leavehard

I have noted that a lot of tires recommended here in this thread are not "V" rated or above. Since that's what came standard on 98-00 LS400's, how is it that you are able to get them installed ? Most tire shops I know won't install them (on the car) unless they meet OEM spec's. Just curious...

Lexscme

i say kumhos or toyo proxes or falken 512s. I hate tires that make soo much noise like your a 4x4 comin down the road.

Motil10108

I've got Michelin's on both the cars. MXV4 Primacys on the ES and MXV4 Energys on the LS. Some may claim they're a bit more expensive, but yeah, you have to consider how long you'll be using the tires you purchase. I'm very happy with the ride and quietness of the Michelin's and they made a night and day difference compared to the bridgestones and dunlops I had before. Plus, like other's said, there's a rebate for the michelin's/ i think $60 off coupon at costco (where i got mine).
Just take your time and read some reviews on tire rack. A little info there and some suggestions from fellow CL member won't lead you wrong. Good luck with your decision.

JimsGX

An H rated tire is good up to 130mph. This is more than adequate for my needs and probably most others. The V rated have a higher speed rating but typically, a V rated tire also has a lower tread wear rating. So you're paying more for a V rated tire and getting fewer miles out of them.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

there's more to it than just speed, a V-rated tire is generally much better quality of construction, and is a heavier duty tire, which will cope better with HEAVY cars.

V-rated minimum is a must, there's a reason damn near every "chain" tire shop will require you to buy at least the same rating as factory, which were V-rated, which means they will sell you a cheaper V-rated tire over an expensive H-rated tire if that's what they have in stock.

JimsGX

I'm more concerned with the load rating and making sure the tire can support the weight of the vehicle. Many tires have the same load rating when they're offered in H, V and T speeds. As an example, a Michelin Primacy 94H and a 94V rated tire both have a load rating of 1477lbs with speed ratings of 130 vs 149mph respectively. I wouldn't run anything less than a load rating of 94H.

McSwine

Looking at these as well...anyone got 'em???

Och

iTrader: (3)

What about Goodyear Comforthread?

JimsGX

I've been running 17" H rated Primacy's on my 91LS for around 4k miles now and they're great. They're very quiet.

A couple of months ago I had a vibration that I was trying to isolate and I put my 15" tires and rims back on to eliminate the 17" tires and rims as the problem. My old 15" tires are Michelin Pilot Exalto's with around 8k miles on them. They were much noisier than the Primacy's I had just taken off.

texpharm77

I drive about 1,200 miles per week. I have 1997 LS (192K miles) and 2000 Ls (62K miles). I bought the 97 with 108K miles and immediately put 4 new Yokohama YK520 from Discount Tires on it. I was very pleased with this tire. I ran them to 175K miles and was going to replace them with more YK520s. The day I had to do this DT did not have a full set of YKs in stock so I bought a set of 4 Michelin Primacy MXV4s....OMG they were so much quieter and smoother riding than the YK520s. DT gave them to me for the same price as the YKs because they were out of stock....highly recommend them.

I run YK520s on the 2000 LS. The only have 40K on them but we'll be changing to the Michelins when we get new tires. The 97 is far quieter, smoother ride that the 1997 LS.

One thing I notice with the YK is the different road noises based on road surface. Road surface does not seem to have the same effect on the Michelins...or at least not to the same magnitude....hope that helps man!

Texpharm77
97 LS 400
00 LS 400
01 GS 430