I always read that the best upgrade one could make is to buy new, quality tires. Yesterday, I experienced this first hand. Prior to the new tires, I had a combination of really worn/semi worn turanza's el42 215/55/17 on my 06x, yes i know bad idea having uneven wear with awd. Either way, the car was quick in a straight line and did ok on corners; lots of body roll, tire squeal and overall feeling of being on the brink of utter destruction. Yesterday, I had some turanza serenitys 235/50/17 installed and man do they make a world of difference. It truly feels like a different car; cornering is much more confident (20MPH more around a turn with no feeling of imminent loss of control, body roll is greatly reduced (235 tire probably helps that) and a comfortable ride to boot. Before I was bouncing around if I hit any imperfection in the road. I know the serenitys are not a performance tire, but I'm truly amazed at how well they handle. That's my rant for the day, and I'm in love with my car again.

 

I've been recommending the Serenity line here ever since I also replaced my OEM tires with them. I've owned Corvettes, Camaro SS, several MiniCoopers (original style), a few Mercedes, etc; but with all the various tires I have tried I have NEVER found a tire with such a great combination of dry weather handling, wet weather grip, decent snow performance and quiet, comfortable ride.

"Ultimate performance summer" tires are a complete waste on the roads around here. Between surface roughness, potholes, tar bumps, sand, gravel, oil, rain and snow; I really need a tire that conforms to the surface and doesn't just skip over the top of it.

Yes, I've driven on high performance tires and know the difference.

 

Would you post a picture of the car with the 235 tires? I'm wondering what it looks like.

 

i'll post some pics tomorrow, I don't think it looks much different... I think each tire is one inch wider.

 

235/45R18

 

i have 245 on my g35 6mt sedan. rides great. bfgoodrich T/A

 

nice indeed

 

My experience with the EL42 was that it was, without a doubt, the WORST tire I've every owned, so anything would be an improvement. They came on my Mazda CX-7 and were completely overwhelmed in any inclement weather. First inch of snow we got and I literally couldn't hold a slow, soft corner. Car almost slid off the road. Simply awful. Selling an AWD car in northern Michigan with such crappy tires should be a crime.

I'm sure the Serenity is a fine tire, but it's not much more than a few steps above the EL. I'm sure you'll get lots of miles out of it, but there are much better all-season tires out there, and it will never be confused with a true summer tire. St. Louis doesn't have the same kind of winters that Connecticut has, so don't be surprised if it's not up to the challenge when the white stuff starts falling.

 

I'll tell you what, if it is only "a few steps" those steps were made by the Jolly Green Giant. I find them better year-round than the Goodyear RS-As and Conti Extremes I have had on other cars.

 

Goodyear RS-A's are as bad as the EL42's, so I hope yours are better. I'm sure the Serenity's are fine in relatively mild-wintered St. Louis, but Connecticut sees significantly more snow than you do (about 2.5x as much). A Grand Touring All-Season tire just isn't going to cut it.