SharpLS-96

An "A" rated is better then B & C. Tread wear of 400 is good for an LS. The lower tread wear count the better handling you will get but the downside is that you will need to replace them more often. 400 compared to 340 is not that big of a deal.

Dayton is Bridgestone/Firestone. Since the two front Dayton tires are pretty much new go with the same ones in the back and purchase 2 and your problem is solved.
http://daytontire.com/parent/home.asp

H-rated performance tire. The directional tread design with large slots and sipes is designed to help evacuate water and provide surefooted traction and handling in a variety of conditions. Through UNI-T technology, the Daytona HR delivers dynamic performance and responsive handling, whether it's wet or dry.
Innovative Tire Design - A Comprehensive Tire Design Method
This method improves handling in wet or dry conditions and reduces irregular treadwear by combining the ideal tread design, casing shape, materials and construction.

Innovative Roundness - Rounder Is Better
Rounder overall tire shape provides better balance for wet or dry handling.

Innovative Compound - Longer Is Stronger
L.L. Carbon utilizes a special form of molecular re-engineered carbon black, a key factor in improving tire wear while enhancing wet performance.

Directional slots, sipes and wide tread grooves
Helps resist hydroplaning by evacuating water

Advanced noise-cancelling technology
Quiet ride

Warranty Summary:
30-Day Test Drive
100% Free Replacement Limited Warranty
Standard Limited Warranty

Here is your tire upfront.

tenpointed

That pictured Daytona definitely has an aggressive tread design. It would definitely be a noisy tire, which is fine for louder cars like Chevy's & Ford's, but I don't think it's good for a Lexus which pride's themselves on their quiet ride, unless you just don't care about that.

pscmj

I'm new to the forum, but have read the posts at CL for quite some time. Great stuff here ... I try and read new posts daily. This thread made me take the plunge and join since this is a subject with which I am very familiar.

I went through the "pain" of getting new tires for my 1994 LS400 (Anniversary Edition, 83K miles, beautiful car) back last fall. The original tires were Bridgestone Turanza ER33s. I have always liked Michelin, so when it was time to replace the Turanzas, I did my research on Edmunds.com, and went with the Michelin MXV4 Energy Plus V rated tires. I was very disappointed, not so much with the ride and handling, but with the noise, especially on some very smooth asphalt surfaces. They made a sort of whirling sound at about 55-60 mph. I tried for about a week to "get used" to the noise, but I couldn't do it. Once I get "tuned in" to a noise, I can't tune it out. I did more research and decided to go with the Bridgestone Turanza LS-V since the Michelins had a 30 day ride guarantee. Well, to my surprise, the Turanza LS-V was an even louder tire than the Michelin. Needless to say I was very disappointed, discouraged, and disgusted. I returned the Turanza LS-V’s (they too had a 30 day ride guarantee), and had them re-mount my new Michelins … the Bridgestone dealer was not very happy with me.

At this point, I was unwilling to try anything else, so I decided to go back to the Bridgestone Turanza ER33s. I figured if Lexus had selected these as original equipment, then they must have been some of the quietest and smoothest tires available. I ordered a set of 4 from TireRack ($130/tire + ~$50 shipping). Took them to the Michelin dealer where I had purchased the MXV4 Energy Plus’s, and asked him to change them out for me. Again, the dealer was not very happy with me … but thankfully he stood by the 30 day ride guarantee and didn’t hassle be that much. All told, the tires, shipping, and mount and balance came to about $650.

When it came time, I was almost afraid to drive the car home. I thought, I’ve already struck out twice, what if these don’t work either. Thankfully, again to my surprise, the car was quieter than ever, with the same wonderful handling and ride. I was very happy, satisfied, and relieved.

The only concerns I have with the ER33s are 1) they only have 140 treadwear rating, so they won’t last very long. My original ER33s only had about 20-25K miles on them, but were showing a lot of wear, especially on the outside. I made sure to get an alignment performed by my local Lexus dealer about two days after I got the new Michelins. They indicated that except for one minor adjustment on the right front, everything was just fine. And 2) they don’t do very well in snow. I know this from a recent experience I had during a snow shower. I was sliding all over the place in about 2-3 inches of snow (no, I don’t have traction control).

Anyway, I know what you are going through. This is a major purchase for this vehicle and you want to make sure you get the exact performance you’re after. I was willing to sacrifice longevity and traction (I should note that I’ve never had problems in even the heaviest rains) for quietness. Tires are like shoes where everybody has their own opinions, but for me, the ER33s fit the bill.

SharpLS-96

PSCMJ welcome to CL, nice post! Don't be a stranger because we are like family here.

katz

So, I went to 4 tire stores in my area searching for Cooper Lifeliner LS tires. Every tire store including one that said he didnt have then but he could get them, instead tried to sell me Bridgstones LSV, Contienental Touring and Dunlops Sport A2.

The last tire store who stated that he could get the Cooper tires said Coopers were good tires but I was better off with the Toyo Proxes TPT. He had acutally bought them himself for his BMW 528. He siad they were quiet, smooth and handled allot better than the Cooper Lifeliner. He also siad that he sell me Nitto 460 Touring tires at 1/2 the price of a Cooper and that they were just as good. I never thought tire shopping would be so difficult.

I guess I'm narrowing this down to either the Cooper Lifeliner LS or Toyo Proxies TPT.

Can anyone steer me in the right direction? I need tires real bad!

225-60-r16-97V Soft smmooth and quiet ride with good handling and good wet and light snow weather traction. Too much to ask for?

Thanks
katz

SharpLS-96

Katz,

Did you try finding a dealer near you that carries the Cooper
tire and has it in stock with this link rather then just going to any tire place? Call them on the phone and ask. http://www.coopertire.com/tire_coope...r_locator.html

spxChrome

I went ahead and bought the Daytona HR today for the back. The guy at the tire store said they were good for the price. I took them for a spin around the block and they were a great deal for the money.

Although he kind of ticked me off when he said my rotors could be turned but it made no sense to do it until you get new brakes and mine have about 30% left? So I guess I have to ride with a shutter everytime I stop until I need new brakes????

Does that make any sense. Can't I just get the rotors cut/turned and get new brakes later so I can get rid of the wobble each time I come to a stop? Or was he a straight shooter and it wouldn't help until I replaced the brakes to turn the rotors?

SharpLS-96

You can have your rotors turned now but you have to also have your pads taken off and sanded down by hand/manually in order to fully get rid of the braking vibration your feeling. Don't just have your rotors turned without touching your pads otherwise your wasting your time and money.

Hope that helps.

tenpointed

Some tire dealers will do anything to sell you what they have in stock so you don't go elsewhere, instead of ordering what you want. I just happened to ask my tire dealer about Toyo's yesterday when I had my new tires installed. He said they are very expensive compared to the Coopers because of the name recognition, much like Firestone & Michelin. I also asked if he knew anything about Nitto & he said they are rare tires that are kind of obsolete. My tires were $103 each. The tires you have on your LS are the same size as the tires I had put on my wife's van, which were $77 each(H rating). I have a hard time believing that those Nitto's are just as good as the Coopers, and for 1/2 the price? That guy is blowing smoke at you. My guys have been in business for 30 years and are meticulous in their work. I would never go anywhere else to have my tires done, not even the Lexus dealer, so I trust everything they say. They've done all of my tires for the last 6 years and have never steered my wrong.

It just happened to be snowing yesterday when I had my new tires put on & I can tell you positively that it plowed through the snow like a 4X4 and it braked like the roads were dry. The roads were clear on my way home last night & I can tell you that they were extremely quiet. I couldn't hear ANY noise coming from the tires.

At this point I've kind of exhausted myself on the subject, so I'll let you make any decision you want without saying anything else about it. Good luck in your decision, no matter what it is.

katz

Dave,
I logged on to Cooper WEB site and founf a Tire Dealer 3 miles form whre i live. Mavis Tire Center would sell Cooper Lifeliner for $94.00 ea. The dealer 1st tried to talk me out of them and on to Contienentals CH9 Touring tire. I ignored him. I guess he had alot of those in stock. He had to order the the Coopers in my size.

I'm having them installed this Saturday.

Thanks very much for al you help,
and Dave, I'm Sorry fo driving you batty but I do appreciate youre recommendation.

katz

tenpointed

No problem. I'm happy to have helped. You'll be very pleased with your purchase.

agiagi

Hello. Well, after 30k miles, my Dunlop SP5000 245-50-16's are near the wear bars.. I just had a blowout (right-rear ) and was impressed with the 3-tire stability of my old SC..!! In any event, The Dunlops did well..
New (different) tires on the way - I'll let you know if I screwed up, or, if I got a lot of bang for the buck AFTER I drive on them awhile. I will say that the Dunlops were a good all around tire for the first 60-70% of tread life, but, like all tires, became less so near the end of their service life.

spxChrome

So Katz,

How are the new tires?