SW17LS

The ES doesn't have a sporty bone in its body is the issue. It's like buying a pair of dress shoes and having them resoled with running shoe soles, it won't be a good running shoe, nor will it be as good a dress shoe any longer.

BigRon12

For the price I paid OTD installed for the tires I would be very hard pressed to find another set that performs as well in the dry/rain.

Sure they won't ride as soft and cushy as a nice set of grand touring tires like the Centurato P7 All Season Plus but I don't mind a firmer ride for superior grip and handling characteristics of the BF Goodrich.

madsen203

Thinking about this thread and the Pirelli A/S+.

I am running the Primacy MXM4 tires right now with 27k miles on them. They run pretty nice, stiff albeit because of 18" wheels. They are fairly quiet for what they are (I did not experience them new as I bought it CPO recently).

I filtered the results on Tirerack for the Pirelli A/S+ tires by "Lexus" and the Pirelli got abysmal results/reviews. Most complaints about "hums" and poor wet traction (not a big deal where I live). Also poor review on mileage which isn't a deal breaker for me either.

The only reason to switch from the renowned Michelin's is for additional noise suppression. From those who have had both, is there a notable difference? If its hardly marginal, I'd prefer to stick with the Michelin's.

SW17LS

Make sure you are looking at the right tires. The tires you are looking at are "Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus", there are a lot of other "Pirelli All Season Plus" tires that are different. When I look at the reviews for Lexus I don't see at all what you're talking about. Sure there is a one off review here or there where somebody didn't like them, but by and large the vast majority of reviews are very good. Looking down the 31 Lexus reviews I se 5, 5, 4.8, 5...etc etc

I have had both, and the Pirellis are quieter IMHO and softer riding. Would I trade out a set of Primacy MXM4 that weren't used up yet? No...but I would choose the Pirellis over another set of the Michelins.

The Pirellis are most like the Primacy MXV4, which is a softer less performance oriented tire than the MXM4.

madsen203

The Pirelli tires you quoted were the ones I was referencing. I'd prefer the less performance oriented tire as I am driving a boat, not a sports car. I was also looking at those who had the ES350 and their specific reviews. I also wonder how many people review the tires are jaded because those who buy tires from Tirerack are probably driving more aggressively than I ever would even when they say they are "easy going" drivers. Also, people could be reviewing the non-plus version or the harder compound P Zero version. The wet traction could be a concern but again I think the people who have a tendency to use the Tirerack site are more spirited drivers than I ever would be.

Thanks for your input. I will await for the MXM4 to finish and then consider the swap. I'm impressed with the MXM4 on the cement roads that are rain grooved so if the Pirelli can mimic this or best it then it would be worth the switch.

SW17LS

These tires are not aggressive tires at all, which is why I put them on my LS. The MXM4 is a more handling focused tire than the Pirelli. Even looking at only ES reviews I'm not seeing what you're talking about. There is one owner who says the tires are loud, then the next one is a 5 star review, the next one is 3.5 but his issue is wet traction not noise. Then 5 stars on a 2008, 4.5 on a 2003. To say it got "abysmal" reviews because of one review is a little misleading. Just look at the stats and reviews and the millions of miles reported...are all those people lying?

madsen203

I think I stand corrected.

Of the 3 reviews from ES350, 2 were poor. One referencing wet traction and the other noise.

It seems like people are noticing the noise reduction from the Bridgestone tires and there were minimal comparisons to the Primacy MXM4's.

The huge complaint is the wet traction and tire life. Not a huge deal breaker if the noise and comfort surpass other offerings.

I also looked at the most recent reviews (past three months) and some people have several complaints though minimal complaints regarding noise.

Seems like you're happy with them and have the benefit of experience having had both sets which is most appreciated. Thanks for you input. I most appreciated the statement about not being worth leaving MXM4 immediately as there isn't a huge gap in difference to make it worth the loss.

BigRon12

Update:

I just got my BF Goodrich G Force Comp-2 A/S installed and holy lee cow what a world of a difference! The original Bridgestones rode rough and were noisy but these....even being a UHPT ride 10x smoother and are surprisingly even quieter too!

Now for the performance aspect...I feel as if my car is riding on rails...the car is super planted. I am amazed at these tires.

10/10 rating for me. I may be one of the younger ES owners on the forum here (26) but now my ES is the perfect overall vehicle for me in terms of handing (have the 18's) and ride comfort.

Poppa

Hey guys, sorry it's taken me so long to get back with any kind of review on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 A/S Plus tires, but I just got back from my dad's funeral thanksgiving night and had the Pirelli's put on Friday afternoon. First off, please know that I have just a very limited amount of miles on them, probably 30 to 40 miles since they were installed.. to begin with they ride much much better than the junk turanza's that came with the car... now having said that I cannot say that I have been 'Wow'ed " by the tires... after reading all the reviews on tirerack and the Perilli being rated the #1 grand touring tire, I guess I was expecting to say, man this is the best riding tire ever... unfortunately I cannot say that after the limited mileage I've driven on them. don't get me wrong, they ride really nice, beats the hell out of the oem bridgestones that were on there.. I also know that with 1" less of sidewall on the 18" rims, the ride is not going to be "super" smooth... again very nice ride, but I think I was expecting a "glass like" ride... It is also possible that I might have just gotten spoiled by the Yokohama Geolander H/T Go56 tires on my 4 Runner. For the week prior to getting pirelli's installed I drove the 4 runner with the new yokohama tires to st. louis and back for my dad's funeral ( over 1500 miles altogether, and the Yoke's shockekd me... maybe the smoothest and quitest truck / suv tire I've ever owned.... you suv owners, these yokahama's are incredible... very smooth and extreemly quiet... so I'm wondering if the week long drive on the yokahama's may have spoiled me a bit on the new pireilli's with the 18" rims.... I need to let a little air out of each tire... I noticed on the display tonight that all 4 tires were carrying around 36 to 37 lbs psi... I'll probably lower them to around 31 to 32 psi and see if that helps any... it should make some difference..... as for noise, on the "concrete" hiway I thought they were a bit louder than what I was expecting, again, not bad at all, just expected a bit better.. on blacktop... can't hardly hear them.... so I'll let some air out tomorrow and see if that makes any difference... Up until now I have always been a Michelin guy.. Just curious if any of you guys have had the Michelin MXM4 and or the Pirelli, which tire you think is the smoothest ride and quiet.... I made sure when I talked to my friend that runs the tire shop that if I was not completely happy with these tires that I had 30 days to take em back... have no idea what I'll do at this point, hopeing releasing a little air will make the ride on the Pirelli's even better.... if not, then I'd probably go back to the MXM4 or possibly the yokahama avid ascend...anyway if I notice any appreciable difference in the next week or so, I'll let you all know. Looking forward to your comments on the mxm4 ot avid ascend...

Poppa

lesz

Just a minor correction. The difference in sidewall height between the 215/55-17 tires and the 225/450-18 tires is actually only 1/2 inch. If there is a 1 inch diameter difference between the 17 inch wheels and the 18 inch wheels, that inch smaller diameter of the 17 inch wheels is made up for, with the 18 inch wheels, by 1/2 inch more tire sidewall on the bottom and 1/2 inch more tire sidewall on the top of the tire.

I'm a bit disappointed to see your early review of the Pirelli tires as I was thinking of them as a possible alternative to the Michelin's down the road.

For what it is worth, I had the Michelin MXV4 tires on my 2013 ES and I have the MXM4 tires on my new 2017 ES. The 2013 ES had 17 inch wheels and the 2017 ES has the 18 inch wheels. If there is any difference in ride quality and noise between the the 2013 ES with the 17 inch wheels and the MXV4 tires and the 2017 ES with the 18 inch wheels and the MXM4 tires, it is too small for me to be able to notice. I'm not sure whether that means that the MXM4 tires are better and are compensating for the harsher ride that should result from the bigger wheels and smaller tire sidewall or whether, between 2013 and 2017, Lexus has tweaked the ES suspension to make cars with the 18 inch wheels ride better than they did in the 2013 model year.

SW17LS

Your tires are overinflated, this will make a big difference in the ride. I actually run mine at 30PSI and they ride great.

Also, you have to have realistic expectations. The tires only have so much impact on how a car rides. No set of tires will completely change the way a particular car rides. Your 4Runner has much higher profile tires, and a different setup altogether.

Lower the PSI in the tires that will have an impact, but understand you're looking for an improved ride and better noise control on new tires, not a completely different riding vehicle. "Significantly better than the stock tires" is the ideal outcome.

BigRon12

I would say my car feels more planted with the BF Goodrich then the original Bridgestones. Especially on the initial turn in and corners.

The original tires felt very unstable after 100+ mph, and just the other day I took a turn on the freeway at 100+ and it didn't even show signs of wanting to slip.

Now obv the ES is not a sports car or made to take turns the way I drive it, but these tires I would say have changed the riding characteristics quite a bit.

Just my 2 cents.

SW17LS

Your post makes my point, improved but not completely different. Tires won't make your ES an M5, nor will they make his ES ride like a Rolls Royce. Like your tires improved your car as you described, his Pirellis ride significantly better than the OEM tires, which is all you can ask for.

When he reduces the pressure in the tires it will ride even better.

SW17LS

Just noticed this part. I've had both tires. The Pirellis are better riding and quieter, but the MXM4 is a little sharper. its a little bit more handling focused. The best Michelin to compare the P7s to is the Primacy MXV4, which is no longer made. I've had multiple sets of those tires and I think these are really very similar. Michelin has the new Premier which replaces the MXV4, but they don't come in the LS' size. They also focus a little bit more on grip throughput the life of the tire with expanding siping, etc while what I want primarily out of my tires is for them to be quiet, even at the expense of some grip and life.

I would not choose the MXM4 over the P7 because they're much more expensive, and theres no benefit really to that expense. If I had a good set of MXM4 on my car I wouldn't go replacing them with the P7 until they've worn out, which I would obviously advocate doing with the terrible OEM Bridgestones. My GS had the Primacy MXM4 from the factory and I happily rode on them until 37,000 miles when they were down to 4/32nds.

If you're not happy with the Pirellis, I would consider the Continental Pure Contact:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....0&autoModClar=

They are also a very good riding, very quiet tire. One thing I really dislike about Continental tires though is that the design of the sidewall and their rubber compound doesn't take tire dressings very well. As someone who details his cars and keeps them in good shape, and likes dressed tires that bugs me even if it seems petty.

But, I did a ton of research before pulling the trigger on the Pirellis, and I've had these cars with dozens of different types and brands of tires over the years and I really don't think you'll find tires that ride better than the Pirellis aired properly. I'm sure you'll find tires as good, but better? I doubt it.

BigRon12

I completely agree. All within reasonable expectations.