18 inch Winter tyres

[nakulan7]

Hello all, 

My new used IS250 SE-L [2010] was delivered home today from Lexus main dealer. . I noticed that it had 18 inch rims with 225/40/18s on front and 255/40/18s on the back? 

I have read previous threads on how 225/40/17s can be used all round for winter tyres, but wondered does this hold true for 18 inchers? Also are these tyre sizes standard for 18 inch rims? 

Thanks

 

 

 

[nakulan7]

Any thoughts on this matter chaps? 

[steveledzep]

Those are the same size tyres as on mine, I have no reason to suspect they're not standard.

Can't help you on the winter tyre query.

[normski2]

Yes, mine has the same size tyres and wheels.The rear wheels/tyres are wider than the fronts...referred to as a staggered arrangement I'm told. I think its the standard layout for those vehicles with 18" wheels.

I'm not sure if a 225 could be stretched for the wider rear wheel.

Some folk go the route of getting a set of 17" wheels/tyres just for winter use.

[nakulan7]

Thanks Chaps. So would 17 inch rims and 225 tyres should fit as a winter option? 

 

Thanks

[normski2]

I think that is exactly what some folk have done.

If you want it from the horses mouth, give Lexus a ring they should be able to confirm it.

[nakulan7]

Lexus dealer says, swap to winter tyres same size and on same rims. That is ok, but if anyone can share their experience downsizing to non staggered 17 inchers, I would be grateful

[J Henderson]

I just went with 18" tyres. More expensive, but I felt retaining the looks was something worth paying a little extra for.

I did have to downsize the rear to 245/40-18 though as 255s aren't available in my chosen brand - Pirelli Sottozero 3.

 

[nakulan7]

7 hours ago, Kodiak Sky said:

I just went with 18" tyres. More expensive, but I felt retaining the looks was something worth paying a little extra for.

I did have to downsize the rear to 245/40-18 though as 255s aren't available i

 

Thanks. Any issues with 245/40/18s? Do they appear stretched or look more likely to be kerbed? Doesnt the rolling radius drop? 

[hprice1099]

Or for best of both what about all season tyres? No need to swap tyres or have an extra set of alloys.

Im getting a set of Vredestein Quatrac 5 when I get my GS, they've got really good reviews. 

[nakulan7]

Use will be almost exclusively in UK. I have winter tyres on seperate rims for my SLK and it does well in winter. My preference was to change to winter wheels/tyres combo which will be easier in a non staggered format. 

My SLK experience leads me to favour a dedicated wheel/tyre combo for the Lexus as I will be keeping it for a while. 

17 inch non staggered set up is standard in non SEL variants I think. I cant think of any reason why they wont fit, but I am not very mechanical!

Or I can get staggered tyres and change over twice a year - not a huge problem really. I did that initially for a couple of years with the SLK and the rim did deteriorate. 

 

 

[J Henderson]

9 hours ago, nakulan7 said:

Thanks. Any issues with 245/40/18s? Do they appear stretched or look more likely to be kerbed? Doesnt the rolling radius drop? 

Not stretched at all, I actually thought they looked a better fit than my 255 summer tyres as those have something of a "bulged" appearance because they're noticeably wider than the rim. That's maybe just due to the brand of tyres I have though since some makes can be wider or narrower than others, despite being the same fitment size.

You're right, the rolling radius did drop slightly. Not enough for me to notice the car behaving much differently to be honest, but something I did experience quite often was oncoming traffic zapping me with their main beams, presumably because they thought I was doing the same to them when I wasn't.

So, it would appear that the small decrease in rolling radius was enough to make the aim of my headlights questionable. 

[Linas.P]

4 hours ago, nakulan7 said:

17 inch non staggered set up is standard in non SEL variants I think. I cant think of any reason why they wont fit, but I am not very mechanical!

No you not quite right - both 17 and 18 inch (Tires) are staggered, 16 inch are not. As well AWD versions have non-staggered tires (but we don't have these in UK.. like many other nice Lexus'es e.g. RC350). Trim doesn't change the tire sizes, not rim diameter. 

To conclude:

• 16" Rims all the same, Tires all the same
• 17" Rims all the same, Wider tires on the rear (225/45 vs. 245/45)
• 18" Front Rims are 8", rear are 8.5" as well tires are wider on rear.

Now that said, you can obviously found some matching tires which will be inadequately expensive and would actually perform worse on 18" option, than it would on 16". As mentioned by piasek narrower tires are better on slippery roads. So 18" and even 17" setup would be very expensive, under-performing and unpractical. M+S (or universal tires) are essentially "one does all" product, but as it is always the case "nothing properly". If you get them grip, then they will wear excessively - would never recommend universal tires to anybody.

Finally, this is not a statement, but rather question - Why do you guys need winter tires or even universal tires in UK (well maybe north Scotland is OK)? You probably know that you need temperatures below 6 Deg for Winter tires to perform better than Summer tires? As well it is not correct that in higher temperatures the only negative point of Winter tires is wear - no they actually perform worse, longer stopping distance, more likely to slip because too soft tire cannot maintain grip in cornering, bad fuel efficiency... and obviously excessive wear .

I might be wrong and living in London I cannot judge for the rest of UK, but it seems like winter tires in UK are just a trick played by tires manufactures to cash from drivers (except of maybe few specific locations).

Makes perfect sense - winter set of tires wears excessively as there are not condition for them to perform correctly. When it comes time to change half worn summer tires will get thrown away as well (who would put summer tires set if the the tread is like 3-4mm). So instead of driving 20-30k miles on one set of tires you essentially replacing 2. Not only it is waste of money, but as well terrible impact to environment. 

Personally, I have experience driving on winter tires (and summer tires in tems -20deg and 50cm of snow) and coming from the country where is legal requirement to use Winter tires from 1st of October to 1st of April. That is very sensible, because average temperature over that period is -11deg, and at least 2 month with -20deg and more.. I just kind of cannot understand the point using winter tires in majority of UK...

Now as I said, my experience in UK is limited and hence - if you really have conditions for winter tires - definitely get set (recommended on 16" alloys, being same you can even swap front to rear to prolong life). I am personally just getting A rated summer tires tires for wet and that does all seasons.

[J Henderson]

It's true that UK winters are pretty mild making winter tyres something of a luxury, but I personally find them worthwhile.

As a night-shift worker, I do 90% of my driving late at night or early in the morning when the conditions are generally at their worst. I also have no means of getting to my place of work via public transport, so I place extra value on the fact my car will almost certainly get me to and from work safely, regardless of how bad the weather is.

Even if proper snow or hard frost is rare, the benefits of running winter tyres can be felt simply because they work better when it's cold. It's quite uncanny how much better they will grip and ride, even on dry roads. I switched back to my summer tyres in mid-March and immediately I noticed how inferior grip levels were since overnight temperatures were still in single digits, plus the roads were still dirty with grit and mud. It's only really been during the past week or two when I've felt that the summer tyres have started to perform adequately again.

Apart from the cost of the tyres themselves (and wheels if you keep a separate set), I can see no downsides to using winter tyres when appropriate. Well, I suppose you do need to have somewhere to store them when not in use...like I said, they are a luxury.

[TigerFish]

I've got a set of winter wheels/tyres for my GS (245 fronts and 275 rears) due to having to abandon the car at the bottom of the hill when we do get snow. It may not happen often, but piece of mind did not like leaving the car down random side streets :(

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[Linas.P]

As I said - if you really feel need for winter tires. And fair enough - even if it is only feeling more confident with yourself and having that extra piece of mind in case 1 day a year you going to have snow... and you feel it is worth £600 tires (or more). Then obviously - do it, BUT do it on 16" rims because on 18" is no-brainier.

If I didn't make myself clear. If you take exactly the same new tire, one made for 18", other one for 16".. the 16" will perform better and have better grip on slippery roads. Wide tires are only good in warm dry road. So on 18" you not only going to have less options, more expensive tires, but as well worse performance.. 

[TigerFish]

So on 18" you not only going to have less options, more expensive tires, but as well worse performance.. 

But still better than the normal tyre setup B)

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[jackcramerr]

I think 18inch are smaller should ahould be 19inch... dough here got 19inch and look great.

John here said once, he adjusts air according to.tyre wear. Best tip.

 

[BillNick]

Regenerating this thread as I cannot find the answer to my questions anywhere....

What is the OEM tyre sizes for the 18" ISP Mode alloys please? The multi spoke wheels that are found on the face lift F-Sport models?

Thanks

Billy

[normski2]

Mine are, front:- 225x40x18 and rear are 255x40x18

[J Henderson]

Yep, 225 & 255/40 are the OEM sizes for 18" wheels (any style). It was Bridgestones that were on my car when it was new.

All the possible IS tyre/wheel configurations should be listed on the door jam along with recommended tyre pressures.

 

[BillNick]

Ok thanks guys.

I will check out the inside door. Didn't realise it had all variations on it.

[madasahatter]

On 04/04/2016 at 6:03 PM, nakulan7 said:

Hello all, 

My new used IS250 SE-L [2010] was delivered home today from Lexus main dealer. . I noticed that it had 18 inch rims with 225/40/18s on front and 255/40/18s on the back? 

I have read previous threads on how 225/40/17s can be used all round for winter tyres, but wondered does this hold true for 18 inchers? Also are these tyre sizes standard for 18 inch rims? 

Thanks

 

 

 

I run 225 45 17 front and 235 45 17 rear winter tyres on standard 17 inch rims, just removed for the summers.

My 18 inch summer wheels are both 8J and i run 225 40 18 and 245 40 18 

[BillNick]

Is 255 40 18 an uncommon size? I am finding them very expensive and not a lot of choice??

[J Henderson]

Yeah, and the selection narrows further when it comes to winter tyres in that size. I had to get 245/40R18 instead.