kkmax

My 2006 IS250 (RWD) is unmodded from stock. Came with 18" alloy wheels (225/40R18 front and 255/40R18 rears). My car has just under $48k miles on it and I used snow tires a lot in our previous locale, so wear-wise the tires are fine, but age-wise they're overdue for replacement. I love my car (except for my crappy melted dash/door trim) and hope to keep it around another 5-10 years.

We just moved to SoCal so I only need Summer tires. As you may have guessed, my car doesn't get driven a ton, although it varies, and it's been driven cross-country multiple times. Traffic is awful here, so I try to avoid highways and rarely get to drive over 45mph, so a high speed rating isn't important. What I do care about is dry, then wet traction (we've been getting a lot of rain lately), lower noise/smoother ride, and reasonable longevity. Boring, I know, but I generally don't have aggressive driving habits and prefer safety and comfort, followed (if possible) by thrift. While saving money is always better, I don't mind spending up to a grand tires - but they'd better be that expensive because they're also significantly safer/quieter/smoother and will remain so longer than cheaper options, not simply because they look sexy or they'll let me squeal around corners like I'm in Nascar.

So....suggestions?

.

Aspect

Imo tires are important even if you aren't driving that fast. Traction is traction and since safety is and should be a priority you should try to get the best tires you can afford. Michelin Pilot Super Sports are very popular and for good reason. Or if you wait a little bit, there's going to be the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S which has better dry and wet traction and an increased treadwear rating as well. Else I think a lot of people here also run Continental Extreme Contact DWS.

B00M3R

iTrader: (1)

I run Yokohama S drive tires on all my cars. Great Summer traction and they wear well. They are not noisy and they grip like crazy.
they are rated as a 300 AA A

kkmax

Thanks for your response. My point was that I don't need tires rated for the race track and I don't want a noisy, feel-every-pebble "performance tire." I specifically stated that traction/safety were a priority. I just wanted to emphasize that I was more interested in riding comfort than a "sport" experience. I don't WANT to feel every pebble on the road or have to suffer from tons of road noise for a "driving experience" I could not care less about.

Also, an article said only 19"-20" tires come out in March: http://blog.caranddriver.com/micheli...lot-sport-4-s/.

kkmax

Do you have 17" tires? Because both Tire Rack and the Yokohama site show nothing for my 18" wheels. Thanks, though.

Aspect

Ok fair enough. I think switching to a set of 17" wheels would probably give you the comfort you're looking for more so than the slight differences between tires in general - larger sidewall to soak up bumps with a less rigidity. Else if you want to stick to 18s I think browsing tirerack would help out a lot since they have quite a few performance tests and ratings for most of the tires out there.

B00M3R

iTrader: (1)

I have 18" rims but they cover all the way from 14" to 20"

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....170122032047:s

kkmax

And they specifically state on their site that the tire won't support the 2006 IS250 RWD with 18" tires.

JETLEX

iTrader: (11)

I have been happy with both Michelin Pilot super sports, or the Continental DWs (on other cars).