Soooooo i have a flat tire on my GS350 (front driver's side) and i need to get a replacement tire. Lexus dealership is offering to replace the tire with runflats for about $500 (includes balancing).

My Question To my Wise Lexus mates: What tire should i get to replace the flat? Should i get one or two? Who should i get my tires from (STS, Mavis Tires, Lexus Dealership)? How much should i be spending to replace my tire?

I'm trying to save cash but don't want to sacrifice quality by saving a few bucks if you guys have a consensus recommendation, i'm open.

Background info: The GS350 is AWD and has 40K in mileage. None of the tires have not been changed and the other tires are fine in terms of wear and tear. I like having the runflats as a security blankets.

The Tires i have are the originals: Dunlop SP Sport 5000M DSST CTT P225/50R17 (Runflats)

 

I would not purchase from dealership for tires, will always be more expensive. Try tirerack.com or townfair tire if you have one.

 

Run flats suck. They are incredibly stiff and often times one flat means death of the tire. I have Nitto NeoGens from Tirebuyer.com, absolutely love them.

 

At the end of the day, I'm a price **** too and always aim to find the cheapest available, yet quality tire I can find.... My best purchase so far is a set of Continental PureContacts so far. They're fairly quiet, no problems, very very long wear so far (like still almost full tread), have a DWS indicator (S for snow, even though FL doesn't have snow.... W for wet Traction, and D for Dry Traction). It kind of takes the guess work out of the "do I need new tires yet?"

Upon reviews, they also hold up well compared to Michelin Primacy MXV4. I paid approx. $250/tire with installation (245/40/18), unlimited wheel balancing & alignment, and complete road hazard on the tires (I believe I pay a restocking fee or whatever for a new tire).

+1 on bigblack's comment! The dealer price gouges a lot.... If you got a service advisor who's willing to work with you, you can get a great deal on it too, but not a KILLER deal.... $500/tire is crazy though, that's half a set already IMO. I also realized your car comes equipped with runflats, i'm sure they're super noisy too! At the same time, you unfortunately have no spare tire, so I would consider that in your purchase too (while I still recommend purchasing out of dealer) on your tire venture.

Yup yup! A friend had a runflat, and talked a whole pile of garbage about how awesome they are, until he found out his very pricey tire had to go with each flat.

While the Nitto NeoGens are a nice buy, don't they wear out quickly?

 

Ditch the run flats, get regular tires. They will be quieter, last longer and ride better. If you don't have donut in the trunk, get one

 

I ran through 2 sets of RFT DSST CTT on my 07GS50AWD.
The tires perform well on dry/wet roads.
But when it's snowy and temperature is below freezing, the tire loses its grip. Horrible tires in the snow.
My first choice would be Mich Primacy MXV, but they don't make them for 17" rim.
Currently running Mich Pilot Sort A/S+ and loving it.

 

I have about 20K miles on them so far, they have over 50% of thread left. One of the reasons I bought them was because they are designed for lowered cars with negative camber, so they have re-enforced inside edge. I slightly lowered my AWD car on F-sport springs to get rid of the "Jeep look". The camber on the rear is slightly negative, but nothing crazy. Anyway, NeoGens do the job and they have superb traction, feels like they are glued to the road.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. This place is where i come to get all my answers. I ended up going with a Dunlop Runflat from one of the discount tire spots in the area. Cost me $250 but was well worth the money i saved.

Dumb question, how much would it cost me to get new rims & (non) runflat tires? Trying to be ask cheap as possible. Thanks

 

Wow, nice arnie! I should consider that on my next buy (tires built for camber). I think my tires camber in pretty deep when I drive on'em on setting #2 for my accuair system. The ride is like on clouds on setting #2 (slightly dropped, tire and fender lining is lined up) now, but I still ride on setting #3 (1-2 finger gap) because the camber is more straightened out on that setting.

Glad you made it out spending what, a quarter of the cost? LOL!

Cheap and quality do not go together. What size tire and wheels do you plan on purchasing? I would stick with 17-18in. They're the most affordable tire-range.

The cheapest QUALITY wheel I see around so far are the Vossens, they're very sturdy for non-forged wheels, and they're the cheapest while taking heavy hits on the road. As for tires, there are tons of affordable categories. Look for one with good reviews, wear rate, and in-cabin quietness.

GL!