djrobsd

I heard that the tires on the hybrid version have a much harsher ride then the ones on the non-hybrid. I live in Southern California and can feel all the expansion joints in the freeway while driving - pretty rough - much rougher then I expected from a full size luxury Lexus.. But still much better then it was on my little CT200h.

I'm wondering, I know it will affect my fuel economy, but would some better aftermarket tires give a smoother ride, or possibly lowering the tire pressure a little bit?

Mike728

I think you have that backwards. You can get 18's on the 350, but only 17's on the 300h. The 18's are harsher and louder, due to having more road contact. However, the 17's can be from 2 manufactures, Bridgestone and Michelin. The Michelin's are the quieter of the 2. Us with the 18's are stuck with the Bridgestones.

Dave Mac

I understood that most ES300's were outfitted with Michelin tires which I think are agreed to provide the best ride. Many dealers tend to overinflate the tires (may help mileage a little) - you might check yours and reduce it down to the manufacturer's recommended setting. I would prefer a good quiet ride over a marginal difference in gas mileage.

You can almost rely on the dashboard display of tire pressures to check your tires. I check mine on a regular basis with a good guage and find the TPMS readings to be quite accurate.

Dave Mac

Dave Mac

Mike:

You may live in the wrong region or maybe just a timing issue but I believe every ES with 18" tires I've seen since last fall has had Michelins and when I mentioned it to my saleman he responded "all 18's are Michelins" which was probably not correct because I have never seen all of anything as far as Lexus tires to be a fact and I have never been able to understand why they don't just use a single tire (Michelin) on all of there cars rather than deal with customers asking for a tire change which they hate to do

Dave Mac.

Mike728

Hmmm... I've not heard of anyone on the forum with factory Michelins on an 18" rim. Do you?

larrytstar

I told my salesman that I wanted 18" Michelin Primacy's on my UL when I ordered it. He was fine with that until the car came through with Bridgestones. He lobbied hard for me to take the car as is. I reminded him of our agreement and then he wanted me to pay extra $$. When I refused, he implied that the deal for the car (for which I had waited 8 weeks) was off. I think he thought I would back down. I didn't. I told him I would shop elsewhere, hoping to find a salesman and dealership that would honor their word. He called me back with, "Ok, all is well. When can you bring your check?" All that to say, I have 18" Michelin Primacys on my car. Very quiet, smooth ride.

txes

Tell your sales guy to study up on the models.

My 2013 ES came with S*H*I*%* Bridgestones.

John

djrobsd

Wow, what a lively conversation I've started. My car was manufactured earlier this year so it had been sitting on the lot for a while, and it DEFINITELY does not have Michelin or Bridgestone. I forget the brand name, but needless to say I am not impressed.

Since I leased my ES Hybrid, I think my best bet is to just remove the stock tires and put em in the garage, and get some nice quiet ones to enjoy and then put the stock ones back on lease return, unless I decide to buy the car, which is not likely given my 2-3 year new car itch.

The tires don't seem to be doing me any favors anyway, even in eco mode driving in Southern California I'm seeing around 33mpg so far, and most of the time I don't have a lead foot, I generally only punch it if I need to pass someone quickly.

Sadly, I won't be able to get new ones for now, I just had a little fender bender on the way to work today after 20 years of a clean driving record, my brand new ES has now has a crack on the left side of the front bumper and in the metalic looking fascia..

djrobsd

OK, so I confirmed that my ES Hybrid has 17 inch Bridgestones on it... Car was manufactured in March of this year... I'm not sure what the newer ones coming off the line are.

Does anyone know what a good tire pressure would be that is still safe? Right now my TPMS shows pressures of as high as 39 and low as 35. It seems to vary based on when i look at it, i.e. when i was in palm springs and it was 110 outside they were reading 39, on a cold morning in san diego it was reading 36.

LexBob2

A good starting point is to check the recommended tire pressure on the manufacturer's label that's on the drivers side door jamb. Then you can adjust from there for mileage, comfort etc.

jollick

You should always check your pressure when the tires are cold, before you drive for the day. I use the recommended pressure on the sticker on the drivers side door frame.

ElliotB

I keep mine in the high 40's.

txes

Why in the world would you run 40lbs.?

Has to be hard as a rock.

John

ElliotB

I like the slightly firmer ride with higher tire pressure.

Troy L

This level of tire pressure may not adversely affect gas mileage, but the center treads will wear excessively in a relatively short period of time. After pressures further increase, due to heat expansion, you will quickly approach an unsafe risk of tire failure. Additionally, excess pressure adds undue stress to certain components of your suspension system, especially on rough surfaces. Notice your onboard tire pressure monitoring system, and note how quickly your tire pressures increase, after a relatively short exposure to hot pavement surfaces.