Nexen, Lexus Approved Tyres or not?

[TimS320]

When  I bought the car six weeks ago, I asked the Lexus dealer about the tyres on it as I'd never heard of them and wanted to negotiate some discount for replacing them. Bearing in mind this is the main dealer. The car had a pair of Bridgestone Dueler H/L 33's on the back,  and a newish set of Nexen N8000's on the front, which I was a bit suspicious of.

Dealer principal assured me that these were a 'Lexus Approved Tyre', good quality etc and that they had fitted them for the previous owner. Nothing to worry about etc. Drove the car for the last few weeks in the dry with no apparent issues. Went into work this morning on a wet country lane, doing about 15-20 winding along in a queue, car in front stopped suddenly and mine didn't! Absolutely no grip from these at all, T/C scrabbling to try and stop. In the end the back of her car stopped me at about 5mph! Not the best way to start the day. So now I get to have a bumper replaced and my first fault accident in over 20 years!

Has anyone come across these tyes before? I can't find anything about them on the Lexus site and feel a bit stupid for not changing them myself right away.

Are the Bridgestone Dueler's a good replacement, ?

Otherwise have read the other threads, I'll go for the Michelin Latitudes.

[Silversalmon]

I hear very good reports on the Avon ZX7 as a reasonable balance of quality and cost. If money no object i would go for Michelin Cross Climate but they are pretty expensive, fine if we get a terrible winter as they are said to be excellent.They certainly worked a treat on my last car, a C Class estate, transformed it in poor conditions. I was lucky and sourced a brand new set of 18" Wheels and tyres from a brand new RX200T, the owner wanted 20" for some reason. They were fitted with Dunlop SportMaxx and they are a definite improvement on the Bridgestone Duellers that were OEM on my car. 

Nexen are certainly around, they're not as bad as some of the Chinese 'ditchfinders' I have read reports about.

Sorry not to give you a definitive reply.

PS, is this your first SUV, it is 2.2 tonnes and they certainly don't stop as fast as conventional saloons or estates?

Sorry to read your story

[Britprius]

The Nexen N8000 tyres are considered good tyres in the reviews. They score reasonably well for wet grip with C or B ratings depending on size. The Bridgestone's are generally rated at the same levels.

Check the tyre ratings on Black circles or similar for wet grip levels ect. There are quite a few "A" rated tyres.

John.

[TimS320]

Thanks for the feedback. I certainly appreciate the weight difference, it takes a bit more stopping for sure.

I'm probably going to look at all year tyres soon but for now might just replace the Nexen.

[sorcerer]

Here's the text from a posting I made about a year ago:

Quote

I've just put 4 Avon ZX7s (235/55 R18 100V) on my RX300 and ordered them from http://www.tyreshopper.co.uk for £386 then used a Tyreshopper discount code to get 5% off, making it £366 and also got 3.15% cashback by going through http://www.topcashback.co.uk making the final, fully-fitted price £354. They were fitted at a local branch of National Tyres who, if I had bought the tyres directly from them, would have charged £421

 

The ZX7s are 'A' rated for wet conditions and I now know why - they stick like glue!  The only thing we haven't had since having them fitted is snow, so I've yet to find out how they handle that, but I've done about 11 or 12,000 miles with them now and I'm well chuffed with them. Excellent tyres and highly recommended.

[Ala Larj]

I had Nexen's on my IS and when I changed two of them at the Lexus dealer they replaced them with Nexen's also. Had no problems myself. Currently got Dunlop Sport Max on my GS and they are also very good and very quite.

[steveledzep]

I too had Nexens on my IS250C and I thought they were fine, I wouldn't have a problem fitting them to the RX.  I have Dunlops and Pirellis on my RX and I do find it takes a lot more stopping.  Probably a combination of its weight and the regenerative braking system.

[rayaans]

Whenever the tyres are nearing 3mm or less on visual check, the dealer always gives 3 options - Budget, Mid-range and Premium. 

On the 3RX, I was given Nexen as Budget, Dunlop as Mid-range and Bridgestone as Premium. 

Therefore I would think that Nexen are indeed approved by Lexus. However, I put Michelins on my 3RX and Lexus fitted them for me without issue. 

[Ala Larj]

I think their recommendations differ depending on model. The choice I get for my GS are different to what they recommend for my IS. I also think their prices are very comparable to independent tyres companies. And every time I've had new tyres put on they've done a health check and valet. However, I've become disappointed as the last time they failed to give me a tin of sweets!

[Glover]

Also sorry to hear bout your accident and hope everyone was ok.  When they'd got down to 3mm at the front I replaced all the Dunlops (including the backs which were 4mm) on my RX with Cross Climates.  Not the cheapest option but very quiet and excellent grip.  Must admit the thing I never scrimp on is tyres; even my 16 year old Yaris runabout has premium tyres so I'd say buy the best you ca afford and judging by the reviews on the forum with the RX Avon and Michelin seem to be the favourites. 

Fortunately I've not had to emergency brake in the RX yet but looking at official stats for braking distances it does take a few metres more than some of its rivals. 

[juicestop]

I have Nexen N8000 all round and never had any issues. I consider them a really good tyre for the IS250.

[dendonc]

16 hours ago, TimS320 said:

Michelin Latitudes

As far as your first post goes, your car is 2009, whatever tyres were approved for it then are long since out of date designs, the big brand name companies spend millions every year in research etc to maintain their position and keep advancing their products, whatever tyres were approved on your RX450H then might not be approved now because they are no longer made...........Michelin cross climate are supposed to be the best for all seasons & also they are legal in countries where tyres must be winter rated or you get nicked, quite a useful side effect.......   'tyres', bit of 'no right answer' subject really!

[TimS320]

Yes, I’m now looking into getting the year round M + S marked tyres as I travel out to Austria in the winter and don’t want to have two sets.

Cross climates should be a good deal if they drive ok in the summer.

 

[dendonc]

Have you got snow chains? below is a list of euro countries where they are mandatory

RAC List

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/winter/

.

[grantwils]

How many miles do you do? I ran Wintrac Xtreme S on my 2015 Touareg V6 for 18000 miles over 2 winters and 1 summer. They still had 5-6mm on when I sold them. The car was probably driven harder than most so I was very impressed. I'd expect them to wear less on the RX which has far less torque then the diesel Touareg. I just put the same tyres on my RX, that's the third car I've used them on and I'll be sticking them on my C-class for next winter as the current TS830Ps don't have long left. They'll be on the RX all year as it only does about 5000-8000 miles. 

[TimS320]

Hi. Well I do about 6-8000 a year. That’s come down a lot and I also have a classic car which I use a lot in the summer, so that has reduced the Lexus miles. I generally make two trips a year to Austria, summer and winter, hence the all year tyre being a money saver if I can go that way. It also saves on storage space as I age two sets for  the wife’s car already!

I’ll check the Wintracs out as well. I actually have Vredesteins on my classic, which does 3-4K a year, of fast driving and they are a super tyre in my opinion. Need up as they were the only ones I could get in 15” but have done over 12k and barely look worn.

Will be needing snow chains too but not until the end of next year.

[grantwils]

Hi. Well I do about 6-8000 a year. That’s come down a lot and I also have a classic car which I use a lot in the summer, so that has reduced the Lexus miles. I generally make two trips a year to Austria, summer and winter, hence the all year tyre being a money saver if I can go that way. It also saves on storage space as I age two sets for  the wife’s car already!
I’ll check the Wintracs out as well. I actually have Vredesteins on my classic, which does 3-4K a year, of fast driving and they are a super tyre in my opinion. Need up as they were the only ones I could get in 15” but have done over 12k and barely look worn.
Will be needing snow chains too but not until the end of next year.

You won’t need snow chains with Wintrac xtreme s. The only reason you’d need them is if they are a legal requirement to have. You’d never actually use them.


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[TimS320]

Just found out that the Nexens on the front were put on in 2014 and have done 30000 miles. Pretty sure that’s why there’s no grip.

Measured the tread all round and there’s actually 4 mm on each tyre, looks less on the Nexens, so a quick glance can be deceiving.

[rayaans]

19 minutes ago, TimS320 said:

Just found out that the Nexens on the front were put on in 2014 and have done 30000 miles. Pretty sure that’s why there’s no grip.

Measured the tread all round and there’s actually 4 mm on each tyre, looks less on the Nexens, so a quick glance can be deceiving.

If you're changing the Nexens get a summer tyre if keeping the rear bridgestones. Otherwise go for cross climates all around. I wouldn't mix an all season tyre with a summer tyre on the rear as it'll oversteer.

[Boxbrownie]

Tyres..........like brake components are the bits you cannot economise on, buy the best not the cheapest (and ignore the barrackroom reviews).