Avon Ranger TSE Review for my 2005 Honda Element Part 1 and Part 2

I thought it would be prudent to repost my post over at the Element Owners Club about the new tires that I purchase for my 2005 Honda Element EX. I ordered from TireRack.com and had them installed at Tire Kingdom. So far I’m impressed with the value that I’m getting with my new Avon Ranger TSE’s.

This is my initial report, I’ll check back at 500 miles, 2500 miles and 5000 miles I’m thinking, and then every 5k after that.

Initial Thoughts:

1. I love that they are blackwall. OWL would look nice, but I don’t want to have to keep it clean, and finding tires that I like for the E that weren’t OWL was tough.

2. The price was worth the shot. Out the door they were under $400 for a 520 treadwear tire. If they’re awful, I’ll change them out for a set of Alenzas or Forteras, but for now I’m happy to try the Ranger’s for $200+ less.

3. The tread pattern is aggressive for a Highway All-Season. Basically I just like how it looks. But the tires have deep channels, and look like they’ll be good in the rain. For the few minutes they were in a heavy downpour they seemed to stick nicely. (Of course my Wranglers had 25k+ on them, and maybe 3/32 left on the tread, so ANYTHING might feel better to me.)

4. They feel a little slushy to me on the response. That could be the difference in the tread depth though. I’ll comment more on that as they break in.

5. Quiet, quiet, quiet! They’ve considerably reduced the road noise that I had with the original Wranglers.

500 miles:

Well, I’m over 600 miles after a long road trip down to St. Petersburg. The tires were fantastic on the interstate, much, much quieter than my old HPs. And, overall, quiet in general.

I really like the grip I get at 36 psi in the front and 38 psi in the back (my preferred psi combo).

In wet conditions I could hardly tell a difference in traction from dry. We’re talking heavy, heavy rain at 45mph and Interstate speeds (70+).

The response is better now that they are broken in more, and I need my alignment adjusted (they over corrected a bit imho and I want it checked again.)

They smooth out a lot of the bumps in the road even at my tire pressures. My “E” is still a bit bouncy, but a lot less Jeep like than with the Wranglers at the same psi combo.

I’m immensely happy with these tires for the price! See ya again at 2500+