Performance Brakes

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
April 03, 2010

I purchased these to replace the OEM Goodyear Integra, which were average but slippery. I had hydroplaning issues with those and slid on acceleration from stops on wet pavement. However, these Fortera TripleTreds are AWESOME. I need a good all-weather tire for my Pilot that I could use in bad weather at high speed on the German autobahn. I put them on in October and have gone through the fall and winter with them happily. They provide outstanding traction and stability in all conditions. I first noticed that they didn't slip on wet leaves or paint stripes when driving in town in the fall. I have since riven them in heavy rain, ice, and snow in town and at over 105 MPH on the autobahn. They perform perfectly at all speeds and vehicle weights and give me total confidence. They brake well, corner well even when loaded, and they are sure-footed cat's paws even on ice and snow. Sure, every tire will slide some if you turn sharply on glazed ice or brake suddenly on black ice; but these grip better than anything I've ever driven, on any vehicle. I trust my family's safety with them even at very high speed. I have also done anti-terrorist performance driving training. These TripleTred tires are what I want on my vehicle for max performance that could literally save my family's life. Even with shipping, they were cheaper to buy from Tire Rack and ship to a military APO than to buy autobahn-capable SUV tires in Germany. I will definitely buy them again.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
January 31, 2013

Four of these tires with studs makes a front-wheel drive car a brilliant performer on ice!

We live on a gentle hill that became slick as snot after freezing rain last week. It was so slick that it was perilous to walk down the sidewalk. But with their studs, these tires did great -- going down the hill our Mazda 3 never lost any traction. Even when I tried stepping hard on the brake, these studded tires did not slip even a little.

Besides ice, we've driven on a couple of inches of snow and with a set of four we had no problem in our front-wheel drive Mazda 3.

I bought these from TireRack, who also installed the studs and mounted them on rims. What we received from TireRack was ready to mount on the car, which we did at a cost of $25 at the local tire shop at the beginning of the snowy season. This was a good customer experience.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
January 08, 2013

My wife drives the car primarily, but I get enough time behind the wheel both in city and on the highway. These tires seem to be wearing well so far. They are due for rotation, but haven't shown any significant disparity between the front and rear. They have been very competent in the wet weather especially under braking which was a key feature in choosing this tire for this area. Also very good value and the 205/55 x 15 is not as available of a size as it used to be. It allowed for a slight bump up in tread width from the stock 195/60. I'm glad Kumho offers it. I would buy this tire again based on value and above average performance.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 26, 2013

I live in Denver and with the changing conditions on a day to day basis that we experience here I knew I needed a good set of all season tires. I should mention that I don't like the cost and the pain of having a winter/summer set of tires.

So with much research and after reading all the reviews on the Continental DWS all season tire I knew they would be an excellent set of boots to strap to my RWD 2006 BMW 325i. Through the dry, rain and heavy snow they have not disappointed as of the first 1000 miles. (meaning I can't comment on tread life quite yet)

Prior to the Conti DWS I had a set of michelins and bridgestones on the front and back. While I can comment on my prior set of tires performance in the snow, I'd rather not. What I can say is the road noise and driving comfort were much improved with the DWS! Overall they offer supreme comfort and balance for city driving and elevated highway speeds.

As for the reason why everyone buys this tire: While not a full "winter" tire the DWS has yet to fail me and land me flat footed through 6-8 inches of snow we recently experienced. The car feels balanced and well planted with minimal oversteer and steering lock if I plant my foot down while entering a corner. But when the TC and DSC kick in my tires regain traction and the car regains its balance on corner exit and I'm off again to attack more snowy apex's! Which is something I can't say with the rear bridgestone tires that nearly landed me into the curb if it weren't for my cat-like car control reflexes earned during my karting days.

What I can say and what many reviewers fail to mention (as commented on above) is that even though the 325i is a RWD with the DWS tire and the addition of traction control and stability control the tires fare very well in snowy/icy conditions. I've been impressed with their grip under heavy acceleration as well as under heavy ABS activated braking. Road noise as mentioned is minimal for an all-season tire but I've also been impressed wit

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
February 08, 2013

I live in Ottawa, Canada where the average snowfall is measured in yards rather than inches. We have had freezing rain storms given the global warming and the Michelin X-i13 tires performed almost flawlessly in every situation. Their only weakness in my opinion is the softer sidewall designed and used for comfort rather than for immediate response on my Infiniti G37x sedan. It is a most worthy compromise because there is always secure traction and spirited driving is only done with controlled and very predictible power sliding. While this is not my ususal style of driving especially on congested streets, the tires always offered exceptional traction, control and feedback.
The best return on using these tires was during heavy snow and ice storms. Their comfort and positive traction only reinforced my confidence and security on the roads. This was very noticeable when arriving at stop signs and the glazed ice from other cars and trucks without proper and sensitive brake pressure. The X-i13 always provided greater traction during those stops and never with the worries of drifting into a busy intersection.
I greatly support and highly recommend these tires for any and every car driven in varying winter conditions and temperatures. The control and comfort are simply exceptional and a great improvement on my previous Michelin X-i12 and Blizzak tires used on my Nissan Maxima.
These are the best all-round winter tires on the market today.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

Tire Rack rated this tire as one of the best bang for the buck tires in terms of overall performance versus cost. I agree. No complaints whatsoever. Although Sumitomo may not be considered as an elite tire versus other manufacturers, I think this tire performs very well. For the average driver that wants better an average handling, braking, hydroplaning resistance, and traction, I think this tire does all these things well. Considering the price of these tires, I do not think I went wrong by ordering these from the Tire Rack. Thank you Tire Rack for providing your tire surveys and road tests.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
February 19, 2013

So I have this tire only for 500 miles, but I am writing initial review. Later, after several thousands miles I will do follow-up.
These tires are replacing horrible Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX tires I had on VW CC since I bought a car. Those were installed by dealer, so I thought, OK I will drive them untill I wear them out. What a mistake. After 12,000 miles two tires developed flat spots, started to coup, became extremely noisy. Anyway, after some 18,000 miles, of which 6,000 were pure torture, I decided that it was enough.
I got these Pilot Super Sport because I wanted summer tires, which is appropriate for European vehicle. In Europe, from where I am coming, cars come with summer tires not all season tires, and then in winter we switch to winter tires. Here in the U.S. it seems most of the people for some reason love all season tires.
Anyway, Michellin's were drastic improvement. I could feel improvement immediately in handling and braking. Improvement in handling was drastic, but in braking was amazing. The brake pedal now feels stiff, no changes in stiffness during driving like with Kumho's. Since I got Pilot Super Sport, ABS did not activate at all for now, although I drive spirited. Hard accelerations do not result anymore in spinning for no reason, and ride, oh well, it does not seem like I am driving any more on four rolling rocks.
I will do follow-up after 5,000, 10,000 and later. So far, they live up to their reputation.
Here in Southern California there are few rainy days, so I cannot say anything yet on the wet performance, but I believe it will be equally impressive.
If you plan to buy new performance tires, do no look further then Pilot Super Sport!

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 17, 2013

For many years I used Bridgestone Blizzaks, which perform very well in ice and snow. But for my new all-wheel drive Audi, I wanted winter tires that handled better on dry pavement. The Michelin Xi3 was said to almost equal the Blizzaks on ice and snow but be less "squishy" on dry and wet pavement, so I went with the Michelin.

Shortly after mounting them I drove to the NH White Mountains and took part in a winter driving school. For two days I practiced slalom and skid-pad maneuvers on ice and packed snow. The Michelins were exemplary here, and the instructors were very impressed. While other cars (mostly AWD Audis) were sliding into snowbanks left and right, my allroad with the Michelins stayed in control, accelerated and braked very well.

The claimed performance on dry roads was also seen - unlike the Blizzaks, the Michelins don't howl and they felt very much like good all-season tires on dry pavement, with a confident feeling. Very impressive.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
February 24, 2013

I haven't had these long, but from the tires that were on my car to now it's such a drastic, dramatic improvement. My other vehicle has top end tires that aren't this quiet nor this good on wet/dry traction. At 70 mph it's so quiet I can whisper to my wife and she can hear me. No kidding. It's still very early on to report on tread wear. I've pushed these hard in both rains and dry road on turns, braking, and both combined. They didn't fail. I know tires, and for the price and recognized performance to date, I haven't owned s better set yet. Highly, highly recommended!

Initial Review, 8,500 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2013

Absolutely magnificent tire!! Two days ago we had about 6 inches of snow and this tire just absolutely blew me away with how well it performed in the snow and ice. I kid you not, with my Camry, I could accelerate off of street lights as well as a 4x4 driving next to me. Stopping was no contest, I easily braked better.

As for wear, so far I'm almost 10K in and the tires show no wear whatsoever.

In the dry they aren't quite as sticky as the Sumitomos I replaced, nor are they as quiet, but in the wet they are about equal and in the snow there is no contest. The Sumitomos were not only bad, but dangerous and bordering on suicidal.

Comfort-wise the tires have a smooth soft ride, which probably explains the slight lack of steering response. They need a split-second to set up before they respond. Certainly nothing that is an issue in even spirited driving. On a track it might be a bit unnerving, but on the street its nothing to even think about.

Would I buy these again? As long as these are an option for a car I drive in all seasons, these will be on it!!!!

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

I have limited miles with these tires on my RWD BMW, but the one major storm we had here in the north east recently I was able to put these tires to the test which include hard braking, evasive maneuvers and acceleration and was amazed how well the car performed under the conditions, It made you feel in total control and you can feel the tires grip the road and push the car ahead.
I look forward to the winters now with my rear wheel drive BMW now!

I was really impressed with how these tires performed

Initial Review, 30,000 Miles on Tires
February 01, 2013

I running the Blizzak DM-V1 on a 2011 AWD V6 Toyota Highlander and have for four years, same set of tires (about 3,500 miles a season). They have been and continue to be unbelieve in snow, ice, slush and wet payment and perform well even when -15 degrees. Case in point, 13" snowfall in St. Paul on 12/9/2012. Out running errand and came upon a Ford Superduty snowplow stuck in a business parking lot. I offer to pull him out...he was skecptical and didn't even get out of the truck to hook up. I eased off the brake and applied a little power and pulled him out. He then jumped out of the cab and ran back to ask my about my Highlander...I gave 90% credit to the Blizzaks. Yes, they are a little noisy, but when the going gets slick, these things stick!

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
January 26, 2013

These tires were installed on my car when I bought it at 27k miles in Feb 2011. I'm now at 67k miles, almost Feb 2013 so I average 20k miles per year.

To start off, when the tires were new I was pleased with them. Plenty of dry and wet traction and low noise. Car tracked good as alignment was performed when tires were installed. Over the course of 40k miles I would have expected the tires to be shot and pretty worn. Granted I have a lightweight vehicle but I've still got 6/32 tread on center. Edges however are more like 3/32. I know edge wear is due to the MINI's aggressive suspension, however the tire noise is now quite loud. Not as bad as goodyear eagles with similar mileage but loud none the less.

Last winter was quite mild and I never had the chance to test out the MINI in the snow. Finally got the chance to drive in a snowstorm last week and let me say- Mark these tires down as NOT all-seasons. More like 3-season tires. With 6/32 tread life over 80-90% of the tire I expected much more in snow. Braking in snow is awful- slight tap on the brakes caused me to fishtail across multiple lanes on the interstate in less than an inch of snow on the roads (traveling about 55mph and going straight initially). Starting from a stop is a joke, grandmas pass me in their Buicks. Cornering in snow is, lets say breath taking, and not in a good way. Again, this is all on less than an inch of snow. Nowhere close to "deep snow" and not slush or ice.

I am now investing in new tires. Again, these Hankooks are not "worn out", more like 50% tread left. These tires would be great for someone who lived in warm climates that may get cold but stay above freezing. However for a norther climate driver, I would pass on these.