Working with winter tires
12-08-23, 01:12 PM
#32
I'd like to operate my car that way also; my ES is new. I've never done that, though, so figuring out how to make it practical is the real challenge. Sure, buying the rims, as suggested above, makes a lot of sense. And it seems like I'm stuck moving everything to a shop myself, since my slopy, traffic-y neighborhood is likely to kill someone changing a wheel on the street.
If you live in a place where you cannot do this seasonal change yourself, or you are just unable to for whatever reason, there are tires shops where you can buy the tires, and pay them to store them for you offseason. I am imagining that if you live in an area where you park on a hilly street instead of a flat driveway or garage, you might not have anywhere to store a stack of 4 wheels and tires either.
My suggestion though, is if you go this route, try to find a second hand set of OEM wheels from a Lexus ES, Toyota Camry or Avalon, in the smallest OEM option size you can. I have 17" wheels from a previous model Lexus on my wifes ES. Her summer wheels are 19". The extra two inches can then be added to the tire sidewall for protection from potholes and curbs for winter driving. Also, the OEM wheels will be drilled to fit the OEM lugnuts, and they will match the OEM centerbore so they won't vibrate. The toyota/lexus lugnuts have a flat mating surface, while most all aftermarket wheels have a tapered mating surface...and you cannot use them interchangeably. So aftermarket wheels would require a second set of lugnuts too.
Be sure to fit your second wheelset with Lexus compatible TPMS sensors too, or your warning lamp will be on all winter long. A good tire shop can make this all easy for you, but they will charge you for the service (swapping and storing)
Last edited by DH1; 12-08-23 at 01:22 PM.
12-09-23, 01:29 PM
#33
Snow belt driver
You probably made you decision by this date. If not. 3 recommendations.
1) Any tire shop worth going to will give you back your old tires in plastic bags. No mess in trunk or back seat.
2) Buying wheels to mount winter tires also comes with the issue of the TPMS air pressure sensors. You got to buy a new set and everytime you change wheels you'll need Lexus to program the to your car.
3) I live near Lake Ontario so no stranger to winter conditions. I personally don't think you need specific tires for winter if you drive responsively. You do need an good specialty tire. Directional or All-season rated for "All Weather". There is a difference. Most "All Season" tires are just 3 season tires. All Weather rated All Seasons are approved for mud and snow. My biggest fear in winter driving is hitting that slush pile between lanes on the highway and losing control. Do your research but I do recommend the Goodyear Assurance All Weather tires. They are Asymmetrical and All Weather. They are fairly quiet, softer ride than most and 60,000 tread life. I also believe they give you a trial period. As soon as my stock Michilins are useless I'll put these on.
1) Any tire shop worth going to will give you back your old tires in plastic bags. No mess in trunk or back seat.
2) Buying wheels to mount winter tires also comes with the issue of the TPMS air pressure sensors. You got to buy a new set and everytime you change wheels you'll need Lexus to program the to your car.
3) I live near Lake Ontario so no stranger to winter conditions. I personally don't think you need specific tires for winter if you drive responsively. You do need an good specialty tire. Directional or All-season rated for "All Weather". There is a difference. Most "All Season" tires are just 3 season tires. All Weather rated All Seasons are approved for mud and snow. My biggest fear in winter driving is hitting that slush pile between lanes on the highway and losing control. Do your research but I do recommend the Goodyear Assurance All Weather tires. They are Asymmetrical and All Weather. They are fairly quiet, softer ride than most and 60,000 tread life. I also believe they give you a trial period. As soon as my stock Michilins are useless I'll put these on.
12-09-23, 01:47 PM
#34
You probably made you decision by this date. If not. 3 recommendations.
2) Buying wheels to mount winter tires also comes with the issue of the TPMS air pressure sensors. You got to buy a new set and everytime you change wheels you'll need Lexus to program the to your car.
.
2) Buying wheels to mount winter tires also comes with the issue of the TPMS air pressure sensors. You got to buy a new set and everytime you change wheels you'll need Lexus to program the to your car.
.
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Denzlex (12-09-23)
12-09-23, 07:38 PM
#35
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
You probably made you decision by this date. If not. 3 recommendations.
1) Any tire shop worth going to will give you back your old tires in plastic bags. No mess in trunk or back seat.
2) Buying wheels to mount winter tires also comes with the issue of the TPMS air pressure sensors. You got to buy a new set and everytime you change wheels you'll need Lexus to program the to your car.
3) I live near Lake Ontario so no stranger to winter conditions. I personally don't think you need specific tires for winter if you drive responsively. You do need an good specialty tire. Directional or All-season rated for "All Weather". There is a difference. Most "All Season" tires are just 3 season tires. All Weather rated All Seasons are approved for mud and snow. My biggest fear in winter driving is hitting that slush pile between lanes on the highway and losing control. Do your research but I do recommend the Goodyear Assurance All Weather tires. They are Asymmetrical and All Weather. They are fairly quiet, softer ride than most and 60,000 tread life. I also believe they give you a trial period. As soon as my stock Michilins are useless I'll put these on.
1) Any tire shop worth going to will give you back your old tires in plastic bags. No mess in trunk or back seat.
2) Buying wheels to mount winter tires also comes with the issue of the TPMS air pressure sensors. You got to buy a new set and everytime you change wheels you'll need Lexus to program the to your car.
3) I live near Lake Ontario so no stranger to winter conditions. I personally don't think you need specific tires for winter if you drive responsively. You do need an good specialty tire. Directional or All-season rated for "All Weather". There is a difference. Most "All Season" tires are just 3 season tires. All Weather rated All Seasons are approved for mud and snow. My biggest fear in winter driving is hitting that slush pile between lanes on the highway and losing control. Do your research but I do recommend the Goodyear Assurance All Weather tires. They are Asymmetrical and All Weather. They are fairly quiet, softer ride than most and 60,000 tread life. I also believe they give you a trial period. As soon as my stock Michilins are useless I'll put these on.
12-11-23, 09:00 AM
#36
I'm in a unique scenario so my way of handling winter tires isn't necessarily recommended.
I have two sets of wheels/tires - one with good all-seasons that are decent in light snow but otherwise, quiet, longer tread life and decent handling (Continental DWS06, Michelin Premier A/S, Vredestein Hitrac, etc.). The other set with dedicated winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzak WS-90's).
I drive rideshare with my ES so I put a lot of miles on it. If snow is in the forecast, I jack the car up and swap the set of wheels with winter tires on. After the snow clears and there's a long forecast for clear skies, I swap the all seasons back on. So on average, the winter tires only get maybe 5k-8k miles per winter resulting in them lasting 3 seasons or so. This way I can have the quieter, better handling, longer lasting all-seasons on most of the time with winter tires (which handle poorly on dry road and wear quicker) only on when there's snow in the forecast. I live in Utah so snow doesn't last long on the roads due to low humidity and they regularly plow and salt. So once the snow stops falling, roads are clear very quickly.
The obvious downside is the inconvenience. However, I take this time to check the suspension, brakes, do an oil change if needed, etc. The other downside is I'll occasionally hit slick roads with the all seasons when the forecast didn't call for snow, but there was a squall or quick storm that came through. This happened just last Friday when they only called for snow in the mountains. Some of it hit the high benches in the Salt Lake Valley. However, as long as I have all seasons that are well rated for snow, this is rarely a major problem. You just have to go slower and be careful.
The one issue I haven't figured out are the TPWS sensors in the winter tires. The wheels I use for my winter tires are from a '14 IS350 which has OEM sensors but despite using the "swap wheels" function in the vehicle settings, the car never seems to recognize them. However, I don't usually have them on for long so having the TPWS light illuminated isn't a deal killer. I haven't made the effort to figure it out yet because it's not a priority. One of these days I'll look into it further. There's a possibility the sensors' batteries are worn out, being 9 years old now. I'm due for new winter tires after this season so maybe I'll have Discount Tire help me with it when I get new ones next year.
I have two sets of wheels/tires - one with good all-seasons that are decent in light snow but otherwise, quiet, longer tread life and decent handling (Continental DWS06, Michelin Premier A/S, Vredestein Hitrac, etc.). The other set with dedicated winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzak WS-90's).
I drive rideshare with my ES so I put a lot of miles on it. If snow is in the forecast, I jack the car up and swap the set of wheels with winter tires on. After the snow clears and there's a long forecast for clear skies, I swap the all seasons back on. So on average, the winter tires only get maybe 5k-8k miles per winter resulting in them lasting 3 seasons or so. This way I can have the quieter, better handling, longer lasting all-seasons on most of the time with winter tires (which handle poorly on dry road and wear quicker) only on when there's snow in the forecast. I live in Utah so snow doesn't last long on the roads due to low humidity and they regularly plow and salt. So once the snow stops falling, roads are clear very quickly.
The obvious downside is the inconvenience. However, I take this time to check the suspension, brakes, do an oil change if needed, etc. The other downside is I'll occasionally hit slick roads with the all seasons when the forecast didn't call for snow, but there was a squall or quick storm that came through. This happened just last Friday when they only called for snow in the mountains. Some of it hit the high benches in the Salt Lake Valley. However, as long as I have all seasons that are well rated for snow, this is rarely a major problem. You just have to go slower and be careful.
The one issue I haven't figured out are the TPWS sensors in the winter tires. The wheels I use for my winter tires are from a '14 IS350 which has OEM sensors but despite using the "swap wheels" function in the vehicle settings, the car never seems to recognize them. However, I don't usually have them on for long so having the TPWS light illuminated isn't a deal killer. I haven't made the effort to figure it out yet because it's not a priority. One of these days I'll look into it further. There's a possibility the sensors' batteries are worn out, being 9 years old now. I'm due for new winter tires after this season so maybe I'll have Discount Tire help me with it when I get new ones next year.
12-11-23, 02:31 PM
#37
Pit Crew
I was having the same battle with mine on my Infiniti. Both sets of wheels are Infiniti wheels and the winter tires (Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4s) are now on the wheels that came with the car. I finally bought a TPMS tool from Autel, the MaxiTPMS TS508 which lets me quickly update the TPMS settings when I swap wheels. It also does a health check on the sensors and tells you the battery life and more. It takes less than 5 minutes to do it. I buy my tires at Costco and even though they say that after swapping the tires myself that they are glad to reset the TPMS, I've found otherwise and some of the people got really irritated when I ask. It also takes up to an hour with driving over, checking and then waiting to get it done. The TPMS tool has been a lifesaver and paid for itself the first year in time saved going back and forth to the tire store.
You might also consider the newer Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires. We live on a steep hill and the Lexus is able to go up steeper slopes on snow and packed snow than it used to with standard all-season tires.
You might also consider the newer Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires. We live on a steep hill and the Lexus is able to go up steeper slopes on snow and packed snow than it used to with standard all-season tires.
12-17-23, 09:05 AM
#38
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
I was having the same battle with mine on my Infiniti. Both sets of wheels are Infiniti wheels and the winter tires (Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4s) are now on the wheels that came with the car. I finally bought a TPMS tool from Autel, the MaxiTPMS TS508 which lets me quickly update the TPMS settings when I swap wheels. It also does a health check on the sensors and tells you the battery life and more. It takes less than 5 minutes to do it. I buy my tires at Costco and even though they say that after swapping the tires myself that they are glad to reset the TPMS, I've found otherwise and some of the people got really irritated when I ask. It also takes up to an hour with driving over, checking and then waiting to get it done. The TPMS tool has been a lifesaver and paid for itself the first year in time saved going back and forth to the tire store.
You might also consider the newer Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires. We live on a steep hill and the Lexus is able to go up steeper slopes on snow and packed snow than it used to with standard all-season tires.
You might also consider the newer Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires. We live on a steep hill and the Lexus is able to go up steeper slopes on snow and packed snow than it used to with standard all-season tires.
12-17-23, 09:43 AM
#39
12-17-23, 10:40 AM
#40
They are aggressive directional tires. They remind me of the Goodyear triple treads. They don't sell them anymore so I put the Goodyear Assurance All Weather tires on my Avalon. I was sceptical because they are A-Symmetrical and could not do as well as a directional tires. I was pleasantly surprised. You should be happy with either choice.
Food for thought: When I say worse MPG. I'm talking 1 to 2 MPG.
Winter tires are noisy, will wear fairly quickly on dry roads and get worse MPG.
From the tread pattern of the Michelins, I would expect them to be noisier, and get worse MPG but all around good grip. Rated 60,000 miles.
The Goodyear Weather Ready tires are relatively quiet. Softer ride. Worse MPG and probably not as good grip in the rain. Rated 60,000 miles.
If you have to traverse a steep hill, I would keep a set of belts or chains in the car. No tire will help on a steep hill in bad winter conditions unless you have studded, belts or chains. Been there done that.
Good comparisons:
12-17-23, 01:49 PM
#41
12-18-23, 02:27 AM
#42
The roads are OK but used to be better. Housing was affordable until the last few years. Taxes are insane. I grew up here and my parents are getting older so I moved back when I had a chance. It used to be a really good place to live 60's, 70's. It's just OK now, in the burbs.
12-18-23, 07:29 AM
#43
Move to Rochester? Well.... Maybe not so much. The roads are OK but used to be better. Housing was affordable until the last few years. Taxes are insane. I grew up here and my parents are getting older so I moved back when I had a chance. It used to be a really good place to live 60's, 70's. It's just OK now, in the burbs.
The roads are OK but used to be better. Housing was affordable until the last few years. Taxes are insane. I grew up here and my parents are getting older so I moved back when I had a chance. It used to be a really good place to live 60's, 70's. It's just OK now, in the burbs.It's the property taxes that seem insane and we have been watching the crazy house prices out that way. MA taxes are nothing to write home about, at least the income tax in NY is progressive and they give retirement accounts a break. I liked the quality of life out that way, less crowds and easy to get around and gormet junk food.
Last edited by hotwings; 12-18-23 at 07:34 AM.
12-18-23, 09:59 AM
#44
Go Bruins
I remember not really needing snow tires when I lived in Rochester in the early 80's and then again in the mid 90's. Never got really big snow storms while I was there. They do a great job treating the roads but the salt is a killer on the cars.
It's the property taxes that seem insane and we have been watching the crazy house prices out that way. MA taxes are nothing to write home about, at least the income tax in NY is progressive and they give retirement accounts a break. I liked the quality of life out that way, less crowds and easy to get around and gormet junk food.
It's the property taxes that seem insane and we have been watching the crazy house prices out that way. MA taxes are nothing to write home about, at least the income tax in NY is progressive and they give retirement accounts a break. I liked the quality of life out that way, less crowds and easy to get around and gormet junk food.
Here is 2 seperate snowfalls.
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