Advice on 245/45-18 Tires.

[01 Ultra]

Just an update for the ride on the new tires (I've put about 600 miles on them so far). Every morning for about the first 10 miles, they seem to be seriously out of balance. This goes away after driving on them for about 10 miles & then everything smoothes out & they ride great.

A question for any tire guys out there - could this be due to the fact that they are 'ZR' rated performance tires & are probably a much softer compound than 'H' or 'V' rated touring tires? Could different inflation pressure help?

Other than the first 10 miles every morning, I love these tires, but if I have to put up with that every day, I may decide to take them back & exchange them (Discount Tire has been very helpful & has great customer service, so I don't think that would be a problem).

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

[RX in NC]

Some soft-compounded tires do indeed require a slight warm-up period first thing each morning, but not to the extent that you have described. Ten miles is an incredibly long warm-up interval - I would be willing to accept a mile or two, but no more. When faced with the cold Minnesota winters come November or so, your tires may require all day to warm up adequately to suit your needs.

I would try increasing the psi as a first step. What are you currently running? If it is perhaps 30 psi, then bump them up to around 36 psi and see if that makes a difference. You may wind up backing them down to around 32 or 33 psi.

The next step would be to ask Discount Tire to check each wheel to assure that it is in fact within balance specifications.

But the big question I have to ask you is this - why did you put a Z-rated tire on an LS? That is absolute overkill. The LS is not a performance sedan or sports car. I believe that an H-rated tire would be just fine, and I certainly would go no further than a V-rated tire. Sounds as if you got talked into a set of tires that simply doesn't fit your vehicle or application. You may be better off moving to a more conventional H-rated or V-rated tire for that platform.

Keep us posted on your results.

[01 Ultra]

Thanks for the info, I didn't feel that 'warm-up' period when I had the Michelin Pilot MXV4's on the vehicle.

I will try inflating them to 36 psi & see if that works - I usually stayed around 32 psi for the MXV4's, and that seemed just right.

Your right though, with the winters here in Minnesota, it would be near impossible to get these things 'warm' enough. My plan is to keep the Michelin's and have them siped for use for my winter tires/wheels.

The only reason that I went with a Z rating is because I had started looking at the Riken Raptor tire (a Michelin private label) that was very reasonably priced ($79.00 for a 245/45-18) and all of the reviews that I had seen on it seemed very positive. The only problem was that Discount Tire wasn't able to purchase them & suggested the Dunlop's.

I'll post on whether or not increasing the psi works.

Hopefully it will, if not, I did return to Discount Tire today to check the balance (it was right on), but the manager said that if I still wasn't happy, he would take the Dunlop's back & try another tire.

Any suggestions for a touring tire in 245/45-18 size? I have read that the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS is supposed to be nice, but there again, I believe it is a Z-rated.

Thanks again for the help/info.

[Tekneeks]

sounds like a balancing issue.. or maby a separated belt in one of the tires.. check the tires on a road force machine it will tell u right there what the issue is

[01 Ultra]

Well, the increase in psi had minimal effect on the flat spotting of the tires in the morning, but it did increase the road noise. I'm definately returning these & will hopefully get better ones - anyone have suggestions for 245/45-18 size?

[01 Ultra]

I had no idea that changing from 17" to 18" wheels would be so hard to find quiet, smooth tires. It seems that just about everything made for the 245/45-18 size tire comes with a Z-rating. Does anyone out there have 18's on their car now that they are happy with in regard to noise/comfort levels? I have Dunop Direzza DZ101's on now, but they 'flat spot' overnite & it takes about 10 miles for them to finally get 'round' enough to be comfortable.

Edited May 24, 2007 by steviej
Merged thread

[steviej]

If it is a high performance summer tire you seek, serious look into the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3.

They don't flat spot and are very quiet. Excellent traction in rain and on dry pavement. Right now I am running 235/40-18s.

Please note: I have modified the title of this thread to better address your content and have merged your "245/45-18 Tires" thread with this thread to avoid simultaneous running threads.

steviej

[01 Ultra]

I did briefly consider the Goodyears, but from past experience, they (previous Goodyear brand in general, not any experience the the Eagle F1 GS-D3's) seem to wear very fast. For the price that you pay for them (any decent tire in general, but the Goodyears are about $65.00 more per tire), I would like to get a little more mileage for the money.

The new Toyo's that I am looking at at least have a 40K warranty, which is about what I would like to get (about 3 summer's worth of driving) until I need to replace them again.

How have your Eagle F1 GS-D3's worn?

[steviej]

How have your Eagle F1 GS-D3's worn?

This is only the beginning of my second summer, but they have not worn that I can tell with my eye.

However, I have not taken a depth gauge to it.

steviej