quote:

Originally posted by Budlum:

quote:

Originally posted by DonDraper:

A 2016 VW Golf GTI with just under 300HP at the wheels. 235/40/18's

If I may... 300 whp, front wheel drive with potentially a LSD or likely brake-based torque vectoring, on a 235 section width all-season tire. I don't think the brand or model of tire matters much.

Well they certainly do. Car came with non performance all seasons and I know what it feels like with those (not good). The current Conti UHP SRS+ tires are new now, and they feel fantastic in the wet or dry. Only time will tell if they start to feel like regular all seasons after a year or two like the Michelins did. I would probably be better off with true summer tires and a second set of wheels for winter all seasons.

quote:

Originally posted by Fdan:
Consider Vredestein all season tires. Made in The Netherlands, highly rated, reasonably priced.

My son put a set on his Mini and has nothing but positive comments

I’ve looked at them, but for some reason while Tire Rack has them and pushes them like they get a commission, Discount Tire doesn’t sell them, and I don’t feel like buying them from Tire Rack and getting them shipped when I can get almost any other tire in 1 business day.

It looks like these three are my options with an oddball thrown in:

Cheap Tire: Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate

+ Still near the top of the list in the dry and wet. Since Goodyear won’t get back to me and if Discount Tire will match the $100 instant savings on Goodyear’s website, I could be in with a set of 4 installed with no Road Hazard for $711.99 before the $100 Visa gift card rebate. Also, if I go with Goodyear and they’ll price match Discount Tire, they will send a mobile installer out to me.

- Two or three steps behind most tires in the snow. Questionable ride and questionable treadwear.

Main Options: Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 or Continental DWS06+

Basically the same amount of awesome, but while the Michelin would qualify for 9 months no interest by itself, the Contis have no savings or rebates but I would probably have to buy new wipers to nudge it from $993.83 to over the $1K mark to go from 6 months to 9 months no interest with road hazard.

Oddball Tire: Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive

It’s the most expensive tire on the list and it’s a Grand Touring All Season. However, it’s the sportiest tire in that segment, less expensive than the CrossClimate2, still meets the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake standard, and should last as long as the Pilot AS4 or the DWS06+ having a 60,000 miles treadwear warranty.

The Bridgestone/Firestone options are out as Bridgestone seems to be priced like Michelins, but their newer models seem to be wearing out as fast as Pirelli’s reputation.

Well, I’ve ordered and my tires should arrive on Thursday. Discount Tire wouldn’t do the extra $100 off from Goodyear because their tire price was already lower. Continental didn’t have any deals going on, but the tech I worked with finagled it to where I’m getting 4 Pirelli P Zero AS+ 3 tires, 4 certificates, and 2 new front wipers for exactly $1,000 after taxes and for 9 months no interest. I also qualify for the $100 rebate on Pirelli P Zeros that’s ending near the end of the month.

I’ll post pics when I can, and thanks to all who helped.

The OE tire on my grandmothers 2 [2015 & 2015] Mercedes S550 were Pirelli Cinturato
I've got Pirelli Scorpion [I think] on my Explorer. I believe these were the OE tire & they've got 41k on them. Just about due for replacement, but the Explorer may be sold off soon, so I've been putting off dropping $1k on it right now.

Hope the Pirelli serve you well.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
Well, I’ve ordered and my tires should arrive on Thursday. Discount Tire wouldn’t do the extra $100 off from Goodyear because their tire price was already lower. Continental didn’t have any deals going on, but the tech I worked with finagled it to where I’m getting 4 Pirelli P Zero AS+ 3 tires, 4 certificates, and 2 new front wipers for exactly $1,000 after taxes and for 9 months no interest. I also qualify for the $100 rebate on Pirelli P Zeros that’s ending near the end of the month.

Certificates??

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Originally posted by nhracecraft:

Certificates??

What Discount Tire calls road hazard protection.

Let me know how you like them. I think the Perelli special expires on the 27th. I'm down to the Perellis or Goodyears since they're on special but also looking at the Falken Aklimates. All will be about $1000 out the door for me as well. Risking life since my Michelins are down to 3/32nds. lol

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
What Discount Tire calls road hazard protection.

Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3 Treadwear & Warranty

Pirelli backs this ultra-high performance tire with a robust 50,000-mile warranty.

But if you want to guard against unforeseen road hazards, our exclusive Certificates are the best tire protection coverage in the biz. With our Certs, your tires will be covered down to 3/32” of wear.

Plus, in the event your tires are damaged beyond safe repair, we’ll give you a brand new replacement, no questions asked. What better way to protect your high-end Pirelli than with our exclusive protection program?

It’s one of the best road hazard warranties out there and I’ve used them before about 10 years ago. They’re well worth it if you’re getting tires this expensive.

quote:

Let me know how you like them. I think the Perelli special expires on the 27th. I'm down to the Perellis or Goodyears since they're on special but also looking at the Falken Aklimates. All will be about $1000 out the door for me as well. Risking life since my Michelins are down to 3/32nds.

Yeah, my Turanzas hit 4/32 right as all this heavy rain started in my area. If Goodyear had got back to me, I probably would have gone with them if they would price match Discount Tire. Right now, the Pirellis seems to be testing the best, and Tire Rack was impressed with their winter performance against the Potenza Sport AS, DWS06+, and the Vredestein competitor. However, both Tire Rack and Tyre Reviews don’t have a direct comparison with the Pirelli and the Pilot Sport AS. The tests I have found are here:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires...Display.jsp?ttid=324

quote:

Hope the Pirelli serve you well.

Here’s hoping. I’ve read that Pirelli has gotten much better in recent years, but if I can get about 30,000, I’ll feel like “Mission Accomplished.”

After a big scare getting an email that my tires would arrive on Tuesday the 28th, they arrived on time at Discount Tire and have been installed on my car.




First impressions is my electric steering is more responsive. The ride quality has not changed going from a 55 sidewall to a stiffer 50 (and yes, the OEM tires left as much space in the wheel well) and my braking has improved. Sadly, a lot of the heavy rain in the area has left so I won't be able to try the wet weather stuff.

I also have 30 days to decide if I want to keep this or go to the DWS06+ or pivot to the Cinturato WeatherActive if the ride gets too brutal. I'll try and post every so often here to give an update and also try and answer any questions you folks may have.

Let's see some AWD launch videos!

Looks good! Please definitely post something by Wednesday. That's the last day of the Pirelli deal. lol
I've got court all day Wednesday, but Discount Tire will let me order online and get the deal. It doesn't have to be installed by the 29th, just ordered and paid for.

Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by DonDraper:
Let's see some AWD launch videos!

Sorry, I'm not equipped to do that

quote:

Looks good! Please definitely post something by Wednesday. That's the last day of the Pirelli deal. lol

Well, I've put almost 250 miles on these tires and I can only compare them to the OEM Turanzas (which had a worse UTQG Treadwear rating than the Potenzas I was looking at) on the Mazda, but I can compare them to the other tires I've tried in other vehicles (Bridgestone RE960AS, RE970AS, Turanza QuietTrac, the first Pirelli P Zero All Seasons, Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3 or AS 4 Run Flats). There's also a problem with my "data collection" for half of those miles because when I was getting dressed to go driving, I sat on my junk putting on socks, so comfort may be skewed....

Dry handling has been fantastic as you thought it would be, but the most impressive part about them has been in braking. In a few "simulated" emergency stops and a couple real ones because of road construction and traffic, these things ground my car to a halt without skidding or triggering my ABS. That's already a huge upgrade and relief. Sadly, there's no rain reported in my area during anytime that I'm going to be awake which is a bummer because all those "April Showers" were a month late and arrived in May. Steering feel at speed has improved along with responsiveness. At low speed these things could grip so hard it would destroy the road and I wouldn't feel it in the steering wheel thanks to electric steering, but feels great on the highway.

My size isn't listed as one of the ELECT series that's optimized for electric vehicles, but I'm sure rolling resistance has been a big focus on this tire as I'm at a half tank of gas and for the first time ever, the onboard computer is predicting 350 miles if I ran the tank dry compared to 320 max with the OEM tires.

As far as comfort, one thing that isn't affected by my "issue" is these are some of the quietest tires I've ever had on a car. There's a low hum at highway speeds I have to turn the radio off to listen to, but there's little tread growl. On smooth roads, the ride comfort is quite good. Road imperfections are still transmitted through the seat and you can also feel little dips and crevices the road wants to make the tires take, but tramlining is very minor.

The only thing I'm not liking is the bumps. Because of construction and the general shit conditions of the roads in Kansas City (North and South of the River/In Kansas and Missouri), impacts from bumps and potholes are shot straight up your spine. It could be I'm getting old and my boys were feeling extra sensitive, but my lower back is feeling kind of sore. If there's a reason I would trade these out, this would be it.

However, if I traded out, it would be for a set of Pirelli Weatheractives. One reason they got DQ'd was the Cinturato Weatheractives is that the tire sizes were the same. With the Michelin CrossClimates, they branded them the same for Cars and SUVS (the same with the Bridgestone Weatherpeak). Pirelli has the same tire split into two product lines. For cars, they have the Cinturato Weatheractive and for SUVs they have the Scorpion Weatheractive. Looking at the Scorpions, there's a lot more options and sizes for my vehicle that I could end up with and still get $80 instant savings from Discount Tire.

Regardless of what happened, Pirelli has come a long way from the disaster I had with the original P Zeros and from reading tire tests and user reviews, a lot of their stuff is towards the top of their classes. Pirelli got a lot right with this tire and it's impressed the hell out of me more than any tire in a long while. If my roads weren't horrific dog shit, they'd be perfect for me.

I'll know later in the week if I keep them.

Thanks for the write up. i'm probably going to order the same tires on tuesday if you don't report something bad by then. lol

i think i have launch control on my car so i will try to find time to do an awd launch on the old tires and get my kid to make a vid. might as well get them down to 2/32nds.

On our Lexus RX350 we recently went to the CrossClimate2 and they are outstanding!
Never had a good experience with Bridgestone

Just finished 330 miles and my comments haven't changed. one thing I will add is that these tires are so damn quiet that if you use road noise to just your speed, you'll be going 25mph faster than you think.

Still having the bump issues. I think I'll just have to admit I'm getting old and move to the Grand Touring tires. The big 3 on my list right now are the Michelin CrossClimate2, the Pirelli WeatherActive, and the Goodyear Assurance Weatherready.

Discount Tire has also opened up a $80 instant savings on just about everything until May 29th not including any factory rebates.

I just put a second set of the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady on the minivan. The minivan handled much better than it did with the Michelins the first set of the Goodyears replaced. I believe the Michelins were Primacy something or anothers. The Goodyears were a bit louder and stiffer, but had no traction problems wet or dry. They put the suspension flaws of the minivan front and center. Soft damping, springs, no anti-roll bars.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trapper189,

I've been reading good thing about that GoodYear and I like that it's still a 3PMS rated with an asymmetric pattern so I can rotate them around the car. I am reading complaints about noise. Any truth to that?

It’s hard to say. The Michelins were loud at the end, so the new Goodyears were more quiet relatively speaking. However, I remember the Michelins as striking me as being really quiet when new. Neither set of the Goodyears strike/struck me as being particularly quiet, although the new ones are definitely more quiet than the old ones.

The minivan also is 12 years old with 100,000 miles and probably could stand new door seals.

I wouldn’t know about snow as I haven’t drive on it in 25 years.

I'm thinking of doing the Pirelli P7 All Season Plus 3. It's available in my OEM size, barely more expensive than the P Zeros I'm running now, and the Scorpion version tested very well against the CrossClimate2 according to Tire Rack.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires...Display.jsp?ttid=272



I also found a 2021 test with the CrossClimate2 for the sedan/coupe version:



https://www.tirerack.com/tires...id=283&affiliate=HP5

The main downside I've read on this and the P7 version is wet traction is a step behind, but light snow is comparable. It's also asymmetric and won't cause issues for balancing and rotating. I'm also willing to forgive the dead feeling I experienced on the Scorpions because that Subaru also made everything feel dead with the DWS06+ barely giving some sport back.

I'm probably going to get the Goodyear Exhilarate if I order on Tuesday. If I miss the sale, I will try the new Falken Aklimate all weather tire. Same price basically as the Goodyears but no rebate. Less performance oriented and longer treadlife.

The CrossClimate2 tires were loud according to a few coworkers.

and I can't get launch control working. I wonder if I coded something wrong or if it's true you only get so many.