daryll40

Yeah, I know there are a zillion prior tire threads and I'm beating this to death. But I want some opinions here. First the background: My 2009 LS460AWD was purchased new in August 2009. It now has about 66,000 miles on it. I live in Pittsburgh...nasty roads, snow and ice and potholes. This car has been a champ...like driving a tank. I've never kept a car this long but I think I'm going to go at least a few more years as it's been problem free, gas is cheap again and I just like it! It does eat tires, which I knew from prior experience. I got 16K miles out of a prior set of Michelin Energy Saver A/S and 20,000 out of this current set of the same tire. I'm thinking about the Continental PureContact tire, as it's rated high by Tire Rack and has even better snow/ice rating than my current tire. And frankly it's cheap(ish) as these tires go. It seems that no amount of money prevents needing tires every 20K or so, so why overbuy?

Anyone with experience with these?

Devh

It depends. There are a lot of factors that go into how long the tires will last. I read TireRack reviews but it's just a tool to reach some sort of consensus. Most reviews in general are written by idiots that don't know how to give an un-biased review. After you get though all of the fanboys, haters and five star raters you might be able to come to some conclusions based on a few and an understanding of tires with the compromises that most people don't understand.

Tires in general are not to be skimped on if you drive a performance car or a luxury car because it's the single most thing that makes all the difference in the ride quality. If you get tires that last longer then you might lose out on a few areas and you are stuck with them for the entire duration. If you purchase cheap tires then they can be prone for defects that can effect vibration or abnormal wear not to mention they will never be as good as what you pay for.
The best tires are generally the ones that last 20-25k miles and cost a fortune because they are built to a high standard to get you a good compromise of everything especially wet weather traction. You want tires that complement a smooth riding car like the LS and anything less then that for economy sake is where you will be taking the biggest hit on enjoying the car for the very reasons we all spent a small fortune to own one.
There are bargains to be made and sales to be had but this is one area I wouldn't skimp out on unless it's a subcompact grocery getter Home Depot huller .

Nospinzone

I don't read the Tire Rack reviews, but I do read their tests. Frankly I'm not sure they are any more reliable than the reviews.

I have the Conti Pure Contacts on my LS. I switched from the Pirelli P Zero Nero based on the test results on Tire Rack. Before I bought the Pirellis their test results and the Consumer Reports test results put the Pirellis as the best for wet traction. That is important to me because I tend to drive as fast in the rain as I do on dry pavement.

The Pirellis handled very well on wet roads. However, when it came time to replace them, the new Tire Rack tests rated them low for wet traction. It didn't seem to make sense unless Pirelli changed the tread pattern or the composition of the tire. I don't know if they did either. However, I bought the Continentals.

They are quieter than the Pirellis, and it appears they may last a little longer as well. I can't discern any meaningful difference in ride or gas mileage. Neither are any good in snow. One big difference is wet traction. The Pirellis are far superior to the Continentals in the rain.

I have no problem with the Continentals, and depending what is important to you they may be a better tire, but I will go back to the Pirellis once these wear out just for the superior wet traction.

Devh

TireRack tests are better then the reviews because they are tested on their own track but I found them to be lacking maybe even biased based on their supply. They rated one tire I bought for my other car as very high but failed to indicate how awfully soft the sidewalls were. I was stuck with them for a good while and I was miserable for two years until they wore out. I came to find out they had a bad reputation for being called novacains and some were fooled by the TR reviews like I was.
My best bets have been with Bridgestone premium tires for road going cars. I'm sure Michelins are great also but even within these top tier brands you can find some lemons.
I have the Bridgestone Poll position RE970AS and very satisfied with the precise handling and wet weather traction. The sidewalls are a little stiff and a complete polar opposite from the OE Bridgestone's that felt lifeless. The BMW I owned before the LS had the RE960 and I was happy with them so that influenced my decision.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I get ~40k on a set of tires in my LS460 (Michelins). But I live in central NC where the roads are pretty good and the climate isn't extreme.

Wandl

Good thread I'm about to replace my Conti DWS tires (tread lasts a while but I find them a little noisy) and looked at the Pirelli's as part of my search...

CJITTY

Had Continental DWS and my Delinte D7 Thunder are just as quiet and lasting just as long for less than half the cost

LordBowral

Having had a number of continentals on different car I cab confirm that they handle brilliantly.... However none of them wear well ... In fact the west much faster than any other tyre I've used and are also usually the most expensive brand you can buy . Stick with Michelins I'f you want a quiet long lasting tyre . No one else comes close .

tbilisi79

I had continental DSW on my 06 Gs430 for about 40k miles. The wear was even and the tires were quiet as new. Grip was great in dry and wet conditions.
The Michelins on my Ls460 are super quiet and I have yet to find their handling limit, doubt I ever will. I'll be replacing them with the same set when the time comes.

philj

I live in NYC and drive to upstate NY and to PA... in the snow. In the winter I drive the Continental DSW. I am on my 3rd set. The first 2 lasted 40,000 miles plus. I could have continued to use them but I replaced them because I am a little crazy and I do not want to take chances.

My car came with Michelin Energy Saver A/S. It is a nice tire. I have an extra set of rims so even though my Michelin tires only had 18,000 miles on I bought a set of Continental DSW tires for the winter.

When I made the switch from Michelin the Continental I did not notice any difference in noise but I do think that the Continentals handled a little bit better than the Michelin's in the snow. But that's just one person's opinion.

In the springtime I will put the Michelin Energy Saver A/S Back on the car and save the continentals for next winter but when the Energy tires need to be replaced I'm going to buy Michelin Pilot sport A/S and see how they work.

I would also point out that when you replace your tires at the end of life, the new tires will always seem better than the Old tires. That's part of the reason that I bought the continentals when my Michelin's only had 18,000 miles on them because I felt it would be more of an apple to apple comparison

Just a thought.

I did my research by looking at lots of different websites. I have no life so instead of watching Dancing with the Stars with my wife I did tire research.

Wandl

Do you at least watch "The Bachelor" with your wife?

Thanks for your thoughts, it honestly saves me some of the time in digging out this opinion, especially since we value very similar things and have the same type of vehicle!

7milesout

Daryll40 - It doesn't bother me how many tire threads there is. It's usually always a good discussion. Down here in the south, AWD is not needed. There's nothing wrong with owning one (down here), but there's going to be 3 or 4 consecutive days out of about 3 or 4 years that a person would really need AWD. Need and want are 2 different things. And if a person wants AWD down here, more power to them.

But up where you live, AWD is so much more valuable. Especially if a person has only 1 vehicle in the stable. All that being said, wow, 20k miles. I have a hard time imaging it. However, I could imagine a low tread (worn) tire to be a nightmare in the winter, so I get it.

However, I drive very conservative most of the time. And down in the south the roads are better and the weather tends to be nicer to tires. I know this because I lived in Michigan for 5 years while working as a Design Engineer for Toyota. And I feel more comfortable riding on tires with a lot less tread than I would in your winter environment. So I tend to make them last a long time.

Later I worked for Hyundai where I got exposure to tire testing. That being said, I won't say that Michelins are the best. But given the choice for down south driving, I will ride on Michelins.
My Corolla is on Michelin Energy Saver A/S's, and have about 80k miles on them right now. When I replace the tires on my LS, I will go with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's.

The ultimate for you (IMHO) would be 2 sets of wheels. One with a set of Blizzaks, and the other your choice of summer tires. FWIW.


7milesout