tire recommendations

I had a similar choice to make on my 2003 Accord 4 CYL. the OEM
Michelins MXV s8 had very low rolling resistance. However, even when
they were new had quite a bit of understeer. In rain they aquaplaned
very easily. If you drove in winter on road that had more than the
frost, well you better turn back and leave the car in the garage. I
have spent some time researching for a replacement tire that would
eliminate all the negative aspects that OEM tire had, keeping in mind
that I did not want tosacrifice the fuel economy too much. A tire that
I bought was Nokian i3. I currently have 20,000K on the new tires. The
tires are slightly noisier. that's normal since the OEM Michelins were
UTQG 440 and the i3s are 620. The aquaplaning has disappeared i.e. even
in heavy rain I can still hit 140. The understeer in corners has
disappeared. The fuel economy has reduced from 5.8L/100KM with original
tires to about 6-6.1 l/100KM. They were actually worse when they were
brand new. I had the originals on for 218,000KM. The Nokians have not
shown any signs of wear yet. I believe they will last between 250,000 -
300,000K. Another tire that was #2 on my list was Toyo spectrum. The
cost of nokians was $127 per tire, while the OEM Michelins were just
over $180 per tire. A lot of tire shops now days will let you try the
tire before you commit to buying it. Hope this info is of some use to
you.

Dan.
Milleron wrote:
> I'll soon be replacing the OEM Bridgestone Turanzas on my '03 Accord
> V6. The tread life and fuel economy they've given have been
> outstanding, but the handling leaves something to be desired. For
> example, I've found myself slowing to 60 mph in strong, gusting
> crosswinds while other drivers, even in smaller cars, keep going
> 65-70.
>
> Fuel economy (rolling resistance, I guess) is the most important tire
> quality to me, but I'd be willing to sacrifice a little in that
> category for somewhat better handling.
>
> What's my best choice currently?
>
> Ron