Lexusfreak

Just put the Goodyear Triple Treads on my wife's Forester & had the 4 wheel alignment done (they even gave me a detailed print out of the results)......what a difference over the Michelin's! Mine will be done I think on the 29th of Nov, weather permitting. :D Had a closer look as to which Michelin's were taken off the car too.......no word of a lie.....they were the X radials! :whistles: (I thought they were the MXV4's, until I looked closer) They only had about 30,000 miles on them, & had all proper rotations done (all service records accounted for), there was not much 'good' tread remaining (granted however can be the result of many factors), but at least all 4 were evenly worn so I know the alignment wasen't too bad & the tire pressures were 'reasonably' checked......I was a little suprised at the tread that was remaining considering the high treadwear rating (My Toyo's have a 400 treadwear rating it they have more tread left with about the same mileage......perhaps something to do with the AWD system). Bring on Winter! B) :)

Well said Army, I concur with your findings as an excellent choice for an all season tire that performs well in the winter conditions. B)

How did you find the interior room in the new IS compared to your ES? B)

walmart for $36..rx300 '01 ← That's not bad at all. :)

I hope so, as I guarantee my next vehicle will be AWD, whether it's a Lexus or not. B)

To each their own......alignments have always been done right at the specific tire shops I deal with & recommend friends, family & co-workers withour any problems or complaints. I've only been to the dealer twice in almost 2 years of owning the car.......prices are very expensive, even for just a regular alignment.

Welcome! B)

Haven't yet, but a pretty good idea steviej! B) I am going to look info this...& try to narrow the problem down.

Hi everyone, Need a bit of advise & help here. I have a slight apparent 'Hiccup' with my ES. I will try my best to describe it as best I can... After I park my car (which has been driven long enough to reach full operating temperature) & I turn the car off......well you know the sound one hears from the cooling system & front end of the car when you walk by.......the faint 'tick, tick, tick' sound.....well between say 15 - 45 seconds I hear a good, loud bang! in between this time.......just one real loud one. It's one of those 'tick's' I mentioned, except it's about 20X as loud. Occasionally I can hear this sound just before I shut the car off after it is in park.....but very rarely......90% of the time it happens when the car is shut off. All guages on the dash are normal. I'm taking the car in next week anyways for my 60,000 mile (96,000km) inspection at the Lexus dealer (and also a complete cooling system flush) & the car is covered under a 'Lexus' extended warranty until the end of January 2006. I'm thinking possibly a heat shield from the Cat converter, or maybe an loose exhaust clamp noise? I don't think it's serious, but it is annoying. I've noticed this now for about a month, but since I've gone back working night shift & the nights are getting colder.......it seems louder than it did a while back. If anyone has any idea's, suggestions or needs more details (although I'm not sure exactly how more specific I can be....) etc, I would appreciate hearing from you. Many thanks in advance. B) This will help me when I deal with the Lexus tech. ;)

With proper maintenance & such, how long can one expect a thermostat to last roughly? They are a fairly in-expensive part......just as a preventitive measure as I am due for a coolant flush at the end of the month. B)

Thought many would find this very informative... Here is a C & D test of 11 of the most popular 'Street tires'. Enjoy! B) http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?se...rticle_id=10252

It's funny you mention you only buy cleaning products from CT......I only buy garbage bags! lmao. B)

Not to my knowledge sea44. B)

SK, How good is a 'Fail Safe' Thermostat? Any details would be appreciated. They are available at CT & Partsource stores...here is some more info: http://www.motoradusa.com/products/failsafethermo/index.html

I concur. B) If the car is under full factory warranty, the dealership, regardless if you purchased the car there originally will bill the automaker directly so it should make no difference. ;)

How many miles on the car & no oil leaks present underneith?

Agreed, in addition to that, I have heard there is going to be a FWD version of the RX Hybrid offered to boot. B) I doubt Lexus will drop all FWD vehicles anytime soon from it's line up, unless they are relplaced with AWD. ;)

Exactly......

Correct.....an H speed rated tire should be just fine. B)

Which means you shouldn't put them on the car. ← Correct & I agree, one speed rating down is fine, but 2 is indeed pushing it.

Like I said SW, I haven't seen a copy of the CR tests to comment in detail (if anyone has a copy of this most recent test, please feel free to post it). Wet traction aside, in which the GY did 'edge' out the Michelin as you put it......my concerns are tailored more towards winter traction & how well the tires did on snow & ice......do you have those results? As for the TT's making me all "tingly" SW, well no........try just flat out hot & bothered. ;):whistles: The Michelin X is only available in an S & T speed rated anyways (as you mentioned)....& don't even come in my size at any speed rating for the 01 ES - 205 60 16......the 215 60 16 can only be had in a maximum S speed, so I can't even get them for my wife's new Forester, let alone for the Lexus. That makes the point of the Michelin X moot then anyways. I'd be willing to bet that the Michelin is more expensive M.S.R.P. wise right off the bat to boot for a lesser speed rated tire...2 scathing trademarks Michelin is known for in this case, never mind embarrassing. I have never had a problem with the tire shops I deal with when installing a new set of tires on any of my cars........none of the 5 - 6 Walmart stores near me have any alignment machines, so that means another trip to another shop in order to get this done. I prefer to have everything done at one location as my time & gas is worth something imo, that is why Walmart dosent make my top 30 list.

You can't go wrong with the Llumar tint......one of the best & it's what I have on my ES. What a difference tint makes on a vehicle huh? B) Glad the Falken's are serving you well. ;) I'm curious how the car will handle this coming winter. :)

I agree with SK.....get the best condition, newest & best maintained ES you can find & afford. Like sk said, mileage is nothing as long as the car was properly maintained & driven. B) Where abouts in Toronto are you greek? :)

What is the tire size you need? Going down only one speed rating (from V to an H as an example) is not a big deal. The ride will be ever so slightly softer.....H speed rating is good for 130 MP/H, vs. V speed rating at 149 MP/H........I doubt very much any of us would reach those speeds on our highways.......not to mention the 'governers' that are built into the cars themselves. My 01 ES is rated a V speed......I too will be moving down 1 speed rating & getting the H rated Triple Treads. B) ;)

Personally I'll take a 1-2 MPG hit for much better traction in bad weather conditions.....that's a small price to pay for an aggressive tread pattern. Haven't heard of any significant complaints about road noise & so far, I have 15 friends, co-workers & family members that have them on all sorts of vehicles & soon to be my wife with her new Subaru Forester & myself on my 01 ES. There is still no such thing as 'the perfect tire' so one will have to compromise in one area in order for it to benefit in another. ;) The GY Comfortread is a notch below the Triple Tread in every bad weather category....but your right, it will ride smoother. Don't foget, the Triple Tread is Goodyears 'Flagship' premium all season tire. Never heard of the Viva 2's you mention.....I'm sure there is a reason why they are only offered at Walmart :whistles: Wouldn't even be on my top 30 places to go for tires. For what it's worth, Tirerack no longer carries the Michelin X Radial. They have the X-Ice for passenger cars & LT applications, but no longer sell the all season X radial.......not 100% sure they ever did. ;)