04 Lesabre - Tire selection questions

soonerdew

Hello, all

I have a delightful 2004 LeSabre Limited with 67K miles, and it is very close to time to put new tires on her....need a set of 225/60R16

I have been reasonably satisifed with the stock Michelin Symmetry tires that came with the car, but I am open to other options. My Buick gets around 24-26MPG, and I'd like to stay there with a comfy ride.

I have read excellent reports on the Michelin Radial X, available at Costco and Sam's Club, and also on the Yokohama AVID TRZ, though its a tad harder to find locally. It seems all of those would be good choices. Are there any preferences among LeSabre owners out there among those?

I've also been encouraged to consider moving up from a T-series tire to an H-rated tire, but my understanding is that the better performance from that tire might result in a trade-off of reduced fuel performance.

I'm basically a commuter driver, on the highway about 30 miles a day to/from work, with the occasional road trip...the long-haul trips are now the mission of my wife's Sienna We have typically very warm summers here in Oklahoma, maybe one or two rounds of ice and/or snow in the winter, so that's a snapshot of the kind of tasking the tire will need to support.

Thanks for your feedback!

imidazol97

I would replace them with Michelins so that you get round tires. The chassis and suspension parts are sensitive to out of roundness when the tires roll under the weight on them: some tires crush more on one part than another essentially making the tire roll with a slight up and down hopping that you will feel in the car. The only solution is round tires and Road Force balancing.

So buy your tires with that in mind.

I have the same size on my 03 and replaced the Symmetrys with Harmony from Michelin. I looked at the similar tires by Michelin at Discount Tires and Sears. I don't like Sears stores or their tires. I had Harmonys on my 1998 leSabre replacing the X-Ones on previously. The tread is great in snow here in W. Ohio and on ice. It's almost as quiet as the Symmetry and maybe quieter on asphalt. On concrete that's roughened for grip in rain and snow, they and the Symmetrys tend to make noise but not as bad as the Accord I test drove long ago before buying the leSabre Celebration options. I bought the car because of the factory Michelins on the Celebrations.

When I checked the Michelin website for various tires to use, I found there were three different Symmetry tires. I believe Ford used them as factory spec tires and that may be the differences. So I'd check which Symmetry I bought.

I bought my tires from a local chain which price matches another lower price national cheap chain. They also have Road Force balancing at a few of their 30 stores. My dealer had Road Force balanced the original tires to eliminate some vibration which was minor for most people. But I've bought Michelins since they have tubes in them because of their quality.

soonerdew

imidazol97

Thanks for the info. I've done some very cursory checking on the RoadForce balancing, and have come away so far with a mixed opinion....I guess it will depend on cost and availability at the time I buy them. My initial instinct is that it is an expense I will probably skip this time around, unless I encounter some significant shimmy or wobble problem a conventional balance cannot correct.

I'd be interested to know if anyone can offer any thoughts on why the Turanza variety from Bridgestone seems to have hit rock-bottom in the minds of so many users. The reviews on TireRack for the Turanza EL400 have been nothing less than abysmal; one of the worst-reviewed tires there (almost dead-last in would "never" buy again). I've come across similarly negative comments in other places. I used to drive Turanza T's on a prior Lesabre, and they served me well, but they're no longer made, and these reviews have led me to all-but eliminate them as an option on this purchase.

Right now, it seems the Michelin Radial "X" @ Sam's has the lead....but I'm probably going to hold off on a decision for another week...so I'm still soliciting inputs.

Continued thanks, all.

stephen987

I'm running the Yokohama AVID H4S on my V6 Accord with extremely good results. I'm not sure how well they would work with the softer suspension of the Buick (assuming you don't have the optional "touring" suspension), but they are excellent tires overall.

The ride is very smooth and stable, and the noise level is much lower than the Toyo Proxes tires they replaced. Handling is improved too--the Yokohamas hold the road very well. They also seem to do very well in wet weather, almost as well as the Goodyear Aquatreds I had on my old Mercedes.

Fuel economy? Well, I get about the same mileage you do, under similar conditions. But that was true with the Toyo tires as well. Both sets were labeled "performance all-season" tires by TireRack. A tire with lower rolling resistance would probably get me better fuel economy, but such a tire typically is made of a very hard tread compound that doesn't grip the road as well. I am not willing to sacrifice safety for an improvement of 5% (1 mpg) in highway fuel economy.

imidazol97

I can see from their choices, Symmetry, Hydroedge, and X Radial, I'd pick the X-radial. With $70 off for buying 4, that means $115 plus $15 and then -$70. Pretty good deal.

soonerdew

Well, after discovering (by surprise) that my local Sam's had my 225 60R16 X Radials in stock rather than via special order, I dropped the hammer and bought a set this weekend. Obviously only a couple of days on the new tires so I have faint new experience on them so far. I was going to hold off another week until I *really* did the penny test on my existing tires and found two of them were technically no longer street legal...

Based on very limited experience so far, the ride is marginally firmer than the Symmetry's that were replaced, but I suspect that's due as much to the presence of actual tread on the road as much as the tire itself

Will advise as I've gained more miles. Thanks for the input, all.

-sooner

lamronh49

Here I am a week late and a dollar short.
Hope your Michelins work out.
For an all around tire with excellent bad weather traction, I'm very happy with Dunlop SP60s. They are in the top four in their class at Tire Rack ratings by customers. I've had them on two cars now, they are excellent in supersnow especially.

Good luck with the Sears/Michelins.

niceride3

I bought my 2003 LeSabre used 72K a year ago. Has 83K now. I got tired, real tired of the cheap Chinese tires and the noise and bought KELLY Springfield Navigator Gold for $525.00 @ Flynn's Tire, Western Pa.
Nice smooth quiet ride, finally,,, and hopefully will get through the snow and ice like my wife's '97 Regal drives with the same exact set of tires. Drives and gets through the ice as well as my Honda Element. I couldn't make my wife's car go out of control on snow and ice with the Kelly Springfields!!