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Avoid Pep Boys at all costs! Their tires are cheap, but you get what you pay for unfortunately. Plus, they've been known to sell and install tires that have too low a load or speed rating for the specific vehicle, creating a potentially dangerous situation, just to make a few $$$$.
Check out Tirerack.com. There are plenty of tires in that size that are much less expensive than OEMs.
I get my oil changed at my Wal-Mart as well in my Accord.
Good luck with that. My buddy got a brand new engine after they put the wrong oil filter on his Camry. I wouldn't let Wal-Mart wash my dog.
As for tires - you can change tire sizes up to a point - just try to keep the overall diameter close.
I guess you may be an exception. The majority of owners and writers seem to think otherwise.
Tell me about it. It's time for me to replace mine, and I'm having a hard time finding tires I would be comfortable with. I am not spending $200/tire on the OEM Michelins, size P215/50 R17 93V. I am contemplating the Bridgestone Potenza G 009's.
You are not obligated to get Michelin again, you might look at other tires in the same size on tirerack or discount tire to get an idea what they should cost. You may want to look at the treadware rating on the tire, as a higher number implies a longer life. That said, that usually results in a harder rubber compound which is typically less compliant and also typically increases braking distances. You get what you pay for.
PS. on tirerack, your tires are $166-175 for the Michelins, and there are better options out there for less $$
I disagree. The suspension design is a series of trade-offs between ride quality, nvh, and vehicle handling. Tire selection is mostly a matter of the purchasing group fighting with the marketing group. The priorities of the designers or marketing people may be different for your own (urnews wants things a little cushier, I would like things a little firmer, etc). An educated consumer can better align the vehicle to the driving characteristics they desire than it was delivered from the factory.
P215/55/R16: 25.31" (LX/LX-P)
P225/50/R17: 25.86" (LX-S, EX/EX-L, EXV6/EX-LV6 sedan)
P235/45/R18: 26.32" (EXV6/EX-LV6 coupe)
Each of the chassis is tuned differently, and likely matched to the tire as well. But more important thing to remember is that each of those rims have different width. IIRC...
16x6.5
17x7.5
18x8.0
The width determines how far you can go safely with the width of rubber. In 2007, Honda P215/50/R17 tires were mounted on 17x7 rims. For P225/50/R17 tires, the new choice is 17x7.5.
It happened with me once. I had tires replaced at Discount Tire Company, and they put a wider tire on one of the wheels which went into smokes about 30-40 mile later as I had embarked on my road trip soon after. I had to return, got it replaced, restarted my journey but before I went far, decided to check air pressure. In the process, noted there was another tire with the wrong size. Had to return again.
So, it is important to consider more things.
I disagree with this statement. Now if you want to say the majority of writers can't figure it out, I'll agree with you.
As far as the tire size and circumference, I almost doubt there is a correction for the first 2 (LXs and EXs) in the speedometer, and in the 3rd case I bet it is handled in software.
When you purchase tires, the tire will be spec'd for a rim width range. Even tires that are the same width occasionally have different upper and lower limits for rim width. It requires being knowledgeable and a little bit of checking.
Does every Joe Average consumer need to worry about it? No. Can you make a better decision or purchase choice armed with a little information? Definitely.
So, its not just being too tall or too wide from the sprung chassis, but also the rim size. One needs to be wary of those when changing tire size.
Yeah I wouldn't want to replace my 16" rims with chrome 'dubs or anything, but going from my 16" rim to a relatively light weight 17" rim and a performance tire should be well within the approximate weights of the existing combination. If there was the clearance and offset, going to a wider tire in the same diameter would be an option as well.
Its not even so much about changing the size, its about the tire itself. The PepBoys house brand tire isn't going to handle like a Pirelli P-Zero. That same P-Zero will have different characteristics than the Yokahama AVID H4. Tires are the single biggest factor on the vehicle when it comes to handling and ride. There are gains to be had when replacing the stock configuration.
I drove the 750il and adjusted specific idrive settings while driving. Now I don't read the manual to see what the 100s of settings for for, but in 1 minute I set up the car for me. The new incarnation of the idrive is far and away better than the old, but I'd rather have idrive than 100s of buttons.
... takes the cake, IMO.
There are a few issues here.
1. The increasing complexity of vehicles leads to 1000 tiny buttons or having a control structure like i-Drive or Audi's MMI.
2. The original incarnation of i-Drive was not a user centered design, and I doubt they did use cases to determine the feature set. I think they made a big list of task and put them on different menus. There was no prioritizing tasks and very limited short-cuts.
3. More recent versions of i-Drive are based on a combination of prioritized menus and standard buttons, making for an easier to use/simplified interface
4. The design changes with each iteration and with each model (3ser,5ser,7ser) so there is little consistency between models/revisions, so there is a learning curve with each edition.
60-70% of the time, I use voice control in my TL (the picture is from 2008 Accord). The rest is done via touch screen (unfortunately, no longer an option in the new Accord).
For folks that are intimidated by buttons (and the count of), I feel touch-screen menu may be the better way to go. Select function then have the buttons related to it on the screen. It is the way I control audio controls in my TL. The buttons below the screen are redundant and could be used when at a complete stop (or if anything goes wrong with LCD over time).
I read somewhere that Audi/VW is planning use of touch screen dash. Great idea. Although, I hope there is also some room for fall back option. After 6-7 years, I don't want to learn that there is no way to control features if the touch screen dies (like those small digital cameras that are getting rid of optical view finders in favor of LCD/EVF... the LCD breaks, the camera is rendered virtually useless).
Me neither but I've heard the same thing and have watched several online demos and videos of Sync in action. If we get another Ford I'm definitely paying the $300 for Sync. I'm sold.
What will the 2008 Accord voice commands control? Sync allows you to control everything from your bluetooth cell phone (which can be in your purse or pocket) right down to the mp3 player you have plugged into the USB port. That USB port allows you to get software/feature updates into the system using your own USB drive too IIRC. Pretty cool IMO.
Voice is a good option, especially when it works correctly. The car is a horrible place to try to do sound recognition, it requires expensive mics and noise canceling software, etc.
The rest is done via touch screen (unfortunately, no longer an option in the new Accord).
Touchscreen = eyes off road time. No tactile feedback that your finger is on the button, or that it pressed the button means you have to look every time. A real button is a ballistic motion for your body. Even in my 3 mo old Accord the main radio controls are operated by touch not by looking.