Primacy MXV4 or Turanza Serenity

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For some reason I've been obsessing over this tire decision more so than I ever have in the past. I want a comfortable riding, relatively long wearing tire that is great in the wet and at least passable in the snow.
I've finally come down to either the Michelin Primacy MXV4 or the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. They are very close in Tire Racks testing, with the Bridgestone having the edge in wet handling/braking.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=112
I spoke with someone from Tire Rack and he said the Bridgestones would be significantly better in cold, wintery conditions.
The cheapest I can get either tire locally is $816 (Costco) for the Michelin (H rated) and $690 (Firestone) for the Bridgestone (V rated). That's out the door including tax and includes a 10% off for the Bridgestones if I get a Firestone credit card.
I was all set to buy the Michelins but now, with the Bridgestones being about $125 less I'm leaning the other way.
There are other very good tires that I dropped from consideration because they are only T rated (Yokohama) or because I'm concerned they won't last very long for year round use (Nokian).
If anyone has experience with the Turanza Serenity, I'd love to hear from you.
 
No info to provide, but I'm interested in any feedback here too. I was looking at the Turanza Serenities to replace my OEM tires soon, too. Just not sure if I want to go with something like the Serenity for long life or something softer for a little smoother ride.
 
You should re-consider General Tire Altimax HP, according to owner survey it is ranked second behind Michelin Primacy MXV4 but ahead Bridgestone Turanza Serenity in the grand touring all-season category, for about $50/tire less than Serenity. General Tire Altimax HP has a 30 days test drive warranty, check with your Firestone store to verify this warranty, if they do have this warranty then try it to see if it meets your needs.
 
According to TireRack, the Altimax HP's are treadwear rated 440 while the Serenities are rated 740. How will this difference affect tread lifetime and fuel economy/handling in real world driving?
 
I believe the Serenity have replaced the Turanza LS-H and LS-V models. I have the LS-H on my vehicle and like them. I have about 50k miles on them and think they perform well for a grand touring tire. Wet traction is excellent. Snow traction is OK but not great. Don't expect excellent performance on a lot of snow or ice. I expect to get another 15-20k miles out of them. Check out the reviews for the LS-H and LS-V on Tirerack. The reviews can be found through Google on the TireRack page.

I also know that you can't go wrong with most Michelin tires. There are exceptions though.
 
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Originally Posted By: rationull
According to TireRack, the Altimax HP's are treadwear rated 440 while the Serenities are rated 740. How will this difference affect tread lifetime and fuel economy/handling in real world driving?

That's a really tough one since comparing the treadwear indices between two different manufacturers is almost like comparing apples and oranges. The only thing I noticed is that the V-rated Altimax HP come with a 40k mile treadwear warranty while the V-rated Serenity come with a 45k mile treadwear warranty.
 
The Serenities in my size are rated at 400 and are warrantied for 45K miles. The Serenties with the 740 rating are warrantied for 70K miles.
But I've been told that you can never compare the tread wear ratings between brands because every company has their own scale. A 440 General may in fact be the same as a 600 Michelin, or whatever. I would think that tread wear warranties are a better way to compare.
The Primacy has a 60K mile warranty, the Serenity has a 45K mile warranty and the Altimax has a 40K mile warranty.
 
Actually, after checking, I think the V rated Serenity has a 50K mile warranty and the W rated is 45K.
 
I really was shopping hard for Turanza Serenitys, I just bought two Altimax instead, just to get the rebate. Probally will get the Serenitys next year.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I really was shopping hard for Turanza Serenitys, I just bought two Altimax instead, just to get the rebate. Probally will get the Serenitys next year.

What have you heard about the Serenitys? They seem to be very nice tires but there isn't a huge amount of owner feedback on them, maybe because they're relatively new. In any case, I'm probably going to go for them since they'll be $125 less than the Primacy MXV4. Tread wear might be a little less but the Bridgestones that I've had in the past seem to be good waearing tires. Even the [censored] OEM Potenza RE92 on my car have lasted about 45K miles and they have a tread wear rating of only 260.
 
I know. I've had two sets of them, on an Outback and before that a WRX. I don't know why Subaru uses them.
 
Maybe they deliver good MPG (low RR) at the expense of everything else? Most OEM tires are designed to do exactly that.

The OEM RE92 on my Sentra only lasted about 30k miles.
 
Your desire to have traction in the rain and snow would eliminate both these tires in my book. They both can have close to zero traction in cold rain, breaking away without notice.
When running the MXV4s I noted that quick whacks on the brakes (unanticpated breaking, like when a deer runs out, or emergency braking ahead of you) they would lock up and hydroplane with almost no braking at all!! And lousy in the snow.

I liked your first impulse, the Yokohama's, the TRZ's are great in both rain and snow. Yes, only 118 mph rated, is that really an issue???? I would MUCH rather stay on the road at 65 mph in the rain then worry about a quick burst to 130 mph on 118mph tires.
 
Well, I'm having the Bridgestone Turanza Serenitys installed today. I haven't heard any bad reports on them from anyone who actually owns them. I also spoke with two different people at Tire Rack on two different occasions and they both like the Serenitys very much. They said they had tested them in the snow last winter and they were *much* better than the MXV4. Wet and dry performance is very good as well. In fact, as good or better than the TRZ based on Tire Rack's survey of owners. The TRZ does have better snow traction but 99% of my driving in not in snow, so while great snow traction would be very nice to have, all I really need is passable snow performance for the rare times that I do need to drive somewhere while the roads are snow covered. I've driven in snow several times with the cr@ppy RE92's that came on this car and had no problems, and the Serenitys should be a significant improvement.
I do think a T-rated tire is somewhat of an issue, at least for me. No, I don't drive above 118 mph but there are differences in tire construction between T-rated and V-rated. A V-rated tire will run cooler and probably be less prone to failure over the long haul. I do often drive long distances at 90 mph and I like the idea that my tires are designed to handle that with ease. The car came with V-rated tires and I wanted to stick with V or at least an H-rated tire.
In any case, it's a done deal and I'll post my thoughts on the Serenitys after I've driven on them for awhile.
 
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