2008GSh

So after several months I finally got around to sending the OE Micheline Primacy HP's to the scrap pile.

Replaced them with a new set of Pirelli P-Zero Nero's

WOW! Simply WOW... The car is now whisper quiet at all speeds and all of the "driving on gravel" road feel and noise is gone...

And even more cool I can now hear when the ICE kicks on and off and I can hear the really cool "George Jetson" like whirring that the electric hybrid system makes.

If anyone is looking at their stock set of nearly shot OE Primacy HP's do not hesitate to dump these turds. I have no idea why Lexus inflicts these great cars with this tire as an OE choice. Did they pick a super noisy tire to try and hide the "different" whirrs and purrs that a hybrid makes?

I would much rather listen to the soft sounds of the hybrid system rather than the "cement mixer full of pea gravel" that the tires would generate.

Skggyy

iTrader: (1)

ture. tire is so important to driving quality. I just replace one set of Micheline super sport in a few weeks ago. love how it drives. i also try P-zero on my car. i swtich the tires from my friend's gS430. it is probably one of the quietest tires i have ever drive. But performance seems not as good as Micheline super sport. just my 2 cents.

2008GSh

Haven't had a real chance to fling the car around on the new tires. I can say though I didn't buy a car that weights over 2 tons to see how well it corners. Its a Lexus, I want smooth, quiet and fast. And the new tires deliver that... and then some... Plus the fact they are all seasons means I might even have a fighting chance in bad weather. The Micheline Primacy were good in the dry, but there braking performance in the wet definitely left something to be desired.

I have had Micheline Sport Pilots before and they were great tires... Other then having to have the radio blaring loud and have to yell to have any sort of conversion.

diagtime

I would be careful with P-zero Neros. they tend to cup on the inside edge on GS's. this causes a roaring noise during with only about half of the tread life used. And if you had that noise with the Primacy's.....you might have had your tires balanced improperly. Out of balance tires can cause cupping (which causes noise) without you even feeling it.

2008GSh

Please explain.. more wear in the middle or at the side wall?

diagtime

inner 2 inches of tread. Just keep the P-zero's balanced properly and see how it goes. they're not a bad tire for the price. rotation helps.

by the way, one of the GSh's I take care of has Continental ContiProContacts AO (means Audi OEM). they're the ones that have the 500 treadwear instead of 400. They now have 35,000 miles on it and have at least half of the usuable tread still on them (6/32 to 7/32 all the way across the tread). very quiet, very comfortable. Not a sport tire though. I've got another GSh on pilot super sports. that thing is on rails. ridiculous tires.

2008GSh

So they wear more in the middle than near the side wall? My Primacy's did exactly that.

And Service records for the car (and lots of residual fluffy glue stuff that needs to be cleaned off ) show that they were rotated and balanced regularly... The last time a mere 5000 miles before I got rid of them. Balancing was not the issue. Tire Rack reviews of the Primacy HP (not to be confused with other versions of the Primacy tire) support my observation that these are some noisy tires.

diagtime

i'm sorry to use confusing wording. they usually wear on the inner edge. (like the inner two inches). but remember, a lot depends on what tire pressure you have in them.

Brabusx2

i currently have Pzero nero run flat on my GS.. so far it seems quiet but if i get rid of the run flat on my next set of tires it might be much much more quieter.. the thing i don't like is everytime i leave the drive way tapping a bit on the gas it wheels spin like crazy

diagtime

well that is not normal. unless you have the very rare active sway bar then you can get a compact spare tire in the trunk. may cost like 400 believe it or not but you'll probably save that much just by not buying runflats.......and non runflats will last so much longer. and not spin all the time.

moose66

Dumped the runflats months ago. Running Cooper RS3-A's. So far, so good. Great in the rain, w/excellent grip. Found a Camry spare that will work in an emergency if needed.

I do have the Pirelli P Zero Nero's on my IS-C. Love them. Great tire.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Yes These tires are the best, I have had them for about a year and they are so quiet. Only problem I found is that the handling isn't excellent good but not excellent. Make sure you check your alignment as my rear is wearing on the inside again, just a heads up.

Brabusx2

how do i able to tell if my car has active sway bar?

diagtime

your car will have been about 80 grand.. ok not really. so you know how on the left side of the trunk there is no place to put anything because the auxiliary battery is there under a cover?? but on the right side of the trunk that corner is free and open unlike the left side???

if you had active sway bar, the right side would look similar to left because there would be another auxiliary battery for the active sway bar system. there are many other ways to tell of course. like if you looked at the rear (or front) sway bar, it wouldn't be just a bar. it would be a bar with a motor halfway across.

rare feature. it's also an interesting sensation in the corners. not spectacularly better than normal by any means. but interesting.

and if we're being honest......the GSh.....it does many things quite awesomely....but everything it does can be beat by some other car (individually). Why we all love it is because it's interesting and different. Nothing......, and I mean nothing, is quite like it.

Stormforge

correct term for active sway bar in the GS450h is active power stabilizer suspension system (or apsss for short). if you have apsss, it will look like this when you open up your trunk floor:




see following links for more details:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...uspension.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...on-system.html