I've decided to replace my run flats with conventional tires and need to get a spare. (2008 GS460).
Talked to dealer bu they want to $355 for both. Any ideas on aftermarket or where to find a used one?
All ideas appreciated.

I thought the 2007 and 2008 GS's came with spares regardless whether or not the car came with runflats.
Did you check the trunk, under the mat and tray?

Unfortunately compact spares are not cheap. The 2006 did not come with a spare if the car was outfitted with runflats from the factory.
I dumped them in favor of conventional tires and like you wanted the peace of mind of having a spare tire. So I equiped the trunk with a spare.

The wheel cost me $102.35 (online from Park Place Lexus)
The clamp to secure it in the trunk was $10.96 (online from Park Place Lexus)
The compact tire, mounting and balancing was $147.19 (from my local tire shop)
My total was $260.50


A last resort would be to check with local salvage yards to see if they have any 2008 GS's or a compact spare in your size.

steviej

thanks for your post....definitely no spare in there!
I've called a couple of salvage yards....and will call some more.
At least I know I can save a few bucks at Park Place if I have to go the dealer route.
thanks again --

Minor correction - I believe the 2006 AWD had runflats and a spare (at least mine did). It's my understanding that for 06 the RWD version came with standard tires and runflat w/o a spare was an option. However the AWD version came with runflat and a spare.

And yes, I also agree that the runflats on these cars are complete junk...

here we go again.

In the 2006 models, if the car was equiped from the factory with conventional tires then it also came with a comact spare tire.
IF the car came with runflat tires, then no compact spare was installed. This is also noted in the owners manual on pages 472 to 476.

My 2006 AWD came with Dunlop runflats and a big piece of styrofoam where the spare would be.

I believe in 2007 or 2008 Lexus started outfitting all GS's with compact spares regardless of the OEM tires to help promote sales because customers wanted the piece of mind know it was there. This has been covered by many threads here and on CL.

steviej

My apologies for bringing up again a topic that has already been beaten to death. I did find some previous discussion on this while searching, but it didn't seem conclusive. I guess I didn't search well enough...

Regardless, not sure how my 2006 GS300 AWD that came from the factory with the Dunlop SP Sport 5000M DSST run flats AND a spare tire in the trunk (NOT a styrofoam place holder) is explained? Either I just got really lucky, or at some point in the model year they did start putting spares in the AWDs with the run flats...

Hey all i jsut replaced my tires with the michelin pilots like everyone advised n is very happy its like riding on a cloud! Now for that spare being there my mechanic which is also my neighbor said "u dont gotta spare" he told me that i needed to purchase some convertor kit n find a spare... So jsut for sh!ts n giggles i looked under the mat in my trunk n low n behold theres a spare in there its a tan colored rim in there hope that helps i dont know how i lucked out but i did....

I feel foolish. I bought a compact spare tire from the salvage yard. When I went to load it in the spare tire compartment I found I already had a compact spare in there. Oops. Now I have a compact spare (wheel and tire) that I need to unload.

I have a 2006 GS 300 AWD, but the tire came off of an 2006 IS 350. Tire size: T145/70D17 106M. The tire is in my garage in Tulsa, OK. Email me at twhite@citgo.com if you want to discuss.

Tom White and vbolee1, did you guys have run flats on your car originally?