ride is harsh. The factory Michelins do not deliver the smooth ride I am looking for. Have tried Continental products with no success. Bought the factory Michelins again last year. Thinking of trying the Pirelli P7 but find mixed reviews on the tire. People either love it or hate it for this car! Help!!!
I'm looking for a smooth ride and trying not to give up performance. When the Michelins wear down the ride sucks and performance in wet weather is greatly hampered. Please give me some suggestions!
I'm not sure there is much you can do to soften the ride, regardless of which tire you put on it. That said, I'm running Pirelli Cinturato P7s on my 3G TL and they are extremely smooth and quiet; the only time since I've put them on my car when the ride was too harsh was driving down the main drag in Hoboken (a pot-holed dirt road is smooth by comparison) last year.
Thanks for the response about the Pirellis. Ive noticed in a side by side comparison they appear much larger than the Michelins. They also stand at least 3/4 inch taller which I would think would help with the ride! Looking for more responses! Pirelli P7 vs Michelin, etc!
Thanks for the response about the Pirellis. Ive noticed in a side by side comparison they appear much larger than the Michelins. They also stand at least 3/4 inch taller which I would think would help with the ride! Looking for more responses! Pirelli P7 vs Michelin, etc!
I rather doubt they are larger in diameter unless you are looking at the wrong size. By definition for any given size tire, the overall diameter shouldn't vary by more than a couple tenths of an inch, regardless of make or model of tire.
The truth is, you own a car with a stiff suspension; all suspensions are a design compromise between comfort and handling, and in the realm of 4-Door cars with some sporting intentions, the designers of the TL have skewed the "compromise" more toward performance and handling and away from comfort. Said another way, no matter what tire you buy, it sounds like the car is going to be too stiff for you.
Regarding Pirelli vs. Michelin, I have owned numerous examples of tires from both manufacturers (and a few from Continental, Yokohama, Bridgestone, General, Goodrich, and dare I say it, Goodyear as well); maybe it is just the tire models I've purchased, but so far, the Michelins and Pirellis have been by far the best tires I've ever owned, the Continentals have been pretty good as well, the jury is still out on the Generals I just put on my wife's car, but so far so good. As for the rest, meh, I am disinclined to ever buy from them again.
Last edited by horseshoez; 05-27-2019 at 02:28 PM.
When it comes to snow tires for the 4G TL I say Bridgestone Blizzaks! Right now I had to switch back to my cheap set of Taiwan Presa All Season tires and I can honestly say I missed the Bridgestones they were smooth for a winter tire. I can Imagine their all season tires being as smooth. Best tires I ever purchased! Looking forward to an all season set once I wear out these cheap Presa tires.
My roommate put Generals on his Kia Stinger. They ride great. Can you please confirm which tire road better on the TL, the Michelin or the Pirelli???
Given there are numerous Michelin and Pirelli models which fit the TLs, depending upon which tire model you look at, you will find some will ride better than others and some will have better handling than the others, typically ride and handling are mutually exclusive. Brand in this case is pretty much irrelevant, they both offer high quality models.
Pirelli P7 or the Continental DWS06 will give the softest ride due to their sidewall construction. Any sort of performance tire will transmit more impacts so you want to look at a GRAND TOURING ALL SEASON tire. With your factory 17's there should be plenty of sidewall to absorb bumps unless your tires are above 33PSI.
I've had both the P7's and DWS06's as well. I found the P7's to be quieter but liked the DWS06's more for traction. I purchased the P7's as a pair and had them on the front with two less-worn DWS06's on the back (I didn't rotate so well so my front ones were burned out). But after a few thousand miles, I decided to stick the Conti's up front and the P7's in the back. It's a good setup for now.
However, that could have also been due to the P7's having full tread, which isn't always best for dry cornering and traction while the Conti's were at about 8/32nds. Either way, both are pretty good winners. I still lean toward the DWS06 just because of the winter traction being possibly the best of any all-season tire. But if you have dedicated winters, you could probably go either route.
Yeah, apples to oranges, tires with less tread will always outperform new tires on dry pavement. That's why SCCA racers (and others) buy brand new tires and then have more than half the tread shaved off.
In the case of the size of tires for the 3G TL, 235/45 R17, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06s have a tread width of 7.8" while the Pirelli Cinturato P7s have a tread width of 8.7"; on dry pavement, the P7s have decidedly more grip.
As you can see, for the 245 section width tires for the 4G TL, the tread width difference isn't as stark as it is for the 235 section width tires for the 3G TL, so in the OP's case, it is pretty much a wash.
In the case of the size of tires for the 3G TL, 235/45 R17, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06s have a tread width of 7.8" while the Pirelli Cinturato P7s have a tread width of 8.7"; on dry pavement, the P7s have decidedly more grip.
I don't think tread contact is the only factor though. The P7's are a touring tire and the DWS's are a high performance AS. The two have different rubber compounds. One reason why the P7 has a 70K mile warranty but the DWS has a 50K. That's something the OP may want to consider. Those two tires are in different categories.
Originally Posted by csmeance
P7 will be more comfortable than the DWS and probably quieter, but not as much snow traction.
The DWS are great in snow. Until they get down to 6/32nd's or so. Then the "S" wears off indicating that they're not well suited for snow at that point.
I don't think tread contact is the only factor though. The P7's are a touring tire and the DWS's are a high performance AS. The two have different rubber compounds. One reason why the P7 has a 70K mile warranty but the DWS has a 50K. That's something the OP may want to consider. Those two tires are in different categories.
The DWS are great in snow. Until they get down to 6/32nd's or so. Then the "S" wears off indicating that they're not well suited for snow at that point.
DWS are incredible, that's why I doubt the P7 can match them. But the OP seems more comfort oriented and has winter tires.
DWS are incredible, that's why I doubt the P7 can match them. But the OP seems more comfort oriented and has winter tires.
I think by definition the P7 will not have as much traction in the snow, if for no other reason than the wider tread width. That said, we had plenty of snow last winter and I had extremely good traction throughout. Would the DWSs have been better? Hard to say, but the P7s will be a tough act to follow.
'12 TL Advance with the OEM 18's.
Going through this same dilemma myself.
Car had brand new Michelin AS3 when I purchased as CPO. Only 28,000 miles later they are shot. Unfortunate as I like they way they handle, look and ride.
However straight line grip is terrible. Can NOT turn off traction control. Did that the other day and burned rubber across the intersection worthy of a drag strip!
Completely overwhelmed the AS3's.
Have P7's on the wife's TSX. To my butt they ride hard and are noisy. Our roads here are trash and that makes it worse.
Not a fan of look of the Conti's
Have been given suggestion of Nitto Motivo but seems a little bit like uncharted territory.
Even had my tire shop throw Nexen N'Fera A7's up for discussion.
So bottom line I'm kind of lost.
If anyone has any additional thoughts that haven't been expressed already I'd welcome the feedback.
Sorry for the long post...and thank you.....
So Ive had the p'7s for a couple of days now. Hands down much quieter than Michelins. Ride is significantly smoother THAN the Michelins. Cornering etc. seems more LOOSE than the Michelins. Overall for the ride, these are the best tires I have had on this car! Tread depth much deeper than Michelins.......The ride is 10x softer ....
After spending way too much time over analyzing this...
I went with the Continental Control Contact. It's the Discount (Americas) Tire house Continental tire.
There were a couple of rebates and discounts that just made it seem like everything lined up.
Initial thoughts going from the AS3 to this tire:
Quieter right out of the gate. However I think it's always that way going from old to new rubber. True test is 10,000 miles later.
Softer steering effort. Still centers ok but doesn't take as much to turn the wheel.
A little better less harsh ride. I think the lack of noise could make it seem like they ride better tho.
And here's something very interesting. I had a pretty hard left front pull going on. Figured the alignment was out of whack.
New tires and no more left pull! That really surprises me that a Michelin would have ply pull like that.
Wonder if a belt slipped or what happened. Uncharacteristic.
And they are equally chunky looking as the AS3's were so that helped my decision as well.
I just got about 55K out of a set of pirelli Cinturado P7s on my 2012 Tech SH-AWD. Time for another set of tires, and I think I am replacing with the same tires. Cant seem to find much better performance, and if I try to save a few $$, the difference isnt enough to warrant the lesser treadwear or better ride.
I just got about 55K out of a set of pirelli Cinturado P7s on my 2012 Tech SH-AWD. Time for another set of tires, and I think I am replacing with the same tires. Cant seem to find much better performance, and if I try to save a few $$, the difference isnt enough to warrant the lesser treadwear or better ride.
Yeah, I have Cinturato P7s on my TL as well, they aren't the crispest handling tire in the world, but geez do they get great tread life and have very good traction to boot. I have almost exactly 30,000 miles on my tires and they still look pretty new; I'm hoping to get sixty to sixty-five thousand out of mine.
So, I had to accelerate my purchase as I would up with a big piece of metal in the tread nearest the sidewall. Probably would have gotten another 10K out of Cinturados. Just put on 4 more of the same tire. After 55K, they still looked OK, but with the snow coming and needing to do 1 new one regardless, it was time. Car feels like new again
05-27-2019, 11:05 AM
The DWS are great in snow. Until they get down to 6/32nd's or so. Then the "S" wears off indicating that they're not well suited for snow at that point.
