Nitto Motivo Review
04-06-12, 11:41 AM
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Nitto Motivo Review
Let me preface my review by saying that I recieved the Motivos for free from the company. I replied to a forum topic at another forum asking for testers. I do not work for Nitto and have no further contact with them. My main concern is that my wife drives the Lexus down the 99 and when it rains, that highway gets dangerous. I personally know someone who died on that freeway. If the tires were crap, I would change them out in a heartbeat.
When searching for a tire replacement, you try to balance performance with price. When I speak of performance, I’m referring more to the safety aspects of the tire more than anything else. I’m looking for a tire that will give me good handling but most importantly, how well it performs when the weather gets bad and the roads are slick. I’m trying out a set of Nitto Motivo tires on my Lexus HS250. I can easily compare it to the Toyo Proxes A20 that came with the car originally but I can give somewhat of a comparison with the Continental DWS which I put on my Honda for the last 3 months. The Nitto Motivos are a great all-weather tire and comparable to the Continental DWS. I live in the Sacramento area, there’s an on ramp to get on the 65 from Galleria Blvd. It’s a bumpy road and a sharp turn. When I take the turn fast, the Motivos don’t skid at all, while the Toyo Proxes would skid and make the car jump off the road. We’ve had some heavy rain the past 2 weeks here and the tires were rock solid in the rain. As a test, I burned rubber from a stand still on a rainy day and there was minimal slippage. Another interesting observation for the Motivos is that my mileage went up 2 mpg on the tire. This is over 3 full tanks of gas, so I know it’s not a fluke. I suspect that compared to my old Toyo Proxes, the Motivos have lower roll resistance. I have a hybrid so I’m pretty keen on mpg and very good about keeping my tires properly inflated. I do tend to favor slightly overinflating my tires. The Toyo Proxes specifically state on my sticker when I bought my car that they would last 20,000 miles. At 23,000 miles I still had 5/32 of tread wear left because of proper inflation and rotations. I’ve also noticed that the Motivos have less bulge and the front tire doesn’t get pushed down as much from the engine weight. When I compare the Nitto Motivos on my Lexus now compared to the OEM Toyo Proxes, the Motivos win hands down. Better grip, better mileage, and longer tread life, what isn’t there to like about them. When I compare the Nitto Motivos on my Lexus to the Continental DWS on my Honda, I would have to say they are pretty even in terms of performance. Like I said before, it’s hard to compare tires on different cars but when driving in the rain, both tires are solid. Overall, the edge goes to the Nitto Motivos for one simple reason, tread life. If you’re looking at a set of Motivos or DWS tires, you’re paying a premium compared to the cheaper tires out there. I’m a pretty frugal guy but I’m willing to spend money on a quality product and that’s why you’re considering these tire too. The performance is the same to me, so I’m going to have to go with the 60,000 mile tread life of the Motivos to the 50,000 mile tread life of the DWS.
When searching for a tire replacement, you try to balance performance with price. When I speak of performance, I’m referring more to the safety aspects of the tire more than anything else. I’m looking for a tire that will give me good handling but most importantly, how well it performs when the weather gets bad and the roads are slick. I’m trying out a set of Nitto Motivo tires on my Lexus HS250. I can easily compare it to the Toyo Proxes A20 that came with the car originally but I can give somewhat of a comparison with the Continental DWS which I put on my Honda for the last 3 months. The Nitto Motivos are a great all-weather tire and comparable to the Continental DWS. I live in the Sacramento area, there’s an on ramp to get on the 65 from Galleria Blvd. It’s a bumpy road and a sharp turn. When I take the turn fast, the Motivos don’t skid at all, while the Toyo Proxes would skid and make the car jump off the road. We’ve had some heavy rain the past 2 weeks here and the tires were rock solid in the rain. As a test, I burned rubber from a stand still on a rainy day and there was minimal slippage. Another interesting observation for the Motivos is that my mileage went up 2 mpg on the tire. This is over 3 full tanks of gas, so I know it’s not a fluke. I suspect that compared to my old Toyo Proxes, the Motivos have lower roll resistance. I have a hybrid so I’m pretty keen on mpg and very good about keeping my tires properly inflated. I do tend to favor slightly overinflating my tires. The Toyo Proxes specifically state on my sticker when I bought my car that they would last 20,000 miles. At 23,000 miles I still had 5/32 of tread wear left because of proper inflation and rotations. I’ve also noticed that the Motivos have less bulge and the front tire doesn’t get pushed down as much from the engine weight. When I compare the Nitto Motivos on my Lexus now compared to the OEM Toyo Proxes, the Motivos win hands down. Better grip, better mileage, and longer tread life, what isn’t there to like about them. When I compare the Nitto Motivos on my Lexus to the Continental DWS on my Honda, I would have to say they are pretty even in terms of performance. Like I said before, it’s hard to compare tires on different cars but when driving in the rain, both tires are solid. Overall, the edge goes to the Nitto Motivos for one simple reason, tread life. If you’re looking at a set of Motivos or DWS tires, you’re paying a premium compared to the cheaper tires out there. I’m a pretty frugal guy but I’m willing to spend money on a quality product and that’s why you’re considering these tire too. The performance is the same to me, so I’m going to have to go with the 60,000 mile tread life of the Motivos to the 50,000 mile tread life of the DWS.
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