New tyres to purchase

JeffL · April 26, 2022

I’m now looking to buy 4 new tyres for my GS300 Series 3 (2007) 3.0L Petrol. I would welcome comments on the following. BlackCircles local depot is very convenient for me and I had my existing tyres fitted by them so the following information is from the BlackCircles website. Prices are Fitted inc VAT, Balancing and disposal of old tyres.

My existing tyres are Goodyear Efficiency Grip Performance 225/50 R17 98W. The spec in the handbook is 94W but I can’t recall why I bought the 98W unless maybe there was a price deal on at the time.

The following a rated below as follows “Fuel Efficiency’ ‘Wet performance’ ‘Noise dB’

All 225/50 R17 94W

1. Goodyear Efficiency Grip Performance 2 Summer Tyre Rated B A 70 £110.93

2. Goodyear Efficiency Grip Performance Summer Tyre Rated B A 68 £133.06

3. Michelin Primacy 4 Summer Tyre Rated C A 69 £127.34

4. Michelin CrossClimate 2 All Season Tyre Rated C B 71 £148.21

I’m tempted to go for No.1 and I can’t understand why No.2 is more expensive as the only advantage I can see is slightly lower noise level.

No.3 is priced midway between No.1 and No.2

The most expensive option is the All-Season CrossClimate which I know is a very popular tyre but I tend not to drive when snow and ice is on the roads and I’ve never had all-season tyres previously. Also the ratings aren’t as good as No.1

Just interested in opinions and observations prior to making a final decision.

Thanks.

royoftherovers · April 26, 2022

Hi Jeff, your driving style seems similar to mine and we both drive 3 litre (plus) cars and we are both conscious of the financial implications of any decision we make and neither of wish to occupy the front row of the starting grid, so how about the following ?

On the Merc I have 215x55x16 wheels with Maxis All Weather tyres which for approx £85 for four do all that I require.

On the Lexus G S 450h I have 205x55x17 Kumho SOLUS. All Weather tyres

My mileage and journeys and driving habits are now such that I no longer need nor desire the premium brands, so I find that the medium rated brands fit the bill adequately.

Food for thought ?

JeffL · April 27, 2022

9 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Hi Jeff, your driving style seems similar to mine and we both drive 3 litre (plus) cars and we are both conscious of the financial implications of any decision we make and neither of wish to occupy the front row of the starting grid, so how about the following ?

On the Merc I have 215x55x16 wheels with Maxis All Weather tyres which for approx £85 for four do all that I require.

On the Lexus G S 450h I have 205x55x17 Kumho SOLUS. All Weather tyres

My mileage and journeys and driving habits are now such that I no longer need nor desire the premium brands, so I find that the medium rated brands fit the bill adequately.

Food for thought ?

Hi John, that's very interesting, never occurred to me to go for a lower cost brand but you're obviously very happy with those ones so I'll have a look. Thanks 🙂

royoftherovers · April 27, 2022

16 minutes ago, JeffL said:

Hi John, that's very interesting, never occurred to me to go for a lower cost brand but you're obviously very happy with those ones so I'll have a look. Thanks 🙂

Jeff,Lexus Chester put my Kumhos on and matched the best price I could obtain.

And I should have said that the Maxxis were £85 EACH, sorry.

rayaans · April 27, 2022

If you dont drive in the snow then just go for the Efficient Grip 2.

I remember my son's old Polo and Golf I put on Goofyear efficient grip tyres and they were great all around to be honest.

Malc · April 27, 2022

10 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Maxis All Weather tyres

Be a tad wary of these ....... hahahahaha :wink3: ... they never wear out in my experience ....... tread wear seems to last a very very very long time .... but I did find them a little harsher comfortwise on my cars

Malc

royoftherovers · April 27, 2022

8 minutes ago, Malc said:

Be a tad wary of these ....... hahahahaha ... they never wear out in my experience ....... tread wear seems to last a very very very long time .... but I did find them a little harsher comfortwise on my cars

Malc

I`d remembered that you had them Malc and that prompted me to put them on the Merc.👍👍

JeffL · April 27, 2022

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Jeff,Lexus Chester put my Kumhos on and matched the best price I could obtain.

And I should have said that the Maxxis were £85 EACH, sorry.

Yes gathered it was each, no problem, I wasn't really expecting to get tyres a twenty something pounds each 🙂

serbarry · April 27, 2022

16 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

On the Merc I have 215x55x16 wheels with Maxis All Weather tyres which for approx £85 for four do all that I require.

On the Lexus G S 450h I have 205x55x17 Kumho SOLUS. All Weather tyres

John, I wonder why on your GS you have 205/55/17 while on mine I have 245/40/18? I thought the size was the same for all GS450H.

Jeff I have Kumho Ecsta on my GS. The previous owner put them and I can't complain. If you don't want to spend for premium brand you may try Debica Presto UHP2: they are made in the same factory as Goodyear but they are cheaper than Goodyear (Goodyear actually owns Debica) even though the quality should still be good.

Coltdriver · April 27, 2022

I second the Debica Presto UHP2 choice. £160 plus fitting for all four, 245 / 45 / 18 (or 40 profile, the stock GS450H size anyway)

Great grip, replaced the old rubber that came with the car when purchased in January. Work well in the cold, wet, and warm. Nice rim protection, too. Quiet. I think the esp light came on once when they were bedding in, greasy farm track road corner. Other than that I wouldn't waste the extra money on the premium brands!

Just my 2 cents.

serbarry · April 27, 2022

Stephen, £160 for all 4? £40 each? That's a great price! My garage quoted me 95 euros each!

royoftherovers · April 27, 2022

56 minutes ago, serbarry said:

John, I wonder why on your GS you have 205/55/17 while on mine I have 245/40/18? I thought the size was the same for all GS450H.

Jeff I have Kumho Ecsta on my GS. The previous owner put them and I can't complain. If you don't want to spend for premium brand you may try Debica Presto UHP2: they are made in the same factory as Goodyear but they are cheaper than Goodyear (Goodyear actually owns Debica) even though the quality should still be good.

Sergio, I cant answer your question at the moment as I am in Spain and the GS is in UK.😊

serbarry · April 27, 2022

2 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Sergio, I cant answer your question at the moment as I am in Spain and the GS is in UK.😊

Well enjoy the sunshine and the good food then.

Coltdriver · April 27, 2022

Sergio, small typo there on price - £260 for all four tyres, getting them fitted at my local garage was £40. £160 would have been a huge bargain!

JeffL · May 30, 2022

I've been on holiday so now looking at the tyre situation again. Just thought I'd check this out with you guys before I spend money on new tyres. When I had my car serviced last month, my independent garage suggested new tyres would be required in, say, 3 months time as they are unevenly worn. More wear on the inside edge, probably due to the tracking being out. Suggestion was get new tyres then bring the car back and we'll put the tracking right. I've taken photos of the front tyres (can't do the rears with putting the car on a ramp). Please look at the photos and tell me what would you do, replace now or wait and for how long?

rayaans · May 30, 2022

9 minutes ago, JeffL said:

I've been on holiday so now looking at the tyre situation again. Just thought I'd check this out with you guys before I spend money on new tyres. When I had my car serviced last month, my independent garage suggested new tyres would be required in, say, 3 months time as they are unevenly worn. More wear on the inside edge, probably due to the tracking being out. Suggestion was get new tyres then bring the car back and we'll put the tracking right. I've taken photos of the front tyres (can't do the rears with putting the car on a ramp). Please look at the photos and tell me what would you do, replace now or wait and for how long?

They look fine. Would be OK until illegal I reckon but obviously keep an eye on it

Harrier Man · May 31, 2022

16 hours ago, JeffL said:

I've been on holiday so now looking at the tyre situation again. Just thought I'd check this out with you guys before I spend money on new tyres. When I had my car serviced last month, my independent garage suggested new tyres would be required in, say, 3 months time as they are unevenly worn. More wear on the inside edge, probably due to the tracking being out. Suggestion was get new tyres then bring the car back and we'll put the tracking right. I've taken photos of the front tyres (can't do the rears with putting the car on a ramp). Please look at the photos and tell me what would you do, replace now or wait and for how long?

My (non-professional) advice from what I can see is to keep them for now and have a nice, full-tread depth tyre fitted for the winter. Bear in mind that your current tyres are worn so wet weather performance will be reduced. Be especially careful if we have a long hot spell followed by a heavy downpour. Drive safe.

LenT · May 31, 2022

1 hour ago, Harrier Man said:

Be especially careful if we have a long hot spell followed by a heavy downpour.

A good point about which many drivers seem unaware. Exhausts lay an invisible film of oil particles on the road surface, which build up and it becomes very treacherous the first time it rains.

As for Jeff’s tyres, the tread wear indicators seem pretty near the surface and the sipes are clearly well worn down.

Personally, I aim to replace tyres when the tread depth is at 3mm, which is generally recommended by most tyre manufacturers. Of course, you might think that they would, wouldn’t they. But apparently it’s the point at which tyre performance declines rapidly.

Checking the tracking - and maintaining correct inflation pressures - are obviously well-worth doing. As for the best time to replace them, well unless there are budgetary restraints - and given the comments on tread depth - then I see no benefit in delaying.

It’s surely better to change them just before you need to, then to discover that you’ve left it too late!

JeffL · May 31, 2022

27 minutes ago, LenT said:

A good point about which many drivers seem unaware. Exhausts lay an invisible film of oil particles on the road surface, which build up and it becomes very treacherous the first time it rains.

As for Jeff’s tyres, the tread wear indicators seem pretty near the surface and the sipes are clearly well worn down.

Personally, I aim to replace tyres when the tread depth is at 3mm, which is generally recommended by most tyre manufacturers. Of course, you might think that they would, wouldn’t they. But apparently it’s the point at which tyre performance declines rapidly.

Checking the tracking - and maintaining correct inflation pressures - are obviously well-worth doing. As for the best time to replace them, well unless there are budgetary restraints - and given the comments on tread depth - then I see no benefit in delaying.

It’s surely better to change them just before you need to, then to discover that you’ve left it too late!

Thanks everyone. I'll replace them now, just didn't want to spend the money if it wasn't necessary. BTW I am very keen on keeping the pressures where they should be with regular checks and at the same time keeping fit using my foot pump 🙂

bigglesfllesundone · May 31, 2022

I would be careful to buy the correct speed rating of tyre.

When I bought my GS450h I asked the dealer to put on new cross climates as tyres needed replacing. 9 months later I found that H (130mph) rated ones had been fitted not the Y (186mph) ones Lexus specified.

I contacted my insurer who said that I was not insured as the tyres weren't the correct spec.

I replaced with Y rated ones after negotiating a proportional contribution from the dealer I bought the car from.

royoftherovers · May 31, 2022

16 minutes ago, bigglesfllesundone said:

I would be careful to buy the correct speed rating of tyre.

When I bought my GS450h I asked the dealer to put on new cross climates as tyres needed replacing. 9 months later I found that H (130mph) rated ones had been fitted not the Y (186mph) ones Lexus specified.

I contacted my insurer who said that I was not insured as the tyres weren't the correct spec.

I replaced with Y rated ones after negotiating a proportional contribution from the dealer I bought the car from.

Sound advice John, thanks.