Driving profile:
~50 miles daily commute
~80% highway at ~70 mph, 20% local
Around 15k miles/year
Midwest (Kansas City) climate: lots of rain, hot summers, occasional cold/icy mornings.
Top priorities (in order):
Ride comfort
Low to very low road noise (highway drone bothers me)
Strong wet performance
Not chasing winter/snow traction, as I will WFH if conditions are bad
After some research, I have narrowed it down to two touring all-season options:
1) Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3
Known for comfort and low noise
Seems popular with RDX owners here for long highway commutes
2) Michelin Primacy Tour A/S
Often described as very quiet and refined
Excellent wet grip
Shorter warranty (~55k, which is okay with me), but strong comfort reputation
From what I have gathered, the Michelin may feel slightly quieter and softer when new, while the Pirelli may stay more consistent over time and last longer, but I would love to hear from people who have actually run these on an RDX. Or if there are other better options based on our priorities, please share and advice.
Appreciate any first-hand experiences, especially from high-mileage commuters.
Purely anecdotal, since I lately look at āthatā part of cars a lot while stopped in traffic, I have noticed many more Scorpion model tires on crossovers and SUVs than I have noticed the Primacy.
That says little about the performance or reputation of those tires, but it is just my observation.
Iām on my second set of Goodyear weather ready. Good for quiet, snow, rain, etc. I think I paid about $12-1400 for my rdx. On the Pontiac I use cheaper generals.
Did you check the Tire Rack tests? In 2024 they tested the Pirelliās a liked them the most. Still, they said that the wet and winter handling while good could be better. They also tested it in crossovers in 2025 and still like the Scorpions best. Consumer Reports tested the Pirelliās as SUV tires and rated the good or excellent for all but wet braking and ride comfort; they were average there
The Michelinās were tested in 2024 (different test) and Tire Rack like them a lot, except for winter handling. There is no direct comparison test. consumer Reports also likes the Primacy tires, except they rate snow handling and ice braking as average. If you havenāt already, you can read the test results at tirerack.com.
Just because it is an American company does not mean all the tires are made in the USA, even though some/most might be, you might have to check the tire itself to see where it is made (plant code), we used to sell a tire that was made in 3 different parts of the world with everything else being the same, meaning size speed rating, everything, it could come from 3 different places, we had corp people that would only except tires from location X not Y or Zā¦ lol
I did my own test driving through St. Louis in an ice storm. Glare ice everywhere. Not saying there was no slipping or sliding but made it the few miles to a hotel for the night.
Michelin is a French company and Michelin North Americaās HQ is in Greenville, SC. They have several plants in and around the Greenville/Spartanburg area, including one in Fountain Inn, where my father grew up. The town got its name because of the inn with the fountain out front on the road from Columbia to Greenville. They also own BF Goodrich and Uniroyal and both make tires in the US.
Tires for the SUVās Iāve owned itās either Michelin or Cooper Both tires offer excellent handling in all weather (including snow) and both give a very good ride.
The originals were Michelin but Iām just as happy with the Goodyear. Hard to compare one to the other since most driving is on clear roads and they all work fine.
Sort of off subject, but still tires. Anyone remember āRoy and Alā advertisements for U.S. Royal bicycle tires? I could not find a copy of the ads, but similar to this.
Bridgestone is a Japanese company with Bridgestone North America HQ in Nashville, Firestone is a USA company with HQ (now) in Nashville (used to be in Chicago) and have tire plants in the USA also, but also have plants around the world, like I said the tire will either say what country itās made in or you have to check the plant code to know for sureā¦
I took a look at a couple highway patrol cars at the auto show and was surprised to see the Firestone tires. I assume winter tires but not sure how.that works for law enforcement.
They are still run separately in the day to day businessā¦ Bridgestone does have the last word normally, But the Bridgestone Tower downtown Nashville was within walking distance to the Downtown Firestone shop, Firestone real estate sold the property out from under us, it was NOT supposed to be sold, they had big plans for the storeā¦ Also Firestone (corp) pushes the sale of the (true) Lifetime Alignment, Bridgestone (corp) said it was a BAD idea and cost the company money and couldnāt understand why Firestone sells itā¦ Bridgestone America only over sees the Firestone Brandā¦ Itās complicatedā¦ lol
Firestone HQ was in Chicago up until about 2017 when they moved into the New Bridgestone Towerā¦ Bridgestone has very little to any say in the day to day operations of Firestone Complete Auto Careā¦
Firestone Firehawk Pursuit/Firehawk GT Pursuit is the LEO (law enforcement) tire, Ford does not come factory with them cause Firestone will no longer sell tires to Ford, but 99% of the state troopers in TN hate the OEM Godyears Pursuits (whatever they are called) and can not wait until getting the Firestone Pursuits, Goodyear had the contract for Metro Nashville cars for the longest, and as soon as Firestone got it, every LEO likes them better also, all the law enforcement (SS, ATF, US Marshals, DOA, state and local etc etc you name it we probably serviced it) Pursuit vehicles that we put our tires on, never complained and if new vehicle with GYās or GY pursuits in general, couldnāt wait until they got the better FS Firehawk Pursuitsā¦ Some of the state troopers would even call TDOT and complain about the car moving around in the rain just to get the GYās with 8/32 of remaining tread replaced with the FSāsā¦ They said nigh and day differenceā¦
Again, this was dealing with Pursuit tires that the general public will never buy, the GT Pursuits are normally very expensive ($300-$500 each) and donāt last longā¦
