sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I don't know about Consumer Reports or Tire Rack reviews - their summaries rarely jive with my personal experience. For example, Dunlop tires (the GT Qualifier in particular) are the noisiest, harshest riding tires I've ever had - and they get pretty good reviews in CR/TR. On the other hand, the better quality Michelin tires (which I think are the best and invariably pay the premium for) get average ratings. Another example, the Goodyear Integrity, which comes as standard on the RX300, gets absolutely crappy reviews on CR/TR but are right up there with Michelin in my book.

Bottom line - I'm replacing my second set of Goodyear Integrities (at 80k) with a third set this week. $440 installed inc tax, tags and documentation fee.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

I find Dunlops to be a great value for the money, but there are better out there as you say. I've been running Dunlop SP Sport 5000's on my Supra for quite a while, hard to beat that tire for the money. I absolutely hate Michelin MXV's, but other Michelins are outstanding. I think it's more of hit or miss with the particular tire, rather than tires from any one company being miserable.

HarrierAWD

I don't recall CR ever tested the Dunlop GT Qualifier tires. Make sure it's the exact model. Even a slight name difference could mean drastically different peformance. Anyway, it sounds like a sports tire. Such tires are typically noisy and have harsh ride, in exchange for better grip and handling.

Goodyear Integrity is the 2nd worst tire I've ever had (the worst being Firestone FR series.) Its handling is subpar, and snow/ice performance is borderline suicidal. Though it's fairly quiet and smooth and has very good dry traction. Wet traction is so-so. It's also unreliable: one tire failed after a long highway trip (sidewall leak.) Unfortunately there's no clear winner in CR's recent tire test. So I don't know what to get if I have to buy new tires today.

$440 installed is way too much for Integrity. You can get about $75 each at Discount Tires (everything included.) I would only pay up to $5. Its smooth tread makes good backyard swing.

Michelin X-One is the absolute best tire, but it's discontinued and not available for SUV anyway.

mhc0725

I went with the Michelin Cross Terrain at around 50K when the original Goodyear Integrity (worst tires I've ever had) finally were making driving in snow dangerous. They still had tread left, but my rear was sliding and I have AWD. The Michelins are good, much better than the Integrity, but I don't know if I would hands down say go for it because if price is a factor, then I don't know if they're really worth the $140/piece that I paid. They've handled well, are fairly quiet (not as quiet as the Integrity), good wear so far, and they're excellent in snow.

I have 79K now and there is minimal tire wear. I expect the tires to easily go 50-60K.

The 235s clear the RX300 suspension fine. One thing I've noticed though is about a 1-2 mpg drop on highway, which is discerning given that the mpg already wasn't anything to write home to mom about. Surprisingly, the city mpg has been around 16.9 mpg, which was what I was getting before.

One thing with the Toyo tires is they're rugged looking, but the wear rating is probably fairly low. The Toyota Highlanders sold in upstate NY come with Toyo tires (don't know the model) and my friend's Highlander has only gotten 35K and they're bold already. Very shocking given that he's a big highway driver.

Anyway, good luck in your tire hunt. If price is not a factor, go for the Michelins.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

You're kidding me right? I'd easily pay 1.5x for a tire that is known to handle well, be fairly quiet, excellent in snow, and you're getting HOW MANY MILES out of them? 29K on them, minimal tire wear, and you might get 50-60K out of them? I'm sorry, but that makes price NOT a factor, in fact, one could easily make the case that the Michelins are cheaper per mile. If it's me, that's the tire I'm buying. Nevermind that I already have them and can vouch for them. When a tire stands out that well, a small difference in price becomes meaningless.

mhc0725

Engin_ear, guess you read the high praise I gave the tires, and they are very good tires. My point, I guess, was that I only had the Integrity and now the Cross Terrain on the RX. With a price difference of about $70 (or double) per tire, I don't know if there isn't another tire out there (perhaps BF Goodrich) which would be equivalent to the Cross Terrain but at a lower price.

Personally, for me, I'd go with the Cross Terrain again just because I do like the tires and probably wouldn't risk playing around, but the price could make some buyers 'shop around' a little.

Whitestrok

The Firestone LE is a excellent tire. I paid $470. for 4 out the door. Quieter then the GY's, also ride better! If the Firestone dealer wouldn't have torqued wheels to 150ft. pounds, I'd really be a happy camper.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

I got 'cha, understood, but to round out my point, I don't think any tire that's half the price of the Cross Terrain is going to touch it in terms of performance or tread life. So that leaves tires that are 2/3 or more of the price of the C/T, and that makes the difference worth paying.

Lexusfreak

Well this new Toyo might not be half the price of the Michelin........it will be cheaper however & it's right up there with it's treadwear! Plus newer technology!

http://www.toyocanada.com/products/OpenCountryHTEN.html

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Wow, mileage rating of 640 !

Lexusfreak

Looks like a more aggressive tread pattern to boot over the Michelin too.

dmc888

I have had my yokohama geolanders for about 10k now. Very happy with them.

They show little signs of wear just like my other yokohamas on my car.

Much better handling then the goodyear integreties.

I got mine for 320 with a 75 crutchfield certificate. Tirerack had a promo. So it was really like 250 plus shipping .

Lexusfreak

I'd have the Yoko's on my short list too dmc! They are a very good tire!

mhc0725

I don't know how the Toyo Open Country M-606 rates in manufacturer's rating for wear, but my friend's 2004 Highlander with these tires barely got 36K and they were feathering big time, even though he got the alignment checked twice during the 36K. When it was near the end of tread life, the tires were LOUD... I mean real loud. The junk GY Intergrity that I had on my RX when they wore down, weren't even this bad. He thought that perhaps some mechanical drive train component was seizing up on him, but he got the tires replaced (with BF Goodrich) and the noise was gone.

The 36K wouldn't be too bad if he did a lot of city driving, but he only uses the vehicle to go between NJ and Syracuse, NY (about 400 miles one way) on weekends and it's all highway driving. One good thing out of it, all four tires wore out at the same rate, so it wasn't like he got one bad tire out of a batch.

Just my 'experience' with a Toyo tire.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

That seems to be the deal with a lot of tires/brands - great when they're new, but as they wear they get progressively worse, noisier, uneven, etc. - kinda like a Chrysler product!