Avon Tech M550 A/S
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Avon is a Cooper brand name. Avon tires in the U.S. are sold through TireRack and some chain dealers...Les Schwab in the Northwest has several truck tires supplied by Avon/Cooper...also Dean/Cooper.
You might ask your questions of Cooper's customer support folks. I spoke with one guy who was very informative.
Consumer Relations: 1-800-854-6288
Ken
I'm looking at these as well. Reviews look great (quiet ride).
Just put these on my Maxima yesterday. Difference is night and day compared to the Potenza. Granted, I haven't had all the problems I have heard with the Potenzas. My problems were:
1)Getting louder at 40k miles
2)Tires slip in wet spots (run off/puddle).
The Avons are very quiet. On the way home I noticed my engine was louder, but that was only because I could hear it now with no tire road noise. ![[Smile]](images/icons/smile.gif)
The Avons are noticably wider. They have a large shoulder as compared to the Potenza and have about 2 inch per wheel more contact than the OEM Potenza (both were 225).
The Avons soak up bumps better. Where I would usually get a sharp punch from even the smallest crack in the road, the Avons ellicit a dull thud.
Performance seems to be the same. Going down winding roads and passing on the highway feel the same only slightly muted from road feel.
The only negative I noticed is that it does take a little more effort to turn and getting up to speed from a stop requires slightly more gas. I don't know if it is the newness of the tire or the slightly wider stance. I have heard reports that it takes these tires a few hundred miles to break in.
The Avons are noticably wider. They have a large shoulder as compared to the Potenza and have about 2 inch per wheel more contact than the OEM Potenza (both were 225).
The Avons soak up bumps better. Where I would usually get a sharp punch from even the smallest crack in the road, the Avons ellicit a dull thud.
Performance seems to be the same. Going down winding roads and passing on the highway feel the same only slightly muted from road feel.
The only negative I noticed is that it does take a little more effort to turn and getting up to speed from a stop requires slightly more gas. I don't know if it is the newness of the tire or the slightly wider stance. I have heard reports that it takes these tires a few hundred miles to break in.I got my tires today from tirerack - P275/40R17... MEATY!
I'll be getting them installed this weekend and will report back with thoughts/feelings. So far, Im really impressed just looking at them. They have 3-ply sidewalls and are well treaded - and they smell good :-D ![[Burnout]](/forums/graemlins/burnout.gif)
I replaced the stock Michelin HX MXM4 tires on my 2004 Mazda 6 with the AVON M550 A/S. The Michelins were decent tires, they just wore down faster than I anticipated. However after 6 weeks with the Avons, I am returning these tires for a full refund because:
1) They are sluggish to turn.
2) They are noisy and get louder when you enter int a turn.
3) I have tried three times to get them balanced and can not get the shimmy out of the steering wheel, no matter if I move the tires around in different locations.
Tire Rack has great customer service. They replaced these Avons for a full refund, even though I was two weeks past the 30 day refund period. I am now trying Michelin XGT H4. The chances of a tire that is round and able to be balanced goes up with the Michelins.
Forgot the most annoying issue
4) The tires flat spot when sitting overnight.
My Avon's corner well, as well as my Yokohama ES100s did. They are quiet, and they do not flatspot. I've got about 200mi on them right now, and they definitely are smooth as glass. I have no idea what you guys are talking about - I love mine! $127/tire too.
Sitting overnight - no flatspotting. These things are triple ply sidewall 6-ply tread, how in the **** can they flatspot?!
They're made in the USA, www.avontyres.com
I assumed they were UK made, but it says on the tire Made in USA.
Re-Reviving this one rather than starting another. I've had these on my G35 sedan for almost a week and a couple hundred miles. So far, they are awesome. Smooth, crisp, and quiet; and I've seen/felt no flatspotting (I was looking for it, since several in the Tirerack reviews have mentioned this). I too use the oddball 215/55-17 size, so I was really concerned that I could find a good tire at a reasonable price. These were $113 per tire (plus total shipping of about $40). These tires are so far superior to the Goodyear Eagle RS-As (OEM), it's amazing. I'm very impressed and very happy. If they hold up only half as well as the GYs did, I'll still be thrilled with them.
Check pressures. Most shops deliver 20-22lbs, new.
quote:Funny that you mention that -- it's been my experience too over the years. When I drove my car away, I thought that the tires felt extra crisp, even edgy. Of course, I had them installed in Pensacola (home where I usually am on weekends), whereas I spend most of my time at work in New Orleans (er...I used to...) where the streets are like the dark side of the moon. Since Pensacola streets seem like velvet compared to what I'm used to, I never suspected overinflation. Imagine my surprise a few hours later when I checked pressures and found them ranging from 45 to 48 pounds!!!
Originally posted by Audi Junkie: Check pressures. Most shops deliver 20-22lbs, new.
![[Eek!]](images/icons/shocked.gif){kind=icon}
Car feels much better balanced with them set at 33 (three over placard). The sidewall max is 51 on these tires so I don't suspect any damage done, but yeah, definitely check those pressures after taking delivery of new tires... ![[Cheers!]](/forums/graemlins/cheers.gif)
quote:It is absolutely amazing to me that the "experts" allow a vehicle to leave their shop in this condition. Hopefully, everyone who visits BITOG forums cares enough about their customers (and their customer's safety) to check inflation pressures on every vehicle.
Originally posted by Audi Junkie: Check pressures. Most shops deliver 20-22lbs, new.
It seems the military-style guages read high. DIY with a dial guage. 5/5 of the last sets I got were way under.
quote:I did. I've got a precision, dial-type guage, which I've cross-checked against my neighbor's digital model -- the two agree (of course, they could both be wrong by the same margin...). I concur that your experience is the more common one. That said, there was no mistaking the subjective sensation, I just did not correctly ID it at first. I'm very sensitive (who here isn't) to the road roughness aspect of tire feel, given my years on the awful New Orleans streets. Once I checked them, it made sense, though. If you keep your tires in the 30-ish range, try running 'em up to max pressure (51 psi in my case, 44 for most) and you'll see what I mean by "crisp and edgy" feel. If I had driven the car this way in NOLA, I'd probably still be in the hospital in traction.
Originally posted by Audi Junkie: It seems the military-style guages read high. DIY with a dial guage. 5/5 of the last sets I got were way under.
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