mcat

I got around okay last year on reg tires w/ 3 70lbs sand bags in the trunk. But I live in Omaha and we often have some heavy snows. I'm thinking to get snow tires and it sounds like Blizzaks are very good.

In the old days on my Buick 225s I just got 2 snows for the rear. My question is do I need to have 4 snow tires now? I'm looking at 4 98 ls400 rims, which I assume will fit my 99 ls400.

On a completely separate issue. I have a vibration that I feel in the steering at about 60- 65.

As I speed up to 70-75, the vibration goes away. The front is solid as a rock around town and at high speeds of 80+

I took the car in to my shop and the mechanic rotated and balanced the tires but this really did no good. He could find anything wrong with the suspension and said I had cheap tires. Of course he wanted to sell me tires—I think Firestone Potenzas or some kind of …tenzas?

The dealer I bought the car from installed 4 new tires as a condition of the sale but it seems like it’s always has this vibration. The tires I have now I’ve never heard of: Starfire SF340 M & S.
The tires have about 13000K on them.

Thanks for any advice help,

cat

Mugen_1

I live in southern Illinois and we had some real heavy snow here last winter. I took off my 20s and put my stock 16s back on my '97 with some new Yokohama Avid Touring S 225/60 tires. They're all-season, but they did well in the snow/ice, and I picked them up for less than $330 installed/mounted/balanced. They have good traction, and since I was only going to have them on for about four months, I couldn't justify spending the extra money on snow tires, as purchasing these gave me a new set of factory replacements less I ever decide to do away with my 20s.

That said, I understand Blizzaks are pretty much THE snow tire.

lexuslspro

DUDE! SEARCH!...just joking

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...snow-tire.html

Check Tirerack for some videos on snow tires...also try Youtube.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

do you want to be able to stop in the snow?
if so, get all 4 snow tires.

yes 98 wheels will fit fine.

your wheels are imbalanced, due either to a stupid shop, old equipment, or a bubble/defective wheel (or all of the above)

Bridgestone Potenza

those tires are off-brand chinese made, not great but will work for commuting in the DRY until you get annoyed at the noise they make as they wear.

Kansas

mcat, have you verified when your strut bar bushings or the entire strut bar assemblies were last replaced? They usually last between 50K and 80K miles on the 98-00 LS400. A sign of worn strut bar bushings is a sloppy steering and vibration at 60-70 mph. Mine were replaced about 45K miles ago and I can already tell they will need replacing again fairly soon.

The vibration could, of course, be from the tires. I once had a bad Bridgestone 5000 tire that had a heavy spot and it could not be balanced well enough to eliminate the vibrations it emitted. If the tires are supposedly balanced properly, have an alignment done if you haven't already. Worn suspension parts often become obvious during an alignment.

There have been a bazillion past threads about snow tires. Any name brand winter tire with the mountain/snowflake symbol on the sidewall should serve you well. I've got a brand new set of Blizzak WS70 tires on extra wheels that I will mount the weekend before Thanksgiving before we set out for Des Moines.

deanshark

4 snow tires is the way to go if you like to stop. (Like PD said) Last year I got all 4 (first year with the LS) on mine and it was great, when they were almost new. I picked up some Winterforce tires that were good. They were used and had about 6K on them. I left them on all year, and now with another 12K on them they are almost shot. REAL REAL loud noise from them. I heard good about them but I wouldn't suggest them. They are inexpensive but, they are CHEAP. Blizzak is the way to go.

randal

This is a good winter tire FAQ on Tire Rack's site -> http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/...?techid=120#y4

Raddison

I'm picking up a set of Michelin X-ice Xi2's in the coming weeks. I've heard these are better than Blizzacks, no clue! I just figure there is no way you can go wrong with ANY winter tire over an all-season.

mcat

that's a great link. thanks for all the good advice and ideas.

cat

Kansas

Here is a link to an article comparing the Blizzak WS70 to the X-ice Xi2: http://www.canadiandriver.com/2010/0...e.htm?page=all

Raddison

Wow Kansas, that was rather eye-opening, hmmmm, maybe I'll reconsider my purchase

Kansas

I'm sure the X-ice Xi2 and Blizzak WS70 are both great tires. The tread patterns on both are nearly identical although the tread gaps in the Blizzak are a little wider. Tire reviews indicate that the X-ice Xi2 is a bit better handler and quieter on dry roads and that the Blizzak WS70 has the edge on snow and ice.

I had to laugh when I read the Tire Rack review of the X-ice Xi2 which said that they wished the X-ice Xi2 performed better on - what else - ICE!

I also found it funny that Consumer Reports recently rated the three winter tires with the best snow and ice performance lower than other winter tires due to those three tires having poorer dry road performance. I think they were missing the point. When I buy a set of winter tires, I'm not looking for an all around tire. I'm looking for the ultimate winter performer that will get me up a snowy hill that leaves others at the bottom.

Raddison

Yeah, I could care less about dry road performance, ANY tire will do ya there. I'm just having a teeny bit of anxiety about my first rwd car in the snow, and a very large lexus at that.

Kansas

I thought the 1990 LS400 I drove through 13 winters was much more difficult to drive in snow than the 2000 LS400 I've driven through the past seven winters -- but the snow tires I used on the 90 were all light duty snow tires and not the true winter tires widely available more recently.

Just make sure that the tires you buy have that mountain/snowflake logo on the sidewalls which certify that the tires are true heavy duty winter tires.

Schnitz

iTrader: (5)

Raddison - Any snow tires will do you well. No need for anxiety. Drive according to the conditions.
First person in the snowbank is always some SUV or 4x4. Why? Becasue they don't realize that although they get going with no problems they also have to 'stop' that big bad boy. Always makes me chuckle.
One word of advice though. If you get stuck, turn off the traction control. Don't know how many people I've seen stuck because they don't turn it off and the car won't let the wheels spin. Sometimes that is what is necessary.