RE: Tires! Subjective!
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Pit Crew
Joined: Jun 2016
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From: Illinois
RE: Tires! Subjective!
Let me start out by saying I have a 2008 GS350, which I think is showroom new inside and out in my opinion, which is subjective.. Now to tires… In preparation for new tires I’ve read much. Too many manufacturers’ stating theirs is the best and one could read all day about road tests and watch youtube
videos until you become so confused that your ready to settle on what could be a mistake or a compromise that you may have to live with for 65,000 miles. So my tire story goes like this:
I purchased the vehicle with KUMHO ECSTA PA31’s .. Now, these are $80.00 tires, who would put these
on an engineered vehicle such as the GS? Well it turns out they are not a bad tire, as a matter of fact they are a pretty darn good tire. Ride is forgiving, the car turns like on rails and gas mileage is in the upper range for this car. They stick very well in the rain, all in all, I was happy with these tires and a matter of fact, before I did some checking on their price point, I though these to be much more expensive up with the Dunlops or Bridgstones. Well, it seems these tires have an issue. The issue is balancing and their nearly impossible to road pressure balance as they come up as “bad” on the machine. That said, it was time to replace these. After much research I settled on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, you can read the reviews on tirerack and others and are twice as much as the KUMHO’s, yes double the price. So, now after about two weeks of running the Michelins, that are absolutely no better than the KUMHO’s with the exception of road noise, the Michelin’s are quieter, not by much. If it weren’t for the balancing issue, I would go back to the KUMHO’s without hesitation. The Michelins do not corner as well as the KUMHO’s nor do they ride better. The Michelins have a stiff unforgiving ride and the GS does not need any stiffer tire. Seems the sidewalls on the Michelins are softer. All of this had been confirmed by my girlfriend who rides along with me most everywhere I travel.So, choosing tires is indeed subjective, but don’t be swayed by cost, especially when it comes to tires. I learned and moved on..Thanks for reading!
videos until you become so confused that your ready to settle on what could be a mistake or a compromise that you may have to live with for 65,000 miles. So my tire story goes like this:
I purchased the vehicle with KUMHO ECSTA PA31’s .. Now, these are $80.00 tires, who would put these
on an engineered vehicle such as the GS? Well it turns out they are not a bad tire, as a matter of fact they are a pretty darn good tire. Ride is forgiving, the car turns like on rails and gas mileage is in the upper range for this car. They stick very well in the rain, all in all, I was happy with these tires and a matter of fact, before I did some checking on their price point, I though these to be much more expensive up with the Dunlops or Bridgstones. Well, it seems these tires have an issue. The issue is balancing and their nearly impossible to road pressure balance as they come up as “bad” on the machine. That said, it was time to replace these. After much research I settled on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, you can read the reviews on tirerack and others and are twice as much as the KUMHO’s, yes double the price. So, now after about two weeks of running the Michelins, that are absolutely no better than the KUMHO’s with the exception of road noise, the Michelin’s are quieter, not by much. If it weren’t for the balancing issue, I would go back to the KUMHO’s without hesitation. The Michelins do not corner as well as the KUMHO’s nor do they ride better. The Michelins have a stiff unforgiving ride and the GS does not need any stiffer tire. Seems the sidewalls on the Michelins are softer. All of this had been confirmed by my girlfriend who rides along with me most everywhere I travel.So, choosing tires is indeed subjective, but don’t be swayed by cost, especially when it comes to tires. I learned and moved on..Thanks for reading!
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cliffud
Wheels, Tires & Brakes Forum
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Sep 9, 2004 07:40 AM
