Replacement Tires for Redline

[jjl303]

Hello Everyone,

After getting a nail in my front driver side tire's sidewall, which was unreapairable at 22,000 miles, I spent A-LOT of time trying to find a better alternative. I think I just may have! I've been doing a ton of reading on www.tirerack.com and using the calculator from www.1010tires.com to come up with my final decision. I was going back and forth between the 245/55/18R BFG T/A KDWS and the 235/55/18R Michelin MXV4 S8s. They want F-ing $300 dollars a pop for the nasty a#! Turanza EL42s. Now I probably could have maybe gotten another 10k out of em but I've decided to cut my losses now and get all 4 tires replaced with the 235/55/18R Michelin MXV4 S8s. The reason I went with these is because I think they will handle better in the snow than the KDWSs. Anything has to handle better than the Turanzas! I'm thinking going with a 235 footprint may also help a tad. The MXV4 S8s run about $170 a tire. A heck of a lot better than 300 smackers! So you can see my delema, 300 now and another 900 a little later to stick with the Turanzas, OR bite the bullet, and pay $700, and get 4 of the MXV4 S8s. This will save me $500 bucks in the long haul, plus more down the road!!! I should get 30 to 40k out of them as apposed to the 25 to 30k out of the Turanzas. I think the Michelin's are also used as OEM on the Lexus RS330 SUV. As far as physical appearance goes I will be gaining a little over a 1/4" on the sidewall by going with the 235/55/18s, so I'm thinking these will look pretty close to stock. According to 1010tires you want to stay within 3% of a diameter difference and with the Michelin's I will be at around a 1.89% difference. This puts the Speedometer Difference @ around 1.923% (2 mphs) slower than stated on the speedo. No biggie! All in all I think this will be a safe transition and not hurt any other aspects of the car. Ie: tranny, awd, suspension... I am hoping for a little better performance and handling on these. I'm just glad I'm not going to have to worry about paying 300 to replace a tire, let alone 4 tires at 1200 bucks! YIKES! And with Discount tire you get road hazard protection to were they will prorate you the cost of a new tire depending on how much tread is left of the damaged one.. Good piece of mind! I will let you guys know how the MXV4 S8s turn out, good or bad! Maybe post some pics!

Later, JOE

[D C]

Woah. The enter-key is your friend!

What don't you like about the Turanza's? If I'm not mistaken, they're OEM on the BMW 7-series. They have to be used somewhere else. I can't believe that GM would design a new tire for as low-volume as the Redline is.

I'm not even seeing the EL42 on 1010tires. I see an EL400 that they show as a Cadillac tire, and it's only $185/ea ($USD?)

[jjl303]

Well in short... I'm not going to pay 300 bucks a tire. Second, just goto www.tirerack.com and compare the Turanza EL42 245/50/R18 to the Michelin MXV4 S8 (235/55/R18) and see for yourself. Why would I stay with the Turanzas at almost twice the cost! I think Bridgestone has an ego hard-on about their tires. Not to say that michelin doesn't but its not as bad. Ultimately, I just don't see the reason to pay that kind of money for an OK tire. Maybe the turanza would be a better tire for smaller mid-size cars...but its not great at the 245 width.

JOE

[jjl303]

Ok, now magically, overnight, these tires appeared on tirerack's website. Check out the specs on these 235/55/R18 - Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....m=355VR8HLALNZ


Joe

[04RDLN]

I just replaced the tires on my redline I went with the 245/55/18 bf goodrich ta's here is a link to the tire description from tires.com

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...33&rd=18&ar=55

P.S. if you know anybody at a tire shop or know of anyway to get the tire at cost it ends up being about 95 dollars a tire.

[jjl303]

Hey what do you think of the T/As? How do they ride vs. the Turanzas. That's a great price compared the $300 you would shell for the Turanzas. Let me know, I'm very interested to hear how they work out.

[jjl303]

Originally Posted by 04RDLN

I just replaced the tires on my redline I went with the 245/55/18 bf goodrich ta's here is a link to the tire description from tires.com

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...33&rd=18&ar=55

P.S. if you know anybody at a tire shop or know of anyway to get the tire at cost it ends up being about 95 dollars a tire.

How many miles did you end up getting on your Turanzas? I'm at 22000 right now and pretty disapointed with them. Also anyone know anybody that wants 3 of 4 Turanza tires for the Redline. I would sell em on the cheap. Say $165/shipping included!?

[04RDLN]

I got a little over 55,000 on the turanzas . The T/A's give a nice smooth ride already have put 1000 miles on them also the 55 sidewall fills the gaps in the wheel wells a little bit more then stock .

[vwvue]

My replacement tires are Dueler H/L Alenza 235/55/18 and I love em.
Not as aggressive looking, but... they ride and track much better than 245's.
They are are much quieter, and plow through the snow (FWD)just fine.
Unfortunately, they were not on sale as they now are.

[POLYMER-PANELS]

Okay...I am really confused and worried here...I am ALMOST going to sign on the dotted line for a new 2006 black AWD Redline Vue...but, here in Toronto we get 'WINTER'...(snow / ice)...and all I hear about the Turanzas (even on TireRack.com) is terrible...terrible performance in the wet and snow and really LOUSY treadwear ratings...

Also, there are STILL rumblings on the net in the Saturn forums and elsewhere about the RDM (read drive modules) not cutting in until the rear has completely broken loose in the wet or snow...that AND the tires issue has me debating whether or not to buy the RedLine package...the regular Vue, however, doesn't 'cut it' for me visually...

So, what to do? Do I tell the dealer to forget it?

Or do I tell him to remove the Turanzas immediately and get me Michelin 235/55/18R MXV4 S8 tires or perhaps the more aggressive looking 245/55/18R BFGoodrich T/A KDWS?

I suspect the dealer is NOT going to want to do this OR even if they did, I'd get very little for the Turanzas...nobody will admit to the bad press about the Turanzas...

Anybody had more experience with their Vue AWD RedLines in the snow?

Thanks...

PS...even my '87 Fiero GT isn't THAT bad in the snow...(well, years ago, I used to drive it in the snow...)

[TITO]

POLYMER-PANELS, I drove in the snow one time with my Turanzas and they weren't too bad. But it was only about an inch of snow. This year I put on a set of 16 inch Pontiac wheels with 215/70/16 snow tires. My RL went every where I wanted it to. It's just that you have to purposely give it too much gas to get the front to spin so the RDM kicks in. After that it's a tank. I don't know the geography of Toronto, but I've got a lot of hills to deal with and the RL handles them all.

[D C]

Originally Posted by POLYMER-PANELS

Anybody had more experience with their Vue AWD RedLines in the snow?

I've had several opportunities to play in the snow. All of the reviews on Tire Rack confuse me. I sometimes wonder if people are driving on the same tires as I am.

Are they wonderful in the snow? Of course not. They're wide, low-profile performance tires. Are they BAD in the snow? Nope. Especially with AWD. I've been pleasantly surprised with how good they did. A narrower, non-high-performance tire would do better of course, but the Turanzas are surprisingly good in the snow, imho.

[Darknight]

So far with my 06 RL ,I've had fun in the snow, you know when not to push it , and when to have fun , I've had the ***** come out a few times after coming from around a corner when pushing it, the stock tires are not that bad , next winter I am going with steel rims so my factory ones' clear coat will last , just my 2 cents, Duane

[fotovue]

Originally Posted by D C

I've had several opportunities to play in the snow. All of the reviews on Tire Rack confuse me. I sometimes wonder if people are driving on the same tires as I am.

Are they wonderful in the snow? Of course not. They're wide, low-profile performance tires. Are they BAD in the snow? Nope. Especially with AWD. I've been pleasantly surprised with how good they did. A narrower, non-high-performance tire would do better of course, but the Turanzas are surprisingly good in the snow, imho.

I'd agree with DC. I've spent several months in Ohio winter with my red line awd and factory turanzas, and had no extreme hatred for the tires. Yes, they aren't winter specific tires, if you have more snow than dry periods, you might consider switching to a winter tire, but I had no adverse opinions on the oem tires. they performed well in the snow, even on unoplowed snow, and on ice, and performed as well as to be expected from a non-winter tire. The reviews on tire rack confuse me as well, I think they may stem both form some individuals (myself included) absolute desire to buy anything but firestone (and sister) products, and from the more wealthy in the world who drive the expensive car brands with these as oem tires, who are probably feeling revolted that they don't have some even more expensive tires... All in all, who knows about the tire rack reviews. Do I think they are fair and accurate, absolutely not.

Do I think the turanzas are great tires? No. Do I think they are more than Adequate? yes. I've managed to get 55k-60k out of them with extreme driving and braking, and no adverse complaints with them. I would consider purchasing the turanzas again, even with my dislike for firestone products, but they are not my first choice for new tires. I'm looking at possibly pirellis.

In the snow, I had more problems with my lower airdam acting like a snow plow, than I did with the tires!

If you know how to drive in snow, without acting like an idiot, then the OEM tires will perform well for you without complaints.

[MY05SilNicRL]

Originally Posted by POLYMER-PANELS

Okay...I am really confused and worried here...I am ALMOST going to sign on the dotted line for a new 2006 black AWD Redline Vue...but, here in Toronto we get 'WINTER'...(snow / ice)...and all I hear about the Turanzas (even on TireRack.com) is terrible...terrible performance in the wet and snow and really LOUSY treadwear ratings...

Also, there are STILL rumblings on the net in the Saturn forums and elsewhere about the RDM (read drive modules) not cutting in until the rear has completely broken loose in the wet or snow...that AND the tires issue has me debating whether or not to buy the RedLine package...the regular Vue, however, doesn't 'cut it' for me visually...

So, what to do? Do I tell the dealer to forget it?

Or do I tell him to remove the Turanzas immediately and get me Michelin 235/55/18R MXV4 S8 tires or perhaps the more aggressive looking 245/55/18R BFGoodrich T/A KDWS?

I suspect the dealer is NOT going to want to do this OR even if they did, I'd get very little for the Turanzas...nobody will admit to the bad press about the Turanzas...

Anybody had more experience with their Vue AWD RedLines in the snow?

Thanks...

PS...even my '87 Fiero GT isn't THAT bad in the snow...(well, years ago, I used to drive it in the snow...)

I'm in the Toronto area as well and drove my AWD RL with the stock Turanzas in the first 2 snow falls in November. They suck. Put on DM-Z3 Blizzaks, 225-70x16 what a difference and well worth it. Save your nice rims for summer too.
My 2 1/2 cents.

[Spazie]

AWD is not necessary in snow, despite what most people believe. I'd rather drive my FWD SC2 in the snow than the AWD VUE because to me, it seems to handle better. Less vehicle to slide around with. You can get a Red Line in FWD, and that eliminates the worries about a failed RDM or how long it takes for AWD to kick in. Also cuts a lot of weight off of the car.

I drove fotovue's RL VUE in Ohio (where I'm originally from) for a winter and it was okay but nothing spectacular. The tires weren't bad, but I like my Kumho's better for snow traction.

I'm just not very fond of the Turanza's. For how expensive they are, they should be much better. I wouldn't pay more than $100 a tire for them. Definitely not $300. They have a decent tire life (two of the four have 56,000 miles on them but need to be replaced soon), but they seem to be very suseptible to damage. We've blown two out, and one of the replaced ones is now forming a bulge. Once you get a few miles on them, the wet traction goes quick. I notice that I slide a little on corners and when stopping, even with practically new tires on the front.

Don't be afraid to buy the car because of the tires. They'll last you for a decent while, at least until you've got quite a few payments behind you. But don't expect to get 75,000 good miles out of them. And the Turanzas are better than the Duelers that are on the normal VUE!

[popp]

I just put Blizzaks on the RL rims for the winter, and Yoko advan's on 20's for the summer.......problem solved.

[D C]

Originally Posted by Spazie

But don't expect to get 75,000 good miles out of them. And the Turanzas are better than the Duelers that are on the normal VUE!

Out of curiosity. How long does everyone expect their tires to last before wearing to the point of needing replacement?

I would be totally shocked if I ever got 75k. I think 50k pretty damn good, and I typically expect 40k or so with the way I drive.