rx330blk

I have a little over 45k miles on my RX330, and I am at the point where I need new tires. My RX330 has the 18 inch wheels, and originally came with Michelin tires. I haven't been displeased with the tires, but my ice traction hasn't been the best. I'm wondering if I should order another set of the Michelin tires, or if there is a better tire on the market that I should be looking at. Will be ordering from Tirerack.

Thanks for the help

salimshah

Tirerack provides rating based on people's opinion.

As the tires wear out their traction changes. So dont base your judgment on how the tires ride now.

Salim

dave2K

My '04 will need new tires soon. I've reviewed TireRack and other ratings and I'm leaning toward the Kumho Road Venture APT KL51. The TireRack ratings are pretty high and this was the 3rd best rated tire in a recent Consumer Reports review. The top two do not come in our size. In fact, many of the most popular tires do not come in our size. My alternate choice is probably the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred. The apparent weakness in the Kumho is tread life, but I don't drive that much so that is not high on my list of needs. Good luck with your selection.

triplecore

Dunlop Grandtrek

jfelbab

I made the switch to Bridgestone Alenza's about a year ago and I think these should have been the OEM choice. They have great traction, dry, wet or snow and are quiet. They have excellent tread life as well. I bought the 235/55/18 and found that they had a whole 1.2" wider tread patch than my OEM tires. Excellent cornering and I recently had the opportunity to drive them through a 12" snowfall and they were excellent. I just finished a 1500 mile road trip and find that the mileage is better than the OEM (27.4 MPG measured) and the tire instills a good deal of confidence that was lacking in the OEm tire. This would be my pick.

IwillNFAMD

I had bought a 07 RX350 last year with the OEM tires (Michellans) and the wear was completely exponential. The tire pressure recommendation causes these soft tires on a luxury vehicle to wear very fast. After alot of discussion with Lexus and HdQtrs the dealer was nice enough to help out with the purchase of Bridgestone Duler-Alenzas. Since the dealer wants the tire pressure at 32 lbs, I fought that the max pressure is 51. Using the ratio to the old OEM tires it made no sense. I went and adjusted the pressure for the new tires to 40-41 and the ride is excellent. Wear is not excesssive but maybe a little louder at 40 than 32 and the wear is significantally less. I love the Dulers, great ride in snow, and rain.

salimshah

The max pressure embossed on the side of the tire, is the pressure above which the tire might explode [hot or cold]. The tire explosion can be lethal and one should inflate well below the limit. Look at door jamb or the owner's manual to inflate to "recommended" pressure. That number should give you the best of all conditions. You can stiffen the ride and maybe increase the roll, if you inflate to 32-33psi. You would loose traction and braking along with the loss of cushy ride.

Salim

jfelbab

Also note that tire pressure needs to be monitored and adjusted as needed. I recently set my Alenzas at 33 PSI at 10° F and drove 1,500 miles to a climate where the temperature is 80° F and found the tires at 40 PSI. Tires typically gain or lose a pound of air pressure for every 10 degrees of temperature change. At freeway speeds the higher air pressure was hardly noticeable.

The ride delivered by the Alenzas at 40 PSI was very good yet IMO it is much better at 31-33 PSI.

Over inflating or under inflating alters the spring rate and the size of the contact patch. Either overinflation or underinflation will reduce your tire wear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...e.jsp?techid=1

Grumpa72

Based on input from this forum and other sources, I bought four new Bridgestone Dueler Alenza for our 05. I love them for what they aren't. They aren't noisy, they aren't slippery in snow or water (ok, work with me on this and making it a "what they aren't thread" ), they aren' unattractive, etc. Fwiw, I got a hair under 45000 from my OEM Michelins. I would have bought the same for replacment but the Bridgestones have a 60000 mile warranty. The mileage warranty on the Michelins? Zero. Nil. Nada. Nuttin.