Nitto Motivo AS Initial Review

[Waynerm002]

I have seen the Nitto Motivo come up as I was searching around for UHP AS tires. After reading mixed review, I decided to give them a shot as the positive reviews spoke to their grip, ride comfort and noise level. Things that are of importance to me. The other item, winter/cold weather performance were also mixed with a lot more reviews saying it does well for a UHP AS tire. I decided to get them now as the temps were scheduled to take a nose dive and I didn't want to wait until it gets really cold to do so. With the tires installed and a road trip ahead, here is my first day experience with the Motivos.

As soon as I got the tires installed and took the first drive, I noticed the noise level was a bit lower. Now I was expecting them to be a bit noisy then quiet down, like the G-MAX AS05 I installed a couple of months ago on the Optima. That however was not the case, they were quieter than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 that come on the Stinger GT trim cars. The most significant difference was on concrete sections of bridges/roads where things usually gets noisy, these were quiet, with a muted sound over those sections. I did notice some noise on other sections but nothing loud, still quieter than the stock tires. For me, the tires satisfy what I was looking for in a replacement UHP AS tire.

This morning I went on a 50 mile trip to get my trim on the hatch area replaced. The roads were a bit wet as it rained overnight and there was a light drizzle when I started out. Didn't have any issues starting out, they didn't feel slippery as some reviews mentioned but I wasn't pushing them hard, just doing my normal drive in ECO and Comfort mode and also tried it in Custom mode which is configured for a Sport setting for the suspension. I felt the tires are a better match, comfort wise for the Stinger, being a GT car. Bumps were absorbed quite well, the ride was very comfortable which I liked a lot. Even with the suspension in Sport, they did a great job of dampening any bumps. When I checked the tire pressure, they registered at 40 psi, for a 50 degree morning, it let me know they put a bit more air in when they mounted them yesterday. Still all felt good on the car.

On the drive back, I took a slightly longer route back which had higher speed limits so I could get some more road time on the tires. So this 85 mile trip solidifies in my mind these were some really quiet and comfortable tires! I did the majority of the trip in my Custom setting (suspension on Sport) and I can say that the tires are a good fit for a long cruise in this car. The Sport mode felt like what I think the Stinger should be in a "Normal" setting, it had one, for the everyday drive. Sport should be a next level up sort of thing. I still have to try it on some of the bumpier sections of roads I commute on but so far, I really like how they perform. I'll add more to this review as time goes on for other considering these tires.

 

[westcoastGT]

thanks,whats the cost for 4 mounted ??

 

[Waynerm002]

It ended up being $894 installed. Got their certificate for refund or replacement, which added to the cost and since I wanted them installed sooner rather than later, I ended up going to a place whose installation price was higher than other in the area.

Last night after hanging with some friends then heading home, the tires had some crazy vibration which I figure was them flat spotting as after a few miles it went away. Guess I found a negative to the tires. The temps was in the low 40s this morning when we headed home which was around 1am, the place felt so much colder than I expected. Going from md 80s to 50s, then 40s in 2 days is crazy! The cold weather is upon us now..

 

[Waynerm002]

Update 1 - Wet weather

Drove in this morning in the rain, not too much traffic. Things were pretty good on the highway, not many puddles to go through but it felt stable at speed but I did notice a slight vibration so I'm going to have the shop check it for high speed balance. Things were fine so I decided to switch over to Custom with Sport setting for the suspension, the car felt good on the smooth surfaces but when I hit the bumpy parts, and the rear bounced, it felt a bit different. There was some slip. Took it off sport, it lessened but was still there. On local roads making turns left or right unto a different speed at speeds induced some slip. It's still early and I know this was a similar performance of the G-MAX AS-05 when they were new so i'm hoping as time goes by it will get better.

 

[Waynerm002]

Had some 35 degree weather this morning, I noticed the tires had a weird sound over damaged roads, seems like they weren't flexing enough and caused noise in what seemed to be coming from the suspension.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've had the Nitto Motivo A/S UHP on my car since the 28th of September.

The temperatures around here snapped down to 28F and got below freezing for several nights in a row (back up to above freezing at night, for now, whew!).

I am also a sensitive driver to road noise and feel from the tires. The first thing I noticed is as you say: quieter ride compared to the Michelin summer OEM.

Coming down the canyon at night a few weeks ago, rounding a prolonged right hander, on a slightly damp surface, the tires did a quick "two step" of understeer. That was my only incident so far of the tires breaking loose and biting immediately after. AWD is different in this respect than RWD, and the electronically controlled suspension played into the return to adhesion, so I suppose.

While running cold the Motivos are not as quiet and there might be some additional vibration, very subtle, that seems to go away as the tires warm up. (But it seems to me that the longer I am on these tires the less I can compare to the PSS experience: I've adjusted to these and now it is a matter of road/weather conditions altering how they feel and sound.)

I'm heading to LA from SLC next week and will be driving around down there for a week. So, this thread will definitely get updates from me as well!

 

[MisterMac]

I've had the Nitto Motivo A/S UHP on my car since the 28th of September.

The temperatures around here snapped down to 28F and got below freezing for several nights in a row (back up to above freezing at night, for now, whew!).

I am also a sensitive driver to road noise and feel from the tires. The first thing I noticed is as you say: quieter ride compared to the Michelin summer OEM.

Coming down the canyon at night a few weeks ago, rounding a prolonged right hander, on a slightly damp surface, the tires did a quick "two step" of understeer. That was my only incident so far of the tires breaking loose and biting immediately after. AWD is different in this respect than RWD, and the electronically controlled suspension played into the return to adhesion, so I suppose.

While running cold the Motivos are not as quiet and there might be some additional vibration, very subtle, that seems to go away as the tires warm up. (But it seems to me that the longer I am on these tires the less I can compare to the PSS experience: I've adjusted to these and now it is a matter of road/weather conditions altering how they feel and sound.)

I'm heading to LA from SLC next week and will be driving around down there for a week. So, this thread will definitely get updates from me as well!

Yes, these are UHP A/S tires. They will flat-spot, but then even out once they warm up driving a few miles.

 

[Waynerm002]

I experienced the flat spotting only once when the car was outside and the temp dropped. The car is in a garage and it says around 72 degrees most morning before I drive out. This morning it dropped to 35. I know this particular tire has been around for a number of years and have gotten mixed reviews, I'm hoping they will do well in the winter with traction.

 

[MisterMac]

I experienced the flat spotting only once when the car was outside and the temp dropped. The car is in a garage and it says around 72 degrees most morning before I drive out. This morning it dropped to 35. I know this particular tire has been around for a number of years and have gotten mixed reviews, I'm hoping they will do well in the winter with traction.

Never failed, or even disappointed me through miles of snow in RWD Hemi vehicles. Hope you have the same experience.

 

[Waynerm002]

That's what I'm hoping for.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've already talked on other threads about driving fast yesterday. For the purpose of this thread, the Nitto Motivo UHP A/S tires are great handling tires so far. I've had them above 111 MPH (odd number to say "above", but that was what I glanced down and saw, and several times I was going faster than that) and they stayed quiet and smooth. As already expressed, the Stinger wanted to give more, keep going faster; these tires do not take away from that feeling.

 

[NoVAGT2]

Are you guys running a staggered setup?

Thanks!

Edit: Pretty sure Merlin is.

 

[Waynerm002]

Man I wish I had a place to run like Merlin! So far I’m impressed with these tires ride comfort, handling and noise level. I’ve driven this week mainly in ECO mode and today the car had less noise over all surfaces and felt very comfortable over bumps. On smooth surfaces, it reminded me of how the Pirelli P7 AS+ was on my Optima Hybrid, so quiet that you notice the wind noise more than the tires. I’m running 38 front and 41 in back as when I went over a speed bump in an area i’m familiar with the felt soft at the set pressure of 36 all around. Nitto’s site recommended 36 front and 39 rear, even with the increase, they still feel great. These are a great match for the car, this is the feeling I like for this car however, the lean in corners (in ECO so far) is a bit much but they still held up to 50 on a 25, sweet cornering, off ramp. Still waiting for my rear sway to come in to install to see the improvements they make.

Oh yeah, I’m running 19” staggered on my GT2 AWD. Looking at how they sit on the wheel, I could have gone a bit wider front and rear. So far, great tires. I’ll have to test them some more now that they are broken in to see if the wet performance also got better. Like the General G-MAX AS-05 on the Optima, they did slip a bit under the 500 mile mark. Those improved their wet grip and noise level around that mark, the Motivo’s are about. 800 miles so far and we are expecting some rain this weekend so i’ll take them out to see how they do.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Are you guys running a staggered setup?

Thanks!

Edit: Pretty sure Merlin is.

Yes, I am.

Man I wish I had a place to run like Merlin!

One must merely "seize the day". I am still trying to entertain the first steps of repentance, after my brush with disaster last night: If I cannot be in control of accident producing situations at a mere 35 MPH (ten under the posted speed limit), what makes me think that (no matter how stable and empowering the Stinger is) I can be in control at some 40 MPH above the freeway speed limit? I am grateful that this introspection has come at such a low price: my nerves, and what it will cost to order in a new undercarriage front panel. Cheap! If, that is, I heed this juxtaposition of events of yesterday as some warning, which it is. Now, I just need to not go chasing BMW tail in the future.

 

[Waynerm002]

Lol! I hear you! That will have to wait until i’m out of my state and on a long road trip.

 

[MerlintheMad]

(Message to mods: Odd glitch in this thread: I keep getting New Message emails, and there is nothing new to see; has happened twice now in the last half hour.)

 

[Ucinn]

That's happened to me a couple times on different threads..just hit that arrow next to forums and select mark forums read and it will then finally be right.

 

[MerlintheMad]

That's happened to me a couple times on different threads..just hit that arrow next to forums and select mark forums read and it will then finally be right.

Did you mean "mark all forums read"? The drop down says this forum and "all forums" as the only two options. I selected "mark all forums read"; but now when I select the drop down it still shows this forum's radio button selected. I'm a bit confused.

 

[Ucinn]

Yes, go back to the main forums page, then select arrow, and select mark all forums read..should be set to go from there. It's always worked for me.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Ah, I see that the change is all the previous forum New Posts vanish. Only the brand new ones from that point on show up. But, at least I won't get an email taking me to a thread that doesn't have anything new.

Thanks.

Yes, go back to the main forums page, then select arrow, and select mark all forums read..should be set to go from there. It's always worked for me.