i had around 60% on all four of my stock dunlop run flats. last night i got a big gash in the right rear tire and it will not be fixable. what should i do? i took the car to ntb who said all four need to be replaced. took it to another joint who said i can just replace that one tire and get an alignment.

i thought i would have to at least replace two of the four so that the wear could be somewhat even. i'd prefer not replacing all of the other three if not necessary. but i do see that costco is still running their discount michelins and bridgestones.

 

Personally I would replaced all four tires to non-run-flat, b/c run-flat tires drives like hell!!!

But if money is tight, I would at least replaced a pair at a time, this would actually save you some money in the long run (aligment issue = uneven wear on tires = need for new tires); and I would recommend Michelin tires (much quieter and softer without given up too much in performance).

The only issue you might have is that it might drive kinda weird, b/c two are run-flat tires and other two tires are non-run-flat tires...

 

the lexus quoted me 425 for the dunlop run flat installed. even if i shop around i'd guess it would cost close to 350. so i can go to costco and get all four michelin pilot sport a/s for 800 installed or one run flat for close to 400. it sounds like i need to go with the four michelins

 

Replacing all 4 sounds unnecessary IMO. If money is no object you'll obviously get a superior ride from new 4 tires, don't get R/F though.

At most I would replace the rears and keep the fronts.

If money is supertight, try finding a used dunlop R/F with similar tread life.

 

got a 250 mile trip ahead of me on the spare. i will be crawling. please don't honk if you see a gray gs going 60 mph on 76

 

You shouldn't combine RFT and non-RFT. It will mess up the cars handling characteristics.

You should replace all 4 with non RFT tires, or stick with RFTs and replace 2.

When I replaced my tires, I ordered from Tire-rack shipped direct to my Lexus dealer for install, balance and align. Dealer price fully loaded was 500 per wheel, tire rack with Lexus dealer install was around 310 per wheel.

 

get one matching tire off ebay, look for 5-7 / 32 of tread and call it a day

 

well i went with replacing all four tires. from costco. michelin pilot sport a/s. $775 out the door including all fees including tpms. so far the car feels good. i've read reviews in tirerack that say after the tire change they noticed getting 2 mpg less. have any of you observed this?

i put a little over 300 miles on the yellow spare. looked in the manual today and said it has a life of around 3,000 miles. i heard a buzzing/humming noise from the spare and thought maybe i had ridden on it too much. well the noise is gone with the new tire... so overall happy i guess.

 

How fast were you driving on the doughnut?? Higher speeds will cause a loud humming buzzing noise while driving on a doughnut, and you shouldn't drive more than 50 mph or 50 miles in distance on a doughnut anyways!

 

i did 55-60. it was after driving at that speed for 200 miles that the noise was noticed, even at speeds of 20 mph. at least it was proven to me that the car can get over 32 mpg!

 

Play it safe and just replace the entire set with non run flats tires. Thats what I would do. Tires are not expensive and they are the most imperative for safe driving. Do not cut corners with your safety

 

Buy one used matching tire... or at least search for one. A lot of people seem to hate the RFTs so there's got to be a good market out there for those used oem rfts.

 

Tires are expensive, especially if you have larger rims than 17s.

 

buying a used tire?????? for a 50k Lexus????? Maybe he should drive an old accord

 

Why not? The other good tires on his car are used. Used doesn't mean bad by any means.