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Just "depaxed" our 2005 Odyssey Touring!!!

Bought four new wheels (17x7.5 Elbrus I06 SDC ICE) from tirerack.com.  

A local tire shop (Interstate Tire, Cockeysville MD) installed Kumho Road Venture KL51 tires (235/60R-17).  Tire shop said they had never removed TPMS sensors from Michelin Pax tires, but were able to figure it out (by cutting into the old tires), reinstalled them on the new tires, and everything works just fine.  

For the spare, we ordered the wheel from Majestic Honda (part #42700-SHJ-A51 size 17X4T) and a Kenda K801 tire from tirerack.com (T135/80D -17). My local mechanic mounted the spare tire for no charge. The spare fits perfectly in the left rear compartment inside the car.

The new wheels and tires are noticeably quieter than the original Michelin Pax tires/wheels and the ride is at least as good.

Here's a breakdown of our costs:

New wheels: $122 each plus $40.61 shipping = $528.61
New tires: $140 each (included mounting and balancing) plus $100 to change the TPMS sensors = $660.00
Spare wheel: $41.87 plus $12.84 shipping = $54.71
Spare tire: $76 plus $15.14 shipping = $91.14

GRAND TOTAL: $1,334.46

Not bad, since the local Honda dealers wanted $380 each to replace tires with OEM (total cost would be $1,520.00).

And now we don't have to worry when we travel far from home- that we will get stuck having to wait for a Michelin Pax tire from a dealer.  

Forgot to say thanks to everyone who posted on this forum!  I don't think it would have been possible for us to "depax" without your great advice.  

travel long distances in a car tire is important to note because it is very dangerous for the safety and car honda odyssey PAX system could have overcome that problem, not all cars have these systems. That excess.
 

I am replying to anyone interested in getting rid of PAX tires.  I live in the Sacramento area and had no luck with the dealer where I purchased the vehicle.  Another Honda dealer in the area helped me out.  They installed new Honda Pilot take-off wheels and new Goodyear tires.  They used the sensors out of the old PAX tires and I purchased a new spare from them.  The option to use Honda Pilot wheels works really great and many dealers have take-off wheels due to buyers changing out their factory wheels.  The vehicle drives and rides much smoother and quieter.  The whole deal cost me around $1700 dollars versus $1400 for just PAX tires.  Now I have peace of mind that comes with standard tires that can be repaired or replaced by any tire dealer.  Plus, I will not be paying a premium for tires with a short life.  The Good Year tires have expected wear of 80,000 miles.  The van drives and handles very well and there is a lot less road feedback/noise.  

Hi summerbreak  - The answer is YES!

I've been a hold out for a long while (stubborn, loyal or stupid, not sure which!) and have replaced too many PAX tires. Totally sucks when you pick up a nail (AKA Road Hazard) which costs around $400 installed (tire, gel pack, installation wheel balance , tax, title and license!  ;¬D  ). Most "conventional tires" I've bought in the past have an available "Road Hazard Protection Package" available for less than $20 per tire. But the PAX? Forget about it! $400 per road hazard, thank you very much, because the flippin tire cannot be repaired, it must be replaced!

Enough of my rant - to your question, yes, I have 138+k miles on my 2005 Ody Touring, and -
Yes: The front end shimmies - even after a "Load Balance" (the wheel is balanced as it is under "road pressure" ) at the local Honda dealer,
Yes: The PAX tires wear unevenly, even when inflated to "specs",
Yes: The transmission whines because of a "worn bearing", and
Yes: I've replaced motor mounts,
Yes: The van will not stay in alignment,
Yes: The wheels will not stay balanced,
Yes: The dealer* CANNOT correctly balance these wheels, I suspect because of:
   Uneven disbursement of the Gel Pack used to mount the PAX tire, and/or
   The Inner Ring of the tire assembly slips or is wobbly, and/or
           Defective tires.

ALL of these challenge I now attribute to using Michelin PAX tires...

* Note that the ONLY place you can get your PAX tires worked on is at the dealer - They require special equipment, and special training for the techs - In fact I've waited for a couple of days for the "only guy who can handle the PAX tires" to come back from vacation - at a Honda Dealer in Los Angeles!  

I picked up a nail in a PAX the other day, and I'll NOT be paying $400 to replace a tire that "should" be repairable for less than $20. I'm going to forget PAX, and forget ever getting anything from the PAX settlement where the lawyers took all the money (They got $3 Million, I got $0.00 - Now that's some CLASS action by the lawyers!).

Shame on Honda for going down the PAX path. I've had GREAT experiences with every Honda and Acura product I've owned, except for the flippin' PAX tires. So I'm not going to boycott Honda for making a bad decision, I think they got duped by Michelin that same as everyone else. However I am boycotting Michelin for making a horrible product.

Keep us posted as to your situation!  

mckimro,

Can you tell me which dealer removed and replaced your PAX tires?  I live in Davis and am about a month away from having to make the decision to get new PAX tires or getting rid of them.  Any other info you have (e.g. person you talked with, satisfaction with the change, etc.) would be helpful.  Thanks!

-Rob  

We have an '06 Odyssey Touring w/those dreadful Pax tires. We need [and want] to de-Pax. Unfortunately coughing up $700 for 2 new Pax is not something we can easily afford right now. My questions:

* Can I install a pair of NON-Pax in conjunction with the 2 Pax that are still fairly new?

* What model year range Odyssey wheels will work [only 2006 or will any 2006 and later year fit?]

Thanks for any & all insight you can provide!  

The general rule is that all 4 tires should be identical - same size, same make, same model, and same state of wear.  The further you are away from that, the more likely there is to be problems.  The kind of problems we are talking about are handling issues.  Unless the front and the rear are the same, the car could spin out - very bad.  Unfortunately, this usually happens in emergency situations, just when you'd want the vehickle to behave predictably - and it is largely undetectable beforehand.

What you are proposing is about as different in tires as is possible.  This is NOT a good idea.  I would suggest you just bite the bullet.  

[SIGH] ... thanks. I have the bullet ready. Just not sure if I'm going to bite it or put it thru my head for wanting these dumb-a** tires in the first place!  

I'm in the same mess as you I have to change rims. Don't I have to buy 18" rims with the same sidewall height to get the correct MPH and odommeter reading?