I just bought an Accord Coupe EX V6 5A and the stock tires are the 205-60R16 Bridgestone Turanza E41's. I have read that getting better tires will produce better handling and a better ride. So far, the stock tires seem adequate for my needs but I will find out this winter whether the tires do well in winter.
Should I get better tires and will it make a big difference with my car? If I get new tires, I plan to get bigger wheels and use 215-50R17 tires. Should I use Honda wheels or aftermarket wheels?
I will want tires that have good dry, wet, and snow grip with decent thread ware. Tires that I am considering include Falken ZE 512, Yokohama Avid V4S, Continental Extreme Contact, and Toyo Proxy. The Yokohamas seem to be my best bet.
1) I live in Connecticut and want to use All seasons instead of separate winter and summer tires.
2) I am not an aggressive driver although I do accelerate quite hard sometimes. Coming back from New Jersey, I got passed by a Hyundai Accent. I usually slow down a lot before taking corners.
3) I typically drive at 75 or less on highways. I rarely go more than 15 over speed limit.
4) I still have my old piece of shit car and plan to use POS for daily use. I plan to use my new Accord for fun. I expect to put in less than 10k per year (probably 7K).
5) I want good grip first followed by decent treadware -- 30K or better tires.
6) Steering response is more important than ride.
7) Steering response is more important than road noise. I usually have the windows up to reduce road noise. After putting up with piece of shit's noisy buzzy engine for 7 years, I can put up with some road noise.
8) I haven't tested the Turanza EL 41 out fully, but the tires do not have the best cornering grip. The tires are a bit noisy, or maybe, the engine is so quiet that I hear road noise (in Piece of Shit, the engine noise drowns out everything and I have to turn on the stereo on moderately loud to block out the engine sound).
9) Moderate thread noise at highway speeds will not bother me much.
10) My car is stock and I do not plan to modify it.
![[home]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/home.gif){kind=small}
![[rumors and news]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/rumors.gif){kind=small}
![[model release matrix]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/newmodelreleasematrix.gif){kind=small}
![[dealer network]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/dealernet.gif){kind=small}
![[desktop calendar]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/calendar.gif){kind=small}
![[exhaust notes]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/exhaust.gif){kind=small}
![[tov forums]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/forums.gif){kind=small}
![[links]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/links.gif){kind=small}
![[search]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/search.gif){kind=small}
![[sponsors]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/sponsors.gif){kind=small}
![[garage]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/garage.gif){kind=small}
![[login]](http://sohc.vtec.net/elem04/login.gif){kind=small}
