jkt

what are good summer tires for the rx?

mktimber

i bought bridgestone allenzas and was not happy with the wear or the noise -- very loud on my 2004 rx 330 - I need another set and am leaning toward michelin mxm4 pilot - consumer reports top HP SUV tire -- but expensive at 250 per tire

banjo

Whelp...I just put the Alenza h/l on my 08 rx and Like them so far...A little more noise than the Michelins but a lot more feel...I think they will wear well and have more traction....

kitlz

Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas, 18", on my 04, 30+k and counting. Chose not to get OE Michelin or Goodyear because I didn't want to get new tires every 15K. As far as noise, can't hear anything with the radio blasting

kitlz

I'll add that the OE tires were not true SUV tires.

jfelbab

I have 25k on my 18" Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas and I measure my remaining tread depth at 10/32nds. Wearing very well and very nice handling compared to the OEM. My Alenzas are quieter than the OEM's I took off by a large margin. They are not considered as noisy as the Goodyear or the Michelin OEM by the thousands of owners who responded to the tirerack survey.

Yet the Alenza is not a "Summer" tire as the OP was looking for.

I'd suggest taking a look at the TireRack.com for some reviews of a true summer tire. The only true summer tire option in the 18" size I found there was the General Exclaim UHP. I'd look closely at the Yoko Parada Spec-X as well even though it is not a Summer classification. Neither of these tires match the treadwear rating of the Alenza, however the Parada Spec-X shows good performance specs aside from having no treadware warranty.

kiwi

if you want to get new summers each year, then go with the michelins, put them on mine in january, and i doubt they will last till the fall

banjo

What the heck is a summer tire ?? I leave in Austin,Texas and we are having the hottest driest summer on record and My Alenza H/L's are great..........

jfelbab

Here is one description.

http://ask.cars.com/2007/04/whats_the_diffe_2.html

I've run them (summer tires) on my MR2. The tread compound was so soft that gravel actually embedded into the tread compound. I'm not talking about getting caught in the grooves but actually getting embedded into the rubber tread blocks. These tires were super sticky and the car handled like it was on rails but the tires only last about 15k and I needed to replace them in a year. The summer tire is designed for great dry traction and good wet traction. The rubber compounds are designed to be very pliable in hot temperatures and it gets very hard and inflexible in cold temps. The tread pattern and compound is not designed to compromise and is totally bent on performance above all else. Try driving on light snow and you will believe you have a toboggan instead of a car.

Boognish

I'll add that the RX is not a true SUV.

Seriously, though, I had a set of summer tires and winter tires for my Subaru in the bay area. The summers tires would have been fine year round with the exception of trips to Tahoe. Jfelbab has it right, and I'd also say that summer tires don't do well at all below about 40 degrees F. At all. That soft rubber becomes more like a hockey puck.

kitlz

You're correct, it's an LUV

Dave_S.

My original tires only lasted about 15k miles so I also bought the Bridgestone Dueler Alenza's and now have well over 30k miles on them. I'm happy with the way they handle and the way they are wearing and I haven't noticed any noise.

I like my RX, but it is pretty far from being a sporty handling vehicle so I don't know why you would really want to put high performance tires with a low tread wear rating on it.

Dave S.

jkt

Thanks for input......I live in south Florida and don't need all- season tires....expect no snow this year! the summer rated tires usually ride a bit smoother and good in rain. May go with the Michelin: The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 achieved an overall score of 85 points in Consumer Reports testing, barely outpointing the Pirelli P-Zero. Both tires provide stellar dry and wet grip and handling. The Michelin had a slight edge in CR's tests for hydroplaning resistance while the Pirelli had an edge in dry and wet handling.

Dave_S.

I don't even run those on my Porsche because they wear out so fast. I'd expect you might be able to get about 12,000 miles on them before you'll have to replace them. Let us know how long they last.

jfelbab

Michelin doesn't make that Pilot Sport PS2 in the size or load range of your RX. Neither does Pirelli.

So are you planning on living with speedo error?

Also there is the little matter of load range. The tires you are looking at have an inadequate minimal load carrying capacity for your RX. The OEM tires have a load carrying capacity of 1709 pounds while the Michelin Pilot PS2 has a load capacity of only 1521 pounds. This tire would be dangerous on the RX. On your RX that is over 750 pounds of reduction in load carrying capacity. Your RX Gross Weight: 5650 lbs. With just two occupants weighing 220 pounds each you would have exceeded the tires maximum weight handling capacity. 1521 x 4 = 6084 pounds. Gross weight of 5650 pounds plus the 440 pounds of two passengers = 6090 pounds. See where this is going?

Get some professional advice before you do this or you may hurt yourself, your family or others.