posted May 08, 2000 10:29 AM           

I would like to hear from those with direct experince only with the above tires only in the following areas:
1. Noise / vibration isolation on concrete/coarse pavement at highway speeds.
2. Vibration isolation from small abrupt jolts like tar strips or broken pavement.
4. Slow stoping/starting on ice.
3. Snow traction.

I have visited a number of tire dealers and only one of them was willing to discuss the merits or shortcomings of any tires on a technical level beyond what can be found in company advertising, and even that dealer only knew one of my choices well, the RE910. He admitted that he did not know the others well enough to discuss them having sold only a few. Calling the companies and tirerack.com gave me no usefull info either. I've spent a couple dozen hours scouring this BBS and tire rack (including their test results and user feedback). That's how I narrowed my search to the above four. All other tires are not under consideration. People disagree too much on Michelins Dunlops and Pirellis in general with respect to road noise. Goodyear seams to have quality concerns for many people. Firestone may have some candidates but it seems that their parent company Bridgestone has them covered and then some.

I have a 90 Accord EX with 68K mi. on the original 195-60-15 MXV3's. I never really liked them as far as road noise on concrete or rough pavement. The Accord does'nt have a lot of sound insulation and has a fairly stiff suspension. Thus it needs a quiet smooth tire to make up for it. I love everything else about the car however. Many tire dealers have fed me the line about needing to stay with the original H speed rating. I dont accept the hype. The 90 Accord LX came with S rated 185-70-14. Both the differences from H to S and from 60 to 70 profile put the EX at a comfort/noise disadvantage re. the LX. Otherwise the identical car with a few irrelevant differences.

I am a little afraid of the Turanza T due to multiple comments on this BBS about funny edge wear. Fluke or common? Its snow/ice performance is also unknown. The AVIDs may not be accectable for snow/ice, based on Consumer Reports rating of the AVID H4, which has the same tread design as the T4. The AVID Touring T has quite a different tread design and is therefore an unknown as far as snow/ice. The AVIDs and Turanza T probably fit the bill for noise/comfort. The RE910 is probably the best snow/ice performer and might be quiet/smooth enough, (from this BBS). It's not aimed at the luxury ride class, but some have said it is QUIET (Their emphasis). No one has said any of these 4 tires are noisy, but what are their real differences?

I live in Chicago with often unsalted side streets and unplowed alleys. Thus my concern with snow/ice, particularly stopping/starting traction on ice.

I am an engineer and am not comfortable making decisions based on unsubstantiated marketing hype. Let's have some concrete data that the tire companies would rather we not have.