Need new tires... Suggestions?

[OptimumSlinky]

I have a 2008 Acura TSX (6-speed stick, naturally), and the stock tires that came with the car are finally reaching the end of their existence. Thus, it's time to buy some new ones, and I'd like to get some proper summer tires.

I would prefer not to spend a fortune, so I'm looking for bang for the buck with the focus on road feel and handling. Secondly, Tire Rack is preferred as I am in Germany and need them to be shipped to an APO. Finally, I'd like them to be rated to at least 150mph as while my car won't break 135, I regularly cruise at 110 or so on the Autobahn and would like some leeway.

Thoughts?

 

[vshah]

a lot of people on civic forums like the general exclaim UHP for a low cost summer tire

 

[MJinZ]

What's your budget and tire size? If it's around $800, then I would not go anything else than Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s.

Even cheaper, you can get All Season ZR Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires that you can use year round and warrantied for 45,000 miles of treadwear.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

Get the cheapest tires you can and stop lying to yourself.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

Get the cheapest tires you can and stop lying to yourself.

WTF. I asked a legitimate question with regards to tires, and this is your answer? In that case, god I should just trade in my Acura and get a Hyundai in automatic because I am obviously lying to myself by thinking I enjoy driving. Seriously, if you don't have a real suggestion to contribute, piss off.

@ MJinZ, thanks I'll check them out. I'm leaning towards getting proper summers and then some cheap, steel wheel snow tires for the winter 'cause it gets nasty around here. Still, we're deploying in November so I might just go with all seasons and call it a day.

 

[HarryLui]

Tires in Germany can't be that expensive... are they?

 

[thomsbrain]

The best ultra performance summer tire you can buy for the money is the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec. It outperforms the Michelin PS2 in the dry (slightly worse in wet), and costs significantly less. Once broken in, the grip is outstanding.

But you should only expect to get around 10-15,000 miles out of them. If your focus really is road feel and handling, that's the kind of treadwear you can expect out of any of the tires at which you'd be looking.

If you want to shift that focus to include treadwear, I'm sure there are some less focused "performance" tires that people can suggest.

 

[Pariah]

The best ultra performance summer tire you can buy for the money is the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec. It outperforms the Michelin PS2 in the dry (slightly worse in wet), and costs significantly less. Once broken in, the grip is outstanding.

The guy drives an Acura on the highway. You don't need $800+ Z rated extreme summer performance tires for that scenario. If you're spending more than about $500 preshipping, you're just throwing money away.


TwinsenTacquito is right. Get the cheapest set of decent all-season performance tires you can find, and be done with it.

 

[ecom]

Have you considered Yokohama tires? I just bought the Envigor tire and while I've only had them a few days, I do like them so far. My stock tires were Michelin Energy. The ride is about the same as stock, maybe a bit more comfortable and it feels like there is less play in the steering. Road noise is basically non-existent.

The tires come in H, V, and W rated depending on size so you should be covered for 110 MPH.

The V-rated model even has 60,000 mi treadwear warranty which seems quite high for V rated tire.

I haven't tried it in the rain nor have I tossed the car around so I cannot say anything about that yet.

These are supposed to replace the YOkohama Avid H4 & V4 and the reviews generally seem to say those tires are a good value. They do not do well in the snow, however.

 

[MJinZ]

I would not get anything less than Z tires. This is the Autobahn, not pUSAyyhighways.

 

[ecom]

I would not get anything less than Z tires. This is the Autobahn, not pUSAyyhighways.

Those usually have W or Y ratings...the vehicle in question cannot reach those speeds. At least not in stock form.

 

[Pariah]

I would not get anything less than Z tires. This is the Autobahn, not pUSAyyhighways.

Stop giving tire advice. You clearly have no clue what you are talking about. The OP drives 110 MPH in a car that is drag limited to 134MPH.

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezf...lication/0088426723a76751591812027fe43a44.pdf

Paying for Z-rated tires to go on a FWD car that can't reach 135 MPH is called stupid. So unsurprisingly, Acura ships the car with V rated all season tires which are good for up to 149MPH.

Any of these tires should fill his needs and not break the bank:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=126

 

[MJinZ]

Those usually have W or Y ratings...the vehicle in question cannot reach those speeds. At least not in stock form.

If he's going 135mph, V should be OK but Z should be better peace of mind.

 

[MJinZ]

Stop giving tire advice. You clearly have no clue what you are talking about. The OP drives 110 MPH in a car that is drag limited to 134MPH.

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezf...lication/0088426723a76751591812027fe43a44.pdf

Paying for Z-rated tires to go on a FWD car that can't reach 135 MPH is called stupid. So unsurprisingly, Acura ships the car with V rated all season tires which are good for up to 149MPH.

Any of these tires should fill his needs and not break the bank:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=126

He said he wants to go 135, who am I to argue.

Going by what manufacturers give you isn't exactly precise science. My car came with H tires and it's capable of quite higher than H speeds.

 

[ecom]

Any of these tires should fill his needs and not break the bank:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=126

Those tires are H rated. It would be better to stick with the V rated tires in the OPs case. While he did state 110 MPH, he may hit 130+ incidentally. IIRC the tire speed ratings need to be able to operate at the rated speed for 30 min so they probably will suffice, but doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

I wasn't trying to be a dick, I was serious. You're not running a car that would see a performance gain out of expensive tires. Just get decent all weather tires. I've been in one at over 100mph, I did not like it, and I asked the drive to slow down. I've been in worse, but shit, don't do that. Like a wooden rollercoaster.

 

[Pariah]

Those tires are H rated. It would be better to stick with the V rated tires in the OPs case. While he did state 110 MPH, he may hit 130+ incidentally. IIRC the tire speed ratings need to be able to operate at the rated speed for 30 min so they probably will suffice, but doesn't seem like a good idea.

3 out of the 4 come in speed ratings above H. The Pirelli's go up to W, depending on size.

 

[Pariah]

If he's going 135mph, V should be OK but Z should be better peace of mind.

Are you one of those people that puts premium gas in your recommended regular unleaded vehicle? No one cares if you want to throw away money, but don't give such dumb advice to others.

 

[MJinZ]

Are you one of those people that puts premium gas in your recommended regular unleaded vehicle? No one cares if you want to throw away money, but don't give such dumb advice to others.

Premium gas may not burn cleanly in an engine designed for regular. It may have slight benefits in fuel economy, but will likely be more harmful than not.

Z rated tires are just BETTER tires overall. That's how they get Z-rated to begin with.

But if you don't ever drive near those speeds, it's probably of no use. For someone who drives on the Autobahn for sustained high speeds of 100+, I wouldn't suggest anything less than Z.

 

[thescreensavers]

Conti DWS Ultra High performance All Season tire its Y Rated.

 

[Throckmorton]

I wasn't trying to be a dick, I was serious. You're not running a car that would see a performance gain out of expensive tires. Just get decent all weather tires. I've been in one at over 100mph, I did not like it, and I asked the drive to slow down. I've been in worse, but shit, don't do that. Like a wooden rollercoaster.

Maybe the reason it felt like a wooden rollercoaster is he didn't have Z rated tires

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

:\ I had a nice paragraph of reasons why, but I figured I'd rather not do something that'd look dickish.

Don't go overboard on tires for the car. Get a little BMW and then go overboard on tires.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

Pariah is right in that anything rated over 150mph is wasted on this car. The governor kicks in at 135, and I agree at over 115-120 it does become rather iffy with regards to stability. That said, I regularly hit between 100-110 cruising, especially on long hauls such as when I go down to Zurich to visit my buddy.

I also need to clarify that I am not looking for super-high performance 10k Ferrari-style tires. I'd like to get around 30,000 miles out of the tires, so I guess I am looking for V-rated, with a focus on road feel, summers that won't break the bank. I am against all seasons because the all seasons that came with the car struggled this past winter and I slept on the couch in my office on base several times simply because I couldn't make it up the hill to get home.

@ Tacquito, no harm, no foul. Came across a bit harder than you probably intended, so apologies for snapping back.