toneman

Dunno how these folks could "forget" about swapping the sensors back to the original wheels when they sell their car w/ the original wheels/tires; I mean, unless they were planning to mount their aftermarket wheels (w/ the original sensors still installed in them) onto another Lexus that offers the same TPM system, or sell them to someone who has a Lexus w/ TPM...those sensors won't do them hardly any good. If I were to offer a guess, I'd say that these folks were either too lazy and/or too cheap to pay a tire shop to swap the sensors from the aftermarket wheels back to the original wheels.

Methinks many folks upgrade to a bigger wheel (w/ appropriate bigger tire) so as to achieve the "big-wheel" (AKA "baller") look, along w/ being able to choose a more aesthetically-pleasing (to them) wheel. Personally, I find the 17" original wheel/tire combo on the ES 350 a bit "small" in appearance; 19" would definitely give it a striking appearance...yes, the ride will suffer but that's a trade-off more than a few folks would be willing to accept. 18" wheels would be a fair compromise between big-wheel looks and ride...

toneman

Man, if you wanted to make your ES a bit sportier...you should have just bought an IS (w/ the optional 18" wheels) instead...

twister

No way, forget about IS. Its too small especially for a baby seat in the back (and who knows, maybe for two sometimes in a future ) Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the ride of this car, no complains here from excessive luxury I'm just used to a better road grip and sportier suspension with my previous Altima SE. I kind of decided right now that no alteration of suspention going to be done, and the only change could be with wheels/tires. If I'm going to invest $2k for a set of four, its not going to be done just for looks but also for performance improvement. Thinking out loud, 19" or 20" (if I find such a low profile tires for 20") will ruin the ride quality completely. Which leaves me with 18", and the improvement in there is a wider tire which can add to the road noise, but ultimately improve the road grip and handling at turns. I'm not planning to race this car, just an everyday cornering through jug-handles (a typical NJ way of left turn from the right lane to go around to intersection), or just going around the ramp on/off expressway. The car feels too soft on these turns. Also, benefit of wider tires in wet and snow weather is a plus.

Also, interesting to learn about that sensor inside. So, its attached to the wheel, not the tire. How does the info from the sensor gets transmitted, since I assume there is no wires running inside? If its a wireless sensor/transmitter, wouldn't it require a battery replacement?

dreyfus

These sensors are expensive - $122 each from the local Lexus dealer.

They are a part of the valve stem on the ES350.

tnfan

I stand corrected. The owners manual says when replacing tires, make sure to replace the tire pressure warning valve & transmitter grommets. It had been several weeks since I read the manual and I was trying to recall this from memory. At my age that can be dangerous!

This is a link to a TireRack article about TPM's:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=44

toneman

Wireless; yes, it would eventually die...whether the sensor is serviceable (i.e., replace battery) is a different story. In any case, I reckon the sensor should be able to transmit a long time before dying since: a) it's not transmitting a ton of data that would require relatively more power to transmit than if it were transmitting a miniscule amount of data; b) doesn't have far to transmit data to the receiver--thus, amount of power required for transmitting at such a distance is negligible at best; and c) (and I'm just guessing here) it's probably not transmitting continuously, thus conserving power even more.

ng123ray

1. people actually read the manuals??... O_o.....
2. in my opinion.. wider tires would help with traction... which i believe would quiet that massive tire squeal you get from hard turns...
3. set of sprigns would just ruin your nice smooth ride
4. if you want major performance upgrade i suggest LSD ( limited slip differential) which would help on hard turns and would cancel out that massive under steer that you always get from a Front wheel drive
5. as far as going "Baller" status on the ES350.... dont... if you wanted that you shoulda gotten a cadillac or something....