My tire/tyre recomendation for 850

('96 850 Turbo)
I was running a set of Michelin MXV4+ Energy tires and I thought they were
really good at first, very exspensive V rated tires... but soon I learned
they hydro-planed fairly easily, not "off the roadway into the woods" type
thing, but the steering would get "greasy" at even 55mph on a wet road,
much less faster.

Also when cornering they would whine at good speed (60mph) on a fairly
tight corner. Never lost traction but the did get whiny and a little
"greasy" feeling....not reassuring. You could call my driving style...
spirtited.

Long story short, after I only got 31k miles (NO tread warranty) out of a
$800 set of tires I did some research...

snip <RESEARCH> snip

I got a set of BF Goodrich Traction T/A in the standard P205 55R 16 size
for the car... My god what tires!

Wet weather they grip the road like a cat. On those same corners at 75mph
no whine at all and I could feel the G-force in my guts. Like being on a
rail. They are V rated also but cost $100 (US) dollars less and have a 60k
tread life warranty!!!
Just wanted to share!

Peace.

 

Yeah, IMO, MXV4+ is one of the worst tires I've ever had. They were OEM on
my '00 Accord V6. Their traction and lateral grip was non-existent, and
they squealed like pigs every time I tried to take a corner faster, making
me look like a rice boy. Snow traction - pretty bad, too. The only thing
good about them was that they were rather soft and comfortable - I guess
that was the purpose. Considering how much they cost new - it's ridiculous.

Try Pirelli PZero Nero M&S if you're looking for a more performance-oriented
all-season tire with good grip.

Regards,

Pete

 

I've got Energy MXV4+ on the 960, and they seem well suited to the car...
They seem to have good grip in general, but no, they aren't a sporting tire
and they weren't meant to be either... They're meant for luxury cars (and
owners who drive them as such, I suppose). With the 960 they seem to
encourage a little power slide from the rear end... which is always good fun
(it always generates bewildered looks when people see a 10 year old 960
station wagon driving in a "spirited" manner around a corner or turning at
an intersection... At 3/4 the speed limit) They never let the car get ahead
of itself tho, they are competant... Never had a problem in wet weather,
though I know they aren't perfect wet weather tires.

For all around goodness in all weathers, i've found the Nokian WR to be
fantastic... I haven't heard them squeal, I haven't got them to slide, they
barely even slip while accelerating hard in the rain, and they corner in
rain better then some tires I have used dry... Can't wait to try their
"Hakka Sipping" for the winter season.

 

"Rob Guenther"

Got these for my girlfriend's Jetta last year. They're awesome all
around. They tend to get a bit soft on hot summer days, but you won't
notice it unless you push them hard. Very impressive in the snow
though - much better than my dedicated winter Michelin Pilot Alpins -
yet another overpriced and mediocre Michelin product.

Cheers,

Pete

 

Glad to hear they're good in snow... I replaced some generic Kumho "Touring
Radials" with these tires (the Nokians) after nearly spinning out a few
times in snow (this made me think that the tires that came on my used car
weren't so good even tho they were brand new)... I wanted a good true all
season... Glad to hear I think I found it, i'm almost excited for the first
snow fall so I can see how they do.

The ONLY downside to these tires are the relatively low treadwear life...
80K Kms I was told... and by the rate they're going I'll be getting 70K Kms
if I'm lucky - tho I do corner hard with them... I can see a typical person
getting 80-90K (tho a typical person would want almost double that...).
Personally I think every few years, or 70K is fine.

They tire salesman did warn me about how they soften when it gets really
hot... and I noticed it, but it's not bad... they don't really lose grip or
anything.

 

They're OEM on some Honda models and pretty well universally despised.

 

"Rob Guenther"

Well, 70-80K km is a lot in my books. I'm used to getting 30K km from most
of my high performance summer tires. There's also a direct relationship
between treadlife and grip. Good grip = shorter treadlife, and vice versa.
I think the WR offers a pretty good balance of both.

Regards,

Pete

 

My '95 850T came with the Pirelli P Zero Asimmetrico. They handled
nicely but they were soft. (They handled nicely _because_ they were
soft, I think.) They wore out very quickly.

I replaced them with the Bridgestone 91V rated Potenza RE720. Excellent
handling on wet roads and _much_ more durable.

cheers,

Henry

 

I'd say they are a great balance... I'd love to put a 17" performance tires
on this car, but as I do close to 40K Kms a year, it's not economical... i'd
like 2 years out of a tire, if I can, as I don't make very much money right
now... I'd say these are the best tires for my situation (don't want to
spend money on snows, don't want to buy tires every year or less, need great
grip in all weather, need fairly high performance tire).