Writeup: Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow 255/55/18 Tires On My Rx400h

[NeoN]

Alright well time for my input on this subject... It all started about 2 weeks ago when i was driving to work in the pouring rain and almost crashed after hydroplaning on the stock Michilens.. in my opinion they are complete garbage in the snow/rain and drive more like $50 Firestone tires. I swapped mine out for Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow tires this weekend, and I couldn't be happier. These things are amazing! Ten times better feel than stock tires. Much more feedback on the road and the steering isn't as vague now. Much stiffer ride than stock, the lexus actually drives like an SUV now, not a Cadillac anymore. I could actually take the stock Michilens and bend them all the way in half which is absolutely unacceptable for a tire. They do weigh a ton less than the Pirellis but im much more concerned about my safety than getting .5 mpg better. By the way, I went with 255/55/18 (only $151 a piece from tire rack). The dry grip is amazing, I can actually corner now without worry about my RX tipping over. Drove them in the rain this morning and was extremely pleased so say the least, 80mph, no problem in pouring rain, wasn't afraid to take a corner at 15 mph over the speed limit either in the pouring rain. These tires instilled actual CONFIDENCE in me!!! who would have ever thought you would feel that way cornering in your RX?? I was always worried about rolling the RX. I give these tires a 9.0 / 10, check out the tire rack ratings (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Scorpion+Ice+%26+Snow&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=555HR8SCORISXLV2&fromCompare1=yes&place=53)

Edit: The Defining moment came last night when it was pouring buckets of rain, near hurricane like conditions, everyone is driving 45 in the slow/middle lanes and then comes Brett flying by them at 70 in the fast lane in complete control, high beaming people to get the F out of my way....On a side note, I hate people that refuse to move over from the fast lane, its a PASSING LANE for Christs sake!! If I want to drive faster than you desire with a higher chance of hydroplaning i'm more than willing to take that risk (not with the Michilens however). Just some background knowledge, I'm used to hauling !Removed! at like 80 in these situations in my old ML500 with giant 275/55/17 All-Terrain Michilens, so it was an absolute shock to me when I couldn't even safely pull 55 in my RX when my Supra would have no problem pulling 70 in a torrential downpour (love my Bridgestone Potenza SO-3's). So basically I ended up having to weave in and out of traffic in this torrential downpour at 65 lol I would have been scared to death on the Michilens but I had no problem on the Pirellis, took the exit ramp at 10 mph over the speed limit, no loss of grip whatsoever. Took 90 degree turns in my neighborhood at 25-30, still no loss of traction, I couldn't even get VSC to come on.. I was shocked at how capable these tires were, two big thumbs up from me!

-Brett

[RX400h]

It's good that you picked tires that improved handling. I feel the same way about my Bridgestone Alenzas - excellent traction, dry and wet, and at $600 a set, certainly one of the best bangs for the buck out there!

Highly recommended!

[Jim Clark]

Thanks for the info. I had Pirelli Scorpion A/T's on my Jeep Grand Cherokee for a number of years. They were quite good. They were replaced by Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's (highest rated at TireRack at that time). They are currently rated #4 but have a whopping 57 million miles of experience in the ratings.

[NeoN]

I just added in more feedback... take a look up top.

More writeups to come next week when I get my 20" wheels/tires on my RX

[mrc88dal]

I "second" RX400h's comments on the Alenza's. They're awesome in the rain, greatly improve handling, and are quiet.

[NeoN]

I "second" RX400h's comments on the Alenza's. They're awesome in the rain, greatly improve handling, and are quiet.

this leaves me wondering... why weren't these equipped from the factory? or at least an option for them?!!!

[Gryphon]

Neon, it's all about the cheapest bid (and guaranteed availability second.)

Tom

[RX400h]

Sorry, Neon,

Thanks for the pics, but you cannot include rude gestures and abbreviated curse words in your posts. There's no need to that here.

Thanks,

Dave

[mindmachine]

NEON's question?

"this leaves me wondering... why weren't these equipped from the factory? or at least an option for them?!!!"

Well that would have been a good winter tire option for Lexus to offer but I notice Lexus never offers a winter tire for any of its vehicles on their web site.

I have a Porsche Cayenne S and I considered these for a dedicated winter tire on my Porsche, they are like you say an incredible tire, many Porsche Cayenne owners use them.

I think therefore one reason Lexus did not offer them is they are a ICE and SNOW tire, my guess is most 400h owners would not want a tire that is designed to be a dedicated ICE/SNOW tire for all seasons. As a tire designed to be a winter tire they have tread compounds that will wear out much faster when driven in summer high heat environments.

Anyone wanting to use a more aggressive winter ICE/Snow design like the Perelli should also consider two other excellent dedicated winter ICE/Snow designs. One the Dunlop WT M2 Grandtrek is an excellent ICE/Snow design and the other is the Bridgestone Blizzak LM25 4x4, both are excellent designs like the Perilli. Also like the Perilli though they have softer tread compounds for better low temperature grip and they will will wear faster if driven a lot in high heat summer driving conditions. Excellent tires all though if you want to use the in mud, ice and snow conditions and don't mind the higher wear rate in hot climatic conditions. I have used both the Dunlop and Bridgestones I mentioned above, the Dunlops on my Porsche Cayenne S

and the Bridgestone Blizzak LM 25 4x4 on my 07 Acura MDX, however I remove them in the summer. On the Acura for example I use the Bridgestone Alenzas 255x55x18 and it performs beautifully, so much so I am questioning even need the Blizzak LM25 4x4's next winter.

On my 400h I opted like several others on here for the Bridgestone Alenzas, I had the dealer remove the factory tires before I took delivery even. The Alenzas come in both the original OEM recommended 235x55x18 and the 255x55x18 that some of the others opted to up size too. I personally went with the 235x55x18 and I found that the performance enhancement that they claim to get from the larger size is also available in the Alenza 235x55x18. I think its not just the tire size that porvides the improved handling, it also in large part due to the design change when you ditch the OEM tires. you see both the Michelin and Goodyear OEM fitments are really not truck tires, they are more a car tire design and I think Lexus wanted to give the softer ride and thats why they used them.

Enjoy your Perelli's they are and excellent tire, and while some people might think we are nuts for leaving them on all year I strongly considered doing just that with my Dunlop WT M2 Grandtrek's. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted a set of 19" wheels for my Porsche for the summer with 275x45x19 that came with Perelli summer tires.

Attached are pictures of my Porsche Cayenne S with the Dunlop Grantrek WT M2 on 18" rims and my Summer Perelli P Zero's on 19" rims.

Dennis

[mrc88dal]

Excellent post Dennis! I'm a "tire guy" and would never want to use snow tires for spirited summer driving for the reasons mentioned above. The Alenzas are excellent in rain, quiet, and offer vastly superior handling than my OEM Michelins. As much as I love my dedicated snow tires(Blizzaks), I can hardly wait to get them off of the RX in April and put the Alenzas on!!