What 19" replacement tire is cushier than Toyo A36 [Unanswered]

AVC

:
'17 CX-5 Select
As our search engine blows off anything less than 4 characters -- it drops A36 from search strings -- thought I'd make a new thread with this specific question.

So, my OEM 19" Toyo A36 are about 3/32--I bought when they were 6/32. I can't find any ratings/reviews on the A36 as compared to aftermarket tire choices, regarding COMFORT, so as to make a meaningful choice on that parameter. The ride on my'17 GS is a tad firmer than I like with (now worn) A36--lots of choppy pavement around here. I've mulled going to 17" rims and the larger aspect tires to improve the ride comfort, but if there is a 19" tire with at least 600 UTQG and higher in comfort than the A36, I'd do that.

And, the Toyo A23 appears to be a significantly different tire than the A36, so comparisons to the A23 aren't meaningful to me.

Thoughts from those (got to be hundreds of people) who've already replaced their A36?
 
I am a fan of michelin but they are costly. Others have mentioned continentals but not sure about comfort vs toyos. It's a fact that the comfort of the toyos is not that bad actually when new and they are cheap. 145 for 19". Soft tire, that's why it wears faster.
 
As our search engine blows off anything less than 4 characters -- it drops A36 from search strings -- thought I'd make a new thread with this specific question.

So, my OEM 19" Toyo A36 are about 3/32--I bought when they were 6/32. I can't find any ratings/reviews on the A36 as compared to aftermarket tire choices, regarding COMFORT, so as to make a meaningful choice on that parameter. The ride on my'17 GS is a tad firmer than I like with (now worn) A36--lots of choppy pavement around here. I've mulled going to 17" rims and the larger aspect tires to improve the ride comfort, but if there is a 19" tire with at least 600 UTQG and higher in comfort than the A36, I'd do that.

And, the Toyo A23 appears to be a significantly different tire than the A36, so comparisons to the A23 aren't meaningful to me.

Thoughts from those (got to be hundreds of people) who've already replaced their A36?
If you’ve read my reply in another thread, Unobtanium did a series of detailed reports to his new Continental CrossContact LX25 on his 2019 CX-5 GT-R with comparison to his old Toyo A36’s including COMFORT.

2018 Grand Touring AWD Tire Recommendation

Go for those top-rated tires on “Comfort“ in Tire Rack Ratings Charts and chance are they will perform better than A36’s on comfort.

Toyo A36 is not a good quality tire. See how many complaints here about out of round A36’s from factory, some are still vibrate even after road force balanced!
 
If you’ve read my reply in another thread, Unobtanium did a series of detailed reports to his new Continental CrossContact LX25 on his 2019 CX-5 GT-R with comparison to his old Toyo A36’s including COMFORT.

Toyo A36 is not a good quality tire.

Unobtanium posted many useful comments about many aspects of the replacement tire vs the A36, but didn't directly indicate whether his replacement was less, more, about the same comfort as the A36. I'm a data driven guy, so asking members to post in a clear fashion, similar to this:

I replaced my A36 with BRAND, MODEL and found them to be [one of these]; much firmer, firmer, about the same, softer, much softer than the A36

I think this was would be useful info for others.

We have plenty of comparisons on this forum regarding handling, noise, wet and snow traction, and longevity.

As for the A36 not being a quality tire, every tire (even Michelin) has some bad samples that pop out the molds. My observation is that it a rather decent tire, that gets a bit, although not terribly, noisier as it wears. Of course--and the reason for this thread-- I have no idea how hard or soft the A36 is compared to aftermarket choices. I'll get about 36k vibration-free miles out of them.
 
Last edited:
A36 to Michelin LTX when I had a 2014 GT, and I noticed no difference at all. But I don't drive much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AVC
I get the feeling that manufacturers sometimes get a cheaper version from a well known manufacturer that might or might not be completely up to snuff.

When I look at tires on the web some of the tire names get pretty confusing with various suffixes. I've wondered why what seems to be the same tire model varies in price.

Of the new cars I've purchased half of them seemed to have somewhat substandard tires, although they were still functional and safe. I got rid of them and replaced them earlier than necessary.

Maybe it's because they consider tires a consumable that will have to be replaced someday anyway.

I've noticed some laser printers coming with 'starter' (reduced capacity) toner cartridges.
 
I would think the best way to get a more comfortable ride out of a tire, is by either lowering its pressure, or going with a smaller size. It seems like your best option would be going with a 17". That said, here's what tire rack shows on the subject: https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Best Ride Comfort

I don't think a direct comparison to the A36 is necessary, as almost any other quality tire will out perform it.
 
I've read all that. It doesn't address how the A36 COMPARES FOR COMFORT to any other tire. Still looking for more than one relevant post..... I know y'all are out there lurking in shadows :)
 
A36 to Michelin LTX when I had a 2014 GT, and I noticed no difference at all. But I don't drive much.
2014 CX-5 GT has Toyo A23 instead of Toyo A36 tires from factory. And OP believes A36 is different from A23 at least on comfort category.
 
2014 CX-5 GT has Toyo A23 instead of Toyo A36 tires from factory. And OP believes A36 is different from A23 at least on comfort category.
To address the ride harshness of 2016 and prior, it seems reasonable to assume that along with changes in springs, struts and steering gear mounting, the A36 was developed with Toyo to be at least a bit softer than the A23. Of course, that fact still doesn't tell me how aftermarket 19" selections differ from the A36 in the comfort metric. And regardless of vibration, handling or grip complaints of the A36, it still dosn't address my post question.
 

As for the A36 not being a quality tire, every tire (even Michelin) has some bad samples that pop out the molds. My observation is that it a rather decent tire, that gets a bit, although not terribly, noisier as it wears. Of course--and the reason for this thread-- I have no idea how hard or soft the A36 is compared to aftermarket choices. I'll get about 36k vibration-free miles out of them.
I’ve never seen so many vibration、out-of-round、can’t-be-balanced complaints, here and Tire Rack, against a single model of tire, OEM Toyo A36 on gen-2 CX-5. On the other hand, I haven’t seen a single vibration complaint here against OEM Toyo A23 on gen-1 CX-5. From a recent thread a Toyo rep claimed they only consider a tire is out-of-round when a Toyo tire has 35 lbs and over by road force balance, while other name brand tires would consider 20 lbs. That alone speaks clearly what kind of quality standard from Toyo Tires.
 
To address the ride harshness of 2016 and prior, it seems reasonable to assume that along with changes in springs, struts and steering gear mounting, the A36 was developed with Toyo to be at least a bit softer than the A23.
Yes, I totally understand your point and I agree that’s very likely the A36 is softer than A23. But I just want to point out that onerpm may be mistakenly confused with his A23 on his 2014 CX-5 to be a A36. That’s not what you want.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AVC
I've read all that. It doesn't address how the A36 COMPARES FOR COMFORT to any other tire. Still looking for more than one relevant post..... I know y'all are out there lurking in shadows :)
In other words you want to be convinced that the A36 isn't the most comfortable in the class? The Conti might have highest rating at Tire Rack but you are not sure if the A36 would rate higher?

The reason Tire Rack did not include them in the comparison chart is because of insufficient data, only 12 reviews reporting about 4,800 total miles driven.

From my experience with Toyos, reading the complaints about them here, and the fact they are OEMs that owners are not rushing out to replace in kind, I would just assume there is something better and go from there.

I didn't read the 12 reviews. Maybe you'd find something in them that might help. You may not find another review if nobody thought they were worthy of one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

I didn't read the 12 reviews. Maybe you'd find something in them that might help. You may not find another review if nobody thought they were worthy of one.
Not surprised out of these 12 reviews, 3 are complaining this Toyo A36 tire is impossible to get balanced as the tires are out of round!
 

Oh, {HardRight..]for the love of....I'm just trying to determine if there is a tire that is MORE comfortable than the Toyo A36. I have no particular love or hate of the A36, and I have to replace them with *something*, and I don't want to choose a tire that is better than the A36 in every other metric, but STIFFER. Is that super difficult to comprehend?

I'm not trying to be difficult, but good grief, most of the posts here address everything BUT the question I asked....yes, I'm a bit frustrated...
 
Last edited:
Oh, {HardRight..]for the love of....I'm just trying to determine if there is a tire that is MORE comfortable than the Toyo A36. I have no particular love or hate of the A36, and I have to replace them with *something*, and I don't want to choose a tire that is better than the A36 in every other metric, but STIFFER. Is that super difficult to comprehend?

I'm not trying to be difficult, but good grief, most of the posts here address everything BUT the question I asked....yes, I'm a bit frustrated...

You're quite the easy going type of poster, I see. :rolleyes: No one here is going to be able to convince you what tire is more "comfortable", since there is no accurate tool that can measure that type of data. And going off someone's opinion on comfort...well, just look at what people are saying about the front seats. Some think they are the most comfortable seats around, while other's say they are the crappiest they've ever been in. The only guaranteed way to make a ride "softer", if that's what you're looking for, is to decrease wheel size or pressure. I mentioned this before, but my reply was dismissed as not relevant.

Good luck in your quest! I think you're going to need it.
 
Back