cgwhites

I think I can shed some light on this old post for those looking for similar guidance. I am not a Lexus owner, but a fan of Lexus, and actually purchased my 2001 Millenia S new after a long look at a '98 GS300. The two cars are comparable in ride and comfort and performance. I had this exact tire dilemma on tires. I was a faithful Michelin man and first went with the MXV4s because I wanted the best possible tire for my perfect ride. I was replacing the factory Dunlop SP-5000s which were good, quiet, nice handling tires, but they wore out too quickly (went through 2 sets in about 40k miles). Any who, I had the Michelins installed based on the reviews. I was disappointed when the ride was noticeably more harsh (rigid) and NOISIER than the Dunlops, with marginal performance in improvement. I was very unhappy that my car lost its form yet glassy ride. With a good tire, the Millenia is dead quiet. Well, that led me to search for a tire that was quiet, good handling, AND had a good mileage warranty. I had the shop replace the Michelins with the Yokohama V4s. What a difference! Tire was noticeably quieter, and equal in handling. On top of that, it has a long wearout warranty (something like 65k miles) I have had them on the car for a couple of years now and still have most of the tread. After this experience, I started to question my longtime Michelin alliance. My 88 Mazda 323 has always had Michelins on it, and it has always been a noisy car. I put cheap tires on it once, and the ride was much quieter, but the handling was so bad, I returned them for the Michelins. But now am considering trying Yokohamas on it as well. Moral: Michelin is not always the best tire, and you really should consider trying the Yokos.