Need to replace my tires on a 2002 SC 430. Thinking about going to non-RFT. Anyone using non-RFTs? If so, happy with your choice of manufacturer and decision to go non-RFT? Manufacturer name? Anyone using less than the "Z" rated tires recommended by Lexus?

Any reply yet? I'm in the same boat with my 2005.

No. Not yet.

I went with Continental Conit's Extreme Contacts and I love them!!! I got them from tire rack and had them installed locally. The difference in ride quality is amazing. I bought a 12V portble compressor, a fix a flat kit and a can of tire repair in case I get a flat. So far so good. The run flats blow!!!!

I replaced mine with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 's. Great improvement in ride. Handles like a normal car, no longer rides stiff and hard.

Hi Guys!
I've got my SC430 since March 2001, so I had time to test some tires, and here is my take on that subject.
Run flat tires were total mismatch for that car, so I changed them as soon as I could. My first set after run flat tires were Kumo. They were actually not bad. Then, I switched to Yokohama AVS ES100. I think they are a very good match for this car, and, since I am a cheapscape, I am happy that they don't cost arm and a leg. You must keep in mind though that I live in Southern California, and winter conditions as you know them are not the factor. I think that Sumitomo HTR Z2 may also be a good choice, but I haven't tried them yet. They are so inexpensive that it scares me. Since you are thinking about changing tires, you may want to change the cumber of the rear wheels. The original setting is too much of a negative angle for a cruiser because that is what the SC430 really is. No, I am not complaining, I am just realistic. I actually love my car. I also bought a 12V portable compressor, a fix a flat kit, and a can of tire repair in case I get a flat. I have had this car for almost six years now and I didn't get even one flat tire yet. I guess I must be lucky. In addition, I bought an extra set of wheels on ebay, and I keep one of those wheels with a tire on it in my garage. Enjoy your car.

Is there anything that has to be done with the tire pressure sensors?

Just don't break them when they change the tires!!! Run Flats are a bit*h to get off the rims and you can sometimes break the sensors. $120 to replace one. BTW, they are battery powered and will eventually need to be replaced anyway. When that time comes for me I plan on disconnecting the system. I refuse to spend $500 on something just to essxentially replace the battery.

Had an 05 with rft and loved the car but hated the ride and noise. Live in Oregon with very noisy roads. My friend's 05 Malibu was much quieter. Also didnt like the way the wheels followed the groves in the road requiring 2 handed steering. The rft transmitted provided a jarring ride at times. In my opinion the car just wasnt designed for rft. I bought 4 17 x 7 1/2 wheels from a GS 300 and installed Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 225/50/17 tires. It is a different car, now quieter than the Malibu, I feel like now I am driving a Lexus. I can drive it with one hand now and the ride is very smooth. Transferring the pressure monitors was very easy. Also the wheels look fabulous, I think they were made for this car. I know that nobody goes to smaller wheels and I was worried that they would look smaller. They dont noticeably and the look is better than I ever imagined. Well anyway now I love the car and the way it drives, rides and looks.

One question about the the rear camber being too much of a negative camber for a cruiser. What is too much? My rear camber is .8 left and l.2 right. I had even wear in the back but the fronts wore quite a bit in the inside. I had the camber in the front changed from left .5 to .2 left and .6 to .3 to hopefully correct the inside tire wear. I think the narrower tires may help in the tire wear, time will tell.

Am also looking forward to seeing how the new tires affect gas mileage, I am expecting a 10% improvement based on past experience with a Porsche 914. I was getting 28 mpg on the road at speeds over 70 and 30 on secondary roads around 55 mph.

Years ago owned a SC 400 and except for the motor and the looks it wasnt a car for me so it took a lot of faith to get SC 430 but I am glad I did. I cant think of any other car like it. I dont want to keep it forever but unless there is something better I might be keeping it a while.

quote name='Marty Witt' date='Dec 25 2006, 11:22 AM' post='220219']
I went with Continental Conit's Extreme Contacts and I love them!!! I got them from tire rack and had them installed locally. The difference in ride quality is amazing. I bought a 12V portble compressor, a fix a flat kit and a can of tire repair in case I get a flat. So far so good. The run flats blow!!!!
[/quote]


You also bought new Rims? When you change the tires and rims to standard Tires
do you get a warning light about tires on the dash?

You also bought new Rims? When you change the tires and rims to standard Tires
do you get a warning light about tires on the dash?

I have 3 sets of rims; 2 factory and 1 after market. As long as you put the tire sensors inside the new wheels, you won't get the tire pressure warning light. They fit in almost all wheels that fit the SC.

Would you like to sell 1 set of the Rims?

You also bought new Rims? When you change the tires and rims to standard Tires
do you get a warning light about tires on the dash?

I have 3 sets of rims; 2 factory and 1 after market. As long as you put the tire sensors inside the new wheels, you won't get the tire pressure warning light. They fit in almost all wheels that fit the SC.
[/quote]

I just put on Continental Conti extreme contact. So far "What a difference"
the azz

I replaced my runflat tires about a 1000 miles ago... WOW, what a difference... I picked the General Exclaim UHP tires... these are summer tires (I live in Las Vegas) that I can enjoy year round . They have a very advanced tread design. My other choice if I felt I needed an All-Season tire would be the all-season Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position UHP. I did plenty of reseach. The Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com) offers a lot of insight and info about tires. Now lets get serious, a spare tire is not needed. Real men do not change flat tires. We micro manage using cell phones and flatbed tow trucks. Do you really want to attempt changing a flat on your SC430 with the Fisher-Price Jack provided by Lexus?

Just replaced the runflats on my 06 SC430 with 7000 miles on them. Used Michlin Sport AS. Unbelievable difference. Rode like a truck before. Followed every groove in the highway. I questioned why I bought the car because of the ride. It a new ballgame now. Just love it....Have order Conti's small aircompressor and tire repair liquid for an emergency.

Was it necessary to replace the wheels when you changed over to the Michilins? Also, any trouble with the tire pressure indicators? I also have an 06 SC 430...would love to improve the ride.

I am also looking to replace RFTs on a 2005 but would offer a caution to those who are getting the small compressor and Fix-A-Flat type products for non RFTs. These products have warnings that they can block or clog tire pressure sensors. At $130 for the sensor it might be a better choice to call for a tow. Here is a link to Fix a Flat ad with the caution.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp...;id=prod1401901

..Doyle

I have a 2007 SC430 and changed from Bridgestone Blizzak run flats (installed last winter) to Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position tires four weeks ago: I am absolutely delighted with the change. The car now feels like a luxury sports car and I don't have to apologize when going over a bump in the road or hitting the edge of a pothole. The new tires also handle extremely well on the expressway. You'll probably do well with several other top brand tire names, however the Bridestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position tires are top rated by consumers at the Tire Rack online site. Bottom line, there is a definite and noticeable improvement in moving from run flats to aerated tires.

As background, I switched from the original manufacturer run flats to the Bridestone Blizzak run flats this past winter. I waited until the Spring to order the Potenza RE960 AS Pole Positions from Online Tires.com and then had my local Lexus dealer install them. I had them mounted on new rims so I could quickly and easily switch tires next winter. The dealers charged extra for installation of the air pressure sensors.

Re the spare tire question, I did not get a spare tire (Lexus wanted a fortune to convert over to their non run flat kit) and instead purchased a bottle of Slime and a portable air compressor and placed that in the bottom half slot designed for the spare tire.

..

I have the Sumitomo's and they were very in-expensive! I love the feel from them much better than RF's...time will tell if they are worth 125.00 a piece! i had them on my C5 Corvette and loved them!
Good Luck!

..

Purchased a 2003 SC430 last Sept 11, 2007. My main reasons for purchasing this particular car were that as part of the Certified Pre-Owned Program, the car had received new brakes, tires, and most likely new wheels. The mileage on the paperwork is listed at 44,242.

On or about December 27, 2007 I had my local dealership, Herrin-Gear Lexus perform an oil change and tire rotation. After this service was performed, the tire noise was extremely loud with an accompanying road-to-tire vibration. The mileage on the car at this time was approximately 47,500. This is less than 4,000 miles since I took delivery of the vehicle.

Trusting that the dealership did the right rotation, and considering the expense of the car and quality of the tires, I drove the car until April 25, at which time I had the Herrin-Gear Service department examine the tires. Mileage on the car at this time was 50,790. As you can see, I have driven the car only 6548 miles since September, and less than 3500 miles since the tire rotation performed in December. The dealership reported to me that all four tires were cupped. The most significant cupping is on the inside of the rear tires. They did not offer any explanation as to what could have caused the problem. It seems to me that the cupping of the tires is a symptom of a more serious problem.at the very least, I purchased a car that had a pre-existing mechanical problem that caused this tire wear.
Why is this tire wear appearing after relatively low driving miles? Were wheel bearings/spindles examined as part of the Pre-Owned Certification inspection?
If unnatural tire wear is the result of a mechanical problem, who is responsible for this uneven tire wear? So far, neither the dealership, Lexus of Jacksonville FL nor my local dealership Herrin Gear of Jackson MS will make the tires good.

The used car sales mgr at Jacksonville Lexus stated today you can only get 15,000 miles from RFT but at this rate I'm getting 1/3 of that!

..

I have an '06 SC430 and am interested in switching to non-run flat tires, but I am concerned about the lack of a spare. Is the designated tire area in the so-called trunk designed to be large enough for a regular-sized tire w/wheel?

Hi, did you have to replace the entire wheels when you made the change?

If I install Michelin Sports as suggested, are there special requirements for a run flat mini-spare that would work with the other 3 tires.

Paul

did you ever get a reply to this? I am looking to do the same thing

I exchanged my runflats for non-runflats two months ago. It was a simple tire change. The wheels continue to be used and the tire pressure indicators work just fine.

There are some runflat systems that use special rims, but this is not one of them.

The ride is 200% better (maybe 220%) . The car now drives like a luxury/sport car not a conistoga wagon.

When I originally test drove the car I was ready to eliminate it as a possible purchase option because of the harsh ride. Then I checked the forums and took a drive in one that had non-runflat tires. That made all the difference in the world.

I also went with the Conti extreme contact and couldn't believe the difference. Great tire.
the azz

I replaced my run flats, with BF Goodrich Z rated conventional steel belted. Very big improvement in ride, noise and handling. When i was negotiating for the purchase of the car i got the dealer to include a compact spare. He didn't supply the whole kit, just the spare. I understand you can buy a proper spare from any Acura dealer. They have one model that comes with a compact spare in the trunk. It fits perfectly on the SC430 and costs considerably less.

I also put on the PS2's but I have a little more "roadnoise" than I would like. A slight thumping sound at 20mph, then it seems to go away or maybe the thump is now at a much higher rpm and seems to go away. I'm not so sure I don't have a bad tire.

I went through this whole process of considering replacement of the runflat tires. Finally decided a year ago on the Michelin Pilot A/S tires. Had Discount Tire replace them as they were knowledgeable about the Lexus model. Have enjoyed driving without the jarring bumps. An amazing difference vs. runflats. Works perfectly on same rims, easy changeover. And well worth the money.