Tires For Rx300

[hillhaus]

I just bought a set of Toyo Proxes S/T size 255/55-18 for my 2004 R330. So far they are great in wet and dry conditions. I am sure that I will need chains for snow but that is a rarity for me. The quiet and gentle ride are amazing. Grip on corners is much improved over the Michelin vx4. I paid 677.56 at Les Schwab for tires, spin balance, siping.

[stonecutter]

I just bought a set of Toyo Proxes S/T  size 255/55-18 for my 2004 R330.  So far they are great in wet and dry conditions.  I am sure that I will need chains for snow but that is a rarity for me.  The quiet and gentle ride are amazing.  Grip on corners is much improved over the Michelin vx4.  I paid 677.56 at Les Schwab for tires, spin balance, siping.

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Were they the same size as your OEM tires ? I have 235/55-18 on my 2005, would these fit with no problems ?

[strmrdr23]

anybody know if the oem rx330 rims will fit on the rx300 w/ 255/55/18 tires? or will i hafta go 235/55/18 to clear the back?

I just bought a set of Toyo Proxes S/T  size 255/55-18 for my 2004 R330.  So far they are great in wet and dry conditions.  I am sure that I will need chains for snow but that is a rarity for me.   The quiet and gentle ride are amazing.  Grip on corners is much improved over the Michelin vx4.  I paid 677.56 at Les Schwab for tires, spin balance, siping.

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Were they the same size as your OEM tires ? I have 235/55-18 on my 2005, would these fit with no problems ?

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[jon102034050]

I'm looking for recomendations for new tires for my 2001 RX300. I need tires that will preform well on snow and ice.

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My AWD RX300 came with Bridgestone Dueler, wore out around 40K miles and performed poorly in snow. Don't buy them.

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Lol, mine came with those too, they lasted 34,000 miles!!! they SUCKED

[mawenzi]

Its getting so that the lines are really blurred though. You can certainly put a car tire on the RX, in fact they come with car tires. The Goodyear Integritys are the same tires that come on the Toyota Prius and Corolla for instance and they came standard on the RX. The problem is it can be difficult to find car tires that come in the RX' size. If you want better traction moving to a sedate SUV tire live the LTX, Pilot LTX, CrossTerrain will be easier to find in that size and shouldn't have any real degredation in the ride.

Trust me, I know where you're all coming from. Buying tires for these things is very traumatic, they ride so nice and unlike other good riding cars (Lincolns, Cadillacs) a lot of the ride is dependent on the tires. You can put Sears brand tires on a Lincoln and it'll ride the same, but the same tires make a Lexus ride like a brick.

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Thanks - my mechanic (not a lexus dealer) was recommended the OE tires - asking me if I liked them when they were new (well - I really don't have anything to compare them to - of course I did - I bought the car because I liked the ride!) Anyway - an owner of a tire store was leading me toward the same tires used for OE stating that OE tires are often inferior - they are after market ones sometiimes and that buying them as a replacement many times gives you a bettter product.

Anyway - based on this forum and my research I plan on purchasing Michelin CT's or LTX (if I can get them for a decent price), Yokohama Geolanders or Bridgestone Dueler H/L's(suppossed to be similiar to the Michelins). Cooper also makes an all terrain but I think that may be a little too aggressive.and my mechanic doesn't like Cooper's (he did suggest a Mastercraft though which is made by ccoper) The Michelin's are so darn expensive and I've heard they wear out faster and the sides damage easily and something about aluminum rims and rim leaks......but hands down ...I wish didn't start this research - I'm learning more that I want to!

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I have an RX300 and bought the Michelin Cross Terrain SUVs (P225/70-16) to replace the crappy tires that the factory installed (wore out in less than 20,000 miles). After about 1 year, the sidewalls on the Michelin's were COMPLETELY ruined from just turning the wheels in to the curb when parking on a slope. The treads are fine (but I don't drive a lot of miles). I would not recommend the Michelin Cross Terrains, but don't know the difference between them and the LTXs.

[hillhaus]

Regarding tire size, Costco, America's Tire and Lex Schwab all advised that 255/55-18 tires would fit the 18" wheel on the RX330. I am very happy with the Toyo Proxes tires. they are quieter yet much better cornering and freeway driving. The larger size may cost slightly in mileage but it has not been noticeable.

[GoldenStateSilverSport]

Are you guys anal about the way the tires "look" on your car? I notice many of the Michelin tires have the white lettering on the tire which some may find not too aesthetically pleasing. I have heard some say, just turn the tire around and I have the white lettering face inward. Of course you could always buy the tires with the blackwall w/o the white lettering but not all places sell the variants w/o the white lettering. With that said, is there a wrong way to put on the tire? If i were to flip the tire such that the white letter faces inward, could this impact the traction of the ride? Kinda stupid question, but I thought I'd ask.

I'm interested in purchasing some Michelins as my next tire but notice most of these tires carry the white letter (or am I wrong?)

Thanks!

[tmastres]

I could be wrong here but mos SUV/Truck tires (as well as standard car tire) are unidirectional and if they have white letters on one side they almost always have simpler black lettering ont he other. I just bought a set of Dayton, Timberline HTs for my 00 RX and they had the whitel letter/ black letter on respective sides. Great tires at a really great price. CR rated them 3rd out of about 20 they tested and for only $75 a piece!

[GoldenStateSilverSport]

I could be wrong here but mos SUV/Truck tires (as well as standard car tire) are unidirectional and if they have white letters on one side they almost always have simpler black lettering ont he other. I just bought a set of Dayton, Timberline HTs for my 00 RX and they had the whitel letter/ black letter on respective sides. Great tires at a really great price. CR rated them 3rd out of about 20 they tested and for only $75 a piece!

Unidirectional..meaning they only work in one direction. I was thinking if what you are saying is true about there being one white side and one black side, then it would still be possible to have the black side face out and have the tires spin in the correct direction. Say for instance i put the tire on the front right side and the white letter is facing out, I can take the same tire and move it across to the front left side and have the black wall face out and still have the tire spin in the correct direction.(This would hide the white lettering) Make sense?

[RX in NC]

I've been mounting our various vehicle tires blackwall-side-out for years and years. As long as the tire you've selected is not unidirectional, you're fine. The vast majority of SUV and truck tires can be mounted either way. Regardless of the vehicle, I believe that a tire always looks better blackwall-side-out. The white raised-letter look is just way too NASCARish for me....

[tmastres]

You are both very right. The word I meant to use was omnidirectional althought bi-directional is probably most appropriate. In any caase I fully agree that most tires will run fine mounted either black or white letters out. I do fully agree that aesthetically on newer vehicles it almost always looks best black side out. I think most tires that are uni-directional (one way only) have rotation direction arrows on them and a cursory glance at the tread pattern shows a directional design. Thanks for the correction