amphiprion

Haven't been active for a couple of years on this forum and in fact lost /access to previous account, under a similar name, but wanted to share my latest experience with the 2013 ES as it relates to ride comfort and road noise...

At about 900 miles on the car, I had the OEM Birdgestone Turanzas on 18" Ultra Luxury wheels replaced since I found them harsh riding and a little noisy.

Primacy MXM4s went on the car and the ride improved somewhat but road noise was about the same, and actually got worse after about 20k miles. At the time, I figured that the generally firmer ride was a result of the 18" rims combined with the characteristic nature of this ES' suspension.

At 35k miles, the Primacys had worn down to about 4/32"s and I decided to replace with Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus after doing some homework.

The difference in ride comfort and tire/road noise is remarkable. The ES serves as my daily driver and know exactly how the car behaves during my commute... Well the drive is now amazingly quiet and plush where normally there were some sharp bumps and tire roar on coarse freeways making it into the cabin. It rides like a different vehicle, and although I haven't pushed it, I can tell that the tires will probably not be as sporty when cornering hard. I am fine with that.

I regret not having these Pirellis on for the last 30+ thousand miles, but then again they may not have even been around then.

The quest for a soft quiet setup on the ES (even on 18" rims) for me is over.

SW17LS

I put them on my LS at about 8,000 miles. They are GREAT tires. So glad I stepped out the terrible OEM tired early.

bc6152

Thanks for the info on the Pirelli's. This is good to know for those of us considering new, more quiet tires. Welcome back to CL.

KennyLexus

I think those Pirelli tires are a replacement for the now discontinued Pirelli P Zero Nero. They were my previous set of tires and I could not say enough good things about them...very quiet even in 20".

I didn't have enough patience to wait for the P7s so I bought a set of Hankook Ventus. They're not bad but I should have waited on the Pirelli P7s.

Freds430

Info from Tire Rack on the P7 Plus.

PIRELLI CINTURATO P7 ALL SEASON PLUS

Based on 571 submissions of our online survey.
Total Miles Reported 4,414,758
Performance Category Rank 1 out of 38
Would You Buy Again? Definitely
% vs. Best in Category 100%

A review of the P7 with three other highly rated tires.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=188

Brn2fish

Just wondering if anyone can tell how those Pirellis in a snow/ice condition compares to Michelins?

Mike728

They look pretty good according to THIS.

SW17LS

The Pirelli PZero is a more aggressive tire. They make a P Zero All Season Plus which would be the replacement for those. That's an Ultra High Performance tire, the P7 is a grand touring tire, as was the MXV4.

I drove mine with them in the snow. Bear in mind mine is AWD, but they were very good.

JT4

Another vote here for the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus.. I had put these on my middle son's previous car and they were great. The difference in ride was remarkable, they are a very quiet tire.

For anyone considering these tires one thing to keep in mind is that Pirelli also makes a Cinturato P7 All Season. Just make sure you get the Cinturato P7 All Season PLUS because the P7 PLUS is better rated tire.

notabot

So I can see two versions of the Cinturato P7 All Season Plus - one is H rated and one is V rated. Since I don't routinely go above 130mph is the H-rated (slightly less expensive) version as good when it comes to sound and ride?

bc6152

Be aware that you must replace any tires on your car with the exact speed rating that the manufacturer provided when new. IOW V for V, S for S, etc. You cannot go to a lesser speed rated tire...

Arty101

Yes, most tire dealers, including Costco will not sell you a lower speed rated tire, and I believe the ES is V rated.

SW17LS

Thats what tire dealers tell you, but its not really true. I ran H rated tires on my 03 ES and 10 ES and had no issues, and had H rated tires been available for my LS460 I would have gotten them. The LS430 shipped with H rated tires, so why would an LS430 be okay on H rated tires but an ES not be or an LS460 not be?

Buy the H rated tires you'll be fine. And guess what, when you go to replace them at Costco they will sell you H rated tires, right now they won't because whats on there is V rated.

Arty101

So what you're saying is buy the H rated tires but the tire dealers won't sell them since V's is what on them now?

bc6152

I agree that one can probably go to a lesser speed rated tire than what was on the car when delivered, however I have not encountered a tire dealer that would sell me a tire of a lesser speed rating. I understand their position as it becomes a liability issue for the seller. There are numerous idiots out there that would test tire durability and speed ratings and maybe end up with brain damage in an accident. I know that Costco absolutely refuses, under any circumstances, to sell you a tire different from OEM ratings. I stay with what the manufacturer recommends as I believe that they have your best interest in mind and that their engineers know best.