I know I've said more than once how tires changes the ride comfort of a car with the Michelin Primacy standing on the top of OEM tires. Well, I rarely keep OEM wheels and tires on any of my cars; a habit I'm desperately trying to break.

Anyway, the first set of 20" tires I had started off somewhat quiet and smooth but then turned kind of noisy pretty quick. To be honest, they were reasonably price (cheap). But it got to the point where I could not take the noise anymore.

So, after doing some research, I bought a set of Pirelli P Zero Nero (a little pricey). WOW!!! totally blown away on how that could make a 245/35-20" tire this quiet and smooth. My car is in the shop now for some cosmetic work so I got a GS350 loaner to ride in. Although my car is not as quiet as the GS350, the ride is just as smooth now. Of course, the GS 350 is sporting 235/45 -18" Dunlop.

 

I had a Charger a few years back with cheap Kumho 265/35/22 and they were pretty loud and stiff. I then later upgraded to Pirelli P-Zero 275/25/24 and the ride was actually better than with 22s. Those 25 series tires felt like butter lol. Proves that the quality of the tire has a lot to with ride quality not necessarily the size.

 

Let's have your comments on the P-Zeros after 10K miles or so. You will learn the definition of hard to keep balanced, flat spotting, and short tread life.

 

...so what would you recommend instead?

 

I think the Sumitomo HTR family of tires are a great value and are excellent quality. I have used these many times on cars that have been otherwise tire sensitive. My experience was they balance well, do not trammel, have good tread life, high speed rating, and good grip.

 

I used to run P-Zero Rosso (275/30R19) on my E46 M3 a couple of years ago and it lasted me less than 4k miles.

Since I currently live in Brazil and just purchased the optional 18" wheels online (they don't even have it as an option here), I'll be running on Yokohama Advan dB v551 225/45R18 (I'm not sure if it's available stateside).

 

They make a good summer tire but not really good all season ones.
However, those in cold climates should have a good set of winters anyway.

 

I believe those are more suited as a tire that can be used on a track and on the street. Not really meant to last thousands of miles.

 

They should last at least 10k miles.... 220 treadwear. I've ran Toyo R888 (80 treadwear) for 8k miles and a handful of track days. I've never really considered Pirellis after this experience.

 

The HTR is an all season tire, V rated

 

Sumitomo HTR were the tires I replaced.

 

Yes with subpar winter performance.
OK I guess for little to no snow.

 

I used to have a new set of Pirelli P-Zero Nero's on my W12 and they were garbage tires. Rode rough, got terrible tread life, and were extremely expensive. Went to a A/S tire and even though the W12 wasn't a sports car, those tires were way more comfortable and tread lasted much much longer than the summer p-zeros. I had Hankook Ventus V12's for a quarter of the price and they outperformed the Nero's as well.

Probably doesn't help that the OP is talking about 20" wheels on a midsize Lexus. Ride will be harsh compared to the recommended 17" or 18" either way.

 

I think you guys might be getting the P-Zero Nero summer and A/S mixed up.

 

I owned the Pirelli P-Zero Nero summers. Those were the tires I was referring to. The A/S were never even a thought in my mind as they don't hold a candle to the Michelin Pilot A/S 3's or the Continental DWS when considering price, quality, and life of the tires. I've owned sets of both of those tires in 18" and 20" variants.