Best tyres?

[HoofHearted]

Having just bought a Lexus the tyres on it are *******. Budget numbers and you can feel it any time you take a corner at speed.

 

money being no object who would recommend what for an is250?

[ikaruga24]

Was at the exact position with you a few weeks ago. Reading around i personally went for the goodyear F1 eagle asymmetric 5. I feel performance is great with great information on where each wheel is and what they are doing. Comfort is nice, noise is acceptable and fuel economy is good. 

Whatever you buy though make sure to shop around online and not in a shop as i did for the reason that there are many online offers happening for 2 or 4 tyres. 

Whatever you decide on also always keep to the premium brands. Avoid the second and third class brands for your IS250. 

[Texas]

I’m getting two Dunlop Sport Maxx RT 2 on the rear ( 245/45 17 95Y) tomorrow for £237. Spent about 30mins searching and decided that was about right.

[HoofHearted]

Thanks for the replies lads.

 

sticking to a big brand. Costly but it’s a car I want to look after. Fuel economy and grip in the wet is what I’m looking for so will have a look at your suggestions.

[johnatg]

Agree with these recommendations.

Original tyres were probably Dunlop SportMaxx - they are fine. I had good results with Goodyear FI Assymetric 5 and Continental PremiumContact 6.

[Razor61]

I went for Michelin Pilot Sport 4 at the end of 2020, cost me £550 iirc for all four tyres but they are staggered 18's 255/40 at the back and 225/40 at the front.
I looked around and got a price promise thing with 'Formula One Autocentre'. Will be cheaper for 17's I expect.
I've used them in the past in the various versions and they are very good in my opinion. I can't say what tyres are the best for an IS250 because I haven't tried different makes/model, I've tended to stick to Michelin Pilot Sport and not had any issues but I don't drive round like an F1 driver.

[true blue]

Hi another vote for Goodyear F1 asymmetric ,been on 18000 miles with no problems and quiet ,important to me with the convertible, they replaced bridge stones which were a big disappointment and very noisy ;original Dunlops were O K but when they got down to about 4 m/m lost a lot of grip 

Dave

[First_Lexus]

No particular comments on tyre choice as don’t have experience of the IS, but the variety of online options is well worth investigating if you haven’t already. I’ve found some quite surprising difference in price between them, and brands available. Over the years have used Oponeo, Black Circles, Kwik Fit and Asda tyres and had good service from all of them  - yes, even Kwik Fit who were nothing short of exceptional in sourcing a rare tyre size for me and then travelling to me to fit.  Nobody else could help beyond “if it’s not listed, we can’t get it…”

[AntC]

I went with Pirelli Pzero PZ4. Had to spend about 500£ since my wheels are 18" but the tyres are well worth it. Great grip on wet roads and you can really feel it when turning at higher speeds.

I'd say stick to premium brands and find the best deal. Check websites with tyre performance comparisons for grip, noise, and economy.

[Linas.P]

This is my favourite "can of worms" topic! There is no way to agree on this topic as it is so subjective and every person will have their own opinion - the next best topic is which oil to use, or whenever premium or standard fuel is better (please don't ask) :D

So here is my opinion, based on some ~160k miles in 3 different IS250s (and now have 4th). The tyres I have enjoyed the most were Dunlop Sportmaxx RT and RT2, great mileage as well (I believe I got like 36k miles on one set) and it would be my first choice*. I had Michelin PS4 as well, overall good tyre, but overkill for this car - good mileage ~30k miles, but less comfortable for no real benefit on handling - good second best, but can't justify their price. On one of my earlier cars I had Pirelli P-Zero - decent and comfortable tyre, but mileage and fuel economy was lacking. 

There are few close contenders - Uniroyal Rainsport 3 or 5, great tyres, Michelin made, but the price is now higher than Dunlop RT and they are similar, but certainly not better. If Dunlop costs £76 per tyre (225), then Uniroyal was like £90 last time I have checked. Overall - good tyres, wrong price.

* RT2 is now technically obsolete. Not sure what is happening with Dunlop/Goodyear, but at the time RT2 was equivalent tyre to Eagle Asymmetric 3, which I assume is just as good as RT2. So Asymmetric 3 should be equal to RT2 and one should get whichever is cheaper at the time. However, Dunlop has not released equivalent tyre to Asymmetric 5 i.e. RT3. So all things considered I think the most up-to date tyre in Goodyear/Dunlop UHP lineage is Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5. If you can get this tyre at similar cost as RT2, then it should be the one to choose.

Tyres to avoid - Nexen products, thrown set of nearly new N8000 away, horrible ride, no grip, noisy etc. fair to point out it was some time ago and maybe they have improved other tyres over the time, but why risk it when there are known good tyres around. Bridgestone overall just overpriced and mediocre. Avon - great ride and grip, but terrible fuel economy and terrible mileage (some tyres falls apart in 7k miles).

To summarise and it seems you know it yourself - premium tyres are actually better value for money, because despite costing maybe £20 more per tyre, they outlast budget tyres 2,3 or even 4 times. The top premium tyres like Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli and Continental are very close together in terms of performance, so then it becomes just a matter of cost. I am sure there will be somebody to tell me that I am wrong, but I never said I am not!

[Mr Vlad]

Wait while Linas posts his views. Had a nice barny with him about tyres lol. Don't go Bridgestone if you have a heavy foot lol. Goodyear is the one to go for.

Oh budget tyres are more than OK. Most lexus drivers are sedate drivers. I'm definitely not. My front tyres are budget and are great and better than my rears. 

You've opened a can of worms asking for tyre recommendations as there are far too many 'experts ' .

What tyres have you had previously?

[Linas.P]

5 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Oh budget tyres are more than OK. Most lexus drivers are sedate drivers.

I would say that is true in isolation, but tyres are not just about how you drive - it is margin of safety overall. For example if some idiot cuts you off, or pulls in front of you or I don't know - maybe child runs into street... You can be as sedate driver as you want, but you still have to brake and steer sharply at which point I rather not have saved that £80 on rubber.

Now fair enough - I am certainly not sedate driver and I like to drive the car to the limits sometimes, so for me good tyres are more of necessity and not mere safety margin. Yet, I would say, that every time I was in dangerous situation it had nothing to do with the speed or fashion I was driving, it was sudden unpredictable situation and that £80 extra on tyres have saved me in half dozen dangerous situations where I am sure my car would have been write-off ... if not worse.

You can save on many things when it comes to car ownership, but tyres are certainly not one of them!

[ahmed-abrar]

3 hours ago, Linas.P said:

This is my favourite "can of worms" topic! There is no way to agree on this topic as it is so subjective and every person will have their own opinion - the next best topic is which oil to use, or whenever premium or standard fuel is better (please don't ask) :D

So here is my opinion, based on some ~160k miles in 3 different IS250s (and now have 4th). The tyres I have enjoyed the most were Dunlop Sportmaxx RT and RT2, great mileage as well (I believe I got like 36k miles on one set) and it would be my first choice*. I had Michelin PS4 as well, overall good tyre, but overkill for this car - good mileage ~30k miles, but less comfortable for no real benefit on handling - good second best, but can't justify their price. On one of my earlier cars I had Pirelli P-Zero - decent and comfortable tyre, but mileage and fuel economy was lacking. 

There are few close contenders - Uniroyal Rainsport 3 or 5, great tyres, Michelin made, but the price is now higher than Dunlop RT and they are similar, but certainly not better. If Dunlop costs £76 per tyre (225), then Uniroyal was like £90 last time I have checked. Overall - good tyres, wrong price.

* RT2 is now technically obsolete. Not sure what is happening with Dunlop/Goodyear, but at the time RT2 was equivalent tyre to Eagle Asymmetric 3, which I assume is just as good as RT2. So Asymmetric 3 should be equal to RT2 and one should get whichever is cheaper at the time. However, Dunlop has not released equivalent tyre to Asymmetric 5 i.e. RT3. So all things considered I think the most up-to date tyre in Goodyear/Dunlop UHP lineage is Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5. If you can get this tyre at similar cost as RT2, then it should be the one to choose.

Tyres to avoid - Nexen products, thrown set of nearly new N8000 away, horrible ride, no grip, noisy etc. fair to point out it was some time ago and maybe they have improved other tyres over the time, but why risk it when there are known good tyres around. Bridgestone overall just overpriced and mediocre. Avon - great ride and grip, but terrible fuel economy and terrible mileage (some tyres falls apart in 7k miles).

To summarise and it seems you know it yourself - premium tyres are actually better value for money, because despite costing maybe £20 more per tyre, they outlast budget tyres 2,3 or even 4 times. The top premium tyres like Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli and Continental are very close together in terms of performance, so then it becomes just a matter of cost. I am sure there will be somebody to tell me that I am wrong, but I never said I am not!

 

[ahmed-abrar]

Some excellent replies here, lots of positive opinions

My current option on my IS is Hankook Kinergy 4S2 on all four corners, which are well reviewed & reasonably priced.

I've had them for a year now & even though I've travelled about 3000 miles during the time , everything is very satisfactory so far

[peniole]

Do you plan running a two season setup, summer and winter? If not, all seasons from michelin (cross climate plus, my choice and what I run) or goodyear (vector 4seasons) or the newest conti all season could save you the hassle of swapping sets twice a year.

[Linas.P]

14 minutes ago, peniole said:

Do you plan running a two season setup, summer and winter? If not, all seasons from michelin (cross climate plus, my choice and what I run) or goodyear (vector 4seasons) or the newest conti all season could save you the hassle of swapping sets twice a year.

Although they are good tyres, I don't consider UK as having different seasons to justify this compromise... and at least half of my driving experience was in country with 4 very distinct seasons where 2 tyres sets were not only required, but mandatory by law. 

Now fair to say that all tyres are compromise of some sort, but looking at UK weather the key for me would be wet grip, secondly dry grip. The low temperature performance is kind of irrelevant and having "All-season" tyres basically gives you mild advantage for 2 weeks per years, but disadvantage for the rest of time.

It is just fact that "all-season" are not as good as UHP in drive handling, fuel economy, noise and comfort and mileage, they are similar in wet and slightly better in temperatures below 2C... yet both are equally useless at -1C... Where all-season tyres really shine is sludge and snow, but this particular thing is kind of rare occurrence in UK.  Instead what we have more often are rainy day and evening and then sudden frost overnight... and it does not matter if you hit black ice on UHP summer tyre or all season... outcome is the same. So losing an edge on 95% of time for 4.9% of time when performance is about equal and 0.1% when All season tyres are actually better, just doesn't make sense to me.

In countries where it is beneficial, I would go with proper two sets of proper winter + summer tyres, but in UK I don't think 2 weeks of mild winter justifies separate set of tyres, and even further it does not justify driving on mediocre tyres all-year-round just for few weeks where they could be slightly better.

Again it is just opinion, but in summer and most of the rest of the year All-season tyres doesn't stand a chance against proper UHP. In particular Uniroyal Rainsport, Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2, Goodyear Asymmetric 5, Michelin PS4 - all have aggressive deep grooves for excellent wet handling and aquaplaning prevention and they excellent in the dry as well. Sounds repetitive, but put CrossClimates or Vector4s against any of above and they will look like very mediocre tyre for most of the year. 

[Mr Vlad]

I'm sorry to say this but those who use a set of tyres in winter and another in summer have been to 'I've seen you coming' or brainwashed or bamboozled by utter b*l*o*k* information. But yes where snow is more prevalent then a winter set makes sense. But I sence most who use 2 sets are the 'Jones's' and have more mo ey than sence. Now don't get on your high horses folks. I've probably driven far more miles than you ( I'm knocking on the door of 2 million) and I've never felt the need for 'winter' tyres.

Well said above Linas

[peniole]

27 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Although they are good tyres, I don't consider UK as having different seasons to justify this compromise... and at least half of my driving experience was in country with 4 very distinct seasons where 2 tyres sets were not only required, but mandatory by law. 

Now fair to say that all tyres are compromise of some sort, but looking at UK weather the key for me would be wet grip, secondly dry grip. The low temperature performance is kind of irrelevant and having "All-season" tyres basically gives you mild advantage for 2 weeks per years, but disadvantage for the rest of time.

It is just fact that "all-season" are not as good as UHP in drive handling, fuel economy, noise and comfort and mileage, they are similar in wet and slightly better in temperatures below 2C... yet both are equally useless at -1C... Where all-season tyres really shine is sludge and snow, but this particular thing is kind of rare occurrence in UK.  Instead what we have more often are rainy day and evening and then sudden frost overnight... and it does not matter if you hit black ice on UHP summer tyre or all season... outcome is the same. So losing an edge on 95% of time for 4.9% of time when performance is about equal and 0.1% when All season tyres are actually better, just doesn't make sense to me.

In countries where it is beneficial, I would go with proper two sets of proper winter + summer tyres, but in UK I don't think 2 weeks of mild winter justifies separate set of tyres, and even further it does not justify driving on mediocre tyres all-year-round just for few weeks where they could be slightly better.

Again it is just opinion, but in summer and most of the rest of the year All-season tyres doesn't stand a chance against proper UHP. In particular Uniroyal Rainsport, Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2, Goodyear Asymmetric 5, Michelin PS4 - all have aggressive deep grooves for excellent wet handling and aquaplaning prevention and they excellent in the dry as well. Sounds repetitive, but put CrossClimates or Vector4s against any of above and they will look like very mediocre tyre for most of the year. 

They've come a long way from your preconceptions in tread and compound. The michelin cross climates performed as good as summer benchmarks and outperformed them in winter.

[Linas.P]

8 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

I'm sorry to say this but those who use a set of tyres in winter and another in summer have been to 'I've seen you coming' or brainwashed or bamboozled by utter b*l*o*k* information. But yes where snow is more prevalent then a winter set makes sense. But I sence most who use 2 sets are the 'Jones's' and have more mo ey than sence. Now don't get on your high horses folks. I've probably driven far more miles than you ( I'm knocking on the door of 2 million) and I've never felt the need for 'winter' tyres.

Well said above Linas

I guess to defuse the point even further - "all-session" tyres could be considered the ultimate "safety tyre". If we go with assumption that person using them is "sedate" driver who never put's the car through any sort of spirited driving, then UHP tyres handling benefits are no longer relevant and the tiny added safety margin of all-session tyres makes them "safer". I guess that could be an argument to make.

But in such case trade-off is tyre cost (CrossClimates are like double the price of Asymmetric 5s) for what is increasingly diminishing returns in terms of safety, higher noise, fuel consumption and tyre won't last as long either.

[peniole]

8 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

But in such case trade-off is tyre cost (CrossClimates are like double the price of Asymmetric 5s) for what is increasingly diminishing returns in terms of safety, higher noise, fuel consumption and tyre won't last as long either.

Last set I sold the car 3+ years later with 84k km and they still had 4.5-5mm left. Average MPG on a 2018 1.5T manual civic was 5l/100km (56.5MPG). Yes they did get noisier with age. Must be rotated.

[serbarry]

As some have suggested mostly premium tyres I would like to ask Linas in particular if you would suggest Debica Presto UHP2 which are owned by Goodyear and probably made in the same factory but cost less.

[Linas.P]

4 minutes ago, peniole said:

They've come a long way from your preconceptions in tread and compound. The michelin cross climates performed as good as summer benchmarks and outperformed them in winter.

If that would be true then Michelin would stop making PS4s, if they were so good then what is the point...

CCs are great tyres, especially considering how universal they are - but to say they are "as good" as summer tyres in all categories, just isn't honest. They are close indeed, somewhat above average compared to other summer tyres, but certainly not as good in dry grip, noise and fuel economy as the best of summer tyres. That is not even considering subjective handling test.

It is still impressive that in top 20 best UHP summer tyres you have what is basically neither UHP, nor Summer tyre... yet it is still the fact that there are dozen summer tyres which are better for most of the year and they cost less.

As for winter test - yes CC was better, but in very specific test conditions which were specifically created to highlight the point at which All season tyres are better, and to identify where that point is. It was good test, but not necessary reflective of real life/everyday driving. The question is - how often you will be in that exact situation? Over 10 years driving in UK I was maybe once in situation where I thought to myself - "it would be nice to be on winter tyres now". 

1 minute ago, peniole said:

Last set I sold the car 3+ years later with 84k km and they still had 4.5-5mm left.

That is impressive, but not in line with average trends. CC comes with slightly more thread to begin with, but to say they last 100k miles (if 52k was just 50% worn) I think is outside of realms of reality. On average All-season tyres have slightly softer compound which lasts less.

[peniole]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

That is impressive, but not in line with average trends. CC comes with slightly more thread to begin with, but to say they last 100k miles (if 52k was just 50% worn) I think is outside of realms of reality. On average All-season tyres have slightly softer compound which lasts less.

Have the measurements on dealer service papers to prove it. Rather insulting of you to say outside realm of reality. I will note that's on German tarmac, UK surfacing is a lot rougher, but speeds are more sedate.

EDIT: proof attached from last service before car was sold to the same dealer 11.2021 with 4k more use. btw Tires replaced prior to PDI, received car with <10km on odo.

[Linas.P]

4 minutes ago, serbarry said:

As some have suggested mostly premium tyres I would like to ask Linas in particular if you would suggest Debica Presto UHP2 which are owned by Goodyear and probably made in the same factory but cost less.

I would trust both Debica Presto UHP2 and Sava Intensa UHP2 to be very viable alternatives to Dunlop Sportmaxx RT/RT2/Goodyear Asymmetric 3 - as mentioned all 3 are owned by Goodyear. They are basically rebranded version of older but still very good Goodyear products and technology. Both Debica/Sava makes Goodyear/Dunlop tyres in the exact same factories just meters away and they are very similar in construction to other Goodyear UHP tyres. I guess they are targeting more Domestic/Eastern European market which is more price sensitive, but once those tyres finds their way into UK, they certainly look very good value. The cost are saved more on marketing budget and branding, rather than quality and that is what I like to see when looking for good value product.

I would not expect them to be ultimate UHP tyre, or last as long as best tyres on the market, or handle on the absolute edge, but they provide safe and good value alternative in my opinion. 

[Linas.P]

18 minutes ago, peniole said:

Have the measurements on dealer service papers to prove it. Rather insulting of you to say outside realm of reality. I will note that's on German tarmac, UK surfacing is a lot rougher, but speeds are more sedate.

I didn't say you lied and I kind of reluctantly believe that indeed you have had ~4.5mm of thread left after 84k kilometres. Amazing results! I am just saying that on average All-season tyres don't last that long and certainly even most optimistic Michelin marketing would not claim that CrossClimates could last 100k miles.

So I put it down to unique set of circumstances or exceptional "tyre preserving" driving style you have. However, we need to be very clear - this is exceptional case, not normal scenario. When I said "outside of realms of possibility" I mean "for average driver/use case..."

So to say - "just go for CCs and they will last you 100k miles and be just as good as summer tyres in summer, but much better in winter" is not good consumer advise, for most people they wont be...