Michelin Pilot Sport A/S vs Yoko Advan vs ContiExtremeContact

[m35tn]

Ok - I'm convinced that I now need All-Season tires (live in Tennessee where we get all seasons ), I've decided that I might actually look at tires other than Michelin and I've narrowed it down to the following:

ContiExtremeContactPROS - Cheap! Good feedback but I don't want to save a few bucks just to have troubles later.CONS: Treadwear low - traction etc. not rated as well as the others. Revs per mile much higher than others (what effect does this have on mileage????) but did I mention that they are cheap???

Michelin Pilot Sport A/SPROS - good ratings, familiarity with brand - after all they ARE Michelins CONS: PRICE! four of these will set me back almost $1200 mounted, treadwear not rated as well as Yoko, Traction rated less than Yoko, Noisier than Yoko, almost everything not rated as well as Yokohama

Yokohama Advan S.4PROS - almost everything rated better than either of the others - treadwear rated much higher, Price much less than Michelin, Traction much better rated, noise much better rated CONS: - I've never even heard of Yokohama tires and just wonder about them.

I find it interesting that the dealer promotes the Michelin HXMX4 tires which get really rotten results according to Tire Rack) and they also want $335/tire mounted and balanced

So - any and all comments are delightfully accepted. I'd especially love input from folks with the Yokohama tires as to their satisfaction with them.

Thanks!

[Boon]

Can i throw another in your mix??? I just put these on about 1k ago and I LOVE them. I am in MI and we get everything. Just got a couple inches of snow the other day and drove awesome. Rain yesterday, awesome. They are by far the best value I found and highly recommended by a buddy of mine.

Read up on them.............. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...A%2FS

BTW I got a set of 245/45/18's mounted, balanced, and siped for just under $700 out the door. If you drive in snow I would highly recommend looking in to getting your tires siped. Read up on it if you don't know about it.

[maxnix]

First off, don't confuse A/S PS or PS with PS2. The PS2 is a whole different planet.

Secondly, realize that "all season" is a marketing euphemism for compromised summer tire and not very good winter tire.

Read the sticky in Infiniti General. Generally, there is the F1 and the PS2 then everything else.

For a compromise, the Avon Tech M500 is the best bang for the buck.

[szh]

Take a look at the stickies in this forum and the tire reviews in the Q45 forum for information that is important for our heavy cars!

I find it interesting that the dealer promotes the Michelin HXMX4 tires which get really rotten results according to Tire Rack) and they also want $335/tire mounted and balanced

The HX MXM4 is a middle-of-the-road tire, but not as bad as the Goodyear RS-A (avoid that like the plague)! You have better options for sure! The dealer price is pathetic ... you can do way better from other places. Have Tire Rack drop-ship them to you. If you want to use a local tire place, they will occasionally negotiate close enough to the Tire Rack price (plus shipping and mounting) that it makes it worthwhile. Finally, another place is Costco (if you have one of those near you) ... their tire prices and pretty darn good too. Look at http://www.costco.com for more information.

And, in regard to Yokohama tires, there are people who like their ES100 tires in the past. But, this is an old design and may have been superseded by other brands and models. By the way, avoid the Yokohama YK520 ("house-brand" from Discount tire) ... this probably/perhaps has the same serious issues with Q's and M's that their previous house-brand (the YK420) had.

Z

[m35tn]

First off, don't confuse A/S PS or PS with PS2. The PS2 is a whole different planet.

Yes, I understand this. I can't use the PS2 (which would probably be my first choice) because of the weather here in TN.

Secondly, realize that "all season" is a marketing euphemism for compromised summer tire and not very good winter tire.

Well - that's really the climate that I live in. There's just no reason to have "winter" tires here because we just don't have winter (as defined by snow and ice - or at least much of it) BUT we do have cold weather so the summer PS2 type tires are out of the question.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

[m35tn]

The HX MXM4 is a middle-of-the-road tire, but not as bad as the Goodyear RS-A (avoid that like the plague)!

The car has original tires (Goodyear RS-As) and they are just absolutely the worst tire that I've ever encountered. I was driving along in a rain storm recently and had my first absolutely NO control experience ever - hydroplaning without any sense of ability to steer. I just eased off on the throttle and eventually the car came back to me - but it scared the pants off me and that's why I'm getting new tires.

As to price, I have a local tire guy who is willing to sell me whatever tires I want at his cost plus $20 per wheel for mount and balance. - that puts his price for the Michelin PS A/S at $100 less per tire than the dealer wants for the HXMX tires.

And, in regard to Yokohama tires, there are people who like their ES100 tires in the past. But, this is an old design and may have been superseded by other brands and models. By the way, avoid the Yokohama YK520 ("house-brand" from Discount tire) ... this probably/perhaps has the same serious issues with Q's and M's that their previous house-brand (the YK420) had.

Z

Thanks! - I'm concerned about the fact that there just aren't that many Yoko users as compared to Michelin and in the absence of overwhelming info I suspect I'll go with the Michelins. Interesting that no one has even remotely suggested the Contis.

Thanks for helping out. It's greatly appreciated.

[m35tn]

If you drive in snow I would highly recommend looking in to getting your tires siped. Read up on it if you don't know about it.

Hey Boon - thanks for the input. I've never heard of siping and will admit that I thought you were wanting me to go hunt sipes! Since we have snow only once a year and then it melts quickly I'm delighted to say that this isn't an issue for me.

I appreciate your response - thanks for helping out.

[Boon]

Hey Boon - thanks for the input. I've never heard of siping and will admit that I thought you were wanting me to go hunt sipes! Since we have snow only once a year and then it melts quickly I'm delighted to say that this isn't an issue for me.

I appreciate your response - thanks for helping out.

Just so you know siping isn't just for the snow. It is also suppose to help breaking, wet traction, and wear. Because of the small cuts in the tire it helps for heat transfer thus reducing friction. A lot of people think that your tire just wears from touching the road. The key factor in tire wear is how well they transfer heat. Siping usually cost about $10 a tire, and to have better breaking, better traction, and better wear, I will continue to have it done. This is my third set of siped tires, and I swear by the procedure.

BTW we just got 6 inches of snow and the BFG's drove perfect in it. I'm telling you look into these tires!!!

Here is some info on siping for all you guys....... http://www.sipers.com/sipers/index_large.asp

[Q45tech]

Since they came out I've used Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on my C43 AMG perfect for North Georgia year around and now on 3rd set.

On My Q I've tried almost every premium tire in 318k and always came back to Michelin after trying the latestest and greatest from the wantabees.

[m35tn]

On My Q I've tried almost every premium tire in 318k and always came back to Michelin after trying the latestest and greatest from the wantabees.

Ok - that's the kind of thing that helps me tremendously so I took the plunge today and have ordered 4 of the Michelins - total cost just over $1,000 mounted and balanced. I suspect I should spring for an alignment as well just to protect the investment.

Thanks for your help!

[Q45tech]

Having driven into Gatlinburg in an ice storm from Cherokee after midnight one Jan, I believe you will be satisfied. If not you won't be found until next Spring.

[szh]

By the way, m35tn, I am glad you got the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S over the Continentals. If you see this: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...id=72, you will see why - I just saw this myself today!! Test results are always best to consider.

Z

[szh]

Ok - that's the kind of thing that helps me tremendously so I took the plunge today and have ordered 4 of the Michelins - total cost just over $1,000 mounted and balanced. I suspect I should spring for an alignment as well just to protect the investment.

A question: where did you find the Michelin for $1000 mounted and balanced? I decided to do the same this morning and the cheapest I saw was about $1200 all in (Tire Rack, plus shipping, and plus local mounting). So, I went ahead and got them from Costco a few hours ago for $1250 (they included CA sales tax), since they had them in stock ... date code of March 2008 (good)!

I do know that the Pilot Sport A/S is not as good as the Pilot Sport PS2, but I need to be driving a teensy bit in Lake Tahoe this spring for ski trips (will use chains as needed too). If they turn out to be poor for summer driving later, I will sell them and swap them out for other summer tires.

Z

[szh]

Having driven into Gatlinburg in an ice storm from Cherokee after midnight one Jan, I believe you will be satisfied. If not you won't be found until next Spring.

Dennis, which Michelin's do you use on the Q45?

Z

[m35tn]

A question: where did you find the Michelin for $1000 mounted and balanced?

Great guy here in town who has a small service station and is the epitome of the great mechanic. He is passing along the tires at cost and then adding only $20/tire for mount and balance.