All-season Tires For 2000 Rx300 Awd ?

[RX in NC]

I'll be replacing the Bridgestone Duelers on my wife's 2000 RX300 AWD later this year, and I've seen some extremely high praise for the Yokohama Geolander H/T-S G051 on tirerack.com. They appear to be rated the number-one all-around SUV tire on the market right now, but I know they're relatively new (first offered in 2003, I think). But at $77 a tire, they seem to be unbeatable for typical highway and commuter driving if all the good words are true.

Anybody out there been running these tires for awhile, say 10,000 miles or more? Are you happy with the rain performance, mileage wear, and noise factor? I expect these tires to be quite a bit stiffer than the Bridgestones, and that's fine. My wife's a cautious driver, does a lot of highway driving using cruise control, and has made her poorly-rated OEM Bridgestones last almost 40,000 miles thus far with probably another 6,000 to 8,000 miles left on them before I throw them away and go with something better.

These Yokohamas seem like a no-brainer. Comments?

[Mr. Curious]

i have a friend who had those on his tundra. he LOVES them. says theyre the best tire hes ever bought and he keeps trying to push em on me.

[Lexusfreak]

Agreed RX! Those Yoko's are an awesome tire especially for the price!! Excellent all round performance & very highly rated in adverse weather conditions & a smooth quiet ride on the highway! I have 2 friends with SUV's and I have recommended them......nothing but good things I've heard & your choice of blackwall or raised white lettering on the sidewalls. B) That would be my top choice.

[RX in NC]

Thanks guys. I'll probably go with the Yokohamas by year-end 2004.

Many tire dealers consistently place their tires on the best sale of the year in mid-to-late December in order to clear out inventory by January 1st for tax reasons. Any idea if tirerack.com does this as well? If so, their $77 per tire price may drop down to somewhere in the $60s and become an even better deal....

[Lexusfreak]

Very wise choice! & Good luck! B)

[brandondiem]

I came here to ask the same question and found the answer- Geolander it is. It is rare that a product seems so obviously the right choice- you have to question if it is too good to be true.

[Lexusfreak]

The 2 tires I would seriously consider would be the Yoko we have already talked about or the Toyo Open Country M-410. :) Either tire you can't go wrong!

[RX in NC]

Yep, I agree. I'm going to stick with my original decision made a couple of months ago to get the Yokohamas. We've got about 1,500 to 2,000 miles left on the current Bridgestones, and then they'll be replaced (probably before Christmas).

tirerack.com doesn't appear to sell Toyo SUV tires. Let me know if I'm simply missing it on their website. Thanks.

[PharmGuy]

Hey RX,

I happened to be looking at tirerack in a magazine ads and it

appears they don't carry Toyo. I'm not due yet for new tires, but I would

give 2 thumbs up to the Yokohama's. And the price sounds good too. I've

got on Bridgestone's now, but they are noisy. I generally don't drive too

far, but on the interstate-- I can hear the noise.

PharmGuy

[Lexusfreak]

I've e-mailed folks on tirerack to ask them why they don't carry Toyo's......they said in a nutshell that they feel they have enough tire brands to offer their customers but didn't rule out offering them in the future. It's too bad, Toyo is an excellent tire maker & IMO tirerack should start offering them to folks as another choice as it will only help their business........Falken's would be a wise brand also to offer. B)