Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

I have placed 4 new michelin pilot sports a/s on my 2006 Lexus GS Sedan by one of my Lexus dealer near home. I now do regret putting these tires on, and I should of got new replacement continental contiprocontacts to replace my worn out continentals on my 18 inch GS300 rims.

Here is why:
The Michelin Pilot sports a/s are very smooth but tend to give a bit more road feel with some tiny vibration in steering wheel when driving between 60-75 mph on tarmac highways, and sometimes cement highways. They are smooth below 60 and above 75-80 mph. I took my car to 2 other Lexus dealer to get a proper assessment since I dislike my lexus dealer at home. These dealers road tested the car and replaced 2 bent rims and got the road force at around 7 in the front 2 wheels and 9 in the back 2, vibration was diminished but still there. It is not bad but annoying when I am on some highways. In the city it is fine.

These two lexus dealers outside my area said that the Michelin Pilots are nice tires but with their aggressive tire pattern, the Lexus GS is too sensiitve to them even if they are properly road forced and balanced. They both inspected the rim and tire and the car. They recommended bridgestone, yokohama or other tires that are all season touring and not ultra high performance.
I am a bit upset and I have 10 months left in the car. Why is this the case??? The bridgestone 960RE were also bad prior to these pilots since they had flat spotting issues and harmonic vibrations that were unsolvable, so discount tire took them back and put my old conti pro contact touring tires back on and I went right to my Lexus dealer near home to get these Michelins. I feel so unlucky,

I think the GS sedans have flimsy steering system and poor steering damper, thus only soft rubber tires (touring and summer tires) are suitable, not ultra high performance tires (because too stiff). I never had any of these problems with touring tires only the ultra high performance tires.

Any inputs??
PS: My Audi A8L has 19 inch rim with pirelli performance all season and they ride smooth on the bad highways in michigan with no steering vibration. The Infiniti G35 coupe also has michelin pilot PS2 summer tires with no vibration in my steering wheel at any speed on any kind of highways in Michigan.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Did you have an alignment done?

Sometimes the simplest things are solved by getting a good tech to do a proper alignment... I have heard similar reports about the Pilot Sport A/S, though not on Lexus' (Mercedes used to have a similar issue, thus they made a small change to compensate on Mercedes sizes), but when you said the Bridgestone RE960's were doing the same thing, it leads me to a suspension/alignment issue...

New tires will exhibit worse symptoms than worn tires due to the increased tread depth, which allows for a little more tread squirm, which can amplify any small problem there might be...

Again, I would have the alignment checked first...

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

Hey,

Yes, Alignment was checked several times by the dealers and it is within spec. I have noticed it on certain highways and not other highways. I never had a car in my life that ever was so sensitive to its tires and what kind of highway road texture I am driving on since you can feel the slightest irregularity in the road as a vibration in the steering between 65-75 mph but entirely goes away after 80.

As a side note, I mainly feel it slightly in my foot at that speed range (and the front left wheel has more weights than the other 3 rims/tire combo). I know michelins are uniform tires and the rim is new one, so it shouldn't take about 1.5 ounces to balance while the other rims have .5 ounces to .75 ounces. I might be wrong. I have noticed that in the past 1,000 miles, it has been getting better since my last road balance. I got these tires back in March of this year and put about 6,000 miles on the car, do you think when they remounted the tires, it will take some time to get the tires break in their new position to the rim? I am very surprise other lexus gs owners with these tires are not feeling what I am having at that narrow speed band.

Oh and, I have heard about this problem on the Mercedes E class, but how did they change that and made it better?

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

Mercedes has a TSB that states that no Mercedes Sedans should be equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport a/s due to pulling to right and vibration.

For this Lexus Gs with 18 inch wheels, the Michelin MXV4 touring tires is a better bet for the roads in the Midwest especially their highways. Ultra High PErformance A/S tires gives you too much to sacrifice so its not worth the money, really. Its better for sports car and for cars in the south due to better road condition.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

I had these Michies put on my 06 GS AWD in June. My Lexus dealership put them on my new rims, road force balanced them and mounted them. It noticed that it pulled to the right slightly. I also noticed the steering wheel was not level anymore, meaning the "L" was tilted. I took it to my tire guy (not my Lexus dealership) and had a 4 wheel alignment. No more pull, L is level.

I actually like these tire very much. In New England we have every sort of road surface know to carkind. New and smooth, to riddled with potholes, concrete to various mixtures of asphalt. On all surfaces, these tires ride smooth and quiet. The only thing I do notice in comparison to the stock 17" runfarts is the wide 245 size does tend to follow ruts and grooves in the surface very easily.

I hope you find your solution.

steviej

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

Hey Stevie
Thanks for the reply. I love my tires when they are around city and not between 65-75 mph due to slight increase in road feel in that range that is not bad but annoying. I have noticed that 1 of my tire and rim combo has alot of weight on it 1.5 ounces, and the others have barely any 1/4 ounces of weight. My dealer road forced them nicely for me. But, that left front rim was new and the tire is new, so I am assuming that that is the culprit even though it passes the road force. Can you do me a favor and find out how much weights are on each of your rims by taking a quick look. 3 of my wheels have between 1/4 ounce and .75 ounces. I might have my dealer swap the tires between the L front and L rear rim since the L rear rim is slightly damaged and I do not want it in the front. Because that left rear tire has little weight even with the bad rim. It will be very helpful. Thanks!

habeeb89

iTrader: (3)

I have the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on my GS430, they are too sensitive to any changes in road patterns. There is a part on my local route that they GS vibrates and pulls.

Been to several shops - alignment, balance, and rims are fine. It's just the tread pattern.

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

Same here!! Thats not good for an expensive tire especially from Michelin. The car is smooth above 80 mph with no vibes in the steering wheel regardless of what road I am driving at, and even below 65. Between 65-75 i can feel it slightly.

I am never getting Ultra High PErformane a/s tires on Lexus cars because they are terrible with them. Merc, BMW, and Audis are fine with these kind of tires because Germans know how to design and built strong and sturdy cars. Lexus needs to learn a bit.

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

Oh as a side question, what tire pressure are you guys putting in the tires? Mines is at 35 PSI.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

i usually run mine at 32 psi.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

You have a balance problem amplified by excessive air pressure. To test my theory adjust your tire psi to factory specs and replace your left rear wheel with your spare even if it is a space saver. if this improves the vibration but you don't want to replace the bent wheel put it on right rear to isolate it from steering wheel. test the wheels by balancing without tires to see how much weight the balancer calls for. I had a set of michelin pilot a/s on a jaguar the most sensitive car I have ever tested for wheel/tire imbalance no problems as long as tires were properly balanced. if you still think Michelin is the problem call Michelin

steviej

iTrader: (1)

Rexus300,
Sorry for the delay, but I just put my stock rims back on today for the winter.
Here are what weights were/are on my G-spiders/Michelin Pilot Sport A/S:

Right front: 2 10gram (~0.71 oz.)
Left front: 2 7gram and 1 5gram (~0.67 oz.)
Right rear: 1 5gram, 2 7gram, and a half of a 7gram (~0.88 oz.)
Left rear: 1 7gram and 1 10gram (~0.60 oz.)

I hope this helps.

steivej