SacKen

Overall, I absolutely love my GX. But my number one complaint has always been that the ride felt sloppy and there was always this strange flutter that I could feel even when I was on brand-new smooth highway. A "flutter" is the best way I could explain it. It was as if the slightest road pebble caused a rippling feeling in the seat. At highway speeds, it just seemed to feel bumpy and unstable. It virtually made the two softest suspension settings unusable. A month ago I took my first long highway road trip (everything for the past months has mainly been city streets or windy Sierra Nevada highways). I was very disappointed in the way the GX handled the highway at those speeds! Besides my wife, I had two other passengers in the back and I was almost embarrassed at how bumpy and wobbly the ride was.

My GX came with the notorious Dunlop tires. At my 10k I complained. They looked at all the suspension parts and said they couldn't find anything (surprise! ). When I went to pickup my GX, I spoke with the head service guy (Steve) and told him that my research (ie. reading this board ) suggested that the Dunlops were crap and the Michelins are better. Even though I had 10k miles already, he asked if I wanted the tires swapped. Of course I said, "Hell yes!"

I brought the GX in the following week. Steve worked the system and put some new Michelins on. I immediately felt the difference. Last weekend I went on another long road trip to SF to walk in the Komen 3-Day 60-mile walk for Breast Cancer (a little plug...) The ride was so much better that it didn't even cross my mind until I was half way home! I finally said, "Wow! The new tires ride so much better!" My passengers agreed and admitted that they thought the ride last month was pretty bumpy.

Steve told me that the Dunlops have a softer sidewall and should give a softer ride. The problem is that a softer sidewall also means that the tire compresses more when it hits even the slightest bump. This most likely caused the fluttering, etc. Michelins are much stiffer. Which means that you will feel the road a little more, but the delayed flutter is gone.

With the Michelins, the truck now drives the way I think it should. I keep the suspension on "Comfort" setting. No more unstable, wobbly, fluttery feeling. In short... Michelin good... Dunlop bad...

Big shout-out to Steve at Sacramento Lexus... he worked the system and got me Michelins after 10,000 miles... Rock on Steve!

gs400jon

Enjoyed your tale of the tire. One wouldn't normally believe a tire could make that much difference. I think the Michelins are just a great tire on the GX.

Skip

Mine came with Bridgestones and they seem to be an excellent tire also. Good ride, very quiet, and no sway or squirming. So far ,(15,000 miles) I have been very happy with them. Skip

LeslieRC

After reading this thread I paid particularly close attention to the handling and feel of my GX470, since it came with the Dunlops that "SacKen" was complaining about. I must admit that I have a preference for Michelins; I put Michelin Pilot A/Ss on my `04 SC430. However, with about 430 miles on the odometer, I cannot detect any problems with the Dunlops - smooth, firm ride, with no pulling or vibration - on the GX. I will continue to pay close attention to how the Dunlops ride.

Tony

Mine came with the Dunlops and I have not noticed any wobbling or stuttters with the suspension. I live in Las Vegas and every road here is under construction so I would definitely noticed. I ride with the sport setting 90% of the time and when I have passengers in the rear I put the setting to comfort. Handling is on par if not a little better for a 6000lb truck. Im used to driving a E46 M3 so nothing except a sports car would impress me when it comes to handling. Overall the Dunlops get 3 out of 5 stars. I have 7k miles on my truck.