grantwils

How many miles do you do? I ran Wintrac Xtreme S on my 2015 Touareg V6 for 18000 miles over 2 winters and 1 summer. They still had 5-6mm on when I sold them. The car was probably driven harder than most so I was very impressed. I'd expect them to wear less on the RX which has far less torque then the diesel Touareg. I just put the same tyres on my RX, that's the third car I've used them on and I'll be sticking them on my C-class for next winter as the current TS830Ps don't have long left. They'll be on the RX all year as it only does about 5000-8000 miles.

You can always tell the people with zero experience of winter tyres because they post nonsense like this. They’re not a fail safe, no-one said they are but they are a massive, huge, undeniable, instantaneous improvement over summer tyres on snow, ice, slush, etc. They’re also in many cases cheaper than using summer tyres all year so why wouldn’t you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What tyres are you using PCM?

Whole experience might help a very small amount it doesn’t beat the laws of physics. The best, most experienced Scandinavian rally driver on summer rubber will be no match at all for a total idiot with winter rubber. The idiot will literally run rings around him and leave him stranded. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Really? How come Scandinavians and Canadians drive them without much trouble in a hell of a lot worse conditions than we get here? Have you ever driven one with winter tyres? I've never, ever found a car that didn't handle perfectly with winter tyres front wheel drive A3 auto, RWD Merc autos, various 4x4s all capable of starting in thick, untreated snow on a hill without even a hint of wheelspin.

Very little to do with the size of car, the transmission and the driven wheels and very much to do with the tyres. My auto RWD Merc pulls 4x4 Imprezas and Freelanders up hills because it’s got the right tyres on it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s 100% down to the wrong tyres. You can’t beat the laws of physics. I’ve towed 4x4s up hills in a RWD auto Merc when I’ve had winter tyres on and they’ve had summer tyres. I have no idea why cars in UK are shipped with rubber specifically for use above 7 degrees when it’s below 7 degrees for 6 months of the year. They use RWD automatic cars on ice covered roads and steep inclines in Scandinavia and Canada. Buy a second set of rims and winter tyres. It’ll save you money and you wont get stuck. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Totally agree. I run winters on all my cars for last 4 years and will never go back to using summers in winter. I prefer using winter rubber in summer if I’m forced to go with just one option. It might be earlier in this post where I showed a significant saving using winter rubber on the Touareg I leased. People saying it’s expensive need to get their calculators out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What tyres? We just go Wintrac Xtreme S fitted to our 2RX and so far so good but no snow up in Sconny Botland. Had them before on X trail and Touareg and they’ve been great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are some options but they have higher offset which pushes the rim closer to the strut and it's already pretty close. If you take a higher centre bore there are more options still but they also have a higher offset too. Someone who has actually tried it might be able to help you more than I can. http://www.wheelfitment.eu/PCD/5x114.3 /60.1.html

Great minds... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, 3% over-read. No bad thing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pleasure doing business. The Mrs loves them and got the Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S on the way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

235/55/19 fit perfectly well. Ordered winter rubber for it too. Before: After: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Rayaan. I'll trial fit the 19"s this weekend with the existing 235/55/19s that came on them to see how they fit as that's what I'd prefer to go with. 235/50/19 on 7.5j are closer to 235/55/18 on 7j in terms of diameter, circumference etc but they're a more expensive size and have less rubber for avoiding potholes. Edit: Having checked various wheel size websites here are the options for 19x7.5j on the RX S2 RX. 235/50/19 USDM RX300 (Nokian WR SUV 3 £162) 245/50/19 USDM RX400h (no winter tyre available) 235/55/19 JDM RX350 (Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S £133) The Wintrac Xtreme is my favourite winter tyre so I'll probably go with those. Obviously this information isn't from official Lexus sources but some markets do seem to have had 19" options on the S2 RX. I think EU cars are JDM too which is weird. My manual and door sticker only give 18" and 17" options.

I’ve got a 2007 RX350 with 235/55R18 on 7j . I’ve got a set of 19x7.5j from a later RX. Were 19’s an option on S2 RX? Manual and door sticker only have 17” and 18” options which was a bit of a surprise. RX doesn’t seem fussy about sizes. Anyone know if there are officially approved 19” tyre sizes for the S2 RX? If not I’ll just stick to similar diameter (235/50) or possibly 235/55 from S3 RX. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All good points. FYI I drove a RWD C-Class Merc up a hill that a 4WD Disco3 with Pirelli Scorpion Summer tyres on couldn't get up. The disco got so far up then the 4x4 system shat itself. After sitting stationary with the handbrake on for a few seconds it actually started sliding down down the hill. Albeit these were extreme conditions but it showed that even 4WD and Land Rover off road gubbins is useless when your rubber is rock hard the laws of physics come into play. Plenty options that make running summer and winter sets cheaper than using summer all year round (see my previous post).

It shouldn't be hard to find rims to fit. I got a pair of diamond cut Kia rims for my Infiniti which will also fit my RX. Only problem is centre bore is a bit bigger on Kia rims so I'd should really use spigot rings which I'm not a big fan of. Most jap fitment wheels will fit. Strangely, from memory so I might be wrong, some other Lexus rims won't fit the RX, e.g. IS.

It's either an auxiliary heater or it's similar to the REST function in a merc where it continues to circulate the heat in the system for 15-30 mins after car stops. For the REST function to operate it needs to work regardless of whether the ignition is on or not. Does it? An auxiliary heater wouldn't need that. Have a feel above/below the dash for vents that come on only if the switch is operated.

Bear in mind tread goes 8mm-1.6mm so you can take off 13mm ride height just taking your tyres to the legal limit. I’ll probably use non standard tyre sizes on my 2RX simply because the rims and tyres were bought for another car which was rejected and they’re close enough for me not to be concerned. I’ll try sticking them on gumtree and use the proceeds to get genuine Lexus rims with proper sized tyres but if there’s no interest I’ll just use them on the 2RX. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Checkout wheelfitment.eu and willtheyfit.com I’m not sure 235/55 on 20” is a standard Lexus fitment according to their site! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We haven’t done the maths around the fact most of the population uses their cars primarily during the rush hours, not mid afternoon when its warmest. So I’d wager the average temp, during the average commute, is well under 7 degrees for 6 months of the year (I think) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha, I only know that because I work in a world where outside temp has a big effect on the efficiency/cost of our key (cooling) systems. I didn't believe it at first when I was originally told.

For anyone curious I will be updating this thread next week. The RX is back in Sheffield getting a couple of things sorted which I wasn’t totally happy with. The dealers have been great. They delivered a courtesy car to my door in Glasgow and took the RX back to sort. We love the car. I just wish the V6 wasn’t so muted sound wise. Also, no, I have not been looking at HKS blower kits. Honest. That would be ridiculous! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All seasons will be just as good in summer as summer rubber unless you’re pushing on. Same in winter with the exception of extreme weather when they’ll be obviously poor. Running 2 sets of wheels can be cheaper than running summer rubber all year with only 1 set. 2nd hand OEM wheels don’t depreciate much at all. Buy them for £300 and sell them for £250-300 if you change cars. Winter rubber is generally cheaper than summer especially if you can go down sizes. 20” summer Tyres for my Touareg were over £200. I bought brand new OEM 17” winters for £300 a set and premium tyres were half the price of 20” summers. Replacement set of 20” summer rubber = £800. 17” wheels and 4 winter tyres = £700 but you’ll have a set of wheels which will always be worth £250 so true cost is £450. I had the Touareg for 2 years, did 22k. Spent £700 on winter rubber and rims. Summer rims stayed pristine. Summer tyres still had 6mm tread on when I handed it back. I’ve got a set of winter wheels and tyres to sell which will easily get £500. If I didn’t run winters I’d have had to replace at least 2 summer tyres for £400 before handing it back. So I’d have been £400 down if I didn’t use winter wheels and tyres. I’m probably down £200 as I can easily get £500 for the part worn winters with rims. I’d have to sell the winter rims and tyres for under £300 to be out of pocket. So I only had the car for 2 years, saved a good £200, didn’t have to worry or think twice about going out in the worst weather Scotland could throw at me, kept my summer rims pristine, had a much safer car for my wife and kids and vastly reduced the risk of winter potholes damaging my wheels. Not to mention the amount of fun I had playing in the snow. Why on earth would I consider putting on expensive all seasons and costing myself even more money than just sticking with summer would have cost. All the RX’s have the same wheel figment so you could have bought at 17” set from a S1RX when you bought the first one, saved a fair chunk of cash, had more fun, been safer with less chance of getting stuck. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk