Best Tires For 91 Ls400

[AlmightyLexus97]

When I bought it, it had Bridgestone Turanzas on it, so are these good tires and should I buy more of the same brand or get some other kind?

[Cygnus]

Previous owner of my 91 LS400 had 225/65/15 Pirelli's when I bought it. They were worn and I just put on 205/65/15 Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (V Rated). I like the ride much better.

Great deal at Costco right now, $80 off a set, so I paid about $120 ea.

[90LS400Lexus]

Previous owner of my 91 LS400 had 225/65/15 Pirelli's when I bought it.  They were worn and I just put on 205/65/15 Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (V Rated).  I like the ride much better.

Great deal at Costco right now, $80 off a set, so I paid about $120 ea.

Another question- Is there anyone here that bought a 1990 thru 1992 LS400 brand new, that recalls what brand of tires the car originally came with? Perhaps someone that did not even buy one new will know this? Perhaps it is listed in a factory sales brochure? Sometimes in sales brochures they mention this. I have one, but I have misplaced it at this time. My car now has BFGoodrich and I am not really happy with them. They have about 6000 miles on them and it seems like at low steady speeds (5-15MPH) it has a slight side to side wobble, as if they have a broken belt. I e-mailed BFGoodrich, but no reply . Also, how many miles should they be rotated? Thanks.

[monarch]

Factory original tires on the '90-'92 LS400 were Goodyear Eagle GA's These are still available cheaply priced at tirerack.com. These tires were a special joint venture between Goodyear and the Lexus engineers. These tires combine good handling with a smooth, quiet ride.

Recently Goodyear came out with the ultimate tire for owners seeking the smoothest, quietest ride possible: Goodyear Assurrance Comfortred tires - only about $80 a tire at tirerack.com.

[Lexusfreak]

In the 205 65 15 size I would go with either The Toyo Proxes TPT in either H or V speed rating depending on what your car needs. (you can check them out at either www.toyo.com or www.tiretrends.com as they do not sell them on tirerack) or also a new tire from Yokohama called te H4 S (H rated of course). They both have a long tread life & excellent traction & temperature ratings. I personally have the Toyo's in the V speed rating & love them! B) I had the Yoko's on my "short list" but my 01 ES 300 requires a V speed rated tire (yokohama also makes a V4 S) but I could not get my exact size. I would stay away from the Michelin as they are not as good as the Toyo or Yoko in the bad rain or snowy conditions. Let us know what you decided. You can check out some more info on the Toyo tires in either the Tire & wheel forum or the ES forum. Good luck!

[1UZ-FE]

i am very happy with my bridgestone turanzas. the spare in my car is probably the oem tire that came on my car and its a michelin something or other. i had a giant bult go through my left rear tire sideways that has ruined my tire and can not be patched. i put the spare (michelin) tire as a permanent and the damaged bridgestone as a spare. the michelin seems to be evenly matched to the bridgestones.

[93LSOwner]

I have these on mine: www.sears.com/Goodyear Eagle T/R - P225/60R16

Goodyear Eagle T/R - P225/60R16

Are the Goodyear Eagle GA's the original tires that came with the 93-94's also??

[90LS400Lexus]

Factory original tires on the '90-'92 LS400 were Goodyear Eagle GA's These are still available cheaply priced at tirerack.com. These tires were a special joint venture between Goodyear and the Lexus engineers. These tires combine good handling with a smooth, quiet ride.

Recently Goodyear came out with the ultimate tire for owners seeking the smoothest, quietest ride possible: Goodyear Assurrance Comfortred tires - only about $80 a tire at tirerack.com.

Thanks Monarch.... How often (miles) should tires be rotated? I used to know, but I forgot. Thanks.

[Lexusfreak]

I'd put either the Toyo's or Yoko's on my short list. The Goodyear Eagle GA's are garbage.......just look at the results on tirerack.

[SW03ES]

The Michelin is definately a good tire, they're just overpriced. They're not a fantastic tire, read around at some reviews. I'm VERY happy with my Toyo TPTs, I'm glad I listened to Lexusfreak.

[99lsguy]

Thanks Monarch.... How often (miles) should tires be rotated? I used to know, but I forgot. Thanks.

Every 5k ............

[90LS400Lexus]

Thanks 99. They are due to a rotation then on my car.....

[Lexusfreak]

Thanks SW B) I am going to put a set of the TPT's on my wife's 2003 Ford Focus ZX5 within the next month as well....I can't wait to get her lousy & extremely dangerous Firestone Firehawk GTA-02's off her car. Now my entire household (5 cars) will all have Toyo tires! :D

[CanadaCraig]

Hi AlmightyLexus97!! :)

It's important to realize that the 'Turanza' name has been used on several Bridgestone tires. The one's I put on my '93 LS are the Turanza LS-V. I'm quite happy with them. Perhaps the original Goodyear GA's or a set of Michelin MXV4's would be a BIT quieter - maybe - but overall I'm satisfied. The Turanza's are very good in the rain and seem to be wearing quite well.

Do you know what type of Turanza's your car has on?!

Craig!! :)

[ebridges]

Two LS400's, I changed from Michlein's to Toyo TPTs for the weather handling qualities.

My wife hates hydro planing ( I think its kind of exciting)

Unable to get them (the Toyo's balanced. Been to 3 different shops. The first, tried 4 different times and the weights flew off my chrome wheels. Now I finally got the weights to stay on, but at 80 mph, big vibrations... still.

Discussing this with several long time tire balancing friends, they ALL agreed, that the Michleins use far less weights for balancing.

There you go

Ebridges

96 LS 190,000 bought new and still using Michleins

91 LS 92,000 with new Toyo's bumping down the road with TPTs

[1UZ-FE]

i actually misread the lettering my turanzas many times and thought their speed rating was "V" (149 mph). i have taken my car up to 145 mph thinking that i was "safe" because my tires could handle that kind of speed :whistles: . i realized a few nights ago that i might be mistaken so i checked again: turanza LS-T!!! the "T" speed rating is rated at 118 mph :o !! right?? i am 99% sure that the LS-T is a "T" rated tire hence "LS-T". if such is true, im the biggest mental giant who ever lived!! really tho, i can't believe "T" rated tires held together at 145 mph and didn't just disintegrate from so much rotational force!

anyway, i am still really really happy with my tires even tho the model i have limits the fun i can have on a stretch of deserted highway

[SRK]

Speed ratings denote the ability of the tire to maintain safe carcass temperatures while at full rated load at the specified speed continuously. Running a car up to a speed higher than the rating of the tire for a brief period of time, and at less than full load is not dangerous. I put S rated mud and snow BF Goodrich tires on a Cobra replica I built a few years back. I ran that thing to 130 MPH quite regularly, and I am here to tell the tale. I just didn't have the tires at full load or stay at that speed for more than a few moments.

When muscle cars were new there was no such thing as a speed rating, or anything but a bias ply tire, and lots of them went triple digits without suddenly blowing up.

[Lexusfreak]

I usually go by what the automaker recommends for the car. However, having said that, there is no problem so going "up" a speed rating. If a car is an "H" speed rated tire & you move up to a "V" speed rated it's fine (might have a slightly more firm ride due to the sidewalls being more reinforced), but it's NOT a wise idea to go from a "V" rated to an "H" rated if your car calls for "V". Chances are you won't do any damage or put yourself in harms way as theoretically, maxium speeds are 75 MPH so you have lot's of room to go.....it's just not a wise idea. The Bridgestone Turanza's are a decent tire but too expensive in my opinion, I mean the Bridgestone Potenza RE 92's (which come as original equipment on many vehicles) are absolutly aweful in anything but dry conditions & ride VERY harshly & quite honestly very unsafe!....but are also expensive, the high price of a tire does not necessarily mean it's a good tire in the long run. Even if I were buying a brand new car & they had ANY Bridgestone tires on them.....the dealer would be replacing them with a tire of my choice before delivery for the exact same price, if not I'll go to a dealer who will & I would find one. Just my 2 cents as of how strongly I feel against Bridgestone & Firestone as well. Have a look at the rating of the Firestone Firehawk GTA-02 tires on tirerack.....205 50 16 size, you will see what I mean (and that's just ONE example!). :chairshot:

Ebridge, I had my Toyo's put on at the Lexus dealer I purchased the car from & they installed, balanced & did a 4 wheel alignment as per factory specs. Small weights put on each rim (behind the spokes as opposed to on the lip of the alloy rim) and have been up to speeds of 100 MPH.....no vibrations or anything. One can't necessarily blame the tire being at fault, as it could be a number of other factors from improper installation, alignment, balancing, damaged rim and the like. I have recommended these tires for more than 15 people so far (and will continue recommending it) & will be getting a set on my wife's car as well.........I haven't heard one complaint yet from anybody when installed properly. :) Perhaps adjustments are needed in your case.

[1UZ-FE]

yes, i know how speed ratings work. i also know that the turanza LS-T should never have been put on my LS if the "T" in LS-T actually does represent the speed rating. the minimum recommended speed rating for a non winter tire is "H" (131 mph). what kind of tire shop would allow this to happen??

and can someone answer this question with just a simple "yes" or "no":

does the "T" in LS-T represent the speed rating of this model tire? i am 99.99% sure this is true just making absolute sure.

once again: answer "yes" if the "T" DOES represent the rating -or- "no" if it DOES NOT.

i'm not trying to be mean or rude but this is the best way to avoid confusion: get a strait answer.

[Lexusfreak]

Yes! B)

[1UZ-FE]

thank you lexusfreak.

the only other question is: WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT WOULD PUT "T" RATED TIRES ON AN LS????? OMFG DUMB PEOPLE..... im not gonna go there.

sorry, had to vent.

[ebridges]

Ebridge, I had my Toyo's put on at the Lexus dealer I purchased the car from & they installed, balanced & did a 4 wheel alignment as per factory specs. Small weights put on each rim (behind the spokes as opposed to on the lip of the alloy rim) and have been up to speeds of 100 MPH.....no vibrations or anything. One can't necessarily blame the tire being at fault, as it could be a number of other factors from improper installation, alignment, balancing, damaged rim and the like. I have recommended these tires for more than 15 people so far (and will continue recommending it) & will be getting a set on my wife's car as well.........I haven't heard one complaint yet from anybody when installed properly.  Perhaps adjustments are needed in your case

LexusFreak,

Thanks for your input. I am really happy with the Toyo's. Just fustrated with balancing attempts, on the chrome OEM rims. Might have to break down and go to the dealer.

I was trying to take advantage of the "free lifetime balancing" which came with the tires at a local tire dealer. They actually tried 4 times (four different techs) - I watched everything each time. Then went to another tire place supposedly the best in town. They attempt balancing them twice. The second tech there, did manage to get the weights to stay on, but it definitely not a smooth ride, not like my 96 LS400.

The place where I bought the tires, even tried stick on weights, but did not use the dynamic balancing.

Lexus wants $69, and Toyota wants $39. Another very specialist chain wants "$35 per corner" for on car balancing :cries:

[SRK]

the only other question is: WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT WOULD PUT "T" RATED TIRES ON AN LS????? OMFG DUMB PEOPLE..... im not gonna go there.

sorry, had to vent.

So what is "wrong" with a T rated tire on a Lexus? Tires can't read, and neither can cars. If you don't cruise beyond 120 mph it doesn't matter. Lots of lower speed rating tires handle and ride very well, and give good tread life.

There is no particular reason, other than that the car is capable of 150 mph, to use a V or higher speed rating. Around here cruising at 120 will get you jail time. A T rated tire would be fine. I have H's on my 94 Camaro, which came from the fatory with Z's on it. Car rides better, handles just fine, and is perfectly safe. No where does it say I have to stick with Z's because "the car is designed for them" or it is "the law" or "it just isn't right" or whatever.

If I was in tire sales I would be pleased that people seem to think they "must" use a higher speed rating than they will ever need. It sure gets expensive, and that's good for profits.

[1UZ-FE]

i understand all this. i have cruised at 130mph in arizona and didn't think twice about it. i am not an idiot who doesn't have common sense. i know that it isn't "required" or anything like that. i just dont see why you would go out of your way to get a lower speed rated tire. i say that b/c i have looked at tires at dealers around me and anything below H is really hard to find.

[SRK]

i understand all this. i have cruised at 130mph in arizona and didn't think twice about it. i am not an idiot who doesn't have common sense. i know that it isn't "required" or anything like that. i just dont see why you would go out of your way to get a lower speed rated tire. i say that b/c i have looked at tires at dealers around me and anything below H is really hard to find.

That's great. But you still haven't answered why using a lower speed rating is a bad thing to do. From a previous post you seem to think it is a terrible thing to do. I just want to know why.

I can tell you why I won't use a higher rating than I need:

Speed ratings make for a more expensive tire, that rides harder, and wears out more quickly.

Your turn.