So it seems from my search that some of us are facing problems with the stock tires. I have to admit I'm not a gear head (I'm a woman actually.. not suggesting that other women may not be gear heads... I just don't know these things) and I take pristine care of my car. It's just now approaching 20K. I had the tires balanced at 15K and according to the dealership they were doing fine then. I went in a little early for the 20K oil service this week and they told me the front ones are wearing badly on the inside and sure enough I saw it when I turned the tires. Now again... I'm no "techie" so please bear with me. I had no clue because the tread and the outside edges looked fine. These are the Brigestone Potenzas that came on the car. Everything on my car is stock too. So I'm planning to replace them next week along with getting an alignment (the roads in my part of Atlanta are a mess with steel plates, uneven pavement, etc. because of massive sewer reconstructions which is probably somewhat to blame for any alignment problems) because I do alot of driving all over GA and want to be safe. Apparently these will not make it until the 25K service. So here's my dilemma. I need tires for endurance more so than performance. According to my dealership all they stock for this car is what's on it. I heard that X rated tires are not as soft and may last longer, but all they have are Y rated. I'm also skeptical of getting more Bridgestones since these went sooner than I expected. I also feel that the front ones should match the back ones and right now those are fine. I imagine 20K may be a good amount of life for these tires, but I'm not sure. Can anyone help? I want to be sure I buy something worth while. Confused.

 

What suspension u riding? Is it stock or aftermarket suspension?

 

All factory stock

 

well Im not surprised if you read the manual it says that don't expect tires to last more than 15K

 

it might be the aligment cuz my friend just brought a RX and he told me the was pulling to the right and it was a brand new RX maybe it's a lexus thing

 

Both the inside and the outside of my front tires are wearing more than the center, I believe this is normal however givin the cars setup and of course, driving style. I've got almost 39k on my stock Dunlop's though, going to replace them at 40k.

 

all my tire are evenly worn, check alignment

 

any kind of bumps can cause the alignment "off" the original specs.....

and yes, those tires are supposed to last 15K miles (18" option)

make sure you check the alignment when you replace the tires......

 

under-inflation can cause excessive wear inside and outside of the tires....

it's good that you got 40K out of it....

 

underinflation is actually the outside and inside edges of the tire, over inflation is the middle

 

So it sounds like 20K is pretty good for those stock Bridgestone Potenzas which are set to last about 15K, but I need guidance on which brand/spec to get for the replacement tires. Any help here? Any to avoid? Should I go with the same ones to match the back ones?

 

Try a search on here for tire recommendations, or tirerack.....great resource for tires.

The simple answer is, it really depends on what type of tires you want (all season, touring, summer, high performance, etc) and how much you want to pay.

 

Look at the tire warranty that Lexus gives with its new car warranty. They only allow 15k tread life warranty. Lexus knows these cars go through tires. If you've gotten 20k then start looking for new tires.

 

One of my front Dunlops wore out on the inside edge at about 10k. I didn't appreciate the summer tires in winter last year, and didn't want a mis-matched set, so I replaced all four with Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons. Your tires are the most important safety feature on your Lexus. If you can afford a Lexus, you can afford the best tires for it. GA probably has some freezing weather and a little snow, just like TX, so I'd recommend some A/S tires. There are a limited number of brands/models available in the proper sizes for your 18" wheels. Tirerack.com has all the info you need. I bought mine from them, and had them delivered to a local recommended installer. If Consumer Reports had done their recent report on ultra-high performance tires before I bought mine, I would have gone with the Continental Extreme Contacts which are much less expensive than the Michelins and are rated higher in the categories that matter to me. I highly recommend that you signup for access to consumerreports.org (about 16 bucks/year, I think) and look at the Nov 2007 UHP tire reports/ratings.

 

What you are experiencing is normal according to my dealer. I replaced my Bridgestone Potenza's at 20,000 miles and the front tires were wearing on the inside even though I had the car aligned and maintained the recommended air pressure. The dealer told me that they expected this type of wear due to the way the Lexus is set up. I replaced them with the Bridgestone Turanza which looks like the Potenza but has a slightly different tread design and is suppose to be quieter. The dealer said the Turanza should last longer. The treadwear on both tires was 140. If you get a tire with a higher treadwear rating then the rubber is harder and it should last longer (maybe).