caha14

Hi everyone, the time has come to ditch the Falken summer tires the selling dealer put on my LS (to save money, naturally ). The Pirellis have for a while been my replacement candidate of choice. I reached out to my Lexus dealer and had what must have been the most off-putting exchange in the decade-plus I've been dealing with them, arguing about how "Pirellis ride rougher than OE tires", etc. While that may be true of other Pirelli tire models, having followed the P7s on here since 2015, I am positive this is not the case. More broadly, I can't stand blanket statements based on hearsay, old information, no data, etc., but I digress...

At any rate, the dealership was pushing Michelin MXV4 S8 which... drum roll... they have in stock... I am not touching those with a 10-foot pole but did go back to Tirerack to read a bit more. This is where I landed on an article/study on a different Michelin model: the Premier A/S, a direct competitor to the P7.

I found the spider charts in the study (https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...t.jsp?ttid=188) particularly insightful. Based on this, wet performance is the only area where the P7 seems to lag, and I'd be curious to hear about people's experience on this specific front. From what I read, the P7 excels in dry and snow-covered surfaces, but my LS only sees snow from inside the garage, so I have a bit of a dilemma. Comfort, ride quality, etc., pretty clearly go to the P7, so I am ultimately wondering if how much weight the wet performance results should carry in my utility function, so to speak.

In the test, the Premier stopped a 2014 BMW 328i from 50 mph in 103.4 ft (winner) in wet pavement, and the P7s did so in 120.7 ft (last of four).

I can look at numbers all day long (and do so for a living... LOL), but in the end, it's practical context I'm seeking here. Thanks in advance.

DJWLDW

caha14

I have had my P7's on now for about 11,000 miles. I put them on back in Sep 16 and drove to Nebraska that weekend. On the way home we were in a serious downpour I mean wipers on max and the LS felt like it was glued to the road. We were on I 29 South between Omaha and KC and the LS just hugged the road. We spent several hours driving in the rain. I can't say enough about how pleased I am with these tires and the ride comfort they produce and that is on 19 inch wheels. I run my 245/45 19's at the recommended 34 PSI as per the post sticker and just glide along smooth as silk.

Dennis

Spudo769

I put on the Pirelli Cinturado Stradas offered at Discount Tire at the beginning of March. They are not quite P7's, but very close, and offered only at Discount Tire stores. We had a late winter here, and I was very impressed by the traction I got in the snow with RWD, and the wet handling has been superb. 70,000 mile warranty, ride seems smooth and quiet, they handled a panic stop very well. No regrets, and I picked them up at a President's Day sale which resulted in $235 worth of rebates. Highly recommend these or the P7's.

Oliver Enterprises

Caha - I respect your post very much. Seems your brain and my brain work similarly. I've had the P7's on for quite a while now. Maybe 10k miles. If, the Premier A/S had been available in the 19" size required, that's the tire I would have purchased. Because they were not, I purchased the P7's. The only thing that dissatisfies me is that when I look at them, they don't say Michelin on the side. I have no complaints with the tire performance.

My 1,000 foot summary is this: If I had P7's on my car for 500 miles, and then magically those tires were switched to Premier A/S's, assuming the same size 19" tire, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, "I would never know the difference."

I don't care for blanket statements either, and much more strongly dislike all information that comes from a dealer. Compared to OEM engineers, dealers know NOTHING. I say that from first hand experience having worked in automotive as an engineer and having to deal with dealers (from inside as "one of them," and from the outside as a customer). They're even more disgusting from the inside.

That wet stopping test, there are too many variables, even in a controlled test like that, to depend on those numbers. Maybe if it were performed 1,000 times, and those where the averages. But I HIGHLY doubt that. I'm guessing that was one instance of a test. What that data suggests to me, is that likely the Michelin may perform better on wet surfaces. But as stated by other posters, the P7 will perform just fine.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

The MXV4 S8 is an older tire and may not benefit from the breakneck pace of tire development. The Premier A/S (now available in 19") and the P7 A/S Plus are the latest designs and I suspect (supported by the Tire Rack surveys) that they are the better tires.

SW17LS

The dealer is full of it. My dealer reacted the same way about them, they're programmed to push whatever "Lexus chose for the car". I had this argument with a service rep just yesterday when he rotated my tires, the tires they put on the car are terrible. The MXV4 S8 is terrible.

The car is great on the P7s. Hence why this is my third set of them on the LS460, and I swapped out my OEM tires for a set of them with only 350 miles...and the difference was huge even with the OEM tires being that new.

I've never had any issues with my P7s in the rain, not even on my RWD one.

Nospinzone

caha14

I appreciate everybody's input, thank you!

I'm going with a shop I've been dealing with for over a decade, predominantly for Xpel work but also for tires every now and then. He was not against the P7 at all but highly recommended the Premier (based on feedback from customers, one of whom is apparently very picky like yours truly - I can feel almost any vibration, however slight). Unlike the dealership, selling me what he has is not a consideration (he doesn't even stock tires).

I've slept on it, and while the P7 rates more highly than the Premier in noise, ride comfort and other areas, they are close (on Tirerack) and tied for the top of the category. So, I will be giving the Premiers a shot and will report back.

The only condition is that if I find myself in your area, Steve, you take me for a spin on that sharp new ride of yours with P7s :-) And I agree, I can't believe the crap tires the dealership is pushing (at a premium price, too).

On a side note, I just took the 600 out of hibernation yesterday. It's on my 5-spoke 19" OE wheels on Michelin Primacy tires (nothing stellar), but still, what a ride (been driving LX all winter)! As I've always posted, my 460L on 18s and air with mediocre Pilot HX Michelins levitated down the road, so I can only imagine how much better this will be.

caha14

Very helpful thoughts in your post, thank you again.

And for what it's worth, this (the bold in the piece I borrowed from your signature) may explain some... 14 years in automotive engineering (Mechanical Design Engineer)

I never had a career in automotive engineering but did get to do research for Ford many moons ago (on a hybrid engine concept, back before hybrids were "cool"). I did practice Mechanical Engineering early in my career in a different industry but haven't in over a decade. Bottom line: the analytical, type A thing (and thus, the annoyance with uninformed statements) lives, though This probably explains some similarities (even though I can't design or build a fraction of the stuff you pull off, which I genuinely admire).

SW17LS

LS430FL

I also have a set of P7's I had put on last summer. Have about 13,000 miles on them. South Florida gets a lot of rain in summer months as I'm sure many know. I might be in the minority here but I have had some traction issues off the line or turning corners with these tires around my area not stopping. I never felt like it was a safety issue but I really can't remember having the same issue in my LS that had Michelin primacy's on it.

RussLS460

I had these on my 2008 Jaguar XJ and they were fantastic!