travelride

Hi all, my 2010 IS350C just turned 50k and the tires are shot.
When selecting new tires, I have three concerns: (1) I'd like them to be quiet. (2) I live in Florida and so excellent wet weather handling is vitally important (3) I'd really like it if the new ones didn't tramline like the OEM tires did.

There certainly aren't many choices for this car with the low profile 18" rims and two different sizes front and rear.

At the moment I'm considering the following tires and I'm curious if any of you have real-life experience (good or bad) with any of these:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ -- Reviews say these have a "harsh" ride. I've heard mixed reviews on the road noise. I'm a Michelin fan, so if I get down to a tie-breaker, these will likely win. However, the harsh ride comments are slightly concerning.

Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus -- These get a great review on TireRack and I don't see noise complaints, although TireRack oddly rates the Michelins as slightly quieter. I want to like these, but I'm having a hard time overcoming my predisposition to purchase Michelins.

Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 - No data worthy of commenting.


While I'm asking, is there anything else I might run into at 50k? I'm thinking I won't be surprised if I'm told I need front brake pads. Anything else at this point?

Thanks!

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

I personally have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my 2010 IS350, which replaced the stock OEM tires. Compared to the OEM tires, the Michilins are hands down much quieter and also road "better", not to mention handling in wet conditions. I don't find them to be harsh one bit, even after lowering on coilovers. Michelin's technology is above and beyond its competition that it's ridiculous. I personally am willing to pay for the premium associated with the brand, especially with the longevity that they provide.

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

Ehhh, I've got the A/S 3+'s on mine as well. They def are noisy, IMO anyways. Not harsh. Not sure if the rears are going to last until the stated warranty runs out though, they're getting a bit worn down already. (Warranty on these tires are 22.5k miles as the normal 45k warranty is halved on cars with staggered fitment). Handles nicely though. I know snow performance most likely does not matter to you, but it does have some meager performance in the snow (can handle a slight snow, but I wasn't too confident with them when I went up north this past winter). Definitely a 3 season tire, not really all-season.

travelride

You feel the same way I do about Michelins. I usually don't even shop. I just look for the latest and greatest Michelin for whatever vehicle I'm outfitting and go with them. The only thing that got me looking was the "harsh" and "noise" comments I saw. But, I guess that's subjective.


And, here's someone else with the opinion that they are noisy. You are right, I'm not worried about snow. If we find ourselves in snow with this car, then we've gotten seriously lost. We live half way down the state and there's no chance I'm going to drive this car purposely into snowy conditions!

You really don't think the rears are even going to make it to 22k? That's pretty low mileage. You don't turn traction control off and go lighting them up, do you?

Thank you both for your opinions. Would love to hear from some folks with the other tires as well, but if I don't then I'm just going to buy these Michelin's. Once I do, I am unlikely to second guess my decision.

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

I'd say I'm the same way about Michelins. Every car I've owned has had Michelins, always had the best experience with them.

Haha, I didn't intend to drive them in the snow either. Just went up north for Christmas and got stuck with it. Good point of reference in the future if I ever go back up north with this car.

Lolz, no. These weren't cheap so I've been trying to prolong them. . Most of my driving is highway though, or at least 75/25. I'm kinda hoping they do need to be replaced before the warranty so I can try and take advantage of Michelin's warranty, although I'm sure it'll just be a small pro-rated amount towards new ones. I am sort of interested in the new Pilot Sport 4's, but those only carry a treadwear warranty of 15k for staggered fitments, and no 18's have been released either yet.. :/

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

The Pilot Sport A/S 3s handle very well. Yeah they are a tad noisy but the handling is well worth it, even in the wet. Doesn't ride very harsh. Not sure where you found that. They also last quite a long time (or so I've heard).

travelride

"Harsh" came from a TireRack review of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ vs the Pirelli P Zero vs the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06. It was the one negative comment they made about the Pilot Sports. They actually said they handle almost "too good" for casual driving. Not sure how to take that. They didn't say anything terribly bad about any of the tires, but reading between the lines it seemed that their reviewer liked the Pirelli's best by just a hair.

The "noisy" comment came from reviews from customers on TireRack's web site -- and now here.

I guess I'm OK with some road noise. I just prefer a quiet ride, which is why my pickup is about to get some Michelin Premier LTXs.
I guess you can't expect the same level of quiet on a Ultra High Performance tire.

Viktimize

If you want to avoid tramlining then get the narrowest tire with the least amount of grip. That's as good as you'll do, the rest is up to the dynamics of the car.

travelride

Narrowest tire? Am I not stuck with the size the car specifies?
Sounds like what you said is "if you want to avoid tramlining, buy crappy tires". Is that basically what you just said?

Viktimize

Your rim can handle a range of width. Main thing that increase tramlining is wider tires. So going with the narrowest tire you can fit will give you the least amount of tramlining. I'm assuming you know that tramlining is your car grabbing at unevenness in the road and moving it around. So having a less grippy tire should also decrease tramlining. After dealing with 355 wide tires in my summer car, tramlining is non existent in the Lexus.

Mike_1GO

iTrader: (2)

bfgoodrich g-force comp-2 a/s
I have them and they're great! Great in the snow and rain. Very quiet. No tramlining and they hug the road a lot better than my previous set, Conti DWS. They are very sticky for an all season tire. Read some reviews on tire rack, these are up there with the best..

liazon

iTrader: (1)

I had the Pzero's on my GS. They are great when they are new but have a reputation of getting noisy over time.
I just put the Michelin pilot sport as/3+ on my IS today. $950 out the door with road hazard and lifetime balancing.
You just can't go wrong with Michelin. Worth the extra money.

Evitzee

You don't really need all season tires living in FL, they are almost always noiser than a straight summer tire. I have Pilot Super Sport's on my 2006 IS350 and they are the best so far. The OEM Dunlops were junk, the Hankook Ventus were pretty good, but the Michelins are quiet and they track well.

Konfucius

To piggyback onto this thread, I was told by the dealership I needed new tires. The front are an immediate need and the back needs to be replace soon. They had gave me a quote on Toyo tires but they not mention which model. I have done some research and have thought about Michelin Sport A/S 3+. But with shipping to Hawaii, not including mount, balance and alignment; it literally comes out to about the same price if not slightly more compared to the quote the dealership quoted me for Toyo's. Which should I go with?

liazon

iTrader: (1)

Actually, everything I've read is that all season's are quieter than summer tires. Grand touring all seasons are the most quiet tire on the road. I did a lot of research because when it comes down to it, road noise is my #1 criteria for choosing tires. All seasons also last a lot longer.
What they don't have is style. They don't look sporty.
Everything is a trade off.