I just bought a 2009 coupe and it currently has 300+ miles on the clock. Yesterday I noticed a "chirp" noise from the tires as I rounded a corner at a normal(20) mph. Wow, I had the feeling a new car with new tires giving me a lack of control! The car has Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 tires. I googled for tire reviews. Tirerack.com and a couple others rate these tires as "dogs", that's my term for them. I want a tire that's rated high for rain and snow traction and less for ride comfort/tread wear. Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

Yes, that's common with tires that are designed for ride comfort, as these are. It's also possible that the tires are over- or underinflated and this is causing the chirp; have you checked the tire pressure?

If you intend to use these tires all year round, I recommend you get a tire that is in the Tire Rack's "ultra high performance all-season" category. If you want even better performance, the way to do that is to get two sets of tires - a set of winter tires to use for the 3-4 months of the year in snow and frigid cold, and a set of summer tires to use the rest of the year. And a second set of wheels (even steelies are find), so that you don't have to mount/balance the tires every time you swap them. Of course, that's also more expensive (although the winter tires will last a long time and will save wear on the summer tires) and you'll need a place to keep the extra set of tires.

What size wheels and tires do you currently have? And can you consider two sets of tires, or must you use the same tires all year round?

 

The tire size is P235/45R18. My budget says I need the Ultra tires. Reviewing a TireRack rating chart shows the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S is #1 in the category for the 2008 Accord Coupe which, I assume will be the same as the 2009? Good choice?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zeke1312 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The tire size is P235/45R18. My budget says I need the Ultra tires. Reviewing a TireRack rating chart shows the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S is #1 in the category for the 2008 Accord Coupe which, I assume will be the same as the 2009? Good choice?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, for a whole lot of reasons: (a) that tire is not available in 18" sizes to fit your wheels (which is a pretty basic requirement ); (b) it's in the category of High Performance All-Seasons, rather than Ultra High Performance All-Seasons which is a higher performance category, and (c) the so-called #1 rating is highly misleading because that #1 rating is based on user survey results, which are highly biased. You should be basing your decision on (a) what kind of tires you DO want - again, I recommend Ultra High Performance All-Seasons; (b) tires that are available in your size; and (c) if you want to compare tires, use their side-by-side comparison tests, which are MUCH more useful when comparing tires.

Three Ultra High Performance All-Season tires are available in 235/45-18:

Kumho Ecsta ASX - $122/tire
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus - $220/tire
Yokohama AVID W4S - $145/tire

The Michelin is a newly introduced tire so the Tire Rack hasn't tested it yet; also, it's a lot more expensive than the other two. I usually recommend the ASX because in some sizes it's a whole lot cheaper than anything else in the category; however, the Yokohama is only a little bit more money, and is slightly better. You can see the side-by-side comparison test including the Kumho and Yokohama here. If you have to get all-seasons (instead of a separate set of winter tires), I would get either of those. Or the Pilot Sport A/S Plus, if you don't mind spending more money.



Modified by nsxtasy at 3:17 PM 10/12/2008

 

Thanks for the information!