maxse

Hi guys, I need some help please.

Car has stock tires and they need to be replaced. I remember reading on the boards that there are much better tires that have a much more smooth and quieter ride...

Can you guys recommend a tire that is reasonably priced please? I was hoping to change them today so don't have much time to search.

Also, I understand that I won't have a spare and I remember reading back in the day of people buying some kind of an adapter and donut that I would be able to place in the trunk? Can someone help me out with this please? Really appreciate it guys, thanks.

*EDIT* The car has run-flat tires on it now, I would like something smooth and more comfortable.
All-season is a must in NY

mandyfig

Bunch of threads with tires. Do a search. I am in the hunt for a set too.

So far Michelin Pilot Super Sport A/S, I have seen quite a few testimonials.

I was asking about Hankooks...

thombiz

I can tell you what I'm in the process of doing with the thought that it may or may not be something you want to consider. We just purchased an '05 SC430 for my wife for her 70th birthday. It has the stock wheels 18"x8". We both want a smoother, less harsh ride so I've decided to replace the stock wheels with some Work VS-KF 17"x17" wheels and higher profile tires. And, since we are moving away from run flat tires we're going to add a donut spare.

First the wheels....We wanted a high quality wheel that was light weight, but durable and one which didn't require my frequent polishing of the aluminum lip. We chose the Work wheels because of their stellar reputation and because there are enough of them out there to be able to pick up a replacement wheel should we ever ding one of our set. I found a set of used wheels 17"x7" with a +35 offset on Ebay. The stock lug nut pattern is 5x114.3 and these match. The stock offset is +45 so these wheels will set the tires outboard about 3/8" further See:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390476376026...84.m1423.l2649
The stock wheels are hub centric, meaning the wheel is mounted and centered on the axle by having a hub extension on the axle which just barely fits the wheel. The wheel is thus centered on the axle and the weight and stress are carried by the hub, while the lug nuts just keep the wheel tight to the mounting surface. The new wheels have a different hub bore than the stock wheel, so I'll be purchasing round hub centric shims to fit the new wheel hubs to the existing axle hubs. This will make sure the wheel and tire is centered on the hub. I figure the new wheels have just the right amount of bling to suit my wife. See this photoshop pic of similar wheels on her car:
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...s338wheels.jpg
I considered going to 16" wheels to allow for a taller sidewall tires, but I couldn't be sure they would clear the brake calipers, so I went with the 17's.

By going away from the run flat tires, I would need to come up with a spare tire. But first, I had that annoying Tire Pressure Monitoring System light on my dash. Evidently one or more of the batteries in the sending units is kaput so I just disabled the TPMS system following the guidelines posted on these forums. Next, I found a spare which I think will fit: see:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120940762528...84.m1439.l2649
Some of the considerations in choosing this wheel is 1. it is 17" in diameter and doesn't have any protrusions which will foul my brake calipers. 2. Looking from the backside of the spare, there appears to be enough "outward dish" in the wheel to clear the brake calipers. 3. Being an alloy wheel, it is light weigh and easy to lift in and out of the trunk. 4. a true donut spare which will easily fit in the trunk and not foul the retracted hardtop. 5. It is from a 2012 car so I won't need to purchase a new "donut" tire to fit it because of age of the tire. I'll follow the helpful guidlines posted in these forums to mount the tire in the trunk. See: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...unk-space.html

Now for tires, checking manufacturer specs, our original tires should have a diameter of close to 25.7" so I wanted to keep the new tires close to that diameter to minimize speedometer error. Since I've always trusted Michelin tires I started looking there. Based on Excellent Luxury Quiet Ride, Very low Rolling Resistance (for good gas mileage), excellent wet traction, and Extremely Durablity, I chose the Michelin Primacy MXV4 in a 215/55 r17. See: http://www.michelinman.com/tire-sele...FQioPAodfHwA1A They will fit wheel widths from 6"-7.5", The diameter is 26.3" so the speedo error is only about 1 mph at 60 mph, and shopping around (TireRack and Ebay), I should be able to get 4 shipped in for about $680. Evidently, these are not a popular size tire so they are priced lower than some other tires close to the same size. We'll go with the "H" rated tires. I did mention my wife is turning 70.
This whole change over is still in the process, waiting for the wheels to arrive, but I should substantially improve the ride, noise level, and gas mileage over the run flats.

It isn't like this is a big expenditure. We'll be spending about $1700 for wheels and new tires mounted on the car. The tires that are on the car have about 90% tread so we will put them on Craigslist, and same with the OEM wheels and hubcaps which might put $500 back in the bank.

Update: The Hyundai Genesis spare tire came in today and I did a quick fit and test and it passed with flying colors. There is plenty of room to clear the brake calipers, and it does not require an appropriate sized hub centric ring spacer to center the wheel. The Hyundai wheel comes with tapered lug nut seats and the stock lug nuts have a tapered portion at the end. The tapered seats and tapered nuts center the spare on the hub quite nicelly.

maxse

I am on the road so it is difficult for me to search the threads without being by my desktop computer, hence why I asked.

I just stopped by Costco the tire guy recommended 2 tires.

1. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus for $1126 out-the-door price including the awesome costco warranty
2. Bridgestone Potenza RE970 for $978 out-the-door.

He stated the bridgestone is a new tire that has great reviews, and is less prone to getting the bubbles on the sidewall, he recommended I go with the Bridgestones

I mentioned that I wanted a nice smooth and quiet ride compared to the current run-flats I have, he said either one will give me a much better ride. Thoughts?

And what are my options for a spare? Or should I still go with run-flats because I don't have a spare?

thombiz

I'm sure there is likely some difference between them, but our car currently has the Bridgestone Potenze RE050A tires (not RE970) and I find them to be very harsh riding and really noisy on rough surfaced and concrete roads. Concrete really makes them sing. They are quiet on very smooth asphalt, but then all tires should be quiet on smooth asphalt.

KBALL

Couple things. Costco which also does lifetime free rotate and balance is where i got mine. They also run a 70 off michelin tire rebate about every 6 weeks or so. one might have just ended. The pilot sport a/s plus now comes in a run flat which a friend of mine just got. She took me for a ride and it seemed bettern than the original bridgestone run flats, but maybe not quite as good as the non run flat michelin. But pretty damn close.

MadHungari

I have cut-and-pasted the text of a thread I started (with no responses) last year. Maxse's post seems to confirm Autoweek's report re. run-flats:

Autoweek (June 27, 2011) reports the results of a tire test with the headline “Easing the Pain: Bridgestone Run-Flats Deflate Harsh Ride.” It claims that no difference in ride was found between the new Potenza RE960AS Pole Position RFTs and the standard version of the same tire. Smoothness and comfort are said to be virtually identical, with the RFTs showing better turn-in. The RFTs come with a 40K mile warranty.

So, if you are in the market for a new set of RFTs and choose these, your report would undoubtedly be of interest to many of your fellow list members. And I am in no way associated with the company (unless my IRA includes it in its portfolio).

sorka

We replaced our stock run flats with RE970A's and could not be happier. The difference was night and day. Every aspect of this tire is superior to the stock run flats. Noise, comfort(biggest difference), handling in both wet and dry.

Got them at Costco.

barncat

Conti DWS Extremes are what I have as well as many others on this forum. I really like the ride but can't vouch yet on the mileage.

sixonemale

I switched from RFT’s some time ago on my ’06 SC and narrowed it down to Michelin’s, Hankook’s and Continental’s. I actually looked closely at each one and felt the sturdiness or how rigid the sidewall of each tire was. There was no comparison that the sidewall of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires felt much more rigid and sturdier than the other tires. The reason the sidewall is very important to me is that the SC is my wife’s primary car and although HIGHLY unlikely, I do not want blow out on the highway due to a weak sidewall. I’ve also had great experience’s with Michelin tires in the past on other vehicles from standpoint of great grip on wet surfaces, quiet, soft and they easily last their warranty stated mileage.

With that said I switched from the non-directional tread of Bridgestone Turanza RFT’s that yielded in the high 20’s mpg on the highway to the directional tread pattern on the Michelin’s and now the car is getting in the mid 20’s mpg on the highway, but am also carrying an OEM spare in back now. They are not the quietest tire due to the directional tread pattern, but are not loud either. They seem to grip very well on wet surfaces and also seem to be wearing very well with no inner treat wear whatsoever from the front tires, mostly due to the fact that I had car aligned and specifically told them to align it so that I will not get any inner wear from the front tires, it can be done.

JohnnyCake

Putting aside ALL other considerations, does anyone think there is a smoother/quieter tire on the market for the SC?

maxse

Thanks so much for your help guys!

I went with the Michelin A/S Sport tires!
Ordered them at Costco.

But no one has answered my other question, and that is.. How do I go about getting a spare? I remember reading a while ago about how and wear to get it but I forget. I know I will need some kind of a bracket to mount it in the trunk as well?
What's the best place to get one for a reasonable price?

thombiz

There are several currently on Ebay. Here's one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEXUS-SC430-...b818f2&vxp=mtr

The mounting and other modifications may be more difficult. I plan to follow the guidelines here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...stitute-8.html

Also, this is a great thread which I will copy if my donut will clear: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...unk-space.html

Thank you Cadzilla88 !!!

barncat

I found a Mazda RX7 spare kit on Ebay, sold the mounting bracket and ended up spending about $120 for the tire and wheel. Never bracketed it in the SC but figure I can throw it in the trunk for a long trip. There are good threads here for making a bracket for the spare. Use the search engine for both spare and bracket

KBALL

The run flat or non run flat Michelin?

You may want to experiment a bit with cold psi. Costco will probably fill them at 32 as this is what is suggested. Several members here run them a bit higher including me. I live at 4500 ft and keep them at 37 cold psi. Very even tire wear after 40 k miles on last set. Rotated and balanced every 5k on that set.