Conti 6's or Michelin PS4's?

[dc1edh]

When I got my NC1 I also bought a tire and wheel protection policy and got a nail in my tire two weeks after I got the car. I usually don’t buy those policies, but for the peace of mind it was worth it.

That's the exact reason I bought it. I wanted the peace of mind of not stressing out if I did end up curbing a wheel, and I've certainly had my fair share of screws or nails in tires on my other cars. It only took two months for me to get that screw after getting the NSX.

 

[Formula1fan]

I hope everyone is doing well. As an update, the dealer said just mounting and balancing the 4 new tires would be $448 plus another $16 for the wheel weights.
An alignment, which he recommended would be another $480 plus the shims.
Wow I think that's pretty high!
Thoughts?

 

[leov]

I hope everyone is doing well. As an update, the dealer said just mounting and balancing the 4 new tires would be $448 plus another $16 for the wheel weights.
An alignment, which he recommended would be another $480 plus the shims.
Wow I think that's pretty high!
Thoughts?

That's not high....that's INSANE!!!!

 

[drmanny3]

Check with other dealers. I had all four forced balanced for $200 at the Acura Dealer in Santa Barbara. I did not have my alignment done as the OEM tires wore without any issues. My car had originally been lowered by Eibach in Corona, ca. I had a dealer re install the OEM springs. They were going to do the alignment at their cost of $170. But we ran out of time as I had to leave. Another dealer quoted me $250 for the alignment. It has a very specific way in which the adjustments are made. Are your tires wearing indicating an alignment problem?

 

[Formula1fan]

No issues with regard to wear. My Conti 5’s look fine, I just hate them and wanted to replace them. I figured I may have to change them before my lease was up and thought why not enjoy the extra performance sooner. At these prices I may just hold off.

 

[Harpoon]

I hope everyone is doing well. As an update, the dealer said just mounting and balancing the 4 new tires would be $448 plus another $16 for the wheel weights.
An alignment, which he recommended would be another $480 plus the shims.
Wow I think that's pretty high!
Thoughts?

The NSX wheels require a special tire mount machine - at a cost of around $25k if I remember correctly. Perhaps the dealership is trying to make it back quickly.

You could always take it to one of the tire shops that have the same machine and probably more practice with it. The Civic Type R forums are full of threads where they're having to figure this out.

 

[lucky]

FYI, book time "per tire" set by Acura is 1 full hour for the NSX. that is double the book for a "regular" Acura.. They get the rates direct from HO. i found this out by digging and asking thoughtful and respectful questions to my service rep.. Supposedly the tire change includes mandatory brake inspections, rotor checks blah blah blah and has to be requested to be done too while the cars are on warranty.. That led to a more, um, seriously??? conversation as I pointed out that i had a tire removed and reinstalled and balanced for 35 bucks when a rim needed a refinish.. Long story short, after having a pleasant yet informed discussion back and forth, my service rep gave me a great price on a pair of cont-6s for the rear as well as a reasonable rate for installing the 2 tires (while it was in for the window garnish). Moral of the story, be informed, talk intelligently, respectfully and don't be a dick and you'll get great service from your Acura Dealership that is way more flexible... (in most cases, we know the exceptions,,, )

 

[leov]

The NSX wheels require a special tire mount machine - at a cost of around $25k if I remember correctly. Perhaps the dealership is trying to make it back quickly.

You could always take it to one of the tire shops that have the same machine and probably more practice with it. The Civic Type R forums are full of threads where they're having to figure this out.

There is nothing inherently special about NSX wheels. I had a Honda dealer and the top quality Hunter wheel machines cost around 25 grand. And this was for Accords and Civics. Most modern car dealerships have these machines and won’t skimp out to get a lower end model. There is not a special unit just for the NSX. The Acura dealer will use the same machine for TLs and MDXs.

 

[Harpoon]

There is nothing inherently special about NSX wheels. I had a Honda dealer and the top quality Hunter wheel machines cost around 25 grand. And this was for Accords and Civics. Most modern car dealerships have these machines and won’t skimp out to get a lower end model. There is not a special unit just for the NSX. The Acura dealer will use the same machine for TLs and MDXs.

It is a different machine. Here is a link to the Type R thread with a Honda bulletin regarding the issue.

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/honda-parts-bulletin-on-the-ctr-tire-replacement.12104/

 

[leov]

It is a different machine. Here is a link to the Type R thread with a Honda bulletin regarding the issue.

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/honda-parts-bulletin-on-the-ctr-tire-replacement.12104/

That's not a NSX specific machine. It's simply the highest end unit made by Hunter. And it would not be used exclusively for the NSX. It would be able to do all wheels/tires of the dealership, including the NSX. I assure you that any respectable tire center will have several of these units on their floor. Honda would require us to update our equipment every few years. And the price difference between the high end equipment and the lower-end models is a few thousand dollars. Any decent tire change/balancing equipment will be $15-$20,000, so the Acura required one is $5000 more. No big deal. And, once again, it would replace existing equipment and would be able to do all wheel/tire combinations of the dealership. Not to mention that the new equipment is more efficient and saves time that the tech spends on the car. So, even if a measly 5 minutes are saved per hour (it's actually more than this) due to the new machine, it would take no time to recoup its' cost assuming a conservative $125 hourly rate.
The Ferrari dealer charges me $225 to change tires and that's in CDN$. And their alignment is $250 (again, in CDN$).

 

[drmanny3]

FYI, book time "per tire" set by Acura is 1 full hour for the NSX. that is double the book for a "regular" Acura.. They get the rates direct from HO. i found this out by digging and asking thoughtful and respectful questions to my service rep.. Supposedly the tire change includes mandatory brake inspections, rotor checks blah blah blah and has to be requested to be done too while the cars are on warranty.. That led to a more, um, seriously??? conversation as I pointed out that i had a tire removed and reinstalled and balanced for 35 bucks when a rim needed a refinish.. Long story short, after having a pleasant yet informed discussion back and forth, my service rep gave me a great price on a pair of cont-6s for the rear as well as a reasonable rate for installing the 2 tires (while it was in for the window garnish). Moral of the story, be informed, talk intelligently, respectfully and don't be a dick and you'll get great service from your Acura Dealership that is way more flexible... (in most cases, we know the exceptions,,, )

What goes around comes around. Treat people with respect and generally they will help you out. The Civic Type R wheel looks similar to the OEM on the NSX. There is also an upgrade to the NSX wheel that makes it even more susceptible to damage if not careful.

 

[NbyNW]

Replaced my rears about a year ago. Picked up a nail in one. Took the wheels one at a time to my local independent tire guy. His shop is nothing to look at, old cinder block building, it’s dingy, stuff everywhere, waiting area is a couple old chairs. But he does awesome work and I see everything from basic cars to high-end Porsche to Maserati’s there. He did all my F-car wheel stuff too. No clue what his tire machine is but it’s not dedicated to a car brand. Normal pricing too. Mount, balance, install... No issues.

 

[DocL]

Even the Napleton's crappy Acura stealership managed to damage my NC1 wheels using their special NSX wheel machines. Acura replaced the wheels at another dealership. Anyone who pays more than $50 per wheel deserves to part with their money.

 

[drmanny3]

Even the Napleton's crappy Acura stealership managed to damage my NC1 wheels using their special NSX wheel machines. Acura replaced the wheels at another dealership. Anyone who pays more than $50 per wheel deserves to part with their money.

Thanks at $200 I just squeezed in.

 

[DocL]

Thanks at $200 I just squeezed in.

If you feel more comfortable having the dealer do the work, that is fine. However don't believe the BS that only the Acura dealer is capable of replacing tires. The wheels on the NSX are no different than any other wheel. I had 20in Michelin tires installed on my current car at Costco, and the work was performed perfectly. Not one scratch on a wheel, and they are balanced perfectly at speeds 2x the limit on the highway at 2am.

 

[drmanny3]

If you feel more comfortable having the dealer do the work, that is fine. However don't believe the BS that only the Acura dealer is capable of replacing tires. The wheels on the NSX are no different than any other wheel. I had 20in Michelin tires installed on my current car at Costco, and the work was performed perfectly. Not one scratch on a wheel, and they are balanced perfectly at speeds 2x the limit on the highway at 2am.

I did mention that I purchased the tires from Costco. The supervisor was concerned that he could not get my car on their lift. It was lowered at the time. I was willing to pull the wheels off myself and just have them change the tires. The supervisor was concerned that his machine would scratch my wheels. He gave me a refund for the mounting and balancing and said that they would still honor any warranty on the tires. Yes I use Costco pretty much all the time when I can.

 

[DocL]

^ That is great that they will still honor the warranty. You have to appreciate Costco for not wanting to risk damaging your car. Plus you can go them and get free N2 refill when you need it.

 

[drmanny3]

^ That is great that they will still honor the warranty. You have to appreciate Costco for not wanting to risk damaging your car. Plus you can go them and get free N2 refill when you need it.

I often have them check and add air if necessary on my Volvo which still has its OEM tires. They do that as a service to anyone who drives up. Yes Costco is a great operation. I purchased and continue to purchase their stock. It has been a consistent winner.

 

[dc1edh]

Here’s a pic of what I paid to get my right-rear tire replaced at my local Acura dealership. As you can see, their pricing was great, and they didn’t overcharge for mounting and balancing. Hopefully I don’t break any forum rules by showing this.

 

[Formula1fan]

Update on the mounting cost, found an Acura dealer that will do it for $250. That’s good enough. They should be on next week. I’ll report back on how the car feels with the new tires. Having regrets I didn’t go for the Michelin’s.

 

[DocL]

Here’s a pic of what I paid to get my right-rear tire replaced at my local Acura dealership. As you can see, their pricing was great, and they didn’t overcharge for mounting and balancing. Hopefully I don’t break any forum rules by showing this.
View attachment 164905

Nice price there. But the only problem I see is that they took off the tire and then put the same tire back on. So you may have just paid for the tire with the puncture to be put back on lol.

But of course we know you got a new one. I just like making jokes using the semantics that are sometimes written on work order forms.

 

[Formula1fan]

At the last minute I decided to go with the PS4’s. More comfortable ride w better road feel but they feel soft and not as precise. Turn in w the conti 5’s was sharper and more direct although I could never really tell when I was going to lose it. Only have 75 miles on the Michelin’s and will check the pressures but so far thinking I should have gone with the Conti 6’s. Let’s see.

 

[docjohn]

I like the the 6's on my CTR....If I had a NC1 with the older tires and wanted a change i would chose these for road work..

 

[drmanny3]

I decided to go with the PS4's specifically because of their higher tread wear rating. I realize that one should not compare tread numbers between different manufacturers, but use them to differentiate among the same brand. Never the less, given that they had a 30,000 mile warranty, I assumed they would wear better (longer) than the Conti. The PS4's are good enough for the road. If I planned to track my car I would probably buy another set of wheels and shod them with appropriate tires. You can always try upping the tire pressure. They recommend 32 lbs. all around. I would try 35 lbs. and see if that does not result in more sensitivity. The other thing that can impact tire feel and performance is alignment. My car also has Eibach front and rear stabilizer bars which impacts the ride.

 

[Formula1fan]

Just checked my pressures. They are 34 all around. I may go up to 36 and see if that helps. Very surprised how soft the Michelin’s are.