I had Michelin Tour Latitudes on my 2015 GX and loved them for road use, but I wanted something more substantial for occasional off-road use.

I bought some Falken Wildpeaks and when I got home from the tire shop, noticed I bought the wrong version. I inadvertently purchased the AT3WA version instead of the AT3W. The AT3WA is a little more highway specific than the AT3W.

I called the shop and they agreed to swap them out if I paid the difference. I now have the AT3W’s on and despite them looking really cool, I don’t like the way the GX handles now. On the highway I have an unsettling wobble in the steering wheel that makes me feel like I’m driving a cheap truck rather than a Lexus.

I’m wondering what I should do. I want to do some overlanding, but not rock crawling. I’m wondering if I would be ok with the AT3WA.

Do your AT3W’s act weird on the highway?

 

My AT tires did that for about 750 miles before the wobble stopped. When I rotate them they do the same thing until smoothing out

 

This does not inspire confidence.
I feel like driving like this will cause excessive wear on just about everything. I'm hearing things rattle that have never rattled before.

 

My 2010 GX460 has almost 179k miles and I have zero rattles and no squeaks. If you're hearing rattles then there is something wrong. You'll be ok, it really isn't going to do anything permanent to your vehicle.

 

Bigger or more meaty tires can be tough. The only way I could get great results with bigger AT tires was Road Force Balancing using finger plates. They didn't always get it right on the first try either. Also look at your wheels and see if one or two of them have a large amounts of weights which would indicate a problem waiting to happen anyways.

 

What would you consider a large amount of weights?

 

I would just compare the 4 wheels and see if one or two of them have a lot more then others. I'm not sure what constitutes a large amount of weights these days! haha

 

The wheels on the GX is difficult to balance. You should look for less than 2 oz of weight. If it's more they can redo it with less.

 

OK, what do you think of this?
Here's what the weights look like.

FRONT LEFT: 12 x 1/4oz
FRONT RIGHT: 9 x 1/4oz

REAR LEFT: 8 x 1/4oz
REAR RIGHT 4 x 1/4oz

On the front left and rear left, all the weights are in one long strip. The ones on the right side are somewhat evenly distributed around the inner and outer rims.

 

There should be a strip near the spokes side, and another strip near the inner of the rim. Should not be in between or more than one strip plus one odd weight somewhere else.

Here is a 50g and 15g weight, the 50g is equal to about 1.75 oz
What I meant is probably look for less than 2 oz on each side of each rim, less than 4 oz total. If it need so much weight they can clock the tire different and use less weight, installer have to be patient and/or customer has to complain first.

Also the GX wheels most likely need a special cone or in combination plate that holds the lugnut holes to get best results, you should ask them what they use.

 

Have any of you tried Centramatics? They work great on my Excursion, and I see they make a 6x5.5 version. It looks like they would clear the 460 calipers on the back, but would require spacers on the front.

Mark

 

If someone used pound-on weights on my aluminum wheels, I would pound on them. Only on Steelies are these acceptable.

 

I am only showing the difference in size.

Although these are not steelie weights, it's a specific shape to clip on OEM aluminum rim. Those were from 1st gen GX so that was old school tech. You can do clip and stick on for the spoke side.

 

rubitrek is in between the 2. good one to consider. not as street as the a but better ride than the not a.

 

I would simply the vehicle back to the shop, tell them exactly what speeds and what you are feeling. If they are a good shop they will be happy to correct it.