Nitto Motivo AS Initial Review

[Ucinn]

Yea, I just ignore it until I get everything else read and up to date where that's the only one with new messages left, then clear it and I don't miss anything that way.

 

[MerlintheMad]

(sorry for the derail, it happens; now, back on topic ......)

 

[Waynerm002]

So today I decided to have a bit of fun in the rain but traffic had other ideas. I bailed from the expressway onto a 2 lane road with no traffic. Had it in sport mode coming to the light when the right turn signal went green, chucked her in and applied some acceleration, felt the rear sliding so I used that to complete the turn while letting the wheel slide through my hand then grabbed as it straightened up and punched it! She went straight without any more slipping, nice! I think the Michelin’s would have held better but i’m starting to get a feel for how these perform when pushed. I really like how the soften the hits on the road in comfort and sport mode while being quiet and stable. Loving the car more as time goes on!

 

[Waynerm002]

This morning on the drive in, someone in an XC60 decided a truck a head of us was going to slow so he tried to pass as we were heading to the toll booth but got stuck in the left lane which was the pay lane behind a car that was slowing down. So he pulled back behind me, as we got through and the lanes started to come back together, I signaled to go right to pass the truck. Next thing I know this guy is by my rear quarter as the truck is also going left, there is no way for either of us get there at the same time so I went right and punched it, not to the floor but sufficient to get going in Comfort. Car took off and I'm well above the speed limit at this point so just backed off and stayed one lane from the left expecting to see this guy come flying by in the left lane. Nope, never saw him again. Guess he just wanted to be in the left lane with nothing in front of him and since the truck moved he was just happy to be there.

The tires felt really really good and quiet, the car really felt like what I expect a GT car to feel like. If it would maintain this ride level comfort on bumpy roads, it would be perfect! The tire pressure was dropped to 36 psi all around which played a role in that feeling and at this level it feels great! Anyone else played around with the tire pressure to see the difference?

 

[MisterMac]

I keep mine at 35 psi. The math calculated to 35.4, so I rounded down. If I know I'm going to carry a load, I might bump it up, but for everyday use 35 is perfect..

 

[Ucinn]

I just ordered my Motivos yesterday and will be having them installed on Saturday. Anybody want some Michelins?

 

[MerlintheMad]

I just ordered my Motivos yesterday and will be having them installed on Saturday. Anybody want some Michelins?

Hah! That's the refrain I have been singing. Mine are almost like new up front and at 80% in the rear.

 

[Ucinn]

Got them installed this morning and so far, so good. They have very good grip and really don't feel any different in regular driving compared to the Michelins. They seem to be just as quiet as the Michelins were. We are supposed to get some terrential rain this week, will see how they do then.

 

[Waynerm002]

These are quieter than the Michelin, especially over concrete from my usage. In the wet they don’t seem to be as grippy but then I didn’t really push the Michelin’s.

 

[Ucinn]

I think they are both very quiet..no difference to me, but I'm usually listening to the radio too.

 

[MerlintheMad]

On my way back home on I-15, on Tuesday, I did not engage in any tail chasing, probably because nobody zoomed past me, tempting me above my ability to resist. But, when I got to the Virgin River gorge I put her in Sport and manual gate and carved some curves. The Nitto Motivos continue to impress me with the combination of quietness, handling and smooth ride. I agree, the most noticeable difference is when they are riding over concrete: the Michelins are noisier.

 

[Waynerm002]

The last couple of days driving in rain has let me find the wet grip limits of the Motivo. While it is advertised as having better wet grip than dry, I'm finding the opposite. To be fair, the issues I have experienced comes to light when cornering and turning. This morning the roads seemed overly slippery and it was mainly drizzle not actual rain like yesterday. I could feel some slip on local streets going through curves so I backed off a bit. A guy in a Taurus decided he could do better than the Stinger zipped past me and almost lost it. Seemed like one of those folks that don't want anyone in front of them, I passed him on the right as that's the lane I was in and continued into the next curve where again I felt a slip of the tires and pushed on as it straighten up as I could see him having trouble slightly behind me. When I was further along before the next light, I stomped the brakes to test the stopping ability and the ABS activated a bit more than I expected for the speed I was traveling.

I'll say this up front that I'm the type of driver that drives the same wet (a bit more cautiously) or dry and look for tires that can perform great in both conditions. The Michelin's held up much better in this regard but the Nittos are quieter and ride more comfortable over ruts and imperfections, yeah, I'm getting old and want a bit more comfort with my sport. LOL! Guess I'll need to tone it down for these tires. In my experience, these ride like Pirelli P7 AS+ tires, which are GT tires, not UHPAS. Really waiting to see how these do in the snow.

 

[NoVAGT2]

Thanks for the updates! Very informative.

Cheers

 

[Waynerm002]

No problem. Want to make sure these get a good shake as we don't hear too much from the smaller brands.

By the way, this was a good indication of what I have been doing the past few days in the rain.

 

[Waynerm002]

So we start off the week with some more rain on the drive home, the temps were a bit cooler so I expected the performance to degrade a bit but it seemed better. More on this in a bit. First, let's go back to Saturday when the temps were in the 30s. Checked the tires in the garage and they were at 34 psi, I knew the dealer let some air out when it was in the shop and I'm starting to think that might have been the cause of the sliding around and the car feeling softer. On the drive to the tire shop, the computer reading was 36, after only about a 2 mile drive. There was a guy at the tire place airing up cars and I asked him to put up to 38, my meter read 36, I said just make them 40 all the way around and he did. I checked and they read 38. Something is off. I decided to go get another gauge to check as mine might be going bad. So I drove off a little bit down the road, the readings came up, 38. Huh?

I skipped the store and instead went cruising as I could feel the car had a nicer, firm riding feel on the road and I wanted to see how it did with that pressure all around. It actually handled quite well and felt good on the roads. I wondered how it would do in the rain with the change in tire pressure. Fast forward back to Monday evening and I realized as soon as I got out of the garage at work that it was raining. Good times, I thought! Well for the first part of it, there were some slow pokes. Once I got past that I got it up to speed and hit some puddles, got some tug in the steering which I thought was unusual as that amount of water I could drive through in the Optima with the General G-MAX AS05 and the Michelins with no issue. Once I got to some empty back roads I pushed in into corners, no sliding. Got on the accelerator, no shimmy, dove into a 90 degree turn, nada. Feeling so much better. True test, from stop, 2 turn lanes into 3 to the left, positioned in the right, accelerated into it and went wide to the right as the person on the left probably couldn't make out the lines and was turning into the middle lane (my lane). I pushed the pedal some more and as it was finishing the turn I felt the stability brake the outside right wheel so I eased off and when it was straight, pressed some more. The car just went with no more side movements but I was above posted speed so I backed off and cruised to the red light.

Now the plan is to go back to my original settings of 41 rear and 38 front (nitto recommends 39 rear and 36 front) or before that do 37 front and 40 rear and see if that is better for me. These tires are still feeling good. With all the reviews on the springs, I might just get a set of the ARK GT-F installed.

 

[NoVAGT2]

Thanks for reporting your observations! Getting Nittos mounted now. Nothing like cutting it close (snow forecast for tonight)!

Cheers

 

[Ucinn]

My Motivos will get their first real test of the season tomorrow morning, they are calling for sleet, freezing rain, snow, and rain all within a few hours of each other...we shall see how they do.

 

[Waynerm002]

I won't get to test mine as I'm dropping off my car for service tonight and getting a loaner. Love to hear your experiences with it, please pose a much as you can on it.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I just hand washed my car; temps in the mid to low 40s. Obviously, if I still held my previous lifelong attitude about washing cars, being like doing the "rain dance", I'd be testing out my Motivos in our first winter like weather within the next 24 hours. But the skies are clear and it has actually warmed up a bit the last couple of days.

 

[Ucinn]

Car had a layer of ice on it this morning, but the ground was too warm for ice or snow to stick so the roads were wet and it was now just raining. I don't drive mine hard, do 5 MPH over the limit and don't press the tires during turns. These tires ride real nice.. I think they make the car ride a little softer than the michelins did. They are not noisy at all and they grab very well even when you get on it. As far as the wet handling, they were sure footed and no surprises even when changing lanes. So, in short, these handle just great when wet and cold. These do create flat spots when sitting in the cold overnight (my Invos do too), but after a mile of driving, they are gone.