steveq81

We are in the market for new tires or our 2006 RX330. I have read lots of the tire threads here, and am looking for a little more info.

We have about 53K on a set of Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas, and I have mixed thoughts on that tire. They seemed to get rather noisy on us fairly quickly and I have read that comment from others. They seemed to wear a little faster than I was expecting. Winter performance has been pretty decent

Anyone out here running the newer Ecopias who also had the Alenzas? I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the Ecopias and how they comp[are to the Alenzas. How about the Goodyear Assurance ComforTreds? Those to seem to be getting more favorable comments than any others.

I am not going to be running winter tires, so I need a tire that works well in the snow here in Wisconsin. All other things being equal (which they never are), that would be the deal breaker. If it matters, we have the 18-inch wheels so we need the 235/55-18 size. I believe some of the tires people have been running on their 17-inch wheels are not available in the size we need.

jfelbab

Another Wisconsinite with the Alenzas. I am getting pretty good tire life from them and have twice as many miles on them as I got out of the OEM Goodyears. I've got 50k on them and the tread depth is at 8/32nds. They haven't gotten noisy (yet) for me but I do mostly (90%) highway/freeway driving so they might wear better in that environment. I also rotate them every 6 months.

I'd suggest some research at the TireRack to see what other tires might be even better.

The one tire I'd look at more closely is the Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season. This is an "eco" tire with lower rolling resistance and yet it seems to have done well in snow and ice as well as quietness and handling ratings.

Keep us posted on what you choose.

lexus114

Michelins!! V speed rating, low rolling resistance. Only way to go imo.

steveq81

Jim,

Interesting you are getting such great wear on your Alenzas, which is more in line with what I was expecting when we bought ours. We certainly did not. I have mine rotated for free with each oil change (5,000 miles) and hit 8/32nds long before 50K. Inflated to 32 lbs. so that should not be a factor.

I have done lots and lots of reading/comparing at the Tire Rack site, which is what led me to the two finalists (?) in the competition. The Continental DWS looked like a good option until I read several reports on Tire Rack about excessive wear.

Adamjeeps

My Alenzas are wearing nicely at 45,000 miles, but I am not sold on buying them again. I rate them average to slightly above average across the board.

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season surely are worth looking at.

By the way, the Alenzas are V rated.

jfelbab

Back when I bought them they were classified as a highway tire. I believe that about 90% of their wear has been at freeway speeds (70-80 mph). I inflate to 31-32 psi and check the pressure monthly. I am pleased with the choice I made and yet I always look for something better as technology improves. Tire choices for the 18" RX was pretty anemic a few years ago. Now there are several tires that meet or exceed the Alenzas in the Tire Rack ratings. I expect I have another 20k miles remaining give or take on the Alenzas at this point. I have to say that they have done a great job in pulling through deep snow but I thought they were a little skittish on slippery wet snow. Looking at the tread pattern of the Pirelli I mentioned earlier makes me believe they would be a great tire in snow and ice. If I had to choose a tire today it would be the Pirelli as I had great luck with them in the past on other vehices. It's good to get a lot of data points here in the RX forum on tire choices. I think it makes us all able to make better choices about what works well on our vehicles.

RX330inFL

I concur with you having also about 45K miles on mine if only for the fact that the Alenza is now an old tire and there have been many newer releases since then -- to include Bridgestone's own Ecopia.

BTW, for those who shop Costco you will find the current offers include $70 off 4 Bridgestone tires along with $30 off installation of 4 tires.

RX330inFL

My concerns with the Continentals and the Pirellis are mainly after the initial purchase. If when on the road you need to replace one of these tires you are probably going to be hard pressed to find a shop that carries them in stock. So, would be sure to update the spare as well at the time of purchase to make sure you have a set of 5 on the vehicle. Would also begin a process of a 5 tire rotation as best possible.

RX330inFL

During your tire rotations, are you (or is the shop) always doing front-to-back and back-to-front and not crossing the set? Over time, this can cause tires to become noisy. When rotating you should always cross the set going to the drive wheels. So, in a FWD RX you would cross the set moving to the front.

http://www.motorweek.org/features/go.../tire_rotation

diverchris

I've been quite pleased with my Goodyear Forteras

steveq81

Yes, the shop has been rotating the tires in the correct pattern, so that's not an issue here.

I appreciate the info to this point. Not many posts since I joined, but I am a frequent reader and have picked up many valuable tidbits here since we bought the car in the summer of '09.

daryll40

The top TIRE RACK ranked tire for this vehicle is the Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring. And that's what I put on about 6 months/5000 miles ago. So far, so good.

steveq81

daryll40,

Mild winter, so were you able to drive much in the snow with the Goodyears?

daryll40

Only 1 storm this winter, oddly. But they did fine in that.

cdnewton

Goodyear ComforTreds for me .... of the five sets of tires (two Michelin, two Bridgestone Alenza, one Goodyear) on our 160K RX330, the Goodyear has been a far superior tire (noise, traction, treadwear, etc). They performed nicely this past winter during a few Colorado storms.