Other Hondas on the Global Light Truck architecture don’t go wrong terribly often, so Pilot and Odyssey take-offs can be a touch scarce. So, what’s an Odyssey owner to do when they need tires but don’t want the cost or headache associated with the Michelin PAX system? Change wheels, of course, and one manufacturer seems to have the goods to fix the Odyssey’s tire headache. Other cars available with these strange run-flat tires include the third-generation Nissan Quest minivan, the Acura RL luxury sedan, the Rolls-Royce Phantom monument to posh mustard, and the Bugatti Veyron surface-to-surface missile. The third-generation Honda Odyssey wasn’t the only vehicle to use the Michelin PAX system, but applications in North America weren’t exactly common. Lawsuits filed against the companies alleged they failed to disclose that “neither they nor any third parties maintained sufficient repair or replacement facilities” to meet consumers’ needs for the tires, that the costs of repairing and replacing the tires is unreasonable and the tires are “defective and susceptible to premature wear.” I’ll let tire and polymer news website Rubber News spell it all out. Owners alleged rapid tire wear beyond what would normally be expected from a fairly heavy minivan, along with the aforementioned difficulty sourcing replacements. Oh, and there was one other small issue with the Odyssey Touring’s Michelin PAX system tires, one that ended up with Odyssey Touring owners suing Honda and Michelin. Even in Honda’s online equipment catalog, the Coates PAX tire changer that most dealerships used has been discontinued. Want to get your hands on PAX equipment? Good luck. As such, owners of vehicles that use the PAX system can’t just pop down to their corner garage for a cheap mount and balance, they have to go to a specialized facility. Because they’re so bizarre compared to a traditional wheel and tire arrangement, they can’t be mounted using typical tire equipment. Then there’s the matter of actually getting PAX system tires. In an attempt to not repeat the failure of the TRX tires of the ‘80s, Michelin licensed the PAX system to Goodyear, Pirelli, Toyo, and Sumitomo, who then didn’t release any PAX tires because they realized the system was completely insane. The 710 is the tire diameter in millimeters, the 460 is the wheel diameter in millimeters, and the A designates the PAX system. Odyssey Touring models rolled on 245-710R460A tires which is an absolute mouthful if I’m being honest. What could possibly go wrong?įor starters, the PAX system used metric tire sizing. Better ride quality, run-flat capability, and the ability to patch small punctures. The tires would then go over the whole thing, using special beads to keep the tires in place should pressure be lost. Instead of reinforcing the tire sidewall like everyone else, Michelin designed a special polymer ring that would fit in a channel designed into bespoke wheels. If you’ve ever had to deal with metric TRX tires, a special Michelin tire system should be ringing alarm bells in your head, and rightfully so. While Michelin wasn’t able to solve the unsprung weight issue, the French tire maker thought it could solve ride comfort with something called the PAX system. By contrast, a Continental ExtremeContact Sport in the same size clocks in at just 21 pounds, typical for a non-runflat 225/45R17. For instance, OE fitment on my 2006 BMW 325i was a 225/45R17 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A II RFT clocking in at 27 pounds. All that sidewall reinforcement compromised flexibility over bumps while contributing to unsprung weight. Photo credit: Continental AGĮven today, run-flat tires compromise ride quality and handling for flat tire protection, but the typical run-flat tires of the 2000s were particularly awful to drive on. Honda wanted to offer owners of the new range-topping Odyssey Touring model a little extra safety and convenience, and presumably thought that the best way to do so would be to ditch the spare tire altogether and tap Michelin for the hotness of the mid-2000s: a set of run-flat tires. So Honda stowed that seat under the floor, carved out a spare tire compartment in the cargo area wall, and all was well, right? Well, not quite. Many minivans were moving towards offering seating for eight, so Honda offered a removable second-row center seat that it needed to stow somewhere in the vehicle for the sake of convenience. While the second-generation Odyssey packed its spare tire under the floor with access through the cabin, the third-generation Odyssey did things a bit differently.
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