Tec80

The tires that came on my 2011 Sport (Yokohama Avid Envigor) are noisy and feathering on the edges, making a weird noise as the car slows to a stop. So, I took advantage of the Costco tire sale (now through the 21st) and ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires for it. I usually go on tirerack.com and read through the reviews for the tires I'm considering, and these received complaints from BMW owners as being "soft marshmallows" - Bingo, that's what I'm looking for! I drive in Comfort mode most of the time when commuting, which is indeed very comfortable but that I worry may be a contributor to the feathering wear. Since comfort mode reduces damping (especially in the first inch of shock travel), it might cause feathering wear that looks identical to the wear that bad shocks produce. Once the new tires are on, the ride improvement should let me use normal mode with the same comfort level that Comfort mode produced with the Yokohamas. I've had nothing but absolute satisfaction out of every set of Michelins I've installed on our vehicles, and am hoping the trend continues with these. I'll report on the difference once they are installed.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I don't think the Comfort Mode is causing the problem. Some tires just wear like this (not familiar with the Yokos) but more likely alignment. Get the car aligned for your new tires and rotate them every 5000 miles.

Junesy

Hey Tec80, I also have a 2011 LS460 with Sport Package, and just two weeks ago I had a set of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires installed at Costco, too. (I had ordered them before the $70 discount on a set of four went into effect, but Costco honored the sale and refunded $70 with no hesitation.) This new set replaced a set of the previous iteration of these tires, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 (that is, the ones without the "+"). When I drove away from Costco and onto familiar roads, I immediately noticed a significant reduction in road/tire noise. It was strange how much quieter the new ones are. The roads around here are pretty crappy, and I also noticed how much "softer" the ride was. I put quotes around softer because the ride feels simultaneously more compliant and more precise, with better handling. On wet and dry roads, these tires inspire more confidence than the previous ones. It's a strange combination of them feeling less jarring yet much sharper. I typically set the air suspension to Sport mode because I like that it has less "bounce" and it's just remarkable how much better these tires feel overall. Set to Normal or Comfort modes, the tires also feel fantastic. I honestly couldn't be more pleased. I'm totally happy with my purchase.

I did have a problem with air leaking from one of the new tires, though this was the installer's fault, not the tire's. I was losing several pounds of pressure a day, and when I took the car back to Costco, they discovered they the installer had failed to remove a sticker from the bead of the tire. The sticker was allowing air to seep out. I expect better from Cotsco. They're usually more thorough and professional, but at least they did fess up to their mistake. And believe it or not, I discovered that they failed to replace the air stem cap after they finished repairing the sticker debacle! The moral of this story is make sure you're vigilant about the installation. Ask them tighten the lug nuts by hand, to the proper torque, as they are supposed to. Go back for a torque check after 25 miles miles. And hold them to the high standards that Costco like to project about its products and services. I had to wait around three hours before they were able to fix the leak. I really wish I had those three hours back.

But as far as the tires themselves go: I'm thrilled I got them!

Tec80

Junesy, thanks very much! Your experience with these tires really makes me feel good about choosing them. My local Costco does an excellent job with installation, and they have a road force balancer - which makes the car feel glass-smooth on the freeway due to the perfect tire balance. My only issue with Costco is that they don't always automatically replace the TPMS sealing rings, which increases the likelihood of a slow leak from the stem.

Last year I was able to reduce the noise the yokos made by doing a few smoky burnouts with the tires at 25psi, then repeating after rotating F&R - this ground the feathered outer tread block edges down nicely. Don't let anyone tell you the LS460 RWD can't do a good burnout - once the tire surface goes liquid it is challenging to keep the engine off the rev limiter!

Junesy

You're welcome, Tec80. Do keep us posted about your experience once you get yours installed. I'd love to know what you think. That's very funny what you did with the Yokos. Sounds like it was a blast!

About the TPMS seals: can we request Costco to change them? I hadn't thought about that, but it sounds obvious now that you mention it. Why wouldn't we have them changed??