jnc2000

Just had the PA3's put on the OEM 18's (245-45-18) - took the OEM tires off at 2100 miles and will be selling them. Haven't had the chance to test them in the snow yet, but dry road manners are much improved over my last set of Blizzaks (WS60). I've put about 800 miles on the PA3's to date.

Noise - There are a tad louder then the OEM 18's. This is to be expected. The tread design along with the tire compound lends to a small amount of increased road noise. Noise at highway speed is not an issue. Concrete highways do not pose a problem either.

Dry braking - objectionably much improved over the MMX4s. These tires excel in the cold over the all seasons as they should.

Corning - A softer sidewall lends to the same characteristics of the outgoing MMX4. Very confident tire, and responsive in every normal day driving but understand it will not perform the same as a summer tire.

Mileage - the Alpine PA3s are a LRR tire. This wasn't my deciding factor in buying this tire, but rather a surprise; call it a bonus. I'm noticing a 1.5-2mpg increase over the outgoing MMX4's.


I'm hoping we'll get some snow here soon so I can really put these guys to the test. But for now I'll take the improved cold weather traction over the all seasons until the white stuff starts to stick.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchase, and I'm sure I'll fair just fine through the OH / PA winter.

jnc2000

With 2000k more miles on these I can say I'm fully confident in this tire. Great dry road manners, and fantastic in the snow slush. I haven't encountered much ice yet, but when I do I'm sure it'll do just great.

At the end of the day I drive quite a bit. I expect to put 12k miles on these tires this winter alone. A majority of my time is spent on dry roads, but when it gets bad I wanted a tire that was up to the task. This is why I chose the Alpine PA3. Fantastic in the rain, snow slush and ice. But for 90% of my driving which occurs on dry roads the tire is much better the the Blizzaks I ran in the past, and I should get much better wear in the end.

ostrich

Hey, jnc2000, you must be having a blast with your TL SH-AWD + Alpine PA3 in this crazy winter storm that we are having right now!!!

My order of X-ice just arrived today - but the weather is so bad that I am not going to the installer until this Friday.... oh well, at least so far the car has been doing well in this ridiculous weather....

caps59

i had 225 55 17 pa 3's with 101 load and V speed rating installed. they are great in snow and ice here in montreal. they grip extremely well and provide the control you need. caps59 2010 tl shawd

jnc2000

Oh yea... we've been getting hammered with the lake effect bands.

I opted for the Alpine PA3s over the X-ice's based on my driving conditions. X-ice are fantastic on ice and snow, but will wear quicker and not provide the same benifits as the PA3s on dry pavement.

If you're up in the East burbs (my family is originally from Pepper Pike, Orange Village area) you'll enjoy the X-ice's.

Are they already mounted on rims? I've got a impact, and a garage full of tools.. we can put them on pronto.


Again, I can't recommend these tires enough. Fantastic dry road manners - and phenomenal in the messy stuff.

YetiTL

Thanks for the review!

After much research, I'll go with this tire when my Toyo Garit KX wear out, which will be in 2012. I'm happy you wrote your review as I was wondering how tthe SH-AWD+PA3 combo would work out.

Thanks again and may you have many problem-free miles!

ttk5

Ordered 205/55/16 Alpine PA3's for my TSX!!! Im super stoked and nice review

jnc2000

Glad I could help. I'm really glad I had these tires this morning. All the snow plus the drifting snow resulted in very icy road conditions. I did kick the tail out when getting on the highway on-ramp, but the SH-AWD system in conjunction with VSA brought it back in line... not to mention I was going about 40mph

Snow covered roads with ice below = this tire shines -- man I'm having a blast with this car.

dunk it

do you think these would work on an `08 RL?

jnc2000

These would work great on the RL -- but before I go all out and give it an 100%; where do you live? What type of roads do you drive on daily - highway or city driving (or rural route).

BJG57

I have the same tires ( I am also from Montreal) and I agree that they give you excellent grip and control.

ttk5

It snowed a bit here in Vancouver the other day so I finally had the chance to really try out my Alpine PA3's. I was quite impressed...I floored it in 1st gear and got no wheel spin..VSA didnt even kick in. It was just a light layer of snow but still

Vancity_TL

I have a '10 TL SH with PA3's as well. Also a Vancouverite . I took the car last week up to Cypress Mountain after the heavy rain (city)/ snow (mountain). It must've been close to 6-7", un-cleared parking lots! The SH + PA3 combo was beautiful! I pulled into untouched snow, parked the car for a minute to enjoy the view, then back into D and it took off beautifully! I'm glad I decided on the PA3's over X-Ice.

Shellyduchsk8s

How much did these tires run you?

Thanks!

jnc2000

I'll look up my invoice when I get home... but if memory serves me correct right around $1200 mounted, balanced and installed.

I rode these well into May as I had delay getting my summer wheel/rim package and I couldn't have been more pleased with these tires. All through the Winter and into the spring they were the perfect mix of sport, and rain / slush / snow / ice driving. With over 15k miles on them I finally retired them confidently for the season, storing them on my tire rack in the garage till they can be returned next season.

Edward'TLS

The Pilot Alpin PA3 is the best high performance snow tires I ever had.

The best part of it is that it handles like a performance summer tire on dry roads.

I used to wish that I was back on summer tires whenever the roads were dry during the long winter months on snow tires. Now I don't.