SergeyM

We bought our 2013 TSX last year with 35K miles on the odometer. At the moment the car has 39K miles. It is still on the original Michelin MXM4 tires with 6.5/5.5 F/R tires tread left.

The car is mostly driven by my wife and till recently she was happy with the car's handling but after the resent snow she started complaining that the car easily loses traction in wet and she needs to be very careful all the time even at lower speeds.

Last night I took the car out for a spin, drove it aggressively and car was handling the road pretty well until the moment when I almost lost control going not even fast (25 mph) but around a very tight corner.
Yesterday it did snow in the morning but by the time I was testing the car the roads seemed to be clean and dry. There still was a chance that I hit a small ice patch or something like that without seeing it.

Anyway, if the primary driver does not feel safe driving the car, I have to do something. Should I replace the tires with almost half of the tread still left?
The car was built 02/2013 which means its tires are almost 5 years old. Are they just to old?

If I have to replace them, then comes the question which ones to get.
The requirement is a good wet and snow traction with a quiet and comfortable ride.
I expect new tires to last at least 30-35K miles so the price is not a decisive factor.

Based on tirerack reviews the ones to get are Michelin PS A/S 3+, Continental DWS06 or Pirelli P Zero A/S+.
Continental DWS 06 are supposed to be the best in snow.
Please share your experience with any of the above or advise something else.

BTW, what about the OEM Michelin MXM4? Are OEM tires specifically designed for this car?
MXM4 are also a very old model and are very expensive.
Again, price is not a decisive factor but why pay more and get less?
Please advise.

jzhu625

iTrader: (2)

since 2013 car and i believe tires were made in 2012? that means rubber been aged 5 years +, in that case i would suggest replace them.
i would suggest DWS06 since we're in NYC, DWS06 is louder than all of other tires above on highways.

fbt

I always recomend Michelin. I had a lot of trouble with tires on my Audi A3. Noise and uneven wear, short tread life. Michelins solved all those problems and I've never had trouble with Michelins over the 50 years I've been driving. Yes they are expensive, but sometimes they are on sale. Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ are excellent all weather tires. I'm running X-Ice for a winter tire.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

While Michelin tires are, as a general rule, of good quality, they are by no means the best tires available; they are even less attractive when you factor in cost. Case in point, I would argue the aforementioned Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires are roughly equivalent to the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 tires, however, on TireRack, the Michelins are $90 per set more than the Continentals. Or, looked at another way, I would argue the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires are superior in virtually every metric and yet they are only $1.40 more expensive for the full set (yes, one-dollar and forty cents).

SergeyM

AS3+ seem to have the best dry and wet handling but snow handling is not as good as DWS 06.
This is why I am leaning towards DWS 06.
I trying to avoid having two sets of tires.
I used summer/winter wheel sets for years but I used them for my RWD BMWs with sport packages and HP summer tires.

I hope that FWD TSX can go through those 3-4 days per year when we have snow on the ground just with decent all season tires.

ceb

It is unlikely that the age of the tires factors in unless they are dry rotted. You should consider changing tires when they get about 6 years old but that doesn't affect traction. What is more likely is that the compound stiffened up because of the low temps. Snow tires are designed to stay flexible in low temps. Summer tires lose grip at about 50 degrees and AS tires around freezing.

Quite frankly, all season tires are not suitable for snow and ice - you need a dedicated snow tire for maximum safety in snow.

You need to ask yourself, is the price of dedicated snows less than possible bodywork and an ER visit? Even if you only have a few days of snow, remember that it only takes one slippery patch one one of those few snowy days to land you in a ditch.

Conti DSW tires are very good and my favorites, but no all season will inspire confidence in snow.

There will be tons of people who will tell you that all seasons are fine. Watch this video and decide for yourself.

https://www.tirerack.com/videos/inde...=91&tab=Winter

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Well I guess I'm an idiot. I've had cars with all-season tires and car with winter tires; yes, there's a difference in favor of the dedicated winter tires, however, the difference isn't as stark as you make out. Long story short, with an extra measure of caution, one can certainly navigate their car with all-season tires in all but the absolutely worst conditions (when you shouldn't be on the road regardless of the tires).

ceb

Did you watch the video?

A car length difference in stopping distance IS the difference between stopping before you hit the car in front of you and pushing the car in front of into the intersection or a pedestrian.

Can you drive on all seasons? Of course, but it isn't nearly as confidence inspiring. I got caught in a freak snowstorm driving my Corvette on performance summers (20 some odd years ago) and I survived - but my knuckles are still white.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Who cares about the video; you missed the entire point. Personally I think it is dumb to buy a new set of wheels and tires to cope with a few days per year of winter driving conditions (and I live in what some call "Snow Hampshire").

ceb

Sure, because you won't hit a slick spot on one of those few days.

Actually - that's exactly when you'll hit something - the first few days of bad weather.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Dude, you need to let it drop; I've been driving in heavy and harsh winter weather conditions now for 45 years, like it or don't, you really don't know what you're talking about.

ceb

Intelligent people will watch the video and decide for themselves. Ignorant people will say "I'm smarter than anyone else - I don't need no stinkin' facts."

That said, I'm out of thread.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Okay Chicken Little, the sky is falling.

kixo

Also check Consumer Reports, which has a rigorous testing protocol for tires. It recommends the Pirellis in most of the categories, including All-Season, UHP AS, UHP Summer, and Winter tires. It will always be a trade-off between wear rating, performance, and wet and snow traction.

Note the Pilot Sport A/3+ comes in two different speed/load ratings. And if you don't want to switch between winter and summer tires, Michelin launched the CrossClimate+ about a year ago.

WheelMcCoy

I came to the same conclusion when comparing PS A/S 3+ to DWS. A closer comparison would be to Michelin HX MXM4. Here's an article from Car And Driver comparing various Michelin brands, but it's old -- from 2009:
https://www.caranddriver.com/compari...mparison-tests

Also, check that your ABS and VSA are working. And use sport mode when driving in the snow. It helps with engine braking, and delays shifting which could unsettle the chassis.

cairish77

You've got a fair bit of tread left. Mine's a 2010 v6 and I bought with 29,000 miles, didn't replace until 55,000 and still had 3.5mm front and back. Stick with Michelin if you do replace, they really make a difference! I'm now at 96,000 and still have 5mm on my replacement set. Great buy.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Why stick with Michelin? Yes most of their tires are typically considered to be good, but better tires can be had for equal or lesser money.

darksky

If you wish to have an all season, my recommendation is the Continental extremecontact dws. Very good in the snow and rain as well as dry pavement.

Richie Roads

I got my 2012 TSX last year with 38K miles and replaced the original Michelins within a month. One wheel kept losing 2-3 psi each week, and the carfax showed that one wheel had been replaced. Being in sunny SoCal, winter driving was not a factor, and I was after a quieter ride. Ended up getting some Kumho Ecsta's that had better reviews than the OEMs, not to mention cheaper.

JayhawkRX

I replaced the original Michelin tires on my 2009 with Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus this summer. I am very impressed with both handling/grip in all conditions (rain/snow), and the complete lack of road noise. They came well-priced from DTD and have a 70,000 mile warranty.

I was was so impressed that I will soon be doing the same on my 2013 TSX SE.

BROlando

You kinda answered most of the question.

The problem with the factory Michelins is that they are awful.

As mentioned by other people, Michelin makes a great product in some instances. But I don't believe that they have any real-deal all season tyres at the moment. Continental makes the best all season options that I can think of.

If you really want to go with all season tyres, then something like a Conti DWS or Conti Pure Contact will give you decent enough snow traction, good rain traction, and be be reasonably quiet and comfortable.

The DWS is more "sporty", and the Pure Contact is softer with more longevity. Pick the one that's more important to you. I would say both have fairly equal snow traction.

I haven't bought all season tyres in ...idk...8-10 years?

They're frustrating when it snows...and they don't offer any sort of engagement or fun or confidence when it's dry and warm out. BUT...that's my opinion of them based on what I want from the driving experience. For a vast majority of peoples' uses, all season tyres work just fine. Plus, you have the added benefit of only needing 1 set of tyres for every occasion.

SergeyM

Thanks a lot.

At the moment based on all advice I've got I am leaning towards Contis DWS. Michelin's are tempting but probably not for our TSX.
Our other car is a 2018 BMW 340 and for that thing I will probably get Michelin PSS summer tires.

The TSX handles pretty well but still it is not a car that really needs summer rubber. It is a modestly powerful front driver, a good handling front driver, but still not something you would drive aggressively enough to justify HP tires. Sure, it is just my humble opinion.

xtcnrice

I have PSS for summers and I love them. Awesome in the wet, also great when dry. Obviously I don't utilize them to their full potential since the TSX is by no means powerful , but they're awesome nonetheless .

Currently on a set of X-Ice Xi2s for winter. Not bad.

BROlando

MPSS in summer and X13 in winter on my car.

MPSS in summer and WS80 in winter on my wife's.

The TSX handles quite well, actually, OP. Maybe not on the stock tyres, though lol. I don't think you can fairly compare it to a much newer, RWD car on performance summer tyres. Not that it will "feel" like a BMW, even with equivalent rolling stock.

Again...for me, the right summer tyre improves the car's driving experience. The MPSS is quiet, reasonably comfortable, and insanely good in rain. It improves steering feel and suspension feedback as compared to an all-season.

Your wife may or may not be looking for anything "more" from her driving experience. All seasons will work fine.

From your sig, it looks like you're in NYC. It doesn't snow often. But when it does...it SNOWS. But y'all shut down the whole place after a few flakes anyway haha. And the roads are fairly slow-moving. Should be fine on all seasons.

fxcarden

I put Premier A/S on my TSX and I am super happy with them.

TSX1012m6

BFGoodrich Comp2 A/S's are awesome.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Until they're not; can you say "NOISY!" Sure, I knew you could.

Long story short, the Comp2 A/S tires on my TL are getting tossed in the trash in the next month or two, even though they have an easy year of tread life left on them.

TSX1012m6

How many miles do you have on them? Im at about 5K and mine are not noisy at all. When they were not noisy did you like them?

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Can't say, they were on the car when I bought it; I'm guessing they had 15,000-20,000 miles on them when I bought the car. They were plenty noisy when I first got the car, now after an additional 16,000 miles they are so noisy I'm ready to throw them in the trash.

As far as other non-noise metrics, they don't appear to be any better or worse than any other tires I've had over the years in a similar size/profile, errr, except they are pretty lousy in even light snow.

TSX1012m6

I guess a warn down tire can start getting noisy. The reviews on these things are insane, people love them. Minus the more expensive Michelin's, these are (or were this summer) the #1 ultra high performance all season tires: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...jsp?type=UHPAS

I do agree on the snow part. They are advertised as being excellent in the snow, and from research the best performing in its class. Better than the DWS 06. I'm never worried that I'll get stuck in the snow but getting the tires to spin takes a push of the throttle past 3K rpms. For what its worth, I can't think of a non snow tire that doesn't do that.

PS I hate the sidewall on the DWS 06

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Some tires wear and make noise, the Comp2 A/S and Yokohama Envigor to name just two. The good news is some tires don't seem to get noisy for a very long time, the Cinturato P7s for example.

TSX1012m6

Past two days we have had bad snowy roads - Tires held up fine and gripped well. Co-workers couldnt come in and two had to have their cars towed because they got stuck. While they do get slippery with light snow, they do not get significantly worse with heavier snow. Still no road noise and I think they are an excellent tire, only paid $105 for them shipped on sale.

jazzneel

I also hate these Michelin tires. I have a 2013 used TSX I bought in May 2016 with 17K miles, and it now has 40K miles on it. These tires slip on any sort of wet road and they are not the greatest for snow either. They probably still have a couple years of tread left on them so to save money, I'm holding off until I "need" to replace them.

With that said, what is the difference between the PureContact and the DWS 06? I have narrowed it down to these because I don't want to lose the sporty handling (I have heard with the Pirelli P7s and the Michelin Premier A/S are great but you do slightly lose the sporty handling) that the current tires have. I know the Pure Contact is grand touring and the DWS 06 is Ultra High Performance, so does that mean that the pure contact will be better overall for everything except for sporty handling?

I also don't want to lose any mpg.

SergeyM

The below is from tirerack web site.
https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-...ur-best-choice

and this is from a Lexus IS board. Still a tirerack response though they comparing PureContact to DW which is a summer performce tire.:

"Typically, if a customer is buying a Grand Touring All-Season tire for a car, it is likely that a similar tire was already on the vehicle, so that is what the customer is used to, and that is the baseline for their rating. To illustrate a little better, let's look at a different Continental's ratings in comparison to the Pure Contact- the Extreme Contact DW. Aside from Extreme Performance Summer tires, Max Performance tires have the highest grip and sharpest handling response of true street tires, and they have the best wet performance of any tires we carry. For comparison, around our test track, which is approximately a 30 second course, the DW is .5 second faster in the dry and a little over 2 seconds faster in the wet. According to the consumer survey results, though, the DW scores a 9.0 in dry traction and 8.8 in wet traction, while the Pure Contact has a 9.2 in dry traction and 9.2 in wet traction. The surveys are helpful for getting a good idea of a tire's strengths and weaknesses, and they are actually pretty good for comparing tires within the same category, but when comparing tires across different categories, they can be misleading."
I would say that PureContacts did pretty well against the summer only version.

antisocial

@ OP, your best bet is to get away from all season tires, and get a set of winter wheels/tires. Winter tires are great in the winter, summer tires excel in the summer. All season tires are mediocre all the time, as the rubber compounds used must be able to operate over a very broad temperature range. Winter/Summer tires are designed with a more narrow temp range in mind, therefore using compounds that will be more effective in their suggested temperature range. According to Michelin, at 44 degrees Fahrenheit (and lower), summer and all season tires lose a significant amount of pliability; therefore decreasing their traction properties in all driving conditions. This is where winter tires really begin to shine. You can use winter tires in warmer temperatures, but tread lightly. They are very soft, and will not last long at all if used in warm temperatures.

If budget is a concern, go to a junkyard and pick up a set of 16" steel wheels from a 5 lug Accord. Then spoon some 215/60R16 winter tires on them. Michelin/Bridgestone would be great, but if budget is on your mind, get Sumitomo Ice Edge. They are dirt cheap, and far superior to any all season tire for every winter driving condition. It is likely you could get the steelies with Sumi Ice Edge for less than a set of Pilot Sport AS3 + in your stock size. Then keep your all season tires for spring through fall. Once those are worn out, put a set of summer tires on your factory wheels. You will thank yourself on both accounts. The right summer tire will run circles around any all season tire in wet or dry conditions, granted that the temperature is not too low.

On a side note, many of my customers overthink as to when to swap summer to winter tires, and vice versa. I am in NW Ohio, and put my winter tires on right about Thanksgiving, and the summer tires go back on sometime in April. Don't overthink it. Put the winter tires on before the first snowfall, and the summer tires back on once it is done snowing for the season. The idea is to simply not get caught in snow with summer tires.

TSXWagoneer

Wuzupez

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, not buying. Between my wife and I we've driven over three-million miles, some on Michelin, some on other brands. Like all premium brands, Michelin makes some good tires, even very good tires, but they have also produced some crap tires as well. To rely exclusively on one brand means missing out on otherwise very good tires which can easily last as long or longer than a competitive Michelin tire, and cost less, often far less.

frankjnjr

Kinda depends on the SPECIFIC tire. Generally, I like Michelins. My most recent set, NOT SO MUCH! This past September, I bought a set of Michelin, Energy Saver A/S 215/50R17 New, ( TAKE OFFS ) for my 2003 TLS, to replace the Michelin, MXV4's, after 5 years of service. Dry weather, ride and handling performance, is fine. Wet weather handling, NOT FINE. You really have to "feather" the accelerator, to keep from spinning the tires, in the rain! Light snow, handling, TERRIBLE. By light snow, I mean one to two inches. Snow handling, is SO poor, I'm reluctant to drive my car, if snow accumulation, exceeds 2 inches!

Wuzupez