ANCL

My IS250 AWD's tires are almost end of life and I am in the market for newer tires and possibly rims. I was wondering what one should look for when shopping around.

Thanks!

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

depends on what you want to do... looks like you live in Canada, so, gotta decide if you are going to have a winter set and a summer set, or if you want to try and run one set year round...

if you plan on running the same set year round, I'd recommend a high performance all season tire, such as the Bridgestone RE970A/S. If you plan on switching them season to season, Blizzaks for the winter and S-04's or Pilot Sports for the summer...

for wheels - looks, performance, price? all factors that only you can decide which is most important...

zig@tr

I also have a IS250 AWD and live in the very northern part of Indiana where we get lots of snow from Lake Michigan, and I use the Bridgestone Potenza RE970 in 18" for summer and Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 in 17" for winter. If your don't get too much snow you may be able to get away with an all-season 100% because of the AWD, but there is still a big difference on snow/ice covered roads.

ANCL

Yeah, I was thinking of getting 19" wheels and was thinking all-season tires would probably be the best bang for my buck unless I use my OEM 17" wheels for winter tires which still ends up costing more.

Any insight on the best of the best between summer/winter/AS tires? What makes them so great?

zig@tr

19" wheels in the winter time would be easily damaged because the tire side wall is so thin, potholes are inevitable in winter climates. I would run summers 19" and use OEM 17" for winter since you already have the wheels. Here is a link to explain the differences between an all-season and winter tire:


All-Season Tire Vs. Winter Tire - Link

ANCL

Thank you, just an update. I decided to go 18" all-seasons. Got the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. The help is much appreciated.