I finally convinced a friend to put new tires on his wife's 2009 FX35 AWD. Since I was the primary influencer, he reached out to me for recommendations and I suggested a set of Pirelli Scorpion Verde A/S Plus in the 265/50-20 size.
These Pirellis replaced a well-worn set of Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires that probably had 50-60k on them. He and his wife were very satisfied with the performance of the Michelins, but unfortunately, the Latitude Tour HPs have been discontinued and the Premier LTX are not yet available.
In my limited seat time with these Pirellis (driving to/from tire shop and a few around-town rides), I found these tires to be extremely quiet. Their ride quality is also amazing - their ability to soak up bumps is incredible.
From a traction standpoint, the dry traction is great and I found the cornering to be very good. Unfortunately, the steering feel is a bit of a downgrade from the Latitude Tour HPs as the Pirellis do not have the same crisp feel.
As far as wet traction, they are certainly sufficient and predictable. However, they are not a drastic improvement over the worn-out Latitude Tour HPs that were on there.
Lastly, from a price standpoint, they are a steal - $900 installed versus $1300 for the Latitude Tour HPs (if they were still available). (The treadwear warranty on the Pirellis is also 65,000 miles - but only if you have them rotated by a Pirelli dealer every 3,000 to 4,000 miles.
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Overall, this is a nice-riding and quiet tire that does well in the dry and handles good enough for its segment. Wet traction is decent but seems like it could be a bit better. It's really a B/B+ quality tire that is priced accordingly - not quite Michelin level.
Links:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=196
http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/2013...rpion-verde-a-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZDUBZ-KRD0
http://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/car-l...y/tire-warranty
These Pirellis replaced a well-worn set of Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires that probably had 50-60k on them. He and his wife were very satisfied with the performance of the Michelins, but unfortunately, the Latitude Tour HPs have been discontinued and the Premier LTX are not yet available.
In my limited seat time with these Pirellis (driving to/from tire shop and a few around-town rides), I found these tires to be extremely quiet. Their ride quality is also amazing - their ability to soak up bumps is incredible.
From a traction standpoint, the dry traction is great and I found the cornering to be very good. Unfortunately, the steering feel is a bit of a downgrade from the Latitude Tour HPs as the Pirellis do not have the same crisp feel.
As far as wet traction, they are certainly sufficient and predictable. However, they are not a drastic improvement over the worn-out Latitude Tour HPs that were on there.
Lastly, from a price standpoint, they are a steal - $900 installed versus $1300 for the Latitude Tour HPs (if they were still available). (The treadwear warranty on the Pirellis is also 65,000 miles - but only if you have them rotated by a Pirelli dealer every 3,000 to 4,000 miles.
Overall, this is a nice-riding and quiet tire that does well in the dry and handles good enough for its segment. Wet traction is decent but seems like it could be a bit better. It's really a B/B+ quality tire that is priced accordingly - not quite Michelin level.
Links:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=196
http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/2013...rpion-verde-a-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZDUBZ-KRD0
http://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/car-l...y/tire-warranty
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