NX Tyres

[Valkirk]

Have been looking for some all season or winter tyres for the NX, bit of a shock coming from the mass of available tyres for the RX to what seems a very small selection! Any suggetions (would have loved Michelin CrossClimate plus but not available in the size :( )?

[Goggy]

 

The Michelin winter tyres that fit the NX are the Latitude Alpin LA2's. I think you would need to buy the wheels too, as most (if not all) tyre centres won't swap tyres on one set of rims. Or so I have been told. So if you go down the winter tyre route you need to budget for a set of wheels too. Oddy enough the NX winter wheels that Lexus sell are 17", not 18" which the NX has as standard. Not sure why they change the wheel size.

Or you could go down the 'all season' route and get Latitude Tour HP which are much better in the winter than summer tyres, but maybe not quite a good in the summer as summer tyres. By all accounts they are a good all round tyre. That is what i will probably do when I need to change mine, as I live in the south so don't really need full winter tyres. If I lived in areas of higher snow coverage I would get winter wheels/tyres. 

[First_Lexus]

My previous CR-V ran the exact same tyre size as my new NX. I've used a few Winter tyres over the last few years - Vredestein (useless), Yokohama (ok) and Falken EuroWinters (amazing).

The Falkens were simply astonishing in slippery conditions. Well worth a look I'd say.

https://hondakarma.com/threads/falken-hs449-eurowinter-tyres-225-60-r18-100h.24952/

[Valkirk]

Thanks for the replies, interesting on the Falkens - have been offered those and the Pirelli at Lexus, was considering getting Nokian as seem to be very highly rated but will check out the Falkens

[paulrnx]

Just had two new Goodyear Efficient Grip SUV tyres fitted to my NX this morning. Noticeably quieter and much more (wet) grip than the Yokahama BluEarth tyres that came off. So much quieter that I may well replace the rears before they need to be. Early days but I felt the difference straight away. Ok, brand new tyres will always be grippier in the wet than worn tyres but I don't ever remember my NX, when the original fronts were much newer, being this grippy at the front. Changed at 26k miles so good wear from the original fronts but I'd rather trade grip for wear any day.

[rayaans]

On 21/10/2017 at 1:27 PM, paulrnx said:

Just had two new Goodyear Efficient Grip SUV tyres fitted to my NX this morning. Noticeably quieter and much more (wet) grip than the Yokahama BluEarth tyres that came off. So much quieter that I may well replace the rears before they need to be. Early days but I felt the difference straight away. Ok, brand new tyres will always be grippier in the wet than worn tyres but I don't ever remember my NX, when the original fronts were much newer, being this grippy at the front. Changed at 26k miles so good wear from the original fronts but I'd rather trade grip for wear any day.

Probably should change the rears too then. 26k sounds about right, the oem dunlops on my 3RX were changed St that mileage but I opted to change all 4 together to Michelins. The dunlops were very skitterish 

[paulrnx]

On 10/25/2017 at 12:53 AM, rayaans said:

Probably should change the rears too then. 26k sounds about right, the oem dunlops on my 3RX were changed St that mileage but I opted to change all 4 together to Michelins. The dunlops were very skitterish 

Yep you're probably right. I've noticed a difference in feel between front and back. Front is softer, quieter and grippy whereas the rear feels harder, noisier and less grippy, complete opposite. It's going to be worth swapping the rears because I don't like the feel. It feels like the front is very pointy and the rears will break away. Not in the dry, more noticeable in damp greasy conditions than full wet. Tell you what, if you think an RX on Dunlops is bad you should try a Jaguar XF 3.0DS on Dunlops in the wet. Scary in the wet even with all of today's safety aids. 600NM of torque flooding in all of a sudden made for an interesting drive at times

[paulrnx]

The difference between the Yokohama OE tyres and the Goodyear Efficient Grip SUV tyres is night and day. I'm really impressed. A lot of the bump thump and poor ride over short sharp ridges has gone. I'll be replacing the rears in the new year too. So much quieter too. Wet grip is beyond comparison too, so much more grip in cold wet conditions. When I ran my Jaguar XFs I always had winter tyres on from November to March. Don't feel I need to do this in my NX now that I have decent tyres fitted. Quite a difference in torque and performance mind

[Goggy]

I see now you can get Michelin Cross Climates for the NX. It's not been an option before as they were not made in 225 60 R18 size. So although the most expensive premium tyre at £180+  they are a serious consideration. Although the other Michelin option of Latitude Tout HP are still a very good tyre, but about £40 cheaper. The Goodyear Efficient grips are of course also a very good all weather tyre. Spoilt for choice. 

[DanD]

I have had the Latitude Tour HP as my last two sets of tyres (had the Dunlop SP before that and did not like them), however I replaced them with a set of Latitude Sport recently because of the Tour HP were not immediately available.

I am finding that the Sport are at least as good as the Tour, although maybe a little noisier.

[Sybaris]

I put Michelin Lattitude Sport 3 on in the summer, they are by far the best in my opinion.  Have had Goodyear Efficient Grips, which were ok and Yokohamas which I wasn't impressed with.

For winter I am using Hankook winter icept evo2s.  Good ratings and reviews, just when its about 11 or 12 degrees, it can get a bit bouncy at 70mph.  However 7 degrees or less and these are great.

[paulrnx]

I thought about Michelin Lattitude Sport 3's too

[Sybaris]

The Michelins  are a bit more expensive and are supposed to last a bit longer.  I like the solid ride, the stopping ability in wet and dry.  Also the ratings are pretty good with them.  I don't think I would use anything other than Lattitude sport 3s on the car now in the summer.  Next winter I may look at the Continental Winter Contact TS830 or Hankook icept evo RS2

 

[Goggy]

On 11/13/2017 at 6:01 PM, Goggy said:

I see now you can get Michelin Cross Climates for the NX. It's not been an option before as they were not made in 225 60 R18 size. So although the most expensive premium tyre at £180+  they are a serious consideration. Although the other Michelin option of Latitude Tout HP are still a very good tyre, but about £40 cheaper. The Goodyear Efficient grips are of course also a very good all weather tyre. Spoilt for choice. 

Cross climates are now out of stock nationwide. I wonder if they only supplied a small quantity to see how they went and have sold so well they have now all gone. I will have to check over the next few weeks to see if they come in stock again. I was very tempted but just did not move quick enough. :(

[Sybaris]

Try Blackcircles or Camskills, google either.

[Martin J]

My original fronts are 70% worn at 21 000 miles. Yesterday,  approaching a sharp bend at low speed on a road with a thin covering of snow, I steered gently into the bend and the NX went straight on. I was saved by a deep kerb. The snow was on top of an icy layer, so I don't know how any other tyre would have performed (including unworn OEM tyres). But it was enough to change my mind about new tyres. The dilemma now is all seasons vs winters (and the cost of a second set of wheels which Lexus list at £1,000). The observations on this thread will be very helpful.

[Sybaris]

Hi Martin

You don't need two sets of wheels just change the tyres and use the one set of wheels. If you go for summers and winters it will cost about £80 for a mobile fitter to come to you and swap them each time you want to change them over.  Decent tyres are not cheap (£400 to £600 a set depending on what you go for) but then you have a 2 tonne car to keep safe on the road. There are differences between brands and the budget, mid range and premium brands. Take a look at tyre reviews or black circles reviews to see what you like then shop around. Personally I notice Dunlop Winter Sport 5s and Goodyear Ultragrip 9s have great reviews and I will consider them next winter. All seasons are a compromise in my view. Better in winter than a summer tyre but not as good as a winter tyre. Not quite as good in the summer as a summer tyre but does the job. (I accept this is my view and others are free to agree or disagree).

if you are still not sure there are loads of reviews yo can google and YouTube clips to watch.

Hope this helps.

 

[First_Lexus]

I've found having a spare set of wheels for my Winter tyres adds greatly to convenience. They are already balanced, bolt on and off simply, and the risks of damage to either tyres or rims when putting tyres on and off is reduced.

It absolutely isn't necessary, and there are extra costs involved to buy wheels in the first place, but previous Honda dealers I've used for regular servicing have bolted them on and off for me with no charge so some cost is avoided. Whether Lexus dealers will do the same is something I'm going to find out!  

One thing I am sure of having had Winters on my last three cars is that they make a big difference and are a worthwhile expense.

[Heanorboy]

RE second set of wheels I think that they are 5 x 14.3 fittings which is the same as the CRV so it must be possible to get aftermarket or even used at a lot lot less than Lexus own.

[Goggy]

Michelin Cross Climates are considered to be the best option for any car for summer use but with good winter capabilities. Michelin do not consider them a all season tyre, but a lot of reviewers treat them as such. They are now made for the NX, but are currently out of stock in the UK, but due in again soon. They are not cheap, but seemingly are highly ratted by those who know about these things. Honest John (Telegraph) recommends them, also Auto Express 1502 issue (this month) for best all season tyre. 

[Martin J]

Thanks Alec - have been researching these and they sound impressive. Hope they come back into stock soon.

[as13]

I've just clocked 26k and the tyres are as good as being racing slicks

Just been checking around the web and the Avon ZX7 rates well  69db, A wet grip, C fuel economy

Has anyone else tried them? if they have are they any good? 

They're priced at £110 fitted

[Sybaris]

I ordered 4 Avon ZX7s.  When the mobile fitter came he discovered the walls were squashed and he couldn't pop them out.  This wasn't with one, it was with all 4.

So he apologised and went back to the yard.  Later on he called me to say that his entire stock of ZX7s were all squashed so he called Avon.  It turned out that an entire manufactured batch were all the same and had to be scrapped.

After this I decided to go with  Michelin.  Could be bad luck but poor QA in my opinion.  What does that say about the product?  Still that is just my view and experience.

[as13]

Thanks for your experience with the Avons Dan,  food for thought? 

Think I might have to look at the michelin as this was my second choice

[Sybaris]

The Michelin were more  expensive and at the time it was over my  budget but I went for them and have no regrets, infact they are a bit more hard wearing.