Tire review: Nitto Motiva

[Lazonby]

I wanted to write up a little review of the Nitto Motiva tires. I should first and foremost state that this review is geared towards folks wanting to replace their tires with a practical solution (read:daily driver). I drive somewhat aggressively, but safely, generally when there's little to no traffic. You know, hard corners and what not. I do not work for or am affiliated in any way with Nitto. I did not, nor will not, get free tires (although I'd be more than happy to accept them! Nitto). This review will be a continual thing, so check back for updates.

After wearing out the stock Michelin Pilot tires, I decided on the Nitto Motiva's (215/45-17) based on what reviews I could find, the advice of a Discount Direct Sales rep, prior experience with Nitto tires (I had 555's on a truck), and price. They were purchased from Discount Tire Direct and installed at a Honda dealership, as I needed some other stuff done too. Also, keep in mind I'm old and very particular. I know what I like and what I don't and don't mind telling you about it!

An overview of the Motivo

Motivo

What was wrong

I disliked the Michelin's since the day I rolled the car off the lot brand new. Dry traction was acceptable. Wet traction was horrible to the point I was really worried about hydroplaning out of control. They were noisy and didn't ride well. At first I thought it was the car. The more miles I put on them, the more I grew to despise them. They grew evermore noisy and dry traction began to suffer greatly. For the last 45,000 miles, I've been in tire hell. But I'm a cheap ass and will get that last 1/32" of tread out of my tires.

New tires! The Motivo

The stock Civic Si tire size is 215/45-17 on a 7" wide rim, so that's the size I replaced them with. They are wider than than the stock Michelin's. They do not have the stretched look the Mich's do. The tread is also deeper. I'll get some pics up next week when I get some time. Personally, they look great, the way a stock tire should look.

Upon rolling off the lot with the Motivo's, I could immediately discern a difference. It wasn't until I drove around back on a street with all kinds of smallish potholes. The cabin was substantially more quiet and the tires handled the bumps with ease rather than bouncing me around. The suspension was even a bit more graceful as well--there was not as much 'popping' that's typical on Honda's. It was literally night and day. When I got on the highway road noise was all but gone. The car had a more solid, planted feel to it.

As I continued my drive home, and I make the same drive every day and have for years, I ran into the local road resurfacing project. They are all over the place here in the metromess. They strip away all the old asphalt and leave you with a bumpy grooved road for weeks on end that's a PITA to drive on. I hated driving on these unsurfaced roads with a passion. The old Mich's were ANNOYING. They were so loud I had to turn my radio up to drown out the noise. This time, I turned my radio off. Wow! There was a smoothness and stability I thought was only a dream. For the first time, I didn't mind the torn up roads so much.

As for handling, I haven't truly tested them out yet. I'll be getting to this in future edits. I want to tweak the air pressure a bit before I really lay into them. Obviously, they're better than my old Mich's, but that should be expected at this point. I do have some baselines I've gathered from the Mich's for comparison.

Conclusion

So far, these tires are winners! I've a lot of experience with tires: Goodyear, BF Goodrich, Nitto, Uniroyal, Michelin (on other vehicles), and a bunch of other tires throughout various vehicles. I've yet to see a tire truly transform a complete ride experience until now. Typically, you notice the different nuances of different tires, but this is really nice. If you're on stock tires, do yourself a favor and upgrade.


I will edit this post. I'm not a tire fanboy. I have no personal allegiance to any company and never will. I believe in buying a quality product until the company screws it up, and they always do. I do not hesitate to jump ship. I'll give you the good and bad in my review. At this point, I expect good things. We'll see how things hold up as time goes on and I push the limits.

Until next time...

[OHmySi]

I also bought these about a month ago. Paid about $500 mounted and balanced and a 500 tread wear.

[Bartman619]

Great review ! I just put Motivos on my e90 about 2 months ago and they ride better than my Continental DW. The sidewall on these tires were also stiffer than the Conti....FYI, I hear its parent company Toyo has a version of these tires called Proxes 4 Plus.

[chuyito79]

500 tread wear no thanks...i like soft better traction...those tires will last you a good while before they will wear out...myself i like performance and a soft tire...for good traction

[CRXguy]

Thanks for the review. I'm in need of new tires.

[Lazonby]

Originally Posted by chuyito79

500 tread wear no thanks...i like soft better traction...those tires will last you a good while before they will wear out...myself i like performance and a soft tire...for good traction

You'd be surprised. These tires aren't hard. This will be included in a near future update once I do some air pressure testing. They are quite soft which is contributing to their smoothness. The rubber is a silica compound that allows them to get such a high treadwear rating. Initial dry traction tests have been pleasant.

[OHmySi]

Originally Posted by Lazonby

You'd be surprised. These tires aren't hard. This will be included in a near future update once I do some air pressure testing. They are quite soft which is contributing to their smoothness. The rubber is a silica compound that allows them to get such a high treadwear rating. Initial dry traction tests have been pleasant.

^ I agree. Ive had Toyo Proxes 4's, Falken 452's and 912's with 300 wear ratings and these are just as sticky and wont be worn out in a years time.