Hello,

I read good reviews in Consumer Reports on Michelin X Radial tires (sold at Sam's, Costco) and wanted to get the feedback from people who used them.

I know they are S-rated tires vs. V-rated OEM, but this is my wife's car and I doubt that she will drive over 112 miles per hour.

All opinions would be appreciated.

I'd go with the Goodyear Triple Treads over the Michelin X all day & twice on Sundays.

check out www.goodyearassurance.com for more info.

Downside of the Goodyear Tripletreds is higher rolling resistance. That means you lose 1-2 MPG on the highway compared to Michelin X's or Michelin MXV4-Plus tires. And when your are coasting down hills you always have the slight sensation that the parking brake is stuck on due to the high rolling resistance. The oddball tread design of the Tripletred also probably will result in the tires getting noisy as the miles pile up.

A low priced, sleeper Goodyear tire that offers the smooth, comfy, quiet ride and low rolling resistance of the Michelin X is the Goodyear Viva 2, available only at Walmart stores. The Viva 2 also stays quiet for the life of the tire. However, like the Michelin X and MXV4-Plus, the high speed cornering capability and wet traction of the Viva 2 is mediocre.

There really is no such thing as a tire that combines a smooth, comfy, quiet ride and low rolling resistance with good high speed cornering capability and wet traction and a quiet ride for the life of the tire. The Goodyear Comfortred had aspirations along those lines, but it turns out it suffers from a jittery low speed ride, vibrations at high speed and relatively high rolling resistance.

Personally I'll take a 1-2 MPG hit for much better traction in bad weather conditions.....that's a small price to pay for an aggressive tread pattern. Haven't heard of any significant complaints about road noise & so far, I have 15 friends, co-workers & family members that have them on all sorts of vehicles & soon to be my wife with her new Subaru Forester & myself on my 01 ES.

There is still no such thing as 'the perfect tire' so one will have to compromise in one area in order for it to benefit in another.

The GY Comfortread is a notch below the Triple Tread in every bad weather category....but your right, it will ride smoother. Don't foget, the Triple Tread is Goodyears 'Flagship' premium all season tire. Never heard of the Viva 2's you mention.....I'm sure there is a reason why they are only offered at Walmart :whistles: Wouldn't even be on my top 30 places to go for tires.

For what it's worth, Tirerack no longer carries the Michelin X Radial. They have the X-Ice for passenger cars & LT applications, but no longer sell the all season X radial.......not 100% sure they ever did.

We all know the Triple Treds make you all "tingly" LF, but why state they have such a distinct difference in traction from the X radials when we KNOW the consumer reports test data shows that the TripleTred only edges out the X radial in wet traction?

I'd take that slight reduction in wet traction for a quieter ride and lower rolling resistance any day. Especially with all the sophisticated traction technology on this car, I bet you'd never notice the difference. I don't know that I would put them on a Lexus because of the S speed rating, but a normal car sure.

Just had MXV4s put on the Prius and had to order them from Costco, shame I didnt know about the X radials (I figured they were junk) or I would have bought them.

As for knocking Walmart? Why? The ONLY place I have EVER had people install my tires properly the first time, without over airing them, without scraping my rims, or without damaging the car, and without having to take them back to get them re-balanced was Costco. I was tempted to be elitest about it and shrug Costco off, but now they'll be the first place I go.

Don't discount an older tire that doesn't have all the "whiz bang" marketing like the TripleTred. Remember, the TripleTred JUST EDGED OUT the X Radial for first place, and the X radial is an OLD tire availiable only at Costco now. Pretty embarassing for Goodyear.

Like I said SW, I haven't seen a copy of the CR tests to comment in detail (if anyone has a copy of this most recent test, please feel free to post it). Wet traction aside, in which the GY did 'edge' out the Michelin as you put it......my concerns are tailored more towards winter traction & how well the tires did on snow & ice......do you have those results? As for the TT's making me all "tingly" SW, well no........try just flat out hot & bothered.

The Michelin X is only available in an S & T speed rated anyways (as you mentioned)....& don't even come in my size at any speed rating for the 01 ES - 205 60 16......the 215 60 16 can only be had in a maximum S speed, so I can't even get them for my wife's new Forester, let alone for the Lexus. That makes the point of the Michelin X moot then anyways.

I'd be willing to bet that the Michelin is more expensive M.S.R.P. wise right off the bat to boot for a lesser speed rated tire...2 scathing trademarks Michelin is known for in this case, never mind embarrassing.

I have never had a problem with the tire shops I deal with when installing a new set of tires on any of my cars........none of the 5 - 6 Walmart stores near me have any alignment machines, so that means another trip to another shop in order to get this done. I prefer to have everything done at one location as my time & gas is worth something imo, that is why Walmart dosent make my top 30 list.

Costco doesn't have alignment machines either, but the places never do the alignment right either. So I just wait until the car is at the dealer for service, have them to an alignment while its there anyways then take it over to Costco.

Works fine and I'm out in 30 minutes.

To each their own......alignments have always been done right at the specific tire shops I deal with & recommend friends, family & co-workers withour any problems or complaints. I've only been to the dealer twice in almost 2 years of owning the car.......prices are very expensive, even for just a regular alignment.

Yep, around here the tire shops do far better jobs at much better prices than the dealerships do. I frequently see coupons from the tire shops in the local newspaper or receive them in the mail as part of advertising inserts. I stash these coupons in my "Vehicle Maintenance Coupons" folder in my desk drawer and save them until needed. We just did a thrust alignment on my daughter's 2000 Grand Cherokee last weekend. A typical non-discounted alignment cost for that vehicle is $60 to $70. Using a coupon I provided, she paid about $42 and the vehicle now tracks like it was new again.

Check your newspapers and junk mail for coupons such as these and you can save yourself a nice chunk of change on routine services that we all need from time to time but we just can't do ourselves. The key is to start a folder where you keep all of these offers together so you can easily find them when you need them.

Maybe I just haven't found the right place but I've used Merchants, NTB, Sears, Just Tires, and other places and have never had them done right the first time on a Lexus anywhere but Costco.

As for the alignment, they charged me $88 which wasn't bad.

Steve,
was the $88 price for just a front end alignement or all 4 wheels?

steviej

All 4

that is what I figured, same price in this neck of the woods.

steviej

Just put the Goodyear Triple Treads on my wife's Forester & had the 4 wheel alignment done (they even gave me a detailed print out of the results)......what a difference over the Michelin's! Mine will be done I think on the 29th of Nov, weather permitting.

Had a closer look as to which Michelin's were taken off the car too.......no word of a lie.....they were the X radials! (I thought they were the MXV4's, until I looked closer) They only had about 30,000 miles on them, & had all proper rotations done (all service records accounted for), there was not much 'good' tread remaining (granted however can be the result of many factors), but at least all 4 were evenly worn so I know the alignment wasen't too bad & the tire pressures were 'reasonably' checked......I was a little suprised at the tread that was remaining considering the high treadwear rating (My Toyo's have a 400 treadwear rating it they have more tread left with about the same mileage......perhaps something to do with the AWD system). Bring on Winter!