Recommended Tyres

[mfennell]

Hi All

Hoping someone on here has a good recommendation for new tyres on an IS300h lexus 2014 model.

I currently have hancock tyres on it and even though i have got good life out of these tyres the road noise is not so impressive now they are starting to wear down.

So i was wondering if anyone on here had recommendations for good tyres from experience on their own cars ?

Also if anyone can recommend a good place to balance / track the car in the milton keynes area that woudl be greatly appreciated i have noticed some wear on the outside of one of the front tyres , i think the car needs a full re-alignment so i will look to do this when changing the tyres.

All help and suggestions apprecated.

Regards

Mike.

[Bob99]

Just fitted 4 new Michelin pilot sport 5 and I am impressed with ride quality and noise. Previously had Goodyear eagle assymetric 3 and 5 which lasted quite well and were very good, probably a bit noisier than the new ones, changed them due to cracking and was getting the wheels refurbed at the same time but I was happy with them.

[mfennell]

Hey @Bob99

I have seen a few posts mentioning Michelin so appreciate the info , out of interest did you get a full alignment completed as well ?

[Linas.P]

This is complex topic as there is no single "best tyre", they are all compromises in some way. I would recommend Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 5 or 6, however Michelin Pilot Sport 5, or Continental Sport Contact 6 (maybe they even have 7 now) are good option as well, as is Premium Contact 6. I would happily put any of these on my car provided I can get them at reasonable cost. I probably would exclude Pirelli and Bridgestone as in my experience they simply do not offer good value for money, not that their tyres are bad, but you could get better for same price or less. 

In mid-range there are Falken FK520, Yokohama GT AE51, Uniroyal Rainsport 5, few Hankooks, Toyos etc. They are all safe to use tyres and again kind of depends on the price and the budget. And finally there is no shortage of outright dangerous tyres... 

So I think the answer - decide on your budget and either target the premium group or target the mid-range group. Within each group the tyres will be more or less similar, some offering more comfort, some offering sharper handling, some better thread-life.  

3 minutes ago, mfennell said:

I have seen a few posts mentioning Michelin so appreciate the info , out of interest did you get a full alignment completed as well ?

Highly advisable and best time to do with every set of new tyres, at very least check the alignment, because it is most beneficial to do it when you have fresh and "true" tyres. Once they already unevenly worn it is too late to do alignment. 

[Bob99]

Had a full alignment done on the last set of tyres and they were all evenly worn when changed this time. I think ATS and protyre have offers on at the moment. I got mine from Camskill as they were being fitted by the wheel refurbishes. I also changed the tpms sensors as they were coming up to 10 year old

[mfennell]

Hi @Linas.P

Good synopsis of my predicament ...I will prob ai for another premium brand for sure and already I am starting to see a trend which is what I was looking for ...Michelin looks to be in the lead after 2 replies but as you have added the Goodyear look like a good option ...I will do a search eventually across the recommended brands and see I'd I can get any deals ...yes I fully intend to get a full alignment done as you ay  new set of threads is the ideal time ...was wondering if anyone on here had a recommendation around MK I have started to research myself anyway ...from what I gather the IS300 requires all wheel alignment so I want to get it done right ..

Appreciate your info and vice thank you .

Mike.

[mfennell]

@Bob99

Thanks will take a look at ATS and Protyre

[Linas.P]

31 minutes ago, mfennell said:

Hi @Linas.P

Good synopsis of my predicament ...I will prob ai for another premium brand for sure and already I am starting to see a trend which is what I was looking for ...Michelin looks to be in the lead after 2 replies but as you have added the Goodyear look like a good option ...I will do a search eventually across the recommended brands and see I'd I can get any deals ...yes I fully intend to get a full alignment done as you ay  new set of threads is the ideal time ...was wondering if anyone on here had a recommendation around MK I have started to research myself anyway ...from what I gather the IS300 requires all wheel alignment so I want to get it done right ..

Appreciate your info and vice thank you .

Mike.

Michelin definitely the best, but as well the most expensive - Goodyear offers 99% (or maybe 97% or whatever) of the performance for sometimes up-to 20% less. So Goodyer are better value. Likewise some of mid-rangers are even better value as they still offer say 90% of quality for 30% less. From Michelin, Continental and Goodyear - I don't think you can go wrong with either. 

From time to time there are outliers, like I remember Uniroyal Rainsport 3 (made by Michelin) were once upon the time best tyre for the wet and sold at reasonable ~£70, or Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2 (made by Goodyear) was once very good UHP tyre comparable to the best in class and sold for £68. Well I guess today Goodyear is little bit of outlier, because it is priced not far from mid-range and it is really good tyre, although nowadays there are simply not much saving to be had in mid-range tyres anyway. Say 10 years ago Michelin was £120 and tyres like Toyo and Yokohama were £55, now it is more like £140 vs. £110. So it may actually make sense just to go for Michelin when difference is so small (obviously prices are size dependent).

[LenT]

59 minutes ago, mfennell said:

.was wondering if anyone on here had a recommendation around MK I have started to research myself anyway ...from what I gather the IS300 requires all wheel alignment so I want to get it done right ..

The technology to look for is Hunter wheel alignment.  There’s a tyre shop near me in Brackley that I use which offers it,but there may be one nearer in MK.

One option you may have dismissed is Lexus MK.  When I was looking for new tyres (I settled on the excellent Goodyear Asymmetric) I was also due to have a service there.  Out of curiosity, I asked if they could supply tyres - and to my surprise they matched the price quote from my regular tyre supplier!

(I don’t know if Lexus MK has the Hunter equipment,  but they are obviously familiar with the cars.)

It was only because I was also having Alloygator rim protectors fitted, that I went with the tyre shop.

Incidentally, the point about the TPMS valves is also one to consider.  If they are all original then they may well be nearing the end of their Battery life.  This is obviously the best time to replace them.

[mfennell]

Hey @LenT

Yeah they done the previous tyre change as I had the car in for a service but my next one is way out so prob not an opipn and they never mentioned alignment that time which leads me to believe they don't have it as they would have surely mentioned it that time ..

I will look up the tpms sensors for sure I had not realised these needed replacment ...out of interest would a good tyre / wheel alignment shop be able to do these or is it purely a lexus task ...any idea of cost for the 4 of them ?

[LenT]

2 minutes ago, mfennell said:

out of interest would a good tyre / wheel alignment shop be able to do these or is it purely a lexus task ...any idea of cost for the 4 of them

A good tyre shop should be able to replace and code in replacement TPMS valves.  If they don’t have them in stock, they are easy to get in.  If you’re buying new tyres off them, then negotiate a fitting price - after all, they’re taking the tyres off the wheel anyway!

When a Good Samaritan snapped one of my sensors, the nearest tyre retailer in Towcester replaced it for about £60 inc fitting.  Incidentally,  that’s when the SpaceSaver proved its worth!

[true blue]

Hi I have been impressed with Good year asymmetric 5 on the IS 250 and I propose to replace with the same ;I have found the company Black circles prices very competitive ;with regard to alignment ,I use the web site Align my car which will give you specialists in your area. A question for Bob if I may ,my TPMS senders are still original from 2011 so I will look to replacing while the tyres are off but I am LED to believe that the Lexus units need to be reset by Lexus ,did you find this or was there a cheaper alternative ? if so what cost was added to the bill ?

Regards  Dave

[mfennell]

Thanks Dave appreciate the info

[Bob99]

I bought my sensors from lexuspartsdirect Dave, probably not the cheapest as I think the denso ones can be found on eBay etc. I gave them to my wheel refurbishers and told them which wheel to fit them and used Carista to programme them, I actually did this before they were fitted. When I picked the car up I just had to reset the tyre pressure switch to stop the light flashing on the dash. You can buy Carista for about £30 with a month’s subscription I think. 

[Linas.P]

You can as well check the remaining Battery capacity of Techstream on newer models, not sure if 2014 IS300h already has that, so that may answer for sure whenever you need TPMS or not. 

[GMB]

Michelin pilot sports tyres are the correct choice, but a bit over the top for a non-sporty car. They wear out quicker but grip like hell. They do not squeal on corners they just grip. If you have the budget don't compromise. 

[bashedpotatoes]

@mfennell What sizes are you looking into? On my f-sport with the staggered 225/40 front and 255/35 rears I had some unpleasant experiences with conti premium contact 6s and the current dunlop sport maxx rt2s with a persistent cavity noise over anything other than very smooth tarmac. Currently looking into cross climate 2s. 

[mfennell]

@bashedpotatoes

Luckily enough I am 225/45/17 front and back so don't have the complications you have had ...so far based on the recommendations on here I am leaning towards either Michelin or Goodyear I will start to source prices soon ...I am currently researching companies iny locality (milton Keynes) which have hunter machines to do the all wheel tracking /camber adjustments ..if I can get both in one place may go that route.

[Maxz]

Anyone not doing big miles or high speeds and looking to go reasonably priced on tyres, I have had good experience with Nexen N-Fera Su2's. They are or at least were Lexus Dealerships "budget" supplied tyres and were newly fitted on the rear of mine when I bought my vehicle 2nd hand from the dealership. Despite the reviews out there, I've found they last well and not personally experienced any issues with grip. They also come out top for low noise. 

[IS300FSPORT]

I had Nexen tyres dealer supplied when I bought the car, they started cracking at 3 years old had an MOT advisory for it.

Noticed below 3 degrees the rear was kicking out under medium acceleration hard rubber compound in winter temps didnt help. I wouldnt recommend them but if your on a budget they will do the job but you have to be switched on incase it snaps out in heavy rain being RWD. Doesnt give much confidence.

Have since gone to UniRoyal Rainsport 5 tyres fantastic in the rain in typical British weather up north car feels planted.

[mfennell]

@IS300FSPORT

Apreciate the info am going premium this time myself a bit pricier but I guess it is a very important part and with family in car I would prefer the confidence and feel it is worth the extra exense.

[mfennell]

All appreciate all the advice shared on your experiences it helped a whole lot.

I have decided on the Goodyear Eagle F1 assmetric 6 tyres . It was a toss up between them and Michelin the dB level and slightly better fuel economy for Goodyear made the decision for me in the end as both are pretty close.

Actually based on a suggestion from LenT I reached out to my dealership and they can indeed do the lot ...full wheel fitting + full alignment / camber / balancing .

Whole lot in was £583 this include their collect and deliver which works for me I don't have to take time off work to get it done .Pricey I know I might have to curtail my pub visits this month 🙂 , but for convenience I think it works ..based on pricing online by the time I factor in my time hassle with taking off work and having to get tyres done separate to alignment it was working out about the same ..

Anyway just wanted to let everyone know hopefully thread might help someone else out.

Mike.

[Mr_Groundhog]

IMHO fitting pilot sports for a IS300h is a bit of a stretch. Like getting a pro-spec computer to check emails and watch videos. But each to their own.

I went for a set of Michelin Primacy 4 VOL which score A on fuel and wet grip but I also thought of the Goodyear ones you decided on. ...And wasnt there a set of Pirelli cinturatos that also had those scores, with low noise levels?

[mfennell]

@Mr_Groundhog

Yeah totally agree even the Goodyear are picey but I tend to get good milage from tyres my days of burning rubber for no reason are gone lol. I now tend to try drive hybrid to see how much mpg I can eek out of a 2.5 litre engine ...taking into account you can never trust the reading on the car itself as it always over reports the milage on the is300 is not bad at all ..

I did use pirelli before and even though a od grippy tyre I found they wear super fast so went for something that would give me a little more milage 🙂

[LenT]

2 hours ago, mfennell said:

I reached out to my dealership and they can indeed do the lot ...full wheel fitting + full alignment / camber / balancing .

Whole lot in was £583 this include their collect and deliver which works for me I don't have to take time off work to get it done .Pricey I know I might have to curtail my pub visits this month 🙂 , but for convenience I think it works ..based on pricing online by the time I factor in my time hassle with taking off work and having to get tyres done separate to alignment it was working out about the same

That’s precisely my kind of thinking, Michael.  Guy collects car; time passes while I do other stuff; guy returns car.  Is that Lexus MK?  Offhand it seems a pretty good deal.

You don’t mention the TPMS valves, but as Linus pointed out, the Battery condition can probably be checked while in situ and you can make a decision based on that.

Yes, you’ll pay Lexus prices - subject to negotiation -  but you save on the buggeration factor.  And I’m sure we’ll be keen to know what you think of the Goodyears.