Tyre Tip

BigChange · February 3, 2017

Linas, do you know what the difference is between the RT and SP tyres ?. Dunlop website doesn't really help me (I have IS300h).

Chris111 · February 3, 2017

In the Dunlop website at the bottom of the page there is a 'contact us' link. In that there is an email link to their 'tyre_doctor'. I have used them before so maybe they will be able to answer your question.

Linas.P · February 4, 2017

On 2/3/2017 at 10:38 AM, BigChange said:

Linas, do you know what the difference is between the RT and SP tyres ?. Dunlop website doesn't really help me (I have IS300h).

Dunlop tire naming is indeed bit convoluted (as is the case for all tire manufacturers I guess) and indeed those all leters doesn't mean anything particular most of the time. So the answer is depending to which SPs you are referring, as almost all Dunlop tires are currently called SP for no good reason e.g. SP Sportmaxx XX or SP Wintersport XX

Now the tires I referred to in my previous post were legacy product - Dunlop Sportmaxx SP, which in my understanding was later split in 2 separate tires, the most basic Dunlop SP Sportmaxx and little bit more premium Dunlop SP Sportmaxx RT. Both very similar in design, but RT being much quieter and fuel efficient on the paper and seems to be direct upgrade to old Sportmaxx SP, wheres SP Sportmaxx is direct replacement.

There are as well cheaper versions aka "entry level sport" like SP Sport 01/Streetreponse and Fastresponse.

Obviously, there is now RT2, with RT being phased out at the moment, so if you looking at getting RT, then SP Sportmaxx RT2 is the most up-to-date tire.

I was quite interested in SP Blueresponse's as quite capable "eco friendly" tire, but the sizes are not available on IS250 i.e. they have R17/45/225, but not R17/45/245 for rear.

BigChange · February 4, 2017

Thanks for helpful comments Linas. Nice to know that my RT tyres are "quieter and fuel efficient" even if my teeth rattle on the bumps.!.

Steve44 · February 20, 2017

I've just had my 4 tyres changed on the IS to Michelin Pilot Sport 4's. The lease company really winced as the lease is up in 5wks!

They had got their money's worth though, as the front Bridgestone's had done 70k miles. The rear continentals looked good, but had worn excessively on the rear inside edge, so looks like I was also suffering from F-Sport camber wear, watch out fellow F-Sport drivers!

New tyres have transformed the car, it is so much quieter and rides potholes and ridges & gulleys in road much better now.

Shahpor · February 20, 2017

70k?!? On one set of tyres? What kind of sorcery is this?

Steve44 · February 20, 2017

26 minutes ago, Shahpor said:

70k?!? On one set of tyres? What kind of sorcery is this?

Do lots and lots of boring motorway miles in straight lines, using what can only be described as Bridgestone "Hard as nails" Tyres! The rears lasted 55k!

RichardM1142 · March 4, 2017

Lots of useful information on this thread, however, a little generalised in view of the multitude of tyre sizes (and specifications) fitted across the IS gen 3 range.

My personal search is for replacements for the 225/40 R18 88Y, 255/35 R18 90Y OEM combo Bridgestone Turanza ER33's fitted to my IS300h F-Sport. The ER33's are decent, but I would prefer something softer, grippier, quieter and more water shifting.

While there are plenty of choices size wise, the vast majority are with a load index of 94, are run flats or have a W speed rating . I don't really want to head in any of those directions where I personally feel ride comfort would be compromised, and then with an increased load index there are the issues around finding a "correct" tyre pressure and associated tyre wear issues.

I have used Continental SportContact5's on previous cars and loved them, interestingly tyre finder they give a blank "we do not have a suitable tyre for your vehicle" message, even though they do the right size for the rears, but with a 94 load index.

Despite trolling through MyTyres, Opinio, Black Circles, KwickFit, umpteen others and the Premium (and mid range) manufacturers own web sites, currently I have only managed to identify direct replacement ER33's and tucked away in the Bridgestone site there seem to be Potenza S001's that may or may not be the dreaded run flats.

Has anyone managed to find a Premium direct replacement?

Edited March 4, 2017 by RichardM1142
Add explanation for change

capese21 · March 4, 2017

2 hours ago, RichardM1142 said:

Has anyone managed to find a Premium direct replacement?

I had Uniroyal Rainsport 3 on my previous IS300 Fsport and they suited it very well. They are a comfortable tyre noticeably so compared to the OEM Bridgestones. I have them on my GS to and they are also more comfortable then the Dunlop Sport Max they replaced. Different makes have different characteristics regardless of XL ratings.

Ed.

Steve44 · March 4, 2017

I can heartily recommend the Michelin Pilot Sport 4's fitted to my current F-Sport, much much better than the Bridgestone ER33. The PS4's are the current AutoExpress tyre champion. The Continental SC5's that were fitted to the rear of mine were fitted by the Lexus Dealer and they were ok, slightly less noisy than the ER33's, but wore prematurely on the inside edge at 20k miles.

Just been to see the new car this afternoon at the dealer and it has Dunlop Sport Maxx fitted as std, so it will be interesting to see how they feel. They look more like the Bridgestones with a rounded profile and shoulder, whereas the Conti and Michelin's have a more square shoulder. Maybe this squarer shoulder is why they wear quickly on the inside edge compared to the Bridgestone?!?

RichardM1142 · March 4, 2017

Thanks for the responses. While I used and liked Uniroyal Rainsports on a Nissan 200SX , neither Uniroyal, Michelin or Dunlop show the rears as being available in 90Y on their websites.

Would be interesting to know the spec' on the OEM Dunlops fitted to your new car Steve.

Steve44 · March 26, 2017

On 04/03/2017 at 5:23 PM, RichardM1142 said:

Thanks for the responses. While I used and liked Uniroyal Rainsports on a Nissan 200SX , neither Uniroyal, Michelin or Dunlop show the rears as being available in 90Y on their websites.

Would be interesting to know the spec' on the OEM Dunlops fitted to your new car Steve.

Dunlop SP SportMaxx 050. 88Y on fronts and 90Y on rears, same as the Bridgestone.

Michelin are 92Y front and rear.

dwayneX · March 27, 2017

On 2/20/2017 at 4:12 PM, Steve44 said:

I've just had my 4 tyres changed on the IS to Michelin Pilot Sport 4's. The lease company really winced as the lease is up in 5wks!

They had got their money's worth though, as the front Bridgestone's had done 70k miles. The rear continentals looked good, but had worn excessively on the rear inside edge, so looks like I was also suffering from F-Sport camber wear, watch out fellow F-Sport drivers!

New tyres have transformed the car, it is so much quieter and rides potholes and ridges & gulleys in road much better now.

Good tire mileage our of Bridgestone. Looking at Bridgestone or Toyo tires on my next replacement.

RichardM1142 · March 27, 2017

16 hours ago, Steve44 said:

Dunlop SP SportMaxx 050. 88Y on fronts and 90Y on rears, same as the Bridgestone.

Michelin are 92Y front and rear.

Dunlops website is such a pain to navigate, can't find them even though we know they exist!

Steve44 · March 28, 2017

21 hours ago, RichardM1142 said:

Dunlops website is such a pain to navigate, can't find them even though we know they exist!

I know they exist, here is a pic for proof! Lol.

maybe they are Japan local market/region, which would be odd and a pain?!?

paulrnx · March 31, 2017

I'm surprised people rate Dunlop tyres. Had bad experiences with these on many different cars. They are also lethal in conditions when it isn't fully wet but not dry. I've also experienced splitting sidewalls on a Jaguar XF and all 4 tyres being replaced foc by Jaguar/Dunlop and then the new replacements not wearing evenly and causing quite a bit of droning/vibration on smooth roads. Never had the same issues with Michelins, Pirellis, Bridgestones and Goodyears. A 2002 BMW 325i I owned was scary on Dunlops and then completely transformed when I had four MPS fitted. I check tyre pressures on a weekly basis, when tyres are cold (ie normal ambient and car hasn't been driven for a long time), and I have tracking checked on a regular basis if it feels out (less grip on initial turn in, steering wheel offset, won't tack in a straight line,etc). Dunlops are still crap imho though

TechyD · April 10, 2017

For the MY2017 they've changed to Yoko BluEarth E51...whilst not an F-Sport, it might be worth calling a Lexus dealer and see what they are now shipping with. I've generally always understood that manufacturers tend to team up with a particular tyre brand and often design / tune the car and it's NVH around a given tyre / range. I can well imagine a brand like Lexus doing this and working closely with someone like Yokohama...

certainly no complaints on my new car anyhow but I'm not yet in a position to comment on tyre performance over varying conditions, only had it two weeks!

rayaans · April 10, 2017

2 hours ago, TechyD said:

For the MY2017 they've changed to Yoko BluEarth E51...whilst not an F-Sport, it might be worth calling a Lexus dealer and see what they are now shipping with. I've generally always understood that manufacturers tend to team up with a particular tyre brand and often design / tune the car and it's NVH around a given tyre / range. I can well imagine a brand like Lexus doing this and working closely with someone like Yokohama...

certainly no complaints on my new car anyhow but I'm not yet in a position to comment on tyre performance over varying conditions, only had it two weeks!

The tyres from the factory are the ones they can get hold of at the time. Depends on the batch of car and when it was made.

The RX for example, for a few months they put Dunlop SportMaxx on and the next month they put Bridgestone Dueler on and keep rotating like that

TechyD · April 11, 2017

Of course every company is guilty of that for sure, availability and economics creep in eventually. However I've read articles from some of the car magazines that do talk about tyre development in alignment to certain cars, perhaps the motivation is in the other direction...

there are of course very specific tyre matches, look at Lotus and Renault Sport for example.

...and back to Lexus this:

http://www.yokohama-online.com/News/YEU/2013/Q2/BluEarth-E51-on-Lexus-IS

rayaans · April 11, 2017

On 3/31/2017 at 9:21 AM, paulrnx said:

I'm surprised people rate Dunlop tyres. Had bad experiences with these on many different cars. They are also lethal in conditions when it isn't fully wet but not dry. I've also experienced splitting sidewalls on a Jaguar XF and all 4 tyres being replaced foc by Jaguar/Dunlop and then the new replacements not wearing evenly and causing quite a bit of droning/vibration on smooth roads. Never had the same issues with Michelins, Pirellis, Bridgestones and Goodyears. A 2002 BMW 325i I owned was scary on Dunlops and then completely transformed when I had four MPS fitted. I check tyre pressures on a weekly basis, when tyres are cold (ie normal ambient and car hasn't been driven for a long time), and I have tracking checked on a regular basis if it feels out (less grip on initial turn in, steering wheel offset, won't tack in a straight line,etc). Dunlops are still crap imho though

Depends on the tyre tbh

I dont rate Dunlop SP270 which were OEM on my RX. On the other hand, Dunlop Bluresponse and Sport Maxx RT are great tyres.