2003 Acura TL-S tires... H vs V rating.

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Hello all, I'm looking for new tires for the Acura. The tires that are on the car are Michelin Pilot HX 215/50-17 "V" rated.

I was thinking, Do i really NEED "V" rated tires? around $227 a tire for the Michelin's, and i need 4, So 908 + Tax and all that i'm looking at a total of $1,058. This is with the dealer ship. They told me they legally they can not put H rated tires on a car that calls for V rated tires..

How would Sears be? I called them, and they told me that They have Michelin PRIMACY MXV4 tires in my size, and they can put "H" rated tires on the car, and the dealer was only trying to sell the "V" rated tires. Total out the door at sears is 890.51 ($168.14/tire,$56 M&B) also is only 30 miles away, The dealer is over 100 miles away...
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?...tnum=15HR7MXV4P

Would there be any negative affects of putting "H" rated tires on this car? The guy a sears told me the "H" rated tires are a little softer, as in the side wall, also can only go 130 VS the 149.
Thanks!!
 
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I wouldn't hesitate to get that tire.

If you go to Tire Rack's detailed survey results, that tire was rated highly for steering response and cornering stability. That indicates no flabby sidewall issues.
 
Does it have to be Michelin? I mean, they generally make OK tires, but you're paying a lot for the logo itself.

How about Bridgestone RE960 (W-rated) for $158/piece?

If you tells us what kind of driving you do and what your expectations are from a tire, someone may be able to recommend something better and for less.

As for the H vs V rating, I'd say the V is not absolutely necessary, depending on how you drive, but I would follow the owner's manual in this aspect.

EDIT: nevermind, I see that Primacy MXV4 is $155 each. It'll probably offer a softer ride and longer wear than the RE960 I mentioned, at the expense of less grip and steering feel. Not bad, just different depending on how you drive.
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
The Acura TL-S is a low performance car.

HR rated tires will be just fine.


260hp isn't low performance in my eyes... But anyways, you probably won't need V rated tires unless you plan on traveling speeds in excess of 130mph.
 
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
260hp isn't low performance in my eyes...

Yeah, especially that all that power goes to the front wheels. Not sure if that car has traction control. If not, you want some relatively grippy tires on there to prevent wild spinning on take-off. Unless the car is driven by a grandma, in which case it doesn't matter...
 
H-rated tires will be more than adequate. Those Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires are about the best in the industry for grand touring tires. The Bridgestone Turanza Serenity is a close second. Both are available for a similar price.

260 hp with only a modest amount of torque is not a lot of power to the front wheels. My previous two cars were a '97 Cadillac SLS and an '01 Cadillac STS, with 275 hp and 300 hp to the front wheels respectively (and with either 300 or 295 lb*ft of torque as well). The '97 had Michelin X Radials (S-rated tires) and it flat went like stink. The '01 had Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (H-rated) and it also hauled buggy. Both of those cars had significantly more weight and torque than a TL-S and the S- and H-rated tires handled it just fine. It just takes a quality tire.
 
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The Acura TL-S is a low performance car.


Whatever.

I'm running a set of Bridgestone Expedia S-01s on my '00 3.2TL and the car handles like a dream. Unfortunately they're UHP summer tires so they won't work for you year 'round in upstate NY. If I were going with a set of all season tires I'd get a set of Potenza RE-960 PPs.
 
Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
The '01 had Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (H-rated) and it also hauled buggy.

I had an '00 Accord V6 (200hp). It had those Energy MXV4+ tires as OEM. I really had to take it easy from the get go to not make them spin.
 
SL2 said:
[font:Century Gothic]Hello all, I'm looking for new tires for the Acura. The tires that are on the car are Michelin Pilot HX 215/50-17 "V" rated.

Those are also the exact tires and size that came on my Mazda6s, and I thought for the price they were the biggest POS around. I would stick with the same tire rating that came with your car. My Pilots are just abound done at 30k miles, and i'll be replacing mine with General Exclaims UHP tires. They seem to be the best tire for the money in my case, because i live in FL, so i can have a summer tire on my car. You live in upstate NY where there's probably a lot of snow. You might want a high performance all season tire for your needs.
 
The only thing I have to add is buy them anywhere but Sears. Every tire I've ever bought has been found much cheaper somewhere else.

Discount Tire or TireRack online have had some of the best prices I've found when looking.
 
Now is a good time to buy tires. There are several rebates and promotions out there. Goodyear, BFG, Yokohama, Bridgestone, Pirelli and others all have some sort of promotion running.

Shop around, get a good deal + a rebate and you'll save a lot of $$$$$$$.

Check em out!! http://www.tirerack.com/tires/specialevents.jsp

And, yes, you can safely run H-rated tires, although depending on what you buy, they may not handle as well as the OEM V-rated tires.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
The '01 had Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (H-rated) and it also hauled buggy.

I had an '00 Accord V6 (200hp). It had those Energy MXV4+ tires as OEM. I really had to take it easy from the get go to not make them spin.


Maybe weight and tire size makes a difference. That '01 had 235/60R16s and weighed about 4200 pounds. It'd click off 6.3 second 0-60 times all day long. Use 1/2 throttle for a second to stay out of the traction control, then hammer down. It'd scream up to 6500 RPM, WOT 1-2 upshift, then in another second, 60 MPH would flash by.
 
Thank you for all the replies!

"H" rated tires it will be.

I think i am going to sears only because they offer a 0 APR for 6 months,(sears card) and i will pay it off with in 3 months, then i will pay no interest... VS the credit card with %8.99, also they seem a little cheaper then other places..

These current tires are really bad, just about at 2/32??

This car has a good amount of power to the front wheels, and is not all that heavy. With out the VSA on, the tires spin like no other, even while moving, if you floor it at like 15, they will spin, so i really need new tires...

The car will see just highway, an occasional wot run, or a quick turn here and there, but 95% highway.

Just so you know, i got 44K miles out of these current tires, Michelin Pilot HX..

Thanks!!
 
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Could be... the accord had 205/65/15 tires and weighed 3300 lbs.


I've concluded that OE tires can vary widely by application, even in the same tire line. The Energy MXV4+ in 235/60R16 was the OEM tire for some M-B S-class cars and BMW 7-series cars. Those tires may have had a rather sticky tread compound. Honda may have specified a harder tread compound for its OEM size, either for rolling resistance or tread life or both.

Example, the Michelin Symmetry tire is one that gets diametrically opposite ratings, even in the same size. There was one version (225/60R16 98T) for Honda Odyssey minivans. And that tire is panned almost universally for poor tread wear, loud noise, poor traction, and poor tread wear (wait, I already said that!). Meanwhile, another version (225/60R16 97S) found on various Cadillac and FOMOCO models is almost universally praised for excellent tread life and smooth quiet running. Indeed, Michelin shows as many as FOUR MSPN numbers for the Symmetry in the 225/60R16 size. It became clear to me that even though two tires might be the same size and model, their performance properties can be widely different depending on the whims of the OEM.

I typically look for tires that are NOT found in OEM applications. That way, I know the tire's design and engineering were that of the tire manufacturer only, and not up to the product planners at any of many auto makers.
 
Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
I've concluded that OE tires can vary widely by application, even in the same tire line.

That's definitely true. OE tires are tweaked to car mfg's specifications. Honda's main priority seems to be good MPG. They could care less about all other characteristics.
 
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