New Wheels And Winter Tires

[M&P]

Does anyone have recommendation/experience of what wheels ( downsize or same size - 18`s now) to buy for my RX 350 (2011) for winter? Bridgstone tires seem to be a good option, ( from reviews)again any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

[YUKON263]

I am looking into winter tires also. I'm going to check out COSTCO tomorrow night. I heard tirerack.com is good, especially for reviews. Not sure about shipping to Canada... I have used Michelins on my Honda van for years, and they work well. My wife runs Goodyear winters on her Mazda, and they are great in the snow, but not as good as the Michelins on ice.

[bawa]

I have used Bridgestone Blizzaks last winter with excellent results. I just mounted them on the stock 19" rims that came with the car. We drove 2 hours one-way each Saturday to go Skiing all of Jan and Feb - the Blizzaks were outstanding - far better the Dunlops I have used for the last 4 winters on my MDX.

[kwbuggy]

Does anyone have recommendation/experience of what wheels ( downsize or same size - 18`s now) to buy for my RX 350 (2011) for winter? Bridgstone tires seem to be a good option, ( from reviews)again any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

You might want to check out your dealer, mine offers wheel and tire packages, including 17" steel wheels from RAV4s with TPS and Michelin X Ice tires for about $1900 installed with all necessary hardware. Pretty good deal and of course covered by warranty unlike wheels you buy from non Lexus sources. The wrong offset on your wheels can destroy the AWD system in less than one winter so be careful if you buy something other than Lexus/Toyota wheels.

[kwbuggy]

Attached is the price list of the winter tire/wheel packages my dealer (Heffner Lexus) offers. I'm sure that most, if not all, Canadian Lexus dealers offer similar packages at competitive prices. These prices include TPS and installation on the car but not tax.

[lazersharp]

Any winter tire is much better in the snow then the best all season tire. I don't understand the guys who complain about all season tires not being good in the snow. I guess let's blame it on the name.

I call 4 season tires a compromise. They are not very good in the summer and no good at all in the winter. For me there is no compromise when it comes to safety. That's why I drive on summer tires in the summer and on Winter tires in the winter. Keep the same size 18" and as far as the brand...they all make very good winter tires.

[ZKo]

So from the attachment, it seems like we CAN use 17" for 2012 RX350. :)

[jaswood]

Here in the Seattle area, eastside, the need for "winter" specialty tires is rare enough that I run my nice and quiet "SUMMER ONLY" Bridgestone Turanza tires all year around. For those rare times of need I always keep at least one set of tire chains on board year around for the rear, and a second set during the wintertime to add to the front if things really get dicy (never have).

I find that the clear majority of the time, even in snow, snowy conditions, my summer tires have just enough extra tread surface contact area vs winter tires that my RX outperforms most vehicles with winter specialty tires. They stuggle, I more forward.