New Tires!

[ArmyofOne]

But your only gonna need 1!

FALKEN ZIEX ZE-512.

H rated, 195-60-R15. I have logged well over half a million miles in my short driving life. These have to be the smoothest tires i have ever encountered in that distance. No ifs ands or buts, these things are INCREDIBLE. Silent as the dead. The old tires were contributing so much to the harsh ride, only i didnt realize how much until the car stood firmly in its new shoes.

These tires are simply amazing. I forgot they were there. from the inside, i am having trouble figuring out what to do with this newfound lexus silence!. i cant believe how much this cars ride and responsiveness has cleared up, all because of the tires.

The tread is Directional. this means a better dispersement of grip and better displacement of water. It also means decreased noise levels which is good.

The treadwear rating is 420 (60,000 mile gauruntee) and so far, i cant even begin to complain about the handling. its hard to find a fault. i think these tires and this car should have gone hand in hand from the factory.

I cant really complain about the installers, discount tire co. inc. they werent bad, they didnt schratch my wheels which is good, but at the same time, the manager that took my order was not very polite. he wasnt rude at all, but he wasnt smiling LOL. however, they didnt put the reccomended amount fo air in my tires. i liek to keep them at 44 PSI, the max onthe tire is 51PSI. they put 32PSI in.

and now, more pictures. i ill keep you updated as tme goes by. and let you knwo how hey are wearing, wet weather traction etc.

and after a hard afternoon's work, a Texas Sunset.

[ford212.809]

Hey Army,

Please tell me why you prefer to run 44 psi. Doesn't this cause them to wear

prematurely and have less grip? B)

[ArmyofOne]

Hey Army,

Please tell me why you prefer to run 44 psi.  Doesn't this cause them to wear

prematurely and have less grip? B)

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no, in fact, its better for tem. the minumum on these tires is 35 PSI, im down to 32, THATS bad for the tires. as long as you are under the max PSI rating, you are ok in terms of wear. i dont like my tires looking flat, in fact, i think i wil go air them up now.

[SW03ES]

I personally think airing the tires up that high makes the car feel jittery. I prefer to stick to the manufacturers reccomended PSI as it gives the best ride IMGO, on my car thats 29.

Lookin good!

[ford212.809]

Alrighty then...

I am running 35 psi in my 205/65/15's. For this size, what do you recommend? :D

[jweiss]

My tire dealer, Lexus dealer and Toyota dealer all suggest 32 psi for both my Nokea snows and Michelin factory equipment all seasons

[ArmyofOne]

I personally think airing the tires up that high makes the car feel jittery. I prefer to stick to the manufacturers reccomended PSI as it gives the best ride IMGO, on my car thats 29.

Lookin good!

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there si a problem with that though,the manufacturers reccomendation is for the tires that came installed at the factory. they dont even make the ones that came on my car any more... they havent for over a decade...

if you speak of the tire manufacturers PSI rating, not sure of its reccomendation, btu when i took those pix, i was nearly on the wheel! oh and the gauge i used to read intitally read high, they actually only had 22 psi in them...i used my gauge this time instead of my coworkers, i guess his wasnt accurate. the gauge at the gas station on the hose read same as mine....

they now have ~40 in front and ~35 in the rear, just so you all will feel better :) >

Blake 918 airs his tires to 44 PSi, and they are on the same size wheel as mine and they may be the same size tire altogether.

[SW03ES]

A lot of people think that, the fact is tires don't have a "reccomended inflation" it depends on the car, its weight, its handling characteristics etc. The PSI at the factory is independent of the type of tire. The PSI listed on the sidewall is the max PSI for the tire, the pressure at which it cannot be inflated past. The best thing to do is to treat the manufacturer's pressure as a low, and the max as a high and inflate in between according to your preference. Different tires feel different at different pressures, but tires don't have a "reccomended pressure".

As for wheels, blake's wheels are 16s yours are 15s, and his are an inch wider than yours.

[ArmyofOne]

A lot of people think that, the fact is tires don't have a "reccomended inflation" it depends on the car, its weight, its handling characteristics etc. The PSI at the factory is independent of the type of tire. The PSI listed on the sidewall is the max PSI for the tire, the pressure at which it cannot be inflated past. The best thing to do is to treat the manufacturer's pressure as a low, and the max as a high and inflate in between according to your preference. Different tires feel different at different pressures, but tires don't have a "reccomended pressure".

As for wheels, blake's wheels are 16s yours are 15s, and his are an inch wider than yours.

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yeah i wondered if they were 16's. maybe i shoudl drop it to 35 psi? the 40 feels fine. ill let you knwo how they wear.

ill just keep my eys on everything.

[SW03ES]

You're not going to hurt anything at 40, thats just not the PSI the car was designed to ride on.

[blake918]

Those are some sharp looking tires. B) Great pics...especially the last two. I have 225/60/16's w/ H speed ratings. I have had them aired up to 44psi for the past year, and I have not complaints at all as far as the ride is concerned, etc. Good luck with your new tires!

[sonewsy]

Those are some sharp looking tires.  B)  Great pics...especially the last two.  I have 225/60/16's w/ H speed ratings. I have had them aired up to 44psi for the past year, and I have not complaints at all as far as the ride is concerned, etc. Good luck with your new tires!

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Hi guys,

Now I'm confused. My car came with the summer Toyos. Inside the door it reads tires should be 30. I now have the Michelins. They should be 30 as well, right? Or higher?

[Matthew_McNally]

Those are some sharp looking tires.  B)  Great pics...especially the last two.  I have 225/60/16's w/ H speed ratings. I have had them aired up to 44psi for the past year, and I have not complaints at all as far as the ride is concerned, etc. Good luck with your new tires!

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Hi guys,

Now I'm confused. My car came with the summer Toyos. Inside the door it reads tires should be 30. I now have the Michelins. They should be 30 as well, right? Or higher?

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yeah - as long as you have the same size tyres as stock.

thats Lexus recommended tyre pressure

AOO / Blake

don't you find the handling very light and floaty with those sort of tyre pressures?

[Geo]

Please excuse my ignorance but if the doors/manual says 33 why go higher ? I mean my experience with overinflating tires is that the radial bands inside tear faster shortening the life of the tire. Geo

[SW03ES]

Geo- That won't happen unless you go beyond the max pressure on the tire.

[bartkat]

Unless there's something wrong with your pressure guage or you're hauling maximum load all the time, I just can't imagine running those high tire pressures. Just can't see a postive reason for it.

[ArmyofOne]

Unless there's something wrong with your pressure guage or  you're hauling maximum load all the time, I just can't imagine running those high tire pressures. Just can't see a postive reason for it.

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ummm...the fact that my tire looks liek its flat if i dont?:whistles:

come on people, what is so strange about it? i have a Specialized Hard Rock Pro in the garage thats reccomended at 65 psi.

40 isnt that high. the car is tracking fine, it rides great...if i drop the pressure down to >30, the damned tire looks flat.

[bartkat]

Unless there's something wrong with your pressure guage or  you're hauling maximum load all the time, I just can't imagine running those high tire pressures. Just can't see a postive reason for it.

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ummm...the fact that my tire looks liek its flat if i dont?:whistles:

come on people, what is so strange about it? i have a Specialized Hard Rock Pro in the garage thats reccomended at 65 psi.

40 isnt that high. the car is tracking fine, it rides great...if i drop the pressure down to >30, the damned tire looks flat.

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Suit yourself man. I don't know crap about tires.

[SW03ES]

The tires on the front of the ES will look low at the correct pressure because its FWD and most of its weight is in the front. Most FWD cars have different pressure specs for the front and the rear, don't know why the ES doesn't.

[blake918]

AOO / Blake

don't you find the handling very light and floaty with those sort of tyre pressures?

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I don't; I've had the LS up to 120mph a few times, and she was always glued to the ground-never light or floaty...granted it's no GS430 with sports rims and low profile tires. ;) I had her going 100 yesterday, and she felt great(some punk in a 325i thought he was something; I proved him other wise!). Maybe it has something to do with the suspension of the car? The tires have massive sidewalls. The ride and handling is excellent; I've tried them on 35, and it felt like I was riding on hamburger pattys. Plus, I've seen pictures from Michelin where they ran a tire through a watter puddle with 25 or 30psi(I can't remember exactly), and they did it again with 40ish psi, and the tread contact with the 40 was astonishingly better than the lower psi. Also, I find that my car tracks straighter with more pressure, and my fuel economy is also better. My tires have worn beautifully for the past 26k miles, and the car has driven beautifully; I'm very pleased with 44psi in my tires.

[ArmyofOne]

The tires on the front of the ES will look low at the correct pressure because its FWD and most of its weight is in the front. Most FWD cars have different pressure specs for the front and the rear, don't know why the ES doesn't.

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my point is that wth the tire looking low like that, all it would take is a good pothole hit to crack a wheel.

ill stick with 35 all around, for everyones comfort. if i go any lower than that, i cant stand it.

[ford212.809]

NO Army NO!

You have to please yourself. I really want YOU to be happy.

[ArmyofOne]

NO Army NO!

You have to please yourself.  I really want YOU to be happy.    

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well he probably is right to a certian extent. you want the tires contact patch to have as much rubber ont he road as possible.

too much air and the tire looks like this on the road:

*turned sideways where | = the road and ( or ) = the bottom of the tire from the front.

Too much air: )|

too little air (|

so too much air, and the tire wears down the senter too fast, nd too little air and it will wear on the outer sides too fast.

[93lexuses]

Unless there's something wrong with your pressure guage or  you're hauling maximum load all the time, I just can't imagine running those high tire pressures. Just can't see a postive reason for it.

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ummm...the fact that my tire looks liek its flat if i dont?:whistles:

come on people, what is so strange about it? i have a Specialized Hard Rock Pro in the garage thats reccomended at 65 psi.

40 isnt that high. the car is tracking fine, it rides great...if i drop the pressure down to >30, the damned tire looks flat.

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My tires look flat in the front as well. It is funny cause people will say to me looks like you are getting a flat. I just laugh and say no i'm not. You would not believe how many people say that to me.

[SW03ES]

But remember, Lexus chose the pressure that is on the door. They wouldn't choose a pressure that would crack a wheel. I've driven mine on 29 PSI for 45k miles in DC where the potholes will swallow you up and no cracked or bent wheels. My dad drove his 98 LS for 160k on 29 PSI, no problems, not sure what the spec on his LS430 is, probably 30 or 31 since they're 17s.

If anything you're more likely to have problems at a higher pressure with poitholes because the tire can't absorb as much shock.

Anyways at 29 the tires aren't low enough for anything to have contact with the wheel rim, they just LOOK a little low in the front, they aren't actually low.