Best Tires For Acura TSX

Table of Contents

What should I know about the Acura TSX for tires?

If you are driving one, you might already know more than a little about the underrated, but high performing Acura TSX. Acura no longer builds the TSX – in fact they stopped in 2014. That doesn't stop drivers from thoroughly enjoying the well tuned, precise vehicle. The TSX features a four-wheel independent suspension and a 15.6 quartermile run, which is barely slower than higher end competitors. The TSX can go fast, turn sharp, and hug the road. We figure you might be scouting tires either because the latest model of the TSX is nearly a decade old, or because the tires that came with it aren't the best.

Is the Acura TSX a daily driver? How is it often used?

In some parts of the country, the TSX Xis a daily driver. The TSX comes in a manual edition which sports car drivers love for the extra control. It's worth noting that the TSX does not come in an all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive edition. For some snow drivers, this could mean that they either have a different vehicle for the winter, or they could put snow tires on.

We would expect to see an Acura TSX just about anywhere in the country, though we envy the person who gets to drive one of these with a fine tuned turning chassis on winding country and mountain roads. Of course, we would also love to drive a TSX through the city!

Best tires for the Acura TSX

We are going to offer a couple of categories here based on what might be commonly driven with a TSX.

Best Grand Touring Tires for the Acura TSX

Grand touring means that these tires are designed to be comfortable and drive in nearly all weather. They are often more expensive than standard touring tires and have about the same amount of tread life. Looks look at some.

Michelin CrossClimate2

With climate in it's name, all weather is certainle what it does. This is the #1 rated tire in the grand touring all weather category for a reason. Scores within the user driven subjective rating system are great for TireRack. The CrossClimate 2 is very well balanced with a stellar 9.4 in both wet and dry handling. The tire is also very comfortble at a 9.0 rating. Tread wear is well above average too at 9.2.

Michelin achieves these user ratings with some interesting technology. PIANO noise reduction models tread pattern to reduce the amount of noise coming off your tires and filtering into your cabin. In the case of the CrossClimate2, you also get an interesting, uniquely aggressive look for a grand touring tire with v-shaped treads. These also have SipeLock's made in multiple directions, with what Michelin calls 3D SipeLock, which helps funnel out water and ice in a quick manner, ensuring you have a decent grip when cornering or when you go for the brakes in bad weather.

A real world, head to head test against some other weather specialized tires puts it best: the CrossClimate2 does everything well and doesn't compromise. Pit against Bridgestone's WeatherPeak and a Continental PureContact LS, CrossClimate2 was both competitive and in some ways it shined. Drivers considered the ride quality to be about a half point better, though it was considered just a little louder than the two other premium tires. It excelled in every category, only beaten slightly in cornering and handling by the PureContact LS, which is a sportier tire anyway. For the driver of a powerful TSX, you may also want to know stopping distances by comparison: The CrossClimate stopped 8 feet shorter than the Bridgestone at 89 feet. In wet, the tires were about the same. For actual wet and dry handling, the TSX did well and had lap times on average with the other two or just slightly faster.

Michelin offers a decent warranty too at 6 years or 60,000 miles. You can get a CrossClimate 2 shipped to your house or an independent servicer with TireRack for about $212 per tire.

Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive

Goodyear made it's desire to make a comfortable tire pretty clear here. The ComfortDrive claims to have an optimized tread pattern that reduces harmonics. Goodyear also makes their Assurance a bit unique with a soybean blend within their tread compound that is meant to improve grip and make the tread last longer. We'll never argue with good treadwear! The subjective results are pretty good too. Customers give it a 9.2 out of 10 for tread wear – meaning they have seen evidence to show that it lasts as long as expected. While not quite as stellar as the CrossClimate2 on dry and wet pavement, it still earns a very respectable 9.2 and 9.

In real world tests, one of the best characteristics of the ComfortDrive was indeed the comfort. A solid 8 rating against also very good tires in a Pirelli and a Bridgestone gave ComfortDrive a tie. ComfortDrive also did really well on stopping distance tests, beating out the competitors by at least 6 feet on wet surfaces and a little less on dry. Cornering traction was also very good on wet roads, making it a decent tire for your Acura TSX in the rain when you want to take turns a bit tighter. The only thing that TireRack didn't love about ComfortDrive was that it didn't quite have the “feel” of other tires, though that shouldn't be a big deal – and it's kind of vague.

Goodyear provides a very similar warranty to Michelin with 6 years or 60,000 miles. These Goodyears are a little better deal than the Michelin's, running around $190 per tire from TireRack.

Vredestein HiTrac All Season

Early on, Vredestein carries an important distinction: it costs less than the first two at TireRack. At $154 per tire, it certainly is priced right. But does it compromise to reach that low price?

Looking at subjective ratings, the Vredestein does well in dry and wet handling with a 9.2 and a 9.0 Comfort is also good at 9.1 and treadwear is 8.9, which is good, especially for the price. You are let down a little by winter and snow handling with an 8.4, which to be fair, is still pretty good and beats out other competitors, but doesn't this tire in the top 5 for that category.

Vredestein claims they make their tread pattern wider so increase the responsiveness of steering, which sounds like a great idea for an Acura TSX tire that certainly has a responsive suspension. In real world tests, the Vredestine does readily beat BFGoodrich and Yokohama with scores above 7.5 on all behaviors for steering and response, doing especially well on handling and balance – which sounds like a win for sure on the TSX. While this is not a weather specific tire, it still held its own during the wet test and ultimately had both the shortest stopping distance in wet and dry for braking, and the lowest slalom times. To simply that, compare to others on the test, the Vredestein had the ability to accelerate and maintain grip a little better than other tires.

You'll get a generous warranty too with 8 years or 70,000 miles. Overall, if you are otherwise a confident snow driver, this is a good tire for you at a great price. If you drive in snow frequently, or don't like driving in snow with a reasonably powerful front wheel drive car, you might want to consider a snow tire or another all season.

Best Summer and Performance Tires for the Acura TSX

Welcome to a different class of tire! These are more focused on responsive handling and are very good on wet and dry roads. These are not meant for winter driving.

Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus

{{tire-info-with-links="/tire/continental-extremecontact-dws06-plus"}}

Continental puts up some pretty big numbers right away with ExtremeContact. Their subjective scores lead the category with 9.2 on wet and 9.3 on dry. Comfort is also a pretty good 9 and treadwear is near top of class with 8.9. Continental features “SPORTPLUS+” technology that works well for braking and handling under all conditions. These are designed with higher angle grooves to allow water to flow out fast to resist hydroplaning issues. An unusual addition to ExtremeContact comes in their Alignment Verification System, which includes letters molded into the wall of the tire. Initially, you'll see “DWS.” As the tire wears down, you'll just see “DW.” Once the S is gone, the tires are no longer appropriate for potential snow use. Once “W” wears away, consider them to be a dry tire only.

Real world tests pit the Continental against other sport tires, including the lauded Michelin Sport. How does it hold up? ExtremeContact does very well on noise reduction and ride quality. It also aces the steering tests as well as specific tests for cornering and traction. It even beats the other tires by a decent margin in dry and wet slalom times – by up to a half second. Continental wins by a couple of feet in wet and dry braking, stopping in just over 81 feet on dry and 112 in wet.

You can get the ExtremeContact shipped to you for about $171 per tire on TireRack. The warranty is reasonable for a sport tire at 6 years or 50,000 miles, noting that you get half the mileage warranty when using two different tire sizes on your two axles.

Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4

{{tire-info-with-links="/tire/michelin-pilot-sport-all-season-4"}}

Michelin has made a name for itself with the Pilot Sport and its multiple iterations. The Pilot Sport is highly competitive in subjective tests via TireRack with 9.1 on wet and 9.3 on dry. Comfort is good at 8.8 and tread wear is 8.7 – which isn't very high, but also reflects the sport use of this tire.

The Sport uses a few new technology pieces to make it a good sports tires. This includes heavier duty exterior shoulder blocks which will help maintain grip around corners. Michelin also includes Dynamic Response Technology to smooth out the results of hard forces on the tire, promoting a smoother experience. Part of the wet traction is maintained through Michelin's 360 degree variable sipes, which interlock sipes at depth to push water out quickly.

How does the Pilot Sport do on real world tests? It is now right in the middle of a competitive pack when it comes to steering and handling response with your Acura TSX. The biggest complaint out of drivers was that the noise is a little louder and ride quality is a bit lower than other tires including the previously mentioned ExtremeContact. Michelin also does very well on the cornering traction and ride balance part of the rest, narrowly behind ExtremeContact again.

The Sport and ExtremeContact also dueled it out on slalom timing, within .1 to .5 seconds on a short lap. In a rather important wet and dry braking test, the two were less than a foot apart on dry stopping and about 3 feet apart on a wet stop – with the ExtremeContact claiming a small victory.

Though it was bested on a few tests by the ExtremeContact, the Pilot Sport remains a very good choice for your Acura TSX.

TireRack offers the Sport for around $198 per tire, delivered for free. You also get a respectable 6 year or 45,000 mile warranty. Like Continental, you get half the warranty if using two different tire sizes on your axles.

Vredestein Hypertrac

Vredestein's sport tire for the Acura TSX side has an assymteric tread design with wider outboard treads, as is common sport tires. The purpose of a wider outboard tread is better lateral movement and more grip when cornering, which are quite useful in the Acura TSX.

The subjective reviews look very good too. A well balanced 9.1 on wet and 9.2 on dry are up there with the best, and 9 comfort is hard to get. Winter and snow traction is 7.9, but we don't suggest taking high performance tires in the snow anyway.

The Vredestein appeared in the same real world, head to head test with the ExtremeContact and the Pilot Sport, so we get a great comparison between the two. TireRack says that Vredestein introduced da new rubber compound to increase wet and snow traction, which helps. In terms of ride quality, the Hypertrac is top notch, beating the other tires though not by a significant amount. Noise was also better than average. Steering characteristics – or road feel, were lower for the category through cornering traction readily kept up with the best. TireRack also summed this up, saying that the Vredestein can get a little testy when pushed to the limit, though it does hold.

Vredestein did well on the timed slalom and brake distance tests too. It couldn't quite beat the ExtremeContact or Michelin Pilot, but it was only .05 off. Stopping distance is where the new compound did good, keeping up with the ExtremeContact on wet surfaces, stopping only a foor further. It was about average on dry stopping.

Now comes the most attractive part of the Hypertrac for your Acura TSX. TireRack offers the Vredestein for about $154 per tire.

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+

This Bridgestone is a little different from the rest and comes from the Ultra High Performance category. These tend to ask for more traction and cornering over comfort. At the moment, TireRack doesn't have enough data to give us a complete picture of the subjective ratings, though that will change – and it projects to be at about the same level as other tires in the category.

The same head to head test that we discussed earlier is at stake here again. It shows that the Potenza handles very well and beats out all other tires for the purpose, though the ride quality and road noise leave a little to be desired. The Potenza is average in many areas including steering and handling otherwise.

We'll also say that we wouldn't use this as a winter or wet tire. The slalom tire is a solid half second slower on wet – representing a lack of good traction, and the stopping distance adds an entire 12 feet from the next worst.

For dry surfaces though, it does well. You can have TireRack ship them to you at the price of about $189 per tire. You'll get a 5 year or 50,000 mile warranty too.

Sumitomo HTR A/S 03

Sumitomo makes its first appearance on this list with a summer tire. This one gets decent ratings for wet and dry, at 8.7 and 9.0 – both are good, though not quite leading their category. The HTR A/S took on a different test with the Riken Raptor and Kumho Ecsta. The results were good for the Sumitomo. Above average ride quality, below average noise help. The steering characteristics weren't that great, but cornering traction made the HTR A/S 03 very competitive.

Curiously enough, with about average traction, the Sumitomo did well on wet and dry stop tests, tying for first place in both at about 85 feet and 127 feet respectively.

The price isn't bad for what you get. Get the Sumitomo through TireRack for $147 per tire.

Best Winter and Snow Tires for the Acura TSX

Different category! These tires are built for cold and snowy weather. We also a category subset for the TSX, the performance winter tire.

Vredestein Wintrac Pro

One of the first things you'll notice about this tire is the unusual tread design. It looks a little like a shoe and spreads wide to enable both steering response and usher away ice and water. Higher angled sipes are also found on the edges to let the Wintrac Pro to dig into snow with your TSX.

There is a bit of a difference between this higher performance snow tire and others. The Wintrac Pro is very well balanced with a 9.1 on wet and a 9.0 on dry, followed by a 9.0 on snow. This is unusual in part because most snow tires handle below a 9 on wet and dry as a simple matter of compromise.

TireRack pitted this Wintrac against another performane winter tire in the Michlelin Pilot Aplin 5 and the more common Michelin X-Ice Snow. Real tests confirmed the ability to handle and hug the road whether wet or dry, as Vredestein owned the slamon tests on dry, and tied with the Pilot on wet.Vredestein and the Pilot were only about 2 feet apart in a wet stop and near tied on dry. The ride quality was nice and smooth – but one fault – the tire is a bit loud compared to others, especially on dry roads. Otherwise, if you wish to drive your TSX anything like the way its meant to be driven in the snow and wet, this is a good tire to get.

At $166 per tire on TireRack, these are amongst your best bets for a nearly year round tire.

Frequently asked questions

How does installation work with TireRack?

You have a couple of choices when it comes to getting tires installed through TireRack. If you have the tools at home (namely a lug nut wrench) you could have them delivered right to your front door. Many will instead choose to connect with one of the many independent tire shops TireRack works with. TireRack will deliver the tires to that location. The shop can choose the amount it wants to have tires installed and old tires recycled.

We find the shop delivery option very convenient, and frankly, we don't have the garage space to keep tires sitting around for a day or two without getting in the way. If you don't work on your vehicle yourself, this is also a good time to schedule an oil change and new filter.

Does my Acura TSX need snow tires?

If you live in a winter climate and the TSX is your every day driver, you would benefit. Since the TSX is front wheel drive only, snow tires will have a bit of an impact. You should keep one thing in mind: While your TSX is a performance vehicle, snow tires are more designed to help you maintain traction and control when accelerating and stopping – you shouldn't drive your TSX in the winter like you would on a dry, warm summer day. When heavy snow and ice are present, traffic will likely prevent you from moving fast – but black ice is a big danger that no tire can match.

Can I put two different sized tires on my axles?

Some people will put a larger sized tire on the drive or rear wheels. From our perspective, this is mostly for appearance in a non-rear wheel drive car. We have to admit that we do like the look though. As noted in warranty comments for tires, there is a good chance that buying two different sizes of tires will cut your warranty in half.

Does my TSX need high performance tires?

If you've found that you don't like the feel of all season tires – like they don't turn as precisely as you'd like, then definitely consider high performance tires. High performance tires are stickier and have better grip, but also will have a shorter tread life.

What tire size do you best pricing on?

The base size for a 2014 Acura TSX is 225 / 50R17. You could get 18” tires or potentially larger. The larger the tire, the more you pay – though not by that much.

How do I make my TSX tires last longer?

Two of the easiest ways to get tires to last longer on any car is to drive gently and rotate your tires. For tire rotations, you'll want the technicians to switch the fronts and backs (or whatever makes the most sense for the condition of your tires) every other oil change. This will help them wear evenly and avoid road vibration in the future.

You don't need to drive your TSX like a grandma to drive gently. Just don't do burnouts or figure out your particular TSX's 0-60 time on a regular basis. For the sake of both your brakes and tires, try stopping more gently and slow, too.

Are there options besides TireRack?

First, we like TireRack because they offer actual, real world tests and lots of good and bad testimonials for tires. We also suggest SimpleTire and http://discounttire.com/ Both provide similar pricing and processes as TireRack.

Does the unique drivetrain and performance of the TSX need unique tires?

We presented a range of all season to high performance tires because the TSX is a unique car with a range of drivers. Consider your own driving needs most of all and how your TSX performs to your liking.

About The Author

Charles Redding

I've spent many years selling cars, working with auto detailers, mechanics, dealership service teams, quoting and researching car insurance, modding my own cars, and much more.