All Season Tyres

bobmc · July 28, 2016

I have an IS250 with 18" rims which are badly in need of refurb.

I am thinking that if I go for a refurb I might as well get some new tryes are the same time, as the ones that are on at the moment are going to need replacement soon anyway.

I understand that the IS, being rear wheel drive, is not good on snow or ice unless it has winter tyres fitted. It's not practical or affordable for me to swap wheels according to the season so I was thinking I might fit all season tyres as a compromise.

However, I can't find any 255/40R18 all season tyres, no one seems to make them. So I am thinking I could fit 245/40R18 instead.

Has anyone else done this? What are the implications (if any?)

madasahatter · July 28, 2016

I know mine are winter tyres but rears are 235 Michelin

Vintagesixtysix · July 28, 2016

Bob

I think Pirelli do the Zero Nero in that size. I was going to give them a try on my last change (different size) but they were out of stock for weeks so went for a regular alternative to get them done.

Don't know if they are in your budget or brand preference.

Reviews for all seasons seemed to be a bit mixed but there's a good review here.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/92863/all-season-tyres-test-20152016-top-all-weather-tyres-tested

Blackcircles were listing them three months ago I remember.

Hope helps.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

bobmc · July 28, 2016

Pirelli don't do an All Season tyre in the right size. The Cintuarto is only available up to 17" and they don't offer anything with the right profile in the Scorpion Verde range

Vintagesixtysix · July 29, 2016

I asked a mate this morning for you.

Apologies....You're right.....they do Nero 255 18" but the aspect ratio is 45 not 40 (probably what must have registered in my brain somewhere) & Cinturato is only up to 17" as you said.

I'll let you get back to your original question for the thread.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

bobmc · July 29, 2016

@Vintagesixtysix No worries, thanks for taking the time to check.

So, the question remains. Can I / Should I fit 245/40R18 all season tyres. And if I do will it upset the handling / geometry?

Linas.P · July 29, 2016

As I have always stated - All season tires are rubbish - what does it all, doesn't do anything good in particular. I would rather have 2 set of tires - 16 with winter tires, 18 with summer.

J Henderson · July 29, 2016

I can't offer advice on all-season tyres, but downsizing to 245 on the rear isn't really an issue. I did this with my winter setup as the tyres I wanted weren't available in 255/40. Didn't notice any real difference in how the car felt or behaved when they were on.

bobmc · July 29, 2016

So, you would run Summer tyres all year round? (If swapping tyres wasn't practical)

How many years have you owned your IS?

Linas.P · July 29, 2016

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

So, you would run Summer tyres all year round? (If swapping tyres wasn't practical)

How many years have you owned your IS?

I guess that is question for me?

Well I had 3 IS'es first one from new in 2012, then switched few times, BMW328xi (4wd), IS250AWD (4wd), MB C350 4-Matic (4wd) and Passat CC (FWD) and back to IS250.. I would say ~3,5 years and ~80k miles in 3 IS'es. 2 winters on MS+ tires (aka universal) as there were no winter tires or they costed fortune (probably same issue for you).. difference for me was that in the country I used to live it is legal requirement to have winter or MS+ tires from 1st October to 1st of April, so I was forced to use universal tires. Bare in mind that is very reasonable as we often have 1+ meter of snow in winters, average temp of -10 and peaking at up to -34 degrees..

Considering how mild are British winters I would be completely happy with summer tires (assuming it is 3mm+), furthermore because MS+ tires makes no real difference on snow or ice. It is all about rubber compound and temperatures :

Summer tires are good from +6 to +60 and more degrees,

Universal tires like ~-2/0 to +30

Winter tires ~-15/-10 to +8

Now you would say 0-30C is the sweet spot for tires, so why not everyone uses MS, the thing is - this is not air temperature, but the tire itself, driving in motorway you can easily heat your tires to 60+ even on rather mild day, because universal tires has softer compound it doesn't take much to kill them on motorway... I chewed one set in as few 2000 miles. Replaced to some kind of Falken MS in October, only did like 800 miles over winter as I had second car at the time, so they were nearly new in May, then did few trips in Europe and to seaside in early May and July (~2000) miles and on my way home nearly got ticket for tires below legal limit.. it was good police didn't care to check insides, just verbally warned me that rear tires looks low "on thread", when I got home I realised insides on rears were worn to the cord.

Except of temperature differences MS tires usually have deeper profile hence "MS" (Mud and Snow), "MS+" sometimes as well has "improved" rubber compound so it takes lower temps like -5, but likely same hit to high end ~+20/+25 and might have holes for spikes, but generally healthy summer tires with 5+ mm of thread left will do as good. That is why I tend to change tires in autumn so I have most thread for winter. Bear in mind that when warm both MS and winter tires will perform worse than summer, so longer breaking distance, excessive wear, less support in the corners, leaking air, louder, less fuel efficient etc.

bobmc · July 29, 2016

@Linas.P Sorry, yes that comment was for you. I wanted to know if you had owned your IS through a winter season and your experience.

My history is with FWD cars and I've always managed through typical UK winters on normal tyres. But I have read that the IS is not good in Snow and Ice, even if the power switch is set to Snow mode, is this correct?

Linas.P · July 29, 2016

Straight answer - IS is not a problem to drive and it is perfectly fine on "slippery roads". However bear in mid controlling RWD car is inherently different from FWD and you need to practice that. Get your IS on the quiet roads when you get some initial snow or even heavy rain to get feeling of how it slips and how it controls. But I personally found it very hard to provoke this car, even my first F-Sport which had a real "off" switch for stability control didn't want to spin under any circumstances (our SE-L's cannot even be switched off).

Now I can tell fairly tales how I was very late to airport in heavy snow, when in under 15 minutes it dropped 20-30cm of snow at night.. and even with "pedal to the metal" I was unable to reach 60 MPH, stability control was constantly interrupting, but I guess kept me on the road (I know it was mad to drive at such speed in such conditions). Anyway... if the car could handle that .. British winters are no contender. And only 2 times I was totally stuck.. both times It was on new MS+ tires and AWD cars, but you will never find such conditions anywhere in UK anyway.

rayaans · August 6, 2016

All season tyres are fine. They certainly are on my RX. They're actually grippier than the standard Dunlop summer tyres in wet, dry, hot and cold conditions!

If you don't get much snow you're better off with all seasons than winter tyres. The michelin cross climate tyres are awesome but I doubt they come in your size.

Linas.P · August 7, 2016

13 hours ago, rayaans said:

All season tyres are fine. They certainly are on my RX. They're actually grippier than the standard Dunlop summer tyres in wet, dry, hot and cold conditions!

If you don't get much snow you're better off with all seasons than winter tyres. The michelin cross climate tyres are awesome but I doubt they come in your size.

what about fuel consumtion and mileage? As well when saying gripper than standard Dunlop it is a bit ambiguous.

madasahatter · August 7, 2016

I cant comment on all season tyres, what i would say. Why would a company make an all season tyre so you are not buying 2 set

Summer and Winter tyres i own both, coming from front wheel drive. Not a bad winter last ,but will put them on again thiis year. In the wet they are something

else especially below 7 degrees. Can you justify owning 2 sets can you store them when not in use?

bobmc · August 7, 2016

1 hour ago, madasahatter said:

Can you justify owning 2 sets can you store them when not in use?

That's my problem. Storing them would be difficult, but I can't justify the additional cost.

Given that we don't often see a lot of snow where I live, and that my mileage is very low, I've decided that I am going to see how it goes this winter with new summer tyres.

rayaans · August 7, 2016

2 hours ago, Linas.P said:

what about fuel consumtion and mileage? As well when saying gripper than standard Dunlop it is a bit ambiguous.

Fuel consumption has got better actually - the tyres are quieter too. The standard fitment were Dunlop SP270

Linas.P · August 7, 2016

Not sure if that can be taken as example for IS or compared with better than standard issue Dunlop Sport Maxx RT (B,A,67db) for example, but here you have it .. if you run RX then all season Michelin Cross climate are better than Dunlop SP270 (rated D for economy, E for Wet and 71db).

true blue · August 7, 2016

Hi back to the original question ,I have 245 x 40x 18 on the rear of my is250 dunlops but not winter pattern they where on when I bought it ,I've done over 6000 miles and I,m quite happy with their performance. Not wishing to confuse the issue I also have 245 on the front as well .When Lexus did a check on the car they listed these sizes on their sheet . I asked their advice and they said some people fit 225 all round but they had not come across 245 all round before .but it would not be a problem .4.5 m/m left then is it 225 F 245 R ; 225 F 255 R or 225 all round ?

Dave

bobmc · August 7, 2016

I've got 225 on Front and 255 on Rear which I believe is standard for 18" wheels. If you want winter tyres then you would have to change to 225/245 as 255's are not available

Linas.P · August 8, 2016

Well I though you can certainly put 225/45 on 17 rims, but I doubt you can put 225/40 on wider 18inch rims. I might be wrong, but that would be huge stretch. So yes 225 all around is option on 17's (actually AWD version has all 225 by default), but it is unlikely to be option for 18's .. maybe some kind of misunderstanding.

madasahatter · August 8, 2016

I have 225 40 18 front and 245 40 18 rear on 8 j rims.

bobmc · August 8, 2016

@madasahatter are you on standard lexus rims or aftermarket? did you fit 245/40 or were they fitted when you bought the car?

madasahatter · August 8, 2016

I am on after market wheels i bought the tyres and had them fitted. On the standard 17 inch rims which are 8j I run 225 45 17 front and 245 45 17 rears.

On my winter wheels which are standard lexus 8j , i run 225 45 17 front and 235 45 17 rear.