By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
IIRC, the Aegis is your standard all-season tire and will work fine. I think Consumer Reports gave it a pretty good rating. It will work fine on your car.
The Avid series (Touring, T4, H4, V4) is a little more sportier tire. Since most of us who hang out at Edmunds are car enthusiasts, we're likely to recommend something more performance-oriented. Not that the Avid is some racing tire; just better than your plain ol' standard all-season radial. I like the T4 or H4 for the price.
Both Tire Rack and Discount have very good reputations. I've known about Tire Rack for many years, long before internet shopping was around. Just use your normal cautions in buying from them as you would any online retailer.
Before you buy you may want to shop around your local area to see if someone will match online pricing. It's a good idea to buy tires locally since if you have a problem with them they are more likely to help you out. If a local retailer can come close in price it may give you peace of mind knowing that if you have a tire problem you can take your car back to them and say, "Fix It". Just a thought. Happy tire shopping!
However, after adding shipping and installation (about $7 and about $10, if I remember it right), the difference all but disappear.
I finished by buying the tires from the Firestone. Paid a bit more, but at least I know where to go in case of...
Turned to be later, that the Firestone provides free tire rotation for its customers - on all cars, not only for tires bought recently from them - and is sending a lot of coupons. More than paid off the small difference in price.
Good Luck
Thanks,
Ken
Don't know about the BFG - I'd ask them if I were you.
Don't forget that on these private labelled tires, only Sam's offers the warranty. At least, that's the case with the Goodyear's.
The current tires are new on the both of our family cars, but on the previous ones a lot of tiny cracks developed, both on sidewalls and in the groves between the tread blocks.
I would like to prevent this with new tires.
I was told the cracks are due to UV exposure, and it is better to tread the tires by a kind of sunblock. We are renting an apartment, and our cars are sitting on the parking lot.
I saw a lot of different tire care gels, foams and fluids in Pep Boys. However, it looks as all of them are mostly for appearance. At least, the packages stress high gloss over crack preventing. I care not about the gloss, but about tire life and safety.
Additionally, the tire care are for sidewalls only: it is prohibited to use them on tread. Looks like the fluids contains silicone and it makes tires slippery. It looks also it is not so easy to apply the chemicals to the inner sidewalls.
If you haven't been to Tirerack.com, go there and check out those tires, if only for the consumers comments.
The Mich Cross Terrain is a new tire from them for vehicles just like yours. It'll provide a smooth, quiet ride and give long tread life. I thinnk of it as the Energy MXV4 Plus for SUV's. Michelin's website also has dedicated info just for the Cross Terrain.
If you look at tires on all the SUV's around you, you will see lots of them with the LTX M/S. It's an excellent tire for the 80% on road/20% off road user. Not as smooth and quiet as the Cross Terrain. But maybe the best all around SUV tire.
The only problem I have with Michelin's are their prices. I think a lot of Bridgestone and their products. The Dueler H/L is the best overall value in light truck tires, IMO. It's a little quieter than the LTX, gives a bit better handling and performance, but at the expense of some tread life. Another excellent choice.
If you want I'll spin by WalMart and check out that "Select LT". I'll bet you are correct. Michelin rebrands that tire for Sam's Club (X Radial LT) and NTB (XC LT4, I think). All are pretty much the same tire. Shop price and treadlife warranty.
I'd think WalMart will do a fine job installing your tires. One positive from the Explorer debacle is that every tire jockey in the nation now knows how to mount and balance Explorer tires. One benefit of buying at WalMart is that if you ever have a problem or need something like a flat repair or rebalance, there are WalMart's in every little town in America. Any one of them can help you. WalMart is one of those places where the tire warranty they sell is actually worth something. Sometimes not always the case at a local tire joint.
Hope this helps.
link
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
When are people going to wake up and accept responsibility for their actions? This includes maintaining your vehicles.
That's it, just let the government protect you from yourself and jack up vehicle prices another couple of grand.
Warnings about holding your kids under water? Stickers saying "hot when in use" on wood stoves?
Labels with "dangerous when pointed at head or other body parts" on gun barrels?
Time to send Congress a message.
Vote the bums out!
The one on rear view mirrors always tickled me...I really thought those images were little cars and people in that small box outside the window. It never occured to me that the images were the reflection of items that might have been further away than the housing on the door. I now know everything, thanks to Uncle Sam.
I am reminded of my all-time favorite cartoon, depicting a rather insipid individual looking in a mirror, with the familiar-sounding inscription at the bottom of the mirror:
Caution: Objects In Mirror May Be Stupider Than They Appear!
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
My biggest beef with the OEM tires is wet traction. The least amount of moisture and I'm hydroplaning. My friend seems to think highly of the Kumho tires. Using TireRack's website, they seem to hold up pretty well for a $72/tire product when comparing them to +$100 Goodyear RS-A tires.
Anyone got any good/bad experiences with Kumho tires, and or TireRack?
I am down to the Michelin Pilot XGT H4, Dunlop SP Sport A2 and the Bridgestone Potenza RE950 for an Accord. Who knows, maybe the Talkabouts will sway me (and collect dust in the garage).
While I thought it interesting that Yoko and Pirelli were offering fall clothing in the middle of summer, both were pretty nice items. I wish I was in the market for tires. I prolly would've bought the Yoko's as I liked that pullover.
Whatever it takes to sell your product. Cell phone carriers give away accessories, offer rebates, and all kinds of stuff just to get you to sign up. And it works, big time. People are suckers for anything free, even if they have to sign a contract to get it.
Thanks
Spindel
At first, the tires were great in all aspects. However, over the past few months, the tires have become VERY noisy. The noise now sounds like our Mazda is wearing off-road tires (loud grinding sound). If you've ever heard a "monster" truck going down the highway, that's about how our Protege sounds now when driving on the highway.
I checked to be sure the tires were installed in the proper direction (since they are directional tires), but that was OK. I had the tires rotated front to rear and balanced, but there was no reduction in noise level.
The only thing I have noticed during a visual inspection of the tires is that at least two of the tires have several "swirl" marks around the end of the sidewall, near the tread.
Does anyone have any idea why this has happened? Is there a chance one or more belts inside the tire structure have failed?
Please help. The noise level is becoming atrocious.
Thanks!
I followed a link he provided to this board and it apparently caused me to post under his name.
Sorry about the confusion, especially to bretfraz!
Will it look dorky? Yep. You're going from a 50 series 17" to a 60 series 15" so the snowies will be shorter and narrower.
I think the 16" tires are the best compromise. I'm sure your area plows and salts the roads enough to make them passable. The 16" should work fine in these conditions.
Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
What Tire Guy had to say greatly influenced my decision.
The wheels look great. And the tires are really wonderful. My wife is always commenting on "...there you go again, making the tires perform." They are really incredible on upper-midwest roads. In the dry, they can take all you can dish out in your Accord. We have had such a dry summer, I have had too few opportunities to challenge them in the wet. But when we have had some, they were great.
I kept the original steel wheels with the original MXV4's for winter work until they wear out, then will replace them with a "real" winter tire, and do the change myself each fall and spring.
Bottom line: I love the XGT H4's. You will too.
I'm confused by your message though...did you buy Firestone or Bridgestone? Bridgestone is Firestone's step-up brand; they have a very good reputation.
Finally, you may be able to return the tires. Some stores offer a free 10 or 30 day replacement period if you're not happy with how new tires perform on your car.
lauriegal, regarding Bridgestone/Firestone, your tires will probably be fine. However, the "30 test drive" is a national program Bridge/Fire is offering. So if you purchased the set at an authorized dealer, you can return them, even if the local store does not have its own return policy.
That also does not mean that all Bridgestone tires are the same as all Firestone tires. Yes, there is a lot of cross-pollenization between the brands but both companies do most of their own design and mfring.
1) Reputedly better handling with the XGT H4.
2) The XGT H4's were IN STOCK; every tire dealer I checked with said that the MXV4 Plus was either back-ordered, or they had at most 2 left in a warehouse on the other side of the country.
Regarding the Dunlop SP Sport A2, two things I liked were the AA traction and 50k treadlife. Seems like most H rated tires are 40k. Tirerack also had a good preliminary write up.
Three weeks ago I purchased from tirerack.com a complete set of 235-60-R17 Goodyear Eagle LS tires mounted on ASA 17X 7 inch alloy wheels
I've logged almost a thousand miles on the odometer with the new set of wheels. The car gets taller.The steering and ride quality improves. So far there is no problem. What concerns me is when the front wheels are turned farthest to the left or right, there is just about an inch clerance between the tire and the wheel well.
Now I am considering another set of wheels. A set of 245-55-R17 Bfgoodrich Scorcher T/A on 17X7 inch Enkei RS5 for the front wheels and a set of 255-55-R17 on 17X7inch Enkei RS5 for the rear wheels. Would I have a problem with this new setup of wheels???
Any idea or information will be appreciated.....
Any driveline warranty you have will be gone as soon as a dealer rep sees the difference.
Any others worth looking at?
33000 miles is about average for Goodyears. My Eagle LSs were done at about 22000 miles. Their wet road capability went down the drain (ha ha).
I agree, if you are not driving over 130 mph, H rated tires will do. Lexus legally must say V-rated (probably because that is what came on the car). Can an ES 300 do 130? If you are looking for super high performance tires, then V and Z ratings will come with that class of tire. I surmise you are not.
My current car has the Energy MXV4+ and I've been very happy with them. I haven't driven them in snow yet but I think they are pretty comparable to the GA's in the wet. My experience with noise is totally the opposite; they're very quiet and smooth. Michelin has thrown a lot of technology into the tire and it does many things well. My only gripe so far is it's poor (by my standards) performance on twisty two-lane roads while being aggressivly driven. But if that's not you then I think the Michelin is perfect. If I could recommend only one tire for a Lexus, it's that one.
Can't comment on the Dunlop. Maybe someone else?
Re: speed ratings, I can tell you that it is one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood specs on a tire, and most of this damage is done by tire dealers and salespeople. You'd think the people that make a living with tires would understand and be able to explain speed ratings to the layman but my experience has proven otherwise.
Anyway, speed ratings need a dissertation to fully explain, but think of it not as how fast you can drive on your tires but how well the tire is designed and constructed. For a tire to withstand the incredible heat build up at high speeds it has to be designed and built to do so. In simple terms, the higher the speed rating the better the quality tire. It's not the point that you can drive 130MPH on a tire. Heck, you'd defintely go to jail once the cops caught you. It's that the tire has a large safety buffer and can easily handle almost anything you throw at it.
Some cars have very sophisticated suspensions that put extreme demands on a tire even when driven normally. Those cars need a V-rated tire just so the car can do it's job as it was designed. A car like an Infiniti Q45 will destroy a H-rated tire in a few thousand miles. That car needs a V-rated tire minimum.
All premium cars have had thousands and thousands of development hours spent on them just to get everything perfect. A Lexus is one of those cars. A cheap tire basically negates all the engineering advantages of owning a top-qualtiy car. (I'm not implying you want a cheap tire; I say this for all the lurkers out there who think the "4 for $99" tires are just fine for their car).
If you want I'll look for a website that explains speed ratings in a logical manner. Lemme know if you want more info.
Hope all this helps. Let us know if you have more ???'s.
Then, I tried the Dunlops D60A2 on my Honda Accord that came with Michelins MXV4's. Very unimpressed with the Michelins since again, they wore out at around 27,000 miles. I went through two sets on Dunlop D60A2 with each set lasting about 45,000 miles. They handled just as good if not better, got better gas mileage, and again were very quite. The price was less than half of the Michelins (D60A2 @$52/ea, Michelins $110/ea). Again I was very pleased with the dunlops.
I recommend Dunlop highly since I have had very good experience with them. I have heard a lot of good things about the Yokohama especially the Yokohama DB. I have not tried the yoko's yet but I may give them a try in the future.
Good luck on your decision with tires and please let us know what you decided on and how they worked for you.
Spyderred,
Dunlop tire was sold to Goodyear around 2 years ago.
Thanks in advance!