Need to get new tires for my '09 V6 Accord Sedan

[lothar]

I'm at 38.5k miles, and these stock tires absolutely need to go.
One of them had a nail in it from 3 years ago which I never removed and it only started leaking air 2 months ago that I have to pump air back into it every 5-14 days or so whenever the TPMS light comes on.

I've been looking at tires for over a month now and thought I had settled on what I wanted(Continental ExtremeContact DWS), but hit the pause button on Sears.com when I saw how low the thread life was then I found a different tire just today that gets excellent ratings(Continental PureContact)...The only problem is that it's a new tire and I'm sure the ratings on it will come down.

I'm a Costco member and see Michelin is on sale for $70 off, but even with the sale it's still expensive and I'm not sure if I want the Primacy MXM4 given it's still either my 2nd or 3rd preferred choice of tire.
Did I mention that I'm disappointed in Costco's tire selection?
http://tires2.costco.com/SearchResults.aspx?SearchID=ea7b6409-8b9f-4dc9-894f-6d7a2f257b3a

All the tires I'm looking at are better than the stock OEM tire. By far.

Tire Rack performance ratings:

Also, anyone have any experience in ordering and getting tires mounted at Sears?
It seem if I order from Sears and get them to do it, it's cheaper than Tire Rack once you take shipping into account with the $50 off coupon code even if you take sales tax into account.

 

[NutBucket]

My go-to brands are Michelin and Bridgestone. Haven't had any experience with Continental but I don't see why they wouldn't be a good choice. Sorry, can't really offer more help aside from my tire guy selling me Bridgestone Turanza EL470s for my MIL's Civic. I'm fine with it since I trust the guy.

 

[lothar]

My go-to brands are Michelin and Bridgestone. Haven't had any experience with Continental but I don't see why they wouldn't be a good choice. Sorry, can't really offer more help aside from my tire guy selling me Bridgestone Turanza EL470s for my MIL's Civic. I'm fine with it since I trust the guy.

Michelin was one of my trusted brands(and in some ways it still is), but I'm open to another brand of tire from a different maker that tops the charts as well.
I guess the "meh" stock tires that came with my '09 Accord may have something to do with it.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=171
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/videoDisplay.jsp?ttid=171

 

[mike2fix]

I bought from and had Sears install tires on my daughter's last 2 BMW's, with the various coupons/discounts they were cheaper than everyone else and they did just fine installing and maintaining as needed.

I agree about Costco and I am a die hard Costco fan, their selection is lacking in the tire department.

Last set of tires I bought for one of my vehicles, a minivan, were Yokohama YK580's and I was shocked by the difference in ride. Very smooth and virtually no noise. rated very highly across the web, haven't put enough miles on them to judge yet how they wear.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...s/models/overview/yokohama-yk580-99045636.htm

 

[lothar]

Also, what's the deal with TPMS rebuild kits?

My car came with TPMS...
Do I have to pay for the TPMS kit again or not with new tires?
I've read conflicting reports on the web that you need to change them every time you get new tires, others say it's not necessary and it's just a way for shops to extract extra fees.

Also, standard rubber valve stems vs. chrome valve stems debate?
I think my EX-L V6 has chrome valve stems.

This bold warning in red means I should never consider rubber valve stems for my vehicle?

 

[NutBucket]

Rubber vs chrome is a moot point since you have tpms. That's your valve stem. Get the proper rebuild kit. Would suck to have a leak there after new tires are installed.

 

[tortillasoup]

try discounttiredirect.com or tirebuyer.com

 

[onza]

RE TPMS - they only last xxx years and the batteries will run out eventually. So if you car is old which it is not you do not have to re-buy them.. This is what i've done in the past.

Now if you buy two sets of rims you are required by law to install those stupid things so you would have to buy an additional 40x 4 dollars worth of sensors.

What state do you live in?

 

[lothar]

try discounttiredirect.com or tirebuyer.com

I guess I should mention I'm looking more into the opinion of the tires themselves than where to order from.
If I do it through them, I still have to go through the process of finding a shop and getting it done there which ends up being more expensive than Sears and is not any different from Tire Rack.

The 2nd site does not carry the new Continental PureContact tires.

http://www.sears.com/continental-pur...4&blockType=G4
My only gripe with Sears is for some reason, I can only order the tire I'm considering by talking to a representative rather than ordering online myself like you can on the ExtremeContact DWS tires.

I want to make sure I order the right thing, get email confirmation, and not depend on the Sears order rep.
I also want to get that 7% FatWallet cashback referral, which you won't get by ordering from a sales rep.

 

[lothar]

RE TPMS - they only last xxx years and the batteries will run out eventually. So if you car is old which it is not you do not have to re-buy them.. This is what i've done in the past.

Now if you buy two sets of rims you are required by law to install those stupid things so you would have to buy an additional 40x 4 dollars worth of sensors.

What state do you live in?

About how many years(or miles) do TPMS last? and how many years(or miles) is considered old?
Is the criteria based on number of years or miles?
If I can't get an exact concise value or some close range of value, then it may just be better or replace the entire thing with each new set of tires. For the sake of convenience, $12-15 seems like nothing.

I don't plan on ever changing the rims...Tires only. The stock rims on my '09 Accord EX-L V6 look decent IMO.

Maryland.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Been running Continental DWS's in 235/45/17 for the past 1.5yrs on the wife's car -

They are performing fine, no complaints other than the sidewall is a bit clunky looking.

 

[lothar]

Been running Continental DWS's in 235/45/17 for the past 1.5yrs on the wife's car -

They are performing fine, no complaints other than the sidewall is a bit clunky looking.

How many miles so far? And has the S worn off?

 

[onza]

TPMS - My car is from 2006, and they are still running, + over 105k miles. They last a while, i wouldn't worry about the TPMS portion just the quality of rubber used (pun intended) because this is the only thing touching the road. Make them good.

 

[vshah]

How many miles so far? And has the S worn off?

i still have the S after about 6k miles on my Si. tires look basically new.

 

[Meghan54]

Having recently had both Contis (CrossContact LX20) and Michelin (LTX MX2), the Conti's were very good but weren't Michelins. The Michelins rode smoother, quieter, and handled a tad better. But these were on a Murano and a Lexus GX.

Can't go wrong with any of the choices you showed, tho.

 

[onza]

Continental ExtremeContact DWS

Is my .02cents recommendation for your climate area. Since you will see snow in Maryland (i think...)

 

[TheAdvocate]

Michelin Defender - http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/name/defender-tires

Put some on my sedan a few months back. 90k treadwear warranty. Solid ride.

Pretty much perfect for most of the cars on the road. Would definitely buy them again.

 

[Jimzz]

Here is a good touring tire with long treadlife...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...R7AMRT43&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[Dr. Detroit]

How many miles so far? And has the S worn off?

9K miles and S is intact.

Another user suggested the Altimax RT - we had those on a previous car - they were fine, except for the fact they wore out super fast.

I've heard good things on the Kumho Ecsta Platinum - a bargain at $108/tire for your car.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

9K miles and S is intact.

Another user suggested the Altimax RT - we had those on a previous car - they were fine, except for the fact they wore out super fast.

I've heard good things on the Kumho Ecsta Platinum - a bargain at $108/tire for your car.

I'd suggest you try out the Altimax HP instead. They're a higher performing tire and reviews on TireRack have people saying they got 60-80K miles out of them. They're a very good tire in all aspects except fuel economy; you'd get 1MPG less compared to LRR tires.

 

[phucheneh]

LOL @ 'TPMS rebuild kit.'

It's a valve core and a seal. That does nothing to prevent dead batteries or being smashed by a tire machine; the latter being, by far, the leading cause of TPMS failure.

Rubber stems get replaced with new tires because the rubber degrades and will eventually crack. The core is not the concern; they generally only start leaking if somebody jabs at them with a screwdriver or something and damages them. The little rubber seal between the stem and wheel is likewise not very failure-prone.

On the actual tire subject- if you want absurd tread life, I can't recommend much besides Yokohama. The Ascends are on your chart. But frankly it seems like you're overthinking a bit much for tires on a daily driver Accord. Especially if putting major stock in Tirerack reviews. I mean, what do you think the difference between an '8' and a '9' in one of those categories will be? E.g. 'hydoplaning resistance?' No one's going to say 'oh, these tires were an 8, but my others were a 9'...rather, they're going to assign their own arbitrary values that may or may not have any basis in reality. Probably will end up having more to do with their general satisfaction.

I mean, I bet Bose speakers have pretty good reviews on BestBuy.com. Why? 'Cause people plug them in and they work. They're not sitting in their living room making frequency response graphs and stuff. Or listening critically at all, for that matter.

Then add in other uncontrollable factors...number of reviews. What size the tire is most commonly bought (example: some dude's experience with 205/60/15's is gonna be a little different than another guy who bought 225/35/18's). Ect. Best to just buy the most tire you can for the money while keeping some basic preferences in mind. HX MXM4's aren't exactly going to have a lot in common with ExtremeContacts. Are you looking for handling or comfort?

 

[lothar]

LOL @ 'TPMS rebuild kit.'

It's a valve core and a seal. That does nothing to prevent dead batteries or being smashed by a tire machine; the latter being, by far, the leading cause of TPMS failure.

Rubber stems get replaced with new tires because the rubber degrades and will eventually crack. The core is not the concern; they generally only start leaking if somebody jabs at them with a screwdriver or something and damages them. The little rubber seal between the stem and wheel is likewise not very failure-prone.

On the actual tire subject- if you want absurd tread life, I can't recommend much besides Yokohama. The Ascends are on your chart. But frankly it seems like you're overthinking a bit much for tires on a daily driver Accord. Especially if putting major stock in Tirerack reviews. I mean, what do you think the difference between an '8' and a '9' in one of those categories will be? E.g. 'hydoplaning resistance?' No one's going to say 'oh, these tires were an 8, but my others were a 9'...rather, they're going to assign their own arbitrary values that may or may not have any basis in reality. Probably will end up having more to do with their general satisfaction.

Best to just buy the most tire you can for the money while keeping some basic preferences in mind. HX MXM4's aren't exactly going to have a lot in common with ExtremeContacts. Are you looking for handling or comfort?

I'm not looking for absurd thread life...I'm just looking for something decent (60k thread life or so) that doesn't compromise on other features (wet, snow, road noise, etc...).
I'm an "All-Season" guy, so I want good "All-Season" tires so I won't have to be swapping. Don't have time for that summer/winter tire swapping nonsense.

I'm not putting "full" faith in Tire Rack reviews...If I was I would just get the top ranked tire there and be done with, but if you noticed I only mentioned 3 tires that I was considering in the OP which are not even rated #1.

1.) Continental PureContact (ugh...not sure why they decided to name their tires so closely because every time I type that I need to do a double take to make sure I'm not referring to the Continental ProContact tires)
2.) Continental ExtremeContact DWS
3.) Michelin Primacy MXM4

Like you mentioned, there's not much difference with the 8 and 9's.
But what I do know is that there seems to be a big difference between those tires near the top half of the chart and my stock tires which is ranked all the way at the bottom of the chart. And it has the most mileage driven of the tires listed there so small sample size clearly isn't an issue here.

My stock tires were rated for 50k. I'm only at 38.5k and already feel they must come off.

I'm looking for both handling and comfort!

 

[lothar]

There has been a lot of opinions posted about the Continental ExtremeContact which is fine and dandy, and it doesn't seem like there is any shortage of excellent ExtremeContact reviews on the intrawebs, but...

What do you guys think about the Continental PureContact tire?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...tireModel=PureContact+with+EcoPlus+Technology

So far I'm leaning towards(yes, in that order)...
1.) Continental PureContact- Order and get done at Sears, lifetime rotation
2.) Michelin Primacy MXM4- Order and get done at Costco, lifetime rotation
3.) Continental ExtremeContact DWS- Order and get done at Sears, lifetime rotation

 

[Dr. Detroit]

There has been a lot of opinions posted about the Continental ExtremeContact which is fine and dandy, and it doesn't seem like there is any shortage of excellent ExtremeContact reviews on the intrawebs, but...

What do you guys think about the Continental PureContact tire?

We are Continental tire fans in our house - had em on my previous 2 cars and my current Ford Focus Titanium - no complaints. never a bulged sidewall and all have been very good with tread life. Never drove them in the snow though.

And its tread - not Thread - bugs the shit out of me!

 

[SpatiallyAware]

There aren't many things where I'm all out fanboy other than for michelin tires.


On a car, there are two things that your life absolutely depends on - tires and brakes. Over the 40-80k miles you'll get out of a tire the extra money is extremely trivial.

Whatever brand you get, don't skimp.