Recommended Tyres

mfennell · September 20, 2023

Yep i think I am doing ok cost wise considering I don't even have to leave my house ...and indeed it is lexus MK ..

They will call me on the day before so I will request they they test the TPMS then just to be sure ...fingers crossed they are all ok 🙂

Maxz · September 21, 2023

21 hours ago, IS300FSPORT said:

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.

For regular and wet use, can understand they would not be up to premium brands. Mine is just used for short town driving the kids around (hence 14 plate but only 36k on the clock), so cheapo Nexen's all good for that type of application. Mine are just coming upto 3 years old now, Lexus measured the tread and passed them no concerns with cracking this week, but in more extreme conditions I can imagine they don't necessarily last...

Dumboo · September 21, 2023

Probably either these two have been my favourite.

Michelin Primacy 4: Michelin tires are known for their excellent grip, low road noise, and durability. The Michelin Primacy 4 is designed for comfort and all-season performance.

or

Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus: Bridgestone's Turanza series is known for its quiet and comfortable ride. The Serenity Plus model offers good traction and long-lasting performance.

goody12 · October 9, 2023

Great topic this as i am thinking of changing tryres on my is300h 2015 ....which budget ones are good mine came with nexen a bit noisy those

mfennell · October 10, 2023

Hey Goody12

I think if you read through the thread there were quite a few suggestions ...Linas P done a good breakdown I thik earlier ..

I myself decided to splash out a little and go for the good year eagle F1 they were not cheap and had to sacrifice a few beers for them 🙂 ...but I think worthwhile considering the trust we put in tyres ...

I also needed to get a full tracking done so sicked it up and got lexus to do it mainly for convenience or getting it all done in one place ..that being said I paid about £580 for everything that did include the luxury of having them collect and return the car and a free easy (free bring really questionable lol)

But I think if you do not want to go ovwrboard like I did there were some good suggestions for more pocket friendly but still safe tyres on the thread ..

Hopes it gets you the info you need

Mike.

Mr_Groundhog · October 10, 2023

Budget tyres are great until you realise you won't manage to emergency-brake safely before an unexpected obstacle.

David lings · October 22, 2023

Micheal

Hope you have been successful in procuring new tyres that are not so noisy.

l have similarly suffered high road noise since procuring a 2nd hand Lexus.

My discussion with the local tyre shop gave me a number of suggestions and l opted for Lhasa based on cost and recommendation.

l now have Lhasa tyres all round, which seem ok for grip and reasonable for wear, plus they have also made the car quieter on most motorways.

Whether another make would be even quieter l don’t know.

David

mfennell · October 23, 2023

Hey David

I went with the goodyear eagle F1 in the end a bit on the pricier end but seem to be a good tyre. Road noise is more acceptable as well.

Apprecate your information hopeuflly it helps someone else on the forum looking for tyres .

Mike.

LenT · October 23, 2023

35 minutes ago, mfennell said:

Hey David

I went with the goodyear eagle F1 in the end a bit on the pricier end but seem to be a good tyre. Road noise is more acceptable as well.

I expect you were surprised that Lexus MK were competitive tyre sellers. I know I was and perhaps it may now encourage other LOC members to give their local Dealer a chance to quote.

Did they comment on the TPMS status? And what were the results of the tracking check? I might even get this done at my next service there. 😊

mfennell · October 23, 2023

Hey LenT

Indeed I was surprised they were very close to m external sourcing quotes and the fact they could do everything in one visit suited me ..all the other quotes were for individual tyres and then tracking ...so I would advise anyone to at least get your local dealershp to quite you as from what I seen there was very little difference in price and way more convenient .

For the TPMS I did ask them and was told they do check it but that they would not expect that the batteries will die before about 12 years ..but they did check and confirm all mine were well withing safe limits and did not need changing ..

Tracking check di reveal some adjustments needed ...from what I can see there were slight adjustments to tracking and camber on all wheels with the left front passenger one needing a bit more than the rest ..I knew this would be the case as you could visibly see wear on the outside of that tyre.

But al i all I was very happy with the service ..

Mike .

Mr_Groundhog · November 18, 2023

So I had annual service recently and one thing shocked me: the new tyres from last year are still at 6.5 thread depth, just like last year.....but after 9K miles.... I'm still not sure how that's possible.

J Henderson · November 18, 2023

Probably just a visual check and guesstimate.

Lexus dealer once stated my tyres were also 6.5mm when they were only 2 weeks old.

CypressPhil · November 19, 2023

Lexus dealer once told me my tyre tread depth had increased from the previous year’s service 😆, so I second the visual guesstimate opinion.

They also told me I needed a new set of rears, but the tyre size on their quote was for the fronts. Good job I didn’t “approve the work”. Off to a proper tyre shop I went.

Mr_Groundhog · November 19, 2023

Seems I need to get my own thread depth device! Thanks both.

wharfhouse · November 19, 2023

4 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

Seems I need to get my own thread depth device! Thanks both.

Just run your finger tips around the tread grooves and feel for the tread wear indicators - they are at 3mm and so it's fairly easy to judge the amount of tread left and whether the tyre is wearing evenly across it's width. A tread depth gauge will give you more accuracy of course but for many years I've just used my finger tips and replace tyres as they reach the tread wear indicators.

Mr_Groundhog · November 20, 2023

14 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

Just run your finger tips around the tread grooves and feel for the tread wear indicators - they are at 3mm and so it's fairly easy to judge the amount of tread left and whether the tyre is wearing evenly across it's width. A tread depth gauge will give you more accuracy of course but for many years I've just used my finger tips and replace tyres as they reach the tread wear indicators.

Yeah that's not the issue, because the tyres are new from last year. I went and bought an electronic tyre thread meter (less than a tenner) because a year ago I replaced the front arm bushings (GS-F OEM) in order to reduce inner tyre wear, so I'm curious as to whether it worked after 10k miles 😅

Stever750 · March 12

Apologies for resurrecting this, I'm searching for best value eco tyre, as in best fuel eco. The OE fitted Yokahamas are on the shortlist, along with Bridgestone Turanza.

Over the years I've tried just about every brand, usually the highest performing ones for the cash as that's always been more interesting, but I acquired my IS300h with the sole purpose of cheaper motoring.

Anything else that folks have tried that have impressed in that respect?

Notamech · March 13

8 hours ago, Stever750 said:

Apologies for resurrecting this, I'm searching for best value eco tyre, as in best fuel eco. The OE fitted Yokahamas are on the shortlist, along with Bridgestone Turanza.

Over the years I've tried just about every brand, usually the highest performing ones for the cash as that's always been more interesting, but I acquired my IS300h with the sole purpose of cheaper motoring.

Anything else that folks have tried that have impressed in that respect?

Depends on what type of tyre you want all seasons or are you fine with summer tyres? If summer is fine then I think the best eco yet reasonably priced one will probably be the Bridgestone turanza 6 or the older Turanza T005. Both are B rated for fuel and A rated for wet performance which i think you will need on motorways. There may be bette( A rated for fuel )tyres out there e.g Michelin primacy but i reckon they would cost more. Have a look around different comparison sites sometimes there are discounts available.

Mr_Groundhog · March 13

I saw Michelin has a new primacy 4 range that's both A for fuel and A for rain, plus very low road noise. They're the "bmw approved" so I guess they're also developed for real wheel drive and I think those are the ones I will be fitting when the moment comes.

Stever750 · March 13

I'm reading good things about Falken Azenis FK520 and they're under £100 a corner. The Yokohama can be had for £86 at black circles, the turanza t6 and t005 are both over £100 a corner.

I know that the Falkens have 7.7mm of new tread depth, and guarantee 50k km so there's that unique benefit. Of course deeper tread blocks = less precise handling and initially higher rolling resistance but they're also A rated so I might try them.

Stever750 · March 13

I also have had good experience with Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics

wharfhouse · March 13

25 minutes ago, Stever750 said:

I'm reading good things about Falken Azenis FK520 and they're under £100 a corner. The Yokohama can be had for £86 at black circles, the turanza t6 and t005 are both over £100 a corner.

I know that the Falkens have 7.7mm of new tread depth, and guarantee 50k km so there's that unique benefit. Of course deeper tread blocks = less precise handling and initially higher rolling resistance but they're also A rated so I might try them.

The Yokohama tyres that were fitted as OEM to my IS 300h were BluEarth E51A and I have replaced them with the same over the life of the car - they have a wheel rim protection built into the tyre (some rubber that sits slightly proud of the wheel rim to minimise kerbing damage). They are always in stock at my local Lexus dealer and I have always gone there for all of my tyres on this car. The BluEarth E51A are £110.17 fitted from Black Circles: https://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/yokohama/bluearth-e51a/225/45/R17/W/91/f?tyre=32829507 - I think you were may have been looking at different Yokohama tyre at £86 each. However, In December last year I paid £80 per tyre for the BluEarth E51A (all in incl. vat, fitting, balancing etc.) at my local Lexus dealer. I think I mentioned before (and others on the forum have too) that Lexus dealers (at least some of them) will beat other tyre places on price so worth asking them for a price.

Of course, tyre choice is very subjective and each of us has our own requirements. For me, given my 15K miles per annum, much of it motorway miles, I am happy fitting the OEM tyres at the price I get them for from my local Lexus dealer, and mileage-wise I always get 20K miles from the rears and 40K miles from the fronts.

Stever750 · March 13

Although there is a perfectly usable Yokohama E51A on the rear (not the GT as you pointed out) the other side is a name i don't even recognise, so tomorrow it will be fitted with Falken Azenis FK520 and get a 4 wheel alignment check using the Absolute Alignment system.

wharfhouse · March 13

34 minutes ago, Stever750 said:

Although there is a perfectly usable Yokohama E51A on the rear (not the GT as you pointed out) the other side is a name i don't even recognise, so tomorrow it will be fitted with Falken Azenis FK520 and get a 4 wheel alignment check using the Absolute Alignment system.

Sounds good

Stever750 · March 14

First problem of the day, garage can't check alignment as that needs the ADAS to be recalibrated which they cannot do. I guess that's a task for the dealer unless I can find a certified service centre more local. That's a pita!