I hope you have better luck with the Continentals than I did. I put them on my 2013 Avalon after I could not take another winter with the Bridgestones that came stock. They were not as good as advertised or reviewed. 18" only 30000 mile tread life and my where shot after 17000. I'm not a hard driver. Let me know how they work out. Maybe improved since I bought them.

 

Seen a few folks here that the Continentals have not worked out for, but my experience with them have been good. Especially, with my Honda. On the third set of Continental True Contacts and each set has lasted about 55k - 60k and I typically change them out between 4/32 and 3/32nds (current set has gone 40k and at 6/32" on all tires). Unfortunately, these are not available for the 18" tire size for the 6th gen ES, and the PureContact may be the next closest option.

Did the same in November. Deal was too good to pass up... chose the DWS Extreme Contact 06+ as well. So far, it's been quieter than the factory Michelins and expect to get more mileage out of these as well.

 

I spent several hours one night reading hundreds of tire rec comments in this site’s archives. The usual suspects - Michelin, Goodyear and Continental - got the most votes. OEM Bridgestone Turanzas (mine) were predictably torched. And the most passionate advocacy was for the Pirelli P7s.

 

I will be looking for tires in the spring for my F-Sport: 235/40R19. Prioritize quietness, handling and longevity. Do lots of hwy driving. Bridgestone Quiettracks seem good on paper, long warranty, but reviews are so-so. Would love suggestions.

 

Ya get a lot of snow there in Texas? Just kidding. I'm sure the Continentals will work just fine for your weather. I noticed a 1 - 2 MPG avg loss when I put the Continentals on vs the stock Bridgestones. Makes sense, the better grip the worse MPG. I'll take the trade for safety.

 

Of course it snows heavily in TX . Too early to state the MPG with the recent change to the Continentals, but have not noticed anything drastic in terms of MPG. The DWS 06+ is not a snow tire by any means, and does well in wet conditions (which is the top criteria for me). If looking for snow capabilities, a 3 peak tire would be better choice. Happy with the Continentals and to each his own .

 

Strange, tire preferences can be all over the place, because I have owned a BMW 535i, and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and now a Lexus ES350, and added Bridgestones to all 3 and for me, all reduced the overall driving noise for me... But I have always gone with the Bridgestone Potenzas... But other folks may have a different opinion...

 

Good point. I have found that different models / brands can make a big difference. Ex. A tire that might work good for a heavy front wheel drive may not be the best for a light car with rear wheel drive.

 

Your in Alabama? A good touring all-season tire should work fine. Goto Tirerack.com and look at the reviews. Michelin and Goodyear Comfort are a place to start. Personally, I have not had good results with Bridgestone or Firestone (same company).

 

No, I'm in Alberta, Canada and have a dedicated set of Michelin X-Ice Snow on 17" (215/55R17) for 6 months of the year (Oct-March). Thx for the thought on Bridgestone. Was already going to stay away from Firestone

 

That was my 2nd guess.

 

Here's my review of Michelin Cross Climate 2s on a ES350: (albeit a '17, forgive me)


I'm on my 2nd year (and about 46,000 miles in) on a set of CC2s on my '17 ES 350. I live in NE Ohio and I have to drive quite a bit in lousy winter weather. I've done the dedicated winter tire thing with previous rear-wheel drive cars before, and I hoped that the CC2s would bridge the gap and avoid the cost and hassle of winter tires. I replaced a set of off-brand all-seasons that were new when I bought the car with 28k miles on it. (I'm now at 106K happy miles.) My initial impression of CC2s is that they were slightly noisy-not enough to be annoying, but they DO transmit a touch of tire noise into the otherwise serene cabin of the ES350. Also, they LOOK like winter tires on the car. (The side profile looks very aggressive, and somehow that bumps me on this car.)

The winter traction was much improved over the previous tires (which were whisper quiet, but were terrible in the snow.)
CC2s AREN'T as good as dedicated winter tires, but everything is a compromise....winter tires work great but they are fairly noisy and they wear quickly. CC2s are fairly quiet and wear like Michelins (still quite a bit of tread left after 46k miles) and provide pretty decent winter driving traction. Compromises.

At 46k miles in, this set of CC2s are definitely getting noisy. I'm ready to replace them, but I'm not positive I want to replace them with another set of CC2s or try something else.

So I guess you can say I like them, but don't love them.

 

Very objective and useful post. Thanks for sharing it.