Just a reminder of how important the tire is in the handling universe, even when you're picking up milk and bread instead of trying not to pick up a cone.
The DD is a 2013 Accord Sport. Car & Driver and others rave about the current generation and how sweet-handling the Sport is, but I never saw it. It always seemed nervous and jiggly over high-frequency irregularities and displayed impact harshness over bumps. My trusty daily seemed always asking me to slow down, sit up straight and tuck in my shirt instead of suggesting a little bit of naughty on the parkway roundabout might be fun.
It's cardinal sin was a two-step on turn-in that sapped confidence in sweepers. I was never certain the car was going to take a set and turn instead of plowing off line. Interstate ramps struck fear in my heart. The car seemed to need more rear anti-roll bar, and Accordnet informed me a swap to the larger Acura piece is a common and easy mod.
The car's Goodyear RS-As maintained the family tradition by doing what all the GY's I've experienced did: put in a nice performance for a few thousand miles, then turned noisy and hard. Back to back trips from Little Rock to Birmingham for Thanksgiving and Christmas dissuaded me from squeezing the last few thousand miles from the GYs. They roared at high speeds and growled at low speeds. They had to go.
Practicality won out over performance, and consultations with TireRack.com led to a set of General G-MAX AS03 ultra high-performance all seasons (I know, "no seasons", but...appliance). I could have done slightly better with a set of Michelins but I'm in between employment and not feeling spendy.
Great Googly-Moogly. First impression was the impact harshness was gone, perhaps decamped to Cleveland to hereafter burden an Escalade with 24s and rubber bands. If the Generals have softer sidewalls, I'm not complaining because they are so much more progressive in transitions. The AS03s are chatty too where the GYs were mute, letting me know how much grip I'm working with and how much might be left. No more point and pray, no more wondering how there could be two sensations of body roll from one steering input.
The car isn't transformed exactly, but it has definitely learned a new and welcome skill set. Hat tip and a big thanks to our friends at Tire Rack for their continuous testing and customer rating system.
