zachdave

My 2014 ES350 has only 24000 miles but the front tires are cupped so I will be replacing all 4 tires and getting an alignment. I don't like to Bridgestone Turanzas because they ride a bit rough. I am looking at replacing them with Continental PureContact Eco Plus. The tire dealer suggested that I go with Continental TrueContact instead because they ride smoother. However, I see that they are T rated not V rated, and the TireRack doesn't recognize them as a valid replacement tire for the ES350. I would appreciate any comments regarding a replacement tire that rides smoother. I have always used Michelin MXV4 on my Toyota Avalon and they are very smooth riding. Input is appreciated!

bc6152

I haven't replaced my tires yet, but there's a thread on this forum where numerous members have. The tire that most recommend is the Pirelli P7 Plus. According to reports from members it rides smoothly and has low road noise. Look up the thread and read the various posts and decide for yourself. It is available at Tire Rack. When I'm ready this is what I'll buy.

Good Luck!

Yibo829

Get the pirelli cinturato p7 all season plus

Freds430

Pirelli P7 or Michelin Premier A/S are the top two.

Poppa

Zachdave.... I had this same question at the end of last year when the turanza's ( which I hated ) were wearing down at around 30K miles... In the past I have always used Michelin's and loved them, but this time I took a chance on a set of Pirelli's. I did so based on all the positive reviews I saw on tirerack and other tire outlets. They are the Pirelli P7 Centurato all season PLUS.... and I love them. Nice and quiet and smooth ride. But either way, Pirelli or Michelin, you can't go wrong, either tire will give you a nice quiet and smooth ride. I read somewhere that Michelin's had a slightly "softer" ride than most other brands because of softer sidewalls. LIke I said, either way you'll be happy... Just go with the one with the best price.

GES

Few months back I replaced the Turanza tires with the Michelin Premier A/S and here is what I noticed. With the Michelin (like others mentioned) you get smoother quieter ride but also better handling and better grip on the road. The only thing I didn't like about the Michelin is a drop in my fuel economy, not much, like 2-3 mpg difference from what I was getting with the Turanza. Maybe that is why Lexus is using the Turannza, they have lower rolling resistence and thus gets you closer to the advertised mpg.

BradTank

I would go with Michelins. I would also find ones with a mileage warranty, at least in my experience, shops have been good about prorating that on a new set.

Usually better fuel economy means a harder tire with a rougher ride, I know on hybrids they often times have really poor ride because they use tires like that to have maximum rolling efficiency. So an "eco" type tire that emphasizes that is probably not going to be the direction you want to go if ride comfort is your priority.

On the whole "T" and "V" rating, that's a lot of legal, CYA type stuff that some tire shops are sticklers for but in my opinion either is perfectly safe for this car.

A "V" rating means the maximum speed is 149mph, a "T" rating is 118mph. Obviously you're not going to be going anywhere near these speeds, but some tire shops are afraid they might get sued if they sell a tire that is "less" than the rated performance the OEM came with and some sort of failure occurs. It's the litigious society we live in. Some ultra performance tires have Z ratings with 186mph maximum.

Maikerusan

I really don't understand how the tires can be unusable after only 24,000 miles. I have a 22015 with similar miles and just had maintenance done on it at Lexus dealer. You know how anxious they are to have you spend money, but all they said about the tires was slightly cupped on the front (which they claim is normal for front drive cars) and rotated them as required. I looked at them and see no issues at all...but these are Michelins, not Turanzas.

Are the Turanzas really that bad?

Poppa

I think so... Turanza's came on my 07 Avalon and on my 2013 ES..... hated them.. rough ride... fortunately neither set made it past 30K miles which made it easy for me to justify getting rid of them. Went with Michelins on the Avalon and Perilli's on the ES.... a little off course here but my 2010 4 runner came with bridgestone tires on them and I hated them also... friend of mine manages a tire store here in town and he recommended Yokohama Geolanders... They've only been on the vehicle less that a year but I'm here to tell you that is one of the best riding tires I have ever owned... smooth as glass.. yes I know it's not a low profile tire, but neither was that Bridgestone crap that came oem on the 4 runner.. When I got ready to change out the turanza's on my ES, my friend at the tire store tried to get me to go with the yokohama avid ascend... he swore I'd get just as good a ride as I would with the Perilli's or michelilns... and save at least 200 bucks to boot... Maybe I should have listened to him but I'm happy with the Perilli's... Maybe next time.

Poppa

Fillykonk

Both the Pirellis and Michelins would be good choices. Don't know enough about the Yokohama's to comment. However, a year ago or so we needed new tires for my wife's Odyssey and bypassed the Michelin OEM-equivalent's to go with Goodyear Comfort-treads. I have been very pleased with the ride quality, the increased tread-depth and the less-expensive price. They might also deserve a look.

lesz

I had a set of the Goodyear Comfortred Touring tires on a previously-owned ES. They were every bit as good with regard to noise, ride quality, etc. as any of the Michelin MXV4, MXM4, or other Michelin tires I've had. Because the Goodyears start with 12/32 of an inch of tread, compared to 9/32 on the Michelins, they wore very well. I got over 60,000 miles out of them, and there was still a fair amount of tread left on them when I traded the car in. Further, the nice bonus was that a set of 4 was between $200 and $300 less expensive than the Michelin alternatives.

For some reason, the Goodyears don't get much love on the boards here, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

Zipit555

I'm one more in the "you can't go wrong with either the Pirelli or Michelin" tires camp. Lesz....interestingly, I also had the Goodyear Comfortred Touring on my Camry, which I traded in on my ES, and was very pleased with them. I had about 6/32 of tread left after 30K miles. A friend of mine was braggin on the tires he had on his '11 ES350 about how much better (quiet and smooth) they were compared to his old tires. He didn't know what they were because his tire shop recommended them....... so we looked and sure enough they were the Pirelli Cinturatos.

bc6152

Les, are these the Goodyear Assurance Comforttreds?

lesz

Yes, they are.

Zipit555

Just be careful in your nomenclature....there are two different tires. The Goodyear Assurance Comfortred and the Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring.