Hey guys,

I posted a message yesterday regarding a lease deal for the GS350 AWD. Now I have a question about tires, a subject which I know has been beaten to death on these boards. The GS350 AWDs in stock, one of which I will likely be acquiring, all have the Dunlop runflats. I know people on this board seem to hate these tires due to noise, ride quality, and tread life. I have also read reviews of these tires that indicate they offer extremely poor traction in snow. The entire reason I am getting an AWD vehicle is to help me safely navigate Chicago's extremely treacherous and slippery roads during the winter. I asked the salesman if they could swap out the Dunlops for a non-runflat high performance all season tire. He said they can only put summer tires or snow tires on the car, but not an all season tire. Is he just feeding me BS? What tire should I demand in place of the Dunlop runflats that will offer supreme traction as well as a smooth and quiet ride?

Thanks!

 

Good Year F1 all season, good all season tires in the snow, and got good ratings in performance, ride comfort and road noise.

 

Some of the best all season are made from mitchellin and bridgestone you can check it out and they cost less then the runflats. I personally are look into bridgestone right now for my new 20inch rims.

 

i would buy some real snow tires for winter with a cheap wheel package from tirerack. then ask to have the runflats swapped for a high performance summer tire.

 

I think the reason they said that is because they are re-using the tires they already have. Which are either all performance summer from the RWDs or runflats from AWDs. If you are firm but still polite, they just may put on whatever tires you want.

 

Couple of additional questions on this topic.

1. Is it correct that if you get a car with runflats that you won't have a spare? So, if you go to non-runflats you'll need to buy either a full size spare or a donut? Does a full size spare fit in the GS?

2. Do they install TPMS on vehicles that come with runflats? Or do you have to add/install the monitors when you switch to non-runflats?

Thanks

 

^ No way a full size spare will fit in the 3GS trunk, it'll definitely be a compact spare, and I'm sure the dealer has plenty of 'em in stock (they're good for <100 miles)

Tpms is now a US DOT requirement, so you will see Tpms on all new US passenger vehicles.

And to the OP, the salesman is full of crap. He has no clue, I'm sure if you talk to the parts guy, they have several options for tires, after all the parts/service dept is a separate profit center, so if a customers wants another tire, they'll get it for them. Honestly, with the dismal GS sales and the current economy, the salesman should be bending over backwards to get you into a new GS . . . Good luck.

 

I just bought a GS350 AWD with run flats and it came with a donut spare.

 

Do yourself a favour and get dedicated winter tires mounted on some type of wheel (cheap alloys or steelies). I don't know what Chicago winters are like but they can't be that different from ours up here.

 

Chicago winter are pretty much like Boston winters snow wise. I can get by with a good all seaon tires on a awd sedan, just dont espect to drive it thru more than 10" of snow.

 

I'm in Central Oregon and there aren't any dealers or tire stores that have the equipment to service run-flats. I have changed out my runflats for studless ice tires Yokahama Geolanders. They ride great and are really quiet compared to the OEM run flats. I have over 20K miles on my other car without appreciable wear. I'll run them year round as here in Oregon you have to remove your studded tires on April 1st and put them back on Nov. 1st. if required. These Yokahamas work great on snow and ice. '07 GS 350 AWD. Be sure if you live in an area like I do to make sure there is equipment available to service your runflats. They only order new tires here for flat repairs at the cost of $400 ea and approx. 2-3 day delivery. Yikes!!

 

Does the car really ride a lot more quietly without the run flats? ...And is it also a smoother ride?

 

big difference without the run flats in my opinion. glad mine are gone

 

I just picked my 08 GS350 AWD up yesterday and expected to hate the runflats, which is why I initiated this thread in the first place, but to my great surprise they are incredibly smooth and quiet. They FAR exceed my expectations. At 80 mph they are silent; the car itself is basically silent.

 

I have 2000 miles on my GS and so far so good with the run flats. Not much noise but very stiff sidewalls. Some say that over time, they will get noiser, we will just have to see how bad they get.