2004 Accord EX Sedan Tire ?

Why don't you ask the tire distributer? Would you bank on what you read here?

the V rating is a speed rating, also, typically V rated tires will wear faster than an H rated tire. If your not performance driving at high speeds, you probably won't notice a difference.

Check the sticker inside the driver's door jamb to see what Honda recommends as the minimum speed rating.

============== A tire dealer once told me not to mix speed ratings on tires. If I have "V rating on the rear and H rating in front it could cause an under steer feel. I never noticed any difference.

2 my cents... TP

MinnPinn wrote "Hey All, I have an 04 Accord EX Sedan and it needs 2 new tires in the front. Currently the OEM tire is the Michelin Energy MXV4 in a V rating. Is the V-rated tire required or can it e stepped down to a H rated tire with little or no loss of handling, safety, etc? "

You probably already know that buying 4 new tires will be safer. You can not predict that any V-rated tire will perform better than any H-rated tire so mixing will be something of a crap shoot. So how much money is your life worth? You bought the "EX" so claims of poverty won't fly. Whatever you buy, make sure that the REAR tires have at least as much, if not more, traction than the front tires. Under no circumstances do you want the back end to break loose (oversteer). See

survey results for tire ratings. The OEM tires are not very good so you will probably not want to keep them on the rear. I replaced Michelin Energy tires (all 4) with Goodyear's Assurance ComforTreds on my daughter's Accord and she has been happy with them, esp. the highway ride.

2000 TL is theoretically capable of 146 MPH, hence V rated tires are recommended for it.

Oops! I thought I was replying to a different thread. Never mind....

I put Michelin MXV4 H-rated tires on my 93 Accord EX when the mileage reached 100K. Those tires are good; and they lasted for 100K mileage.

HWL

H is excellent for US driving conditions. These ratings are specifically for speed and relate to the car manufacturer's liability concerns. The V may have stiffer sidewalls (but not necessarily; the Yokohama dB S2 is V, but is softer than a typical H).

youve never seen poor people driving fancy cars before? escalades pulling up to the pump to get $5 worth of gas at a time?

They had money before they bought the car? :-)

Mike

Like you are going to get accurate information from a tire salesperson/phone rep .....

Personally I like to use the same tire on all four locations, which is why I regularly rotate tires in order to get them to wear out at the same time. If you are only going to replace two tires, put the MXV4s on there.

I have had some bad experiences when I put different tires front and rear. Sometimes it works out ok, sometimes not.

If you replace all four, then there are many alternatives which are quality tires at less than MXV4 prices. No, there is no good reason in the US why you couldn't step down to an appropriate H rated tire.

I recently replaced all four tires on my '03 Accord with Yokohama Avid H4S tires and am very happy with the choice. Last week I made a 1000 mile trip, over 300 miles of which was on winding secondary roads through the mountains of Northern California in the rain. The H4S tires performed flawlessly. My only complaint is that they are slighly noisier than the MXV4 OEM tires, but the improved wet grip makes this an excellent tradeoff for me. Also, these tires were 40% less expensive to purchase than new Michelins and they carry an AA traction rating, which is rather rare.

John

Thanks for the input. I am really looking for a replacement with good wet traction, decent treadwear, and a lower price than the Michelins. For the price the OEM Michelins cost vs how they perform, I refuse to purchase them, I live on the east coast, where we get rain, snow and such, and this tire is a hazard. I think, I am going to replace it with a set of a decent H rated tire. Thanks.

By all means then consider the Yokohama Avid H4S. I have found it to be an exceptional tire for wet traction at a much lower price than the OEM Michelins.

John

For the next set of tires, you may want to rotate the tires so that they all wear evenly, maximizing tire life and avoiding odd handling characteristics that may occur if tires at one end are worn down much more than tires at the other end.