NX tyres. Yokohama BluEarth / Michelin Cross Climate 2

[Jim1977]

Hi all

My NX should be coming this week, and it has the Yokohama BluEarth tyres that are stock Lexus fit. I tend to fit Michelin Cross Climates to my cars, and so intent to do so again here.

I note that as well as better wet performance, the Cross Climates are B rated for efficiency vs D for the Yokohama’s.

Has anyone switched between these tyres and noticed an improvement / reduction in mpg?

Thanks

Jim

[Steve Oliver]

Yes, I've switched. Couldn't be happier on the quietness alone in comparison with the Yokohamas. Not noticed a change in mpg though to be honest.

[ArneT]

1 hour ago, Jim1977 said:

Hi all

My NX should be coming this week, and it has the Yokohama BluEarth tyres that are stock Lexus fit. I tend to fit Michelin Cross Climates to my cars, and so intent to do so again here.

I note that as well as better wet performance, the Cross Climates are B rated for efficiency vs D for the Yokohama’s.

Has anyone switched between these tyres and noticed an improvement / reduction in mpg?

Thanks

Jim

I recently swapped to another tyre, so can't help with that exact move Jim.

I agree with ditching the stock tyres as they have pretty poor ratings for efficiency and wet braking. However, if you wish to throw another tyre into the mix to consider, I found the Bridgestone Turanza 6 to be well reviewed - I think it comes down to all weather versus summer choice. As we seem to be getting wetter winters and less snow and ice (in the south of the UK), I chose 'summer' tyres.  The efficiency (rolling resistance) of the Turanza 6 is very good, so I am hoping this will help improve my mpg. Time will tell!

[ArneT]

@Jim1977 of course I have tempted fate with my post from 7th of January as unexpected snow and ice has appeared where I live! That being said, the new tyres have handled the slippery surfaces well (snow on a steep driveway), but I haven't had a chance to try them on very icy surfaces yet.

[Jim1977]

15 minutes ago, ArneT said:

@Jim1977 of course I have tempted fate with my post from 7th of January as unexpected snow and ice has appeared where I live! That being said, the new tyres have handled the slippery surfaces well (snow on a steep driveway), but I haven't had a chance to try them on very icy surfaces yet.

Hopefully down your way days like that will be very much the exception to the rule. We’re in the Midlands and it is generally mild here, as you mentioned wet grip and water clearing properties are probably more relevant. I popped into our local dealer, who wanted about £900 to fit 4 Cross Climates. They want £1400 to fit a tow bar too. I’m just sitting on the tow bar install for now. Wanted a dealer to do it really but that’s a lot to stomach. I was thinking £1000 tops…..

[ArneT]

On 1/9/2024 at 6:53 PM, Jim1977 said:

Hopefully down your way days like that will be very much the exception to the rule. We’re in the Midlands and it is generally mild here, as you mentioned wet grip and water clearing properties are probably more relevant. I popped into our local dealer, who wanted about £900 to fit 4 Cross Climates. They want £1400 to fit a tow bar too. I’m just sitting on the tow bar install for now. Wanted a dealer to do it really but that’s a lot to stomach. I was thinking £1000 tops…..

if it's not too late, have you tried Asda tyres? I heard of them from another post on this forum and the price is very competitive. It's a nationwide online purchasing platform with a choice of local installers to choose from (standard tyre fitters, not popping into an Asda carpark!). You have ratings that you can see before you pick the local fitter and you can select an appointment online (day and time). I believe they price-match too, but I didn't really need to as their price was already pretty good. I have used it for the first time and I was very impressed.

That being said, £900 from your local dealer is a pretty good price to supply and fit 4 Cross Climates hopefully the CURRENT version Cross Climate 2(?). 

[Jim1977]

1 hour ago, ArneT said:

if it's not too late, have you tried Asda tyres? I heard of them from another post on this forum and the price is very competitive. It's a nationwide online purchasing platform with a choice of local installers to choose from (standard tyre fitters, not popping into an Asda carpark!). You have ratings that you can see before you pick the local fitter and you can select an appointment online (day and time). I believe they price-match too, but I didn't really need to as their price was already pretty good. I have used it for the first time and I was very impressed.

That being said, £900 from your local dealer is a pretty good price to supply and fit 4 Cross Climates hopefully the CURRENT version Cross Climate 2(?). 

Thanks for the tip, I did see Asda Tyres come up as a search result, but hadn’t gone to them yet. I normally use Costco, but they did not have Cross Climates for the NX, weird as they had them for our Leaf and Kia Soul EV. I normally wait for a Costco offer and then jump on it. Might call them and check if it’s just a stock issue and if so wait. Will try Asda for pricing too. If I can get Lexus to price match like for like would go with them and ask them to fit mud flaps while the wheels are off 

[BonzoSPB]

On 1/7/2024 at 8:12 PM, Jim1977 said:

Hi all

My NX should be coming this week, and it has the Yokohama BluEarth tyres that are stock Lexus fit. I tend to fit Michelin Cross Climates to my cars, and so intent to do so again here.

I note that as well as better wet performance, the Cross Climates are B rated for efficiency vs D for the Yokohama’s.

Has anyone switched between these tyres and noticed an improvement / reduction in mpg?

Thanks

Jim

I assume people don't get a new NX with Yokohamas then pay £800+ to instantly swap them to Michelin? They may be quieter and have better performance in poor weather but it's surely not that much better to be worth throwing away the factory fitted tyres.

[CGJ]

Yes you're right. My NX MY 2024 450h+ Takumi came with Bridgestone Alenza Runflats on 20" wheels. I think they're far noisier than they should be, probably due to a stiffer carcass. Whilst running in electric mode it's the only noise you hear as the car itself is very quiet. Having said that I've only done just over 5,000 miles so will wait for the Alenzas to wear out. Favourites for replacement will be Michelin Cross Climate 2's. I'll need to buy an electric pump and repair kit I guess. Not sure about the tyre valves so I am researching for issues.

P.S.  After 6 months waiting my car is actually in at Lexus today having the second key fob programmed and second attempt to fix the fuel flap issue, but the wheel bolts are still o/s. Some progress I guess though🙄☺️

[Alan305]

Another vote for cross climates. Done about 10,000 miles and they are faultless.

[Scotlex]

2 hours ago, BonzoSPB said:

I assume people don't get a new NX with Yokohamas then pay £800+ to instantly swap them to Michelin? They may be quieter and have better performance in poor weather but it's surely not that much better to be worth throwing away the factory fitted tyres.

I was thinking this too, but I assume they are just changing brands when tyre replacement is due.

Unless of course they have too much money 🙄😅

[Jim1977]

3 hours ago, BonzoSPB said:

I assume people don't get a new NX with Yokohamas then pay £800+ to instantly swap them to Michelin? They may be quieter and have better performance in poor weather but it's surely not that much better to be worth throwing away the factory fitted tyres.

Yes, the tyres are coming up to 3 years old but do have some life left yet. My query is for when they need replacing, not just for the sake of it. Although I’m not intending to do this yet, you never know when an unrepairable puncture will necessitate a pair of new tyres. With AWD by the book they may even suggest all 4 are replaced if the wear is significantly different (not read the book yet as only picked the car up an hour ago). Just wanting to get a feel for the right tyres when the time comes 👍

[ArneT]

7 hours ago, BonzoSPB said:

I assume people don't get a new NX with Yokohamas then pay £800+ to instantly swap them to Michelin? They may be quieter and have better performance in poor weather but it's surely not that much better to be worth throwing away the factory fitted tyres.

 

5 hours ago, Scotlex said:

I was thinking this too, but I assume they are just changing brands when tyre replacement is due.

Unless of course they have too much money 🙄😅

Yes to both of you .. I bought my 2016 NX a few months ago and it came with Yokohamas on the front and Bridgestones on the rear, so something had to change! My priorities were safety and fuel economy, with a trip to Europe planned later this year. 

[LenT]

21 hours ago, Jim1977 said:

If I can get Lexus to price match like for like would go with them and ask them to fit mud flaps while the wheels are off 

Last time I bought a new set of tyres (Goodyears) I was surprised to find that Lexus MK would price match my regular tyre retailer.  I didn’t in the end buy from them but only because I was also having a set of Alloygator rim protectors fitted.

I later fitted a set of mud flaps myself and can confirm that that is well worth doing.  Don’t really understand why they are not original equipment - the argument that they marginally increase fuel consumption doesn’t impress me.

[Mobeam]

On 1/11/2024 at 10:51 AM, CGJ said:

Yes you're right. My NX MY 2024 450h+ Takumi came with Bridgestone Alenza Runflats on 20" wheels. I think they're far noisier than they should be, probably due to a stiffer carcass. Whilst running in electric mode it's the only noise you hear as the car itself is very quiet. Having said that I've only done just over 5,000 miles so will wait for the Alenzas to wear out. Favourites for replacement will be Michelin Cross Climate 2's. I'll need to buy an electric pump and repair kit I guess. Not sure about the tyre valves so I am researching for issues.

 

Sorry if this has been asked before.....but when mine wear out ...is it OK to replace current 20 " Bridgestone runflats with say Michelin Cross Climate non-run flats ? 

Though I read somewhere that runflat alloy wheel rims are manufactured only for that type of tyre.

[ColinBarber]

4 hours ago, Mobeam said:

Though I read somewhere that runflat alloy wheel rims are manufactured only for that type of tyre.

Many runflat tyres will only fit on wheels specifically designed for them, but normal tyres can fit on runflat design wheels with no problem.

There are more modern runflats that don't even need special wheels.

[The Swedish Guy]

"All-Season tyres"....  LMAO 🤣🤣🤣

[ArneT]

4 hours ago, The Swedish Guy said:

"All-Season tyres"....  LMAO 🤣🤣🤣

Magnus,

The weather in the UK is very different to Sverige. We don't get anywhere near -40 °C (fortunately). Below -10°C is quite rare with no requirement for snow tyres or chains (by law anyway).

Arne

[stephschad]

Got my NX 300h in summer 2017, changed the 1st winter to Michelin CrossClimate and use them ever since. Great tires. Went up the Austrian mountains as you can see.
 

 

[Wattspn]

Thank you for the topic here - I have a late 23 NX 450h+ arriving next week and was considering the tyre options. For ref. I have a BMW 520d and this needs full winter tyres that are swapped over around Nov to March. I run Dunlops - they are expensive and I bought them with seperate wheels. However, they are, as you would expect, significantly better in snow, but also cold rain, than Cross Climates or Goodyears All Season. But the rwd BMW is useless in the cold and damp on summer tyres so full winters are essential. I currently use Cross Climates and Goodyears on our 2 small Volvos and found they work as well as each other BUT the Cross Climates do last a lot longer - maybe 30% or even 40%. The Good Years seem a lot softer and after 10k - 15k seem to deteriorate quickly. The Cross Climates seem to wear more evenly.  

[The Swedish Guy]

On 1/17/2024 at 7:13 PM, ArneT said:

Magnus,

The weather in the UK is very different to Sverige. We don't get anywhere near -40 °C (fortunately). Below -10°C is quite rare with no requirement for snow tyres or chains (by law anyway).

Arne

As you might know Sweden is big ( almost UK x 2 ) and very long 1850 kms Malmö - Kiruna so the need of winter tyres depend on where you live...

Lets rip of the band aid "all-Season-Tyres"  first; There is no tyres thats performs well in a 4 season climate, you end up with a poor compromise that's just average at best ( regardless of season..), sadly approved at winter tyre in Sweden

Mid-European-winter tyres: Good in wet/ slush, OK on snow and ice, rubber compund that works well in -10C to +10C (What I personally use in southern Sweden) and what I would recomend to a UK Lexus owner who has more then 5 days/ year of snow or lives rural

Nordic Friction-tyres: Focuse on Snow/Ice Handling, doin OK on Ice but a soft rubber compund that wears down in temps over 0 ( but stay soft in -30C), performs poor in wet summer handling

Studded tyres: As above with added studs ( max 50 pcs / meter tyre-circumference), the king of icey nordic roads but poor comfort and wears down quick on dry tarmac 

So choosing the proper tyre for your needs, skills and climate is a tricky task, but don't be fooled by the "all-season-tyres" and think its a proper winter tyre..

 

 

 

 

[ArneT]

1 hour ago, The Swedish Guy said:

As you might know Sweden is big ( almost UK x 2 ) and very long 1850 kms Malmö - Kiruna so the need of winter tyres depend on where you live...

Lets rip of the band aid "all-Season-Tyres"  first; There is no tyres thats performs well in a 4 season climate, you end up with a poor compromise that's just average at best ( regardless of season..), sadly approved at winter tyre in Sweden

Mid-European-winter tyres: Good in wet/ slush, OK on snow and ice, rubber compund that works well in -10C to +10C (What I personally use in southern Sweden) and what I would recomend to a UK Lexus owner who has more then 5 days/ year of snow or lives rural

Nordic Friction-tyres: Focuse on Snow/Ice Handling, doin OK on Ice but a soft rubber compund that wears down in temps over 0 ( but stay soft in -30C), performs poor in wet summer handling

Studded tyres: As above with added studs ( max 50 pcs / meter tyre-circumference), the king of icey nordic roads but poor comfort and wears down quick on dry tarmac 

So choosing the proper tyre for your needs, skills and climate is a tricky task, but don't be fooled by the "all-season-tyres" and think its a proper winter tyre..

 

 

 

 

Thanks (tack) for the detailed response. You raise some very good points about the 'catch-all' all season tyres being a compromise, and a glimpse into the joys of even more cold-weather tyre options!. We have it simpler here in the UK, but some regional variation (north vs south) will apply to our smaller country. I agree 100% that this becomes a personal preference, with assumptions about weather, road type/elevation above sea level etc.

At least in the UK we normally only need a two-sided coin to help us make up our minds about tyre type (summer vs "all-season") before we then embark upon reviews of tyres which are often contradictory between different tyre review websites!

[Al D-Much]

What a surprise a more expensive tire performs better than a cheaper one.

Not much in it according to stats from the internet, so must be true 🤣
MCC2 71db B efficiency rating B for wet braking
YBE4S 72db C efficiency rating B for wet braking

Also, £900 to fit 4 tyres? You're have a giraffe, that's almost £300 markup on an independant