replacing my stock 18" Pilots with all seasons that hopefully awhile longer than what came factory.

what are people having success with? i saw the Avons @ a nice price, but i'm a bit hesitant.

all help is appreciated.

 

I replaced my Pilot Sports (2003 Coupe) with Pirelli PZero Nero M+S about a month ago. Had 28k on the Pilot Sports, so no serious complaints about mileage. However, I hated the noise and I really wanted a performance A/S tire.

The car "feels" very much the same on dry roads. I am VERY relieved about that - it was my main worry when replacing the Pilot Sports. It may take a little longer to take a set in the turns, but that could very well be my imagination. I suspect that these tires don't grip quite as well "at the limit," but honestly I don't drive there much. Noise is much lower at slow speeds, slightly lower/maybe the same on the interstate. It seems to me that the VDC acts more with these tires in the wet - not as good as the Pilot Sports on wet roads.

I'm hoping that these tires give me a little traction in the snow. I live in central maryland, so snow isn't a big issue. However, needed something to get me home from work, safely, on those few occasions when the snow starts to fall.

No feedback on longevity - I haven't had them that long. One consideration, I can swap these tires left-to-right without dismounting them from the wheels. I'm thinking this will provide some improvement in longevity.

BTW

F: 245-40-18
R: 245-45-18.

Aside from the note about wet handling, no problems w/ VDC.

Steve

 

Steve is right, the Pirelli's are awesome! I've got nothing but great feedback from customers with these FWD or RWD.

A little bonus is the fact that DTD is offering a $50 mail in rebates on sets of 4 until 10/29.

 

are there any issues getting away from the stock sizes to the ones Steve went with? can anyone comment? i liked the Pirellis, but wondered about the consequences of altering the tire sizes

 

Yelp, here are some of my thoughts, FWIW:


The rolling diameter of the 245/40 tire is almost exactly the same as the 225/45 - maybe 1-2 revolutions/mile difference. The VDC won't know the difference.

Relative to an A/S in the 225/45 profile, the wider 245/40 profile on front will not (theoretically) handle as well in snow. It's wider and will tend to float on top. Also, the Pirelli does not have a very aggressive tread design (i.e., large grooves between the corner blocks = better grip in the snow). But, who are we kidding. No A/S tire at these widths is going to handle the snow "well." And any will handle the snow better than the OEM Pilot Sports.

I have read on this board that the G35 with the stock tires has a bit of understeer. Wider tires on the fron ought to lessen the understeer tendency (which may or may not be a good thing). No personal experience to validate this statement.

Personally, I like the way the 245/40s look better than the 225/45s. I thought the way the sidewall slopped in from the rim on the 225s looked goofy. These look a little fuller. Personal preference.

Steve

 

I currently run Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's and so far they are a nice compromise for an all season tire. Had the Avon Tech M550's, but they had issues with balancing and pulling after 800 miles. Both tires provided what I like, as far as road feel, comfort and noise level. They also grabbed the road enough in the dry and wet conditions, down here in Florida. The reviews on Tire Rack for them were pretty accurate. If the Avons had stayed straight up, I would have kept them. But the LS-V's are very good too.

 

Look at the Falken Ziex's if you can. I like them.

 

Here is my delima. I replaced my rear pilot sports last year with Pilot Sport AS- well this was in anticipation of there also being available Pilot Sport AS's for the front tire size. Well there isn't. I would have to go with 245/45 on the front or something like 235/40 or 225/40. Kinda crazy that Michellin wouldn't make the tire in 225/45 since the sports are already made in that size. So now I have to make a decision as regards whether to try to find another brand with a similar tread design, or back to pilot sports on the front- which I don't really want to do. I don't want to change the offset that was on the car originally.

 

If Michelin make the PS A/S in 245/40 (I believe they do), you could use that on the front and get almost the exact rolling diameter as the stock 225/45.