Purchasing Tires Next Week!

[merlin2375]

Well, the bridgestone duellers on our 2003 Rx300 are finally cooked and it's time for a new set. I am planning to stay stock size at 225x70R16 unless anyone has any reccomendations :)

I think I've read all of the old threads especially this one:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=15783 but it's a few years old!

Buying tires is a nightmare as always but my criteria are:

Smooth ride and low road noise, good wear and life, good traction in dry, snow, sleet, and ice (being in the Northeast, we get everything). Obviously I'm willing to sacrifice where I have to. Vote above and leave a note!

The poll are the top 5 rated tires from TireRack! Any help is appreciated! :)

[rx-fanatic]

I'm replacing my 18" tires next month with the Bridgestone Dueler Alenza's after a bunch of research I did a while ago... Looks like a great tire for a decent price! (Mind you I'm a bit more limited in my choices with 235/55/18)...

BTW, I heard Bridgestone is having a promotion in June and is offering a $100 rebate on a set of 4 tires... You might wanna wait for this if you can... :)

Good luck!

[RX in NC]

The Alenzas are a great SUV tire (I have them on my wife's 2004 RX330 AWD with the stupid 18-inch wheels that really limit your tire choices and drive the tire prices sky high), but if she had normal 16-inch wheels like she did on her old 2000 RX300 AWD, I would have put a set of Firestone Destination LE tires on her RX330 when we bought it back in January. They are based on the much-more costly Alenzas, come with a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty, and she had over 53,000 miles on her Destination LE tires before I sold her RX300 back in January and those tires were still going strong. They will cost you half of what a set of the Alenzas will, but they come very close to being almost as good. TireRack sells a lot of Destination LE tires - call and ask about them. Best SUV tire for the money in my opinion. They really excel in wet weather and provide great traction in the snow as well. My wife never hydroplaned or had a snowstorm stop her during the two-plus years she had those Destinations on her RX300. By the way, I found that they did best at about 36 psi on her 225/70/R16 stock RX300 wheels. Sure wish I could get them in 235/55/R18 - would have bought them for her RX330 instead of the Alenzas....

[merlin2375]

thanks for the replies guys! Keep 'em coming! rx-fanatic, any idea when the details will be released on the Bridgestone promo?? :)

[rx-fanatic]

thanks for the replies guys! Keep 'em coming! rx-fanatic, any idea when the details will be released on the Bridgestone promo?? :)

I was told by a Bridgestone retailer that the promo would be advertised on television commercials running this month. I haven't seen any myself, but he said it would be effective in June so I'm just going to call him up in June... :)

[tmastres]

I've got about 27k miles on A set of Dayton Timberline HT's. These are great tires at a really great price. CR rated them 3rd out of about 20 they tested in (05 when I bought them) and they were only $75 a piece installed at Tire Pro's. I've had them in light snow and rain and they work well and seem to be holding up very well.

Also, they dont look too "chunky" on the RX as some AT tires tend too look and even better they not ridiculously loud, like many suv (truck) tires tend to be.

For me dry traction was most important (since its dry 95% of the time here) but these had good wet performance as well (in the tests). I didnt pay too much attention to ice or snow traction review ratings (which were average/just above average), but these seemed to do fine the couple times I had them in those conditions.

If you do a lot of highway driving the noise factor will be more important then you might imagine, it was for me and the Timberlines we're "reasonably" quiet. Not like true car tires but definitely not like truck tires.

[LexKid630]

What's the difference between the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza 225/70/16 and the bridgestones that come standard on the rx300?

[RX in NC]

Night and day. The OEM Bridgestone Duelers are lousy tires with poor wet traction and you're fortunate to get 40,000 miles out of them even with the best of tire care. Very few owners whose RX was shipped from the factory with these tires would buy them again. The Alenzas have a superior tread compound and design that delivers great wet traction, good snow traction, and much longer treadlife. They carry a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty. Compare them yourself at tirerack.com or bridgestonetire.com. The Alenzas are pricey, though.

For 16-inch rims, I always recommend that you take a close look at the Firestone Destination LE tire. Much of that tire is based on Alenza technology, it is almost as good, and it costs about half of what a set of Alenzas do (at least it did the last time I purchased a set in November 2005). It carries a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty. If you have 18-inch rims, you're out of luck because Firestone doesn't build the Destination LE in 18-inch sizes yet. Hopefully they will in the future. Again, check out the Destination LE on tirerack.com. I believe that it is the best all-around SUV tire for the money right now....

[lenore]

The Michelin Cross/Terrains are the last ones I bought, great tire (little pricey) but I have over 50k on them and looks like they will go another 50k....

[wwest]

Shortly after purchasing my '01 AWD RX300 I added 1.5" wheel spacers all around so I could upgrade to RH 17X8" wheels and safely use tire chains on the rear FIRST in the event of need. I also went with Michelin Cross terrains (+1") but soon switched to Bridgestone Turanza "summer" tires for the additional ride comfort but more especially the QUIETNESS they provided. Now at 65,000 miles the Turanzas will soon need to be replaced after ~50,000 miles of use.

I find that summer tires give me more than adequate traction year 'round except for an icy or packed snow road wherein specialty tires, all-season, mud & snow, etc, would provide little or even NO additional traction capability anyway. The additional "siping", tread blocks, of these specialty tires provide no additional traction unless there is something to "sink" down into.

So, when I encounter a roadbed situation wherein the Turanzas do not provide adequate traction the rear tire chains are my first resort and then additionally the fronts if conditions warrant.

So I would recommend the "summer" Bridgestone Turanzas, wheel spacers at the rear (to overcome the tire chain restriction due to too tight tire/suspension clearance) a good set, maybe two, of quick-n-easy install tire chains for those rare times of need.

What I would like to see is a comparitive test of ordinary summer tires and ANY wintertime specialty tire on an icy or packed snow surface. Instead all we get to see is the additional performance of these specialty ties on RARELY encountered "loose" surface roadbed conditions wherein an expereinced and reasonably cautious driver would do just perfectly fine with the Turanzas. So, yes, there specialty tires are worth the extra cost if you have roadbed conditions that warrant their continuous use.

But then I also like skiing best in the early morning on freshly fallen untracked powder snow......

[LexKid630]

Thanks guys!

These are going to be for my daughter's rx300 (just started driving this year) so i want the best tires i can get for her safety and comfort. I'll spend the little extra if i know they'll be better in wet and snowy conditions. I went to 3 different tire places and got 3 different suggestions! They all agree the Alenza's are a great tire though. One comment they're all telling me is that the stock dueler's are CRAP! Just like you guys said <_<

I checked tirerack.com and WOW. They score every tire in a few different categories, and the Alenza's scores are so much better than the rest:

bridgestone dueler Alenza: 8.7 8.8 - 8.7 9.1 8.7 - 8.2 7.8 7.4 - 8.6 8.5 8.8 :)

stock bridgestone duelers: 5.4 5.8 - 6.2 7.2 6.4 - 4.9 4.5 4.1 - 6.8 6.1 4.7

The first 2 are for wet, next 3 for dry, next 3 for winter, last 3 for comfort.

No other tire comes close to the Alenza for both snow and comfort. The Alenza seems to be the best with both according to these scores.

the firestone destination LE: 8.4 8.6 - 8.2 8.9 8.3 - 7.9 7.5 7.2 - 8.4 8.2 8.1

Town Fair Tire offers a plan where i can have the tires changed any time before 30 days after i have them installed, if i don't like them. I really can't go wrong.

Many have suggested the Mich CT's, but the guys at the store told me they're louder than the alenza's and about the same in the snow. I checked the scores on tirerack, and they're actually higher in ride comfort and sound, yet lower in the snow...

I don't know if it's the catchy name, but the Alenza's seem to be rubbing me the right way... anyone think i'd be making a mistake trying them out for 30 days?

Town Fair Tire will match any price as well. Online they're $122 on tirerack, and they're offering them for $169 at town fair. They said they match what the cost would be after shipping & mounting etc.. Bottom line, they'd give me the Alenza's for $145 a tire, with free front align... I would opt to have the rear align. done as well. total would be aprx $742 with tax.

[SeaDuck79]

My wife LOVES the Bridgestones. They grip the road well, are quiet, and have good wet traction as well. It's the best choice for the 18" rim.

[RX in NC]

LexKid has the stock 16-inch rims. The Alenzas are indeed great, I have them on my wife's 18-inch rims, but the best bang for the buck on a 16-inch rim is the Firestone Destination LE. It is an "almost Alenza" for about half the cost. Had a set on my wife's former 2000 RX300 and currently have a set on my daughter's 2000 Grand Cherokee. The next time my 1999 Ram needs tires, it will get a set of Destinations as well. Best SUV/truck tire for the money on the market now....

[LexKid630]

Well i had them put the Alenza's on the rx300; they're absolutely AMAZING! At least compared to the old bridgestones that were on there... They were so smooth and quiet on the way home! i'll give them a week or two and see what i think...

Thanks guys! Anyone have any other suggestions besides the LE's? Just in case these don't work for me in the next few weeks... And i don't think the chains will be an option; i know i wont be putting them on

[RX in NC]

You won't be turning those Alenzas back in. You won't find a better all-around tire for your vehicle than that. Make certain you rotate them at every oil & filter change to preserve the 65,000-mile treadwear warranty.

One recommendation on tire pressure - run them at 34 to 35 psi, minimum. Your gas mileage will increase and your treadwear will improve. If your daughter can stand an even firmer ride, gas mileage actually peaks at around 37 to 38 psi, but that was a little too firm for my wife so I backed them down to 35 psi and she's fine....

[LexKid630]

You won't be turning those Alenzas back in. You won't find a better all-around tire for your vehicle than that. Make certain you rotate them at every oil & filter change to preserve the 65,000-mile treadwear warranty.

One recommendation on tire pressure - run them at 34 to 35 psi, minimum. Your gas mileage will increase and your treadwear will improve. If your daughter can stand an even firmer ride, gas mileage actually peaks at around 37 to 38 psi, but that was a little too firm for my wife so I backed them down to 35 psi and she's fine....

Hey thanks! I just checked the pressure.. FL @ 32, FR @38, RL @ 32, RR @32.... Sounds like they did a great job when they put my tires on... I just filled all 4 to 35.

When i hit ~75mph the car seems to vibrate though (not so much the steering wheel). Also, when accelerating from a stop, the wheel will quickly pull to one side. I tried it a few times, and seemed to go both right and left. I had the allignment done so i'm confused... I need to have my rotors replaced b/c i get bad shaking when i slow down quickly from high speeds; could this cause these symptoms too? thanks!

[NewportLori]

Has anyone ever tried the Kumho Solus KH16 tires? I checked out www.tiretrack.com for the "most popular sellers" for my 1999 RX 300 and these came up in the top 5.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...inSpeedRating=S

They are very highly rated especially for the price of $63.00 each, with their only lower ratings being for deep snow and ice traction (issues I don't deal with in So Cal). I 've been using the OEM Goodyear Integrity tires which have been fine for handling and quiet, comfortable ride but have disappointing tread wear (I'm on my third set with only 77K miles).

I still have about 50% tread on my current tires but was thinking about new tires to go with my new transmission and wheel alignment. I can't find these locally so would order them from Tire Track. Therefore, another question I have is whether tire shops charge more to intstall tires ordered online.

[Redmond RX]

Also need 18" tires for our RX330. Down to Yokohama YK520 and BS Dueler H/L Alenza, we think. The American Tire store (same as Discount Tire stores) says the YK520 is a better tire. Both are highly rated by purchasers. This forum also seems to have high marks for the Alenza. The Alenza comes in a VR and HR rated tire, I am only interested in the VR rated tire. We value tire attributes probably in this order: quietness, cost, snow traction, water traction, mileage, and dry traction. Also in there is straight-line stability as the OEM Michelin MXV4 tend to drift depending on the road surface. Even AT store says the Michelin is the inferior tire. Ihave seen little mention of real life experiences with the YK520s.

Is there anyone who can speak for each tire, preferably both, from personal experience?

[Redmond RX]

The Alenza tires are on "National Back-Order" this is per American Tire Stores (Discount Tires in other states) and I confirmed this with Bridgestone corp. So I guess it is the Yokohama YK520 for us, they made a better deal ($700/set of 4, everything included) since they couldn't get the Bridgestones. We'll up-date later.

[suraj]

I've ordered Kumho Solus KR21 for my rx300 through discount tires.

the review on those are very good at tirerack.com and has 85000 tread warranty.

$400 with installation and taxes.

lets see how it performs.

If anyone strongly think it is a bad tire, let me know, I may go for other brand but these are $78/tire.

thanks

[wgwollet]

:chairshot: You hit the nail on the haed, I too bought Kumho, you will love these and mine cost only $305 for the 4 tires including tax.

[suraj]

:chairshot: You hit the nail on the haed, I too bought Kumho, you will love these and mine cost only $305 for the 4 tires including tax.

Thank you wgwollet,

I feel better now :)

[carlexes330]

Well, the bridgestone duellers on our 2003 Rx300 are finally cooked and it's time for a new set. I am planning to stay stock size at 225x70R16 unless anyone has any reccomendations :)

I think I've read all of the old threads especially this one:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=15783 but it's a few years old!

Buying tires is a nightmare as always but my criteria are:

Smooth ride and low road noise, good wear and life, good traction in dry, snow, sleet, and ice (being in the Northeast, we get everything). Obviously I'm willing to sacrifice where I have to. Vote above and leave a note!

The poll are the top 5 rated tires from TireRack! Any help is appreciated! :)

if you can get the Yokohama AVID v4s they are great 60,000 mile warranty and Discount tires will match Tire Rack dot com with shipping price. I got a full set of 4 and am well happy with them . Check prices with TireRack first