UncleBen

Anyone else here living in snow country?

I was wondering what you guys are doing or intend to do. I'm a little torn between buying just the tires and switching them twice a year, which will cause some damage to both the tires and the rims. Or buying rims and tires, which will add anywhere form $300 to $1,000 or more (depending on the rims.) But that additional cost is mitigated by the fact that if I don't buy rims, the tire change twice a year will be considerably more expensive(balancing, TPMS ...)

Any thoughts!

chrisk008

I find it is so much easier to carry a complete second set. Tires and rims. Tire rack sells some great storage options. I swap them out myself each season in my garage. Have them balanced with my twice a year oil change.

UncleBen

Not sure I'd want to change them myself. My understanding is that the bolts have to be tightened to a specific tightening sequence depending on lug nut/bolt pattern.

uicandrew

I know it may be cringe inducing, but Walmart has lifetime rotation and balancing for tires lifespan for $10 a tire. Their mounting charge is also reasonable.

I used to use Walmart for all my Camry tire changes but now I think I'll at least go to a Toyota dealership for the tire work. Depends on the cost.

jetman

My dealer tells me that their tire prices are as good as Tire Rack (a major online reseller), and if I purchase winter tires from them they will store my OEM tires until next spring. I just might take them up on that deal.

BikrMike

I just ordered an ES300h and I'm in the same boat as you. I'm in Ontario also and expect delivery end Nov. If we have the same kind of winter as last year........none, we'll be O.K.

I also have a Prius and I put M+S Michelins on (all season) and they have been O.K. past 2 winters. I put Rust Check's Coat and Protect on the aluminum wheels and that protects them over the winter months. It takes some work to get it off in the spring but wheels are protected.
I just don't want to buy extra wheels, tires and hassle of storage + on/off if I can avoid it. Of course winter tires are better but I rarely get into serious snow. The stock Michelin Primacy tires have a pretty good rating in snow. That's my opinion.

Lexmen

I just wanted to chime in here and let you know that the 2013 ES350 cars MUST have Lexus TPMS sensors no matter where you buy your wheels from. I put my blizzard and Elbrus winter wheel/tires on the new 13 ES350 UL last week, I bought them for my 08 ES350 UL, and they came from the tire rack with pacific 315 MHz sensors. The 08 car had the capability to store two sets of sensors but the 13 has done away with this, so I took the car to my dealer to have the codes registered and after several failed attempts they called Lexus and were informed that the only sensors that will work are the Lexus sensors.

Briano7

While perusing some Lexus PDF files I came across this which you may be interested in.

■Tire types
●Summer tires
Summer tires are high-speed performance tires best suited to highway driving
under dry conditions. Since summer tires do not have the same traction performance
as snow tires, summer tires are inadequate for driving on snow-covered or
icy roads. For driving on snow-covered roads or icy roads, the use of snow tires is
recommended. When installing snow tires, be sure to replace all four tires.
●All season tires
All season tires are designed to provide better traction in snow and to be adequate
for driving in most winter conditions as well as for use year-round. All season
tires, however, do not have adequate traction performance compared with snow
tires in heavy or loose snow. Also, all season tires fall short in acceleration and handling
performance compared with summer tires in highway driving.
●Snow tires
For driving on snow-covered roads or icy roads, we recommend using snow tires.
If you need snow tires, select tires of the same size, construction and load capacity
as the originally installed tires. Since your vehicle has radial tires as original equipment,
make sure your snow tires also have radial construction. Do not install studded
tires without first checking local regulations for possible restrictions. Snow
tires should be installed on all wheels.

UncleBen

Well, I had an appointment with my dearler yesterday, for the 1600km check and to discuss snow tires. To my surprise, their prices were not any higher than what you get at Canadian Tire, Costco and the like. Since I don't intend to keep the car beyond the 4-yr warranty period, I decided to buy tires only, no rims. I bought Toyo Observe Garit KX - I used them before, and they offer fanstastic traction on snow and ice, and top performance on dry pavement. The downside - they're a little noisier, because of the microbit nutshell pieces, a compromise I'm willing to make for the added traction.

Cheers!

UncleBen

One more thing I forgot to mention. In my discussions with the service manager, I asked about installing the snows on steel rims which, with a decent set of wheel covers, would do the job. The answer was categorically NO, that the because of the differences in weight between steel and aluminum alloy, everything would be thrown off balance.

So that left me with three options. Keep the existing rims and peel the tires off twice a year, or spend an extra $2,000 for alum-alloy wheels for the winters, or not bother with snow tires at all. For me, safety always comes first, so that last option was not an option.

I chose to keep the $2,000 in the bank.

Cheers!

MY100thcar

If I needed snow tires I would buy the extra rims. You may be able to use them again with your next car, if not you can always sell them for appox. half of what you paid.

The tightening sequence has been the same as any other car for the last 60+ yrs. Nothing new.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

Im bumping this up, but will 16s fit on the ES350? I can get a set of 4 wheels from a lexus sc300. They are 16x6.5 with the 5x114.3 bolt pattern.