capper

I just got a 2002 SC430, and agree with the posts on the various threads the Potenza runflats are teethjarring, especially here on the roads of Far West Kentucky...I noticed some folks had replaced them with Mich. Pilot Sport A/S....the two other tires that are recommended on Tire Rack are the Continental ContiExtreme Contact, and the Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position....does anyone have any experience with the Conti or S-03, or would most agree to replace them with the Michelons? The Conti's on TR.com have great reviews, and are a steal at $149 each....Guess I'll have to buy a 12V tire inflator and fix a flat to keep in the car, but the payoff in ride should be worth the fear of not having a spare that takes up the entire trunk...Ya''lls thoughts on the best non-runflat tires are most appreciated.....Capper

JJRHO

well, i have a set of mich pilot a/s on my 02 sc430 and so far have about 25K on it ...it's feathering a bit and becoming noisy... have about 3-5K left on it at most... not bad.... but i did get 32K out of the oem RFTs.... btw, i would NOT go back to RFTs ever.....

for price, you may consider the kumho ECSTA MXs at tirerack... good dry traction.... price $130 vs. $260 for the pilots..... i'm gonna try these.... i actually have the MX on my NSX and they are not bad at all...

if anyone has experience with kumho's i'd appreciate it... i'm a bit partial ;cause i have the ecsta ASXs on my S500 sedan and they are great too.... these korean tires are at 1/2 the price and minimal performance difference.....

j.rho
02 sc430 - waiting for the supercharger mod.

capper

I did notice the Kumho's when I ran the tirerack search all option, and will look again at them. I have gone thru 2 sets of Sumitomo's on my LS400, and have not been happy with the way they feathered centrally, so I'm not even considering them. I also looked at the Yoko's on the site...I hope we hear from some folks that have run the Kumho's on their SC's. Another one is the Pirelli PZero Nero's, if anyone has any experience running them....thanks again, Capper

rominl

iTrader: (4)

first of all, i would not do so3. they are pretty harsh too and noisy. they handle very well, but when they wear, the noise is just bad

i have the pzero nero on my gs4 with 20s, and i love the ride, very comfortable, i would get them

another brand i consider is the toyo t1s

Johnny3

Falken ZEIK on my SC 300, ride good & quiet Z rated, discounttire.com

dseag2

I only put about 10,000 miles on my Michelin Pilot Sports before trading the car, but I was very happy with the improvement in ride/handling.

capper

I went to Tirerack.com, and ran all the suggestions from here that they carried (I've bought two sets of tires from them, and one set of Plus 2'd wheels for my old LS400, and always been very happy with the service), and ran their comparison....the Pirelli PNero Zero got the most kudo's, in almost all categories, and they have them for $150 a tire....Unless someone posts a real negative, I'm getting ready to pull the trigger and order them. By the way, has anyone gotten any flak when they took their new tires with the stock SC430 wheels to a dealer about changing the tires (what with the pressure sensors and all)? I saw somewhere on a thread that a Lexus dealer wanted $400 bucks just to put tires on these wheels....Thanks again for all the help, and I'll post after I make my final decision, and get the new tires on and broken in....Capper

capper

Will post about how that changes the handling and ride of the car once I get them on and run for a few weeks with them....thanks again for the help folks, Capper

rominl

iTrader: (4)

awesome man, that's awesome. please tell us how you like it. i have it on 20s for my gs4, so my comments might be a bit different

capper

Now, I'm trying to find a tire place here in Far West Kentucky I trust to put them on the wheels without messing up the tire pressure sensors. I'm also trying to decide what to carry in the "trunk" just in case of a flat (ie, what type of 12V air compressor, patch kit, or the like). I can't wait to see the difference in the ride with the P's on it...thanks for all the help folks...H

rominl

iTrader: (4)

thanks for the heads up

when i get wheels for my car, i will probably just go out and get a spare that i can put in the car WHEN i go long trips

Traturn

there is of course a TSB that provides part-numberes for a spare tire install, if you want to carry a temp-spare and sacrifice what little storage is in the trunk...

capper

I'm sorry, I'm not sure I know what a TSB is....where is a link to see the pricing for a temporary spare...I read somewhere on CL that Lexus wanted $900 for the spare..that, combined with the fact that with the top down, the trunk evaporates, left me to think of other options....if there is a place to get one to use "as needed" , I'd appreciate your helping me find it, thanks, Capper (PS, the Pirelli's showed up on my doorstep today....I'm searching for a qualified tire place to install them in place of the RF's, that won't mess up the air pressure sensors)...Capper

capper

I emailed Lexus Nashville, and the reply I got was that their only option was to have them "install" the spare, for a smooth $1000. I think I'll trust my luck, a 12V air pump, and a patch kit...that, right there, is ridiculous for a spare tire.....I'm staring at the Pirellii's in the drive, hope to have them installed on the SC first of the week.....Capper

dmizock

After trashing the Bridgestone RFTs, I tried the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and was happy with the ride and handling, but was unable to keep the car from veering to the right. We tried swapping front to rear, left to right and even replaced two of the tires with new ones. Still drifted right. I went with the Kumho ASX's back in June and with about 8,000 miles on them, couldn't be happier. For half the price of the Michelins, the ride is comfortable and quiet, and the handling in both dry and wet is excellent. We've had quite a bit of rain lately here in So Cal and the Kumhos track straight with no hydroplaning, even in heavy downpours. Their treadwear rating is 420, roughly equivalent to the Pilot Sport All Seasons. There's no comparison to the OEM runflats, which rode rough and were incredibly noisy. I'd buy the Kumhos again in a second. Great tire!