deaddog

I have a 2008 GS450h with the stock Dunlop runflats. On a smooth road its fine. But, when I hit a slight bump its like somebody is taking a baseball bat to my kidneys. Seriously, I have driven trucks, subcompacts, sports cars, etc but nothing has been even close to as as bad as this. To give some context for Chicago guys, I drive I-290 (Eisenhower) from the Loop to Western 'burbs every day and between Loop and Harlem I take serious hits at least 3 or 4 times - these aren't potholes, they are simply bumps on an expressway.

I'm considering just tossing the runflats in the garbage and getting regular tires. How much do you think this will help?

thanks

rominl

iTrader: (4)

from my experience, it will help dramatically. my sc430 also had runflats, rode horribly. changed to 20s with normal tires and it actually rode better than stock 18s

so many people switched from runflats to normal tires and they are all very happy

Stormforge

to give you an indication, my oem 18" tires, michelin hp primacy (not run flats), have good road feel, not jarring at all when going over bumps.

LexFather

Yeah run-flats are just not good tires.......

Modeler

I did that after just one week in my new 2007 GS450h. Dunlops are horrible even on the relatively pothole-free Norther Virginia roads. I would probably shoot myself if I had to drive them on the horrible Chicago roads.

I got Continental ContiExtremeContact and it was like driving a different car!

nomobmw

Many say the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s (PS2) are the best tire all around for ride, handling, comfort, noise, and longevity. .

I have the Bridgestone er33 runflats on mine right now and they are acceptable, however, as they have aged they have quickly become much louder.

My problem is that my car is equipped with the active roll control option which puts a battery and control electronics in the location where the spare tire would go, so I have no choice but runflats. I haven't met anyone yet who is running PS2 ZP (zero pressure) tires on their GS yet, but I'd really like to see if Michelin's runflat technology provides a better ride than the stiff-walled Bridgestones.

Whatever you do, check out Tirerack.com as they usually have very good prices and reasonable reviews.

man0fsteel

But I'm just about to replace my Michelin PS2 ZPs.

First off, these tires were so superior to the OEMs (Dunlop? I don't even remember what RFTs came with the car) in ride quality and noise. Not even close.

However, they wear out quickly. I drive like a grandpa and after about 23K miles, I've got racing slicks!!! I probably could have got a couple more 1000 miles out of them had I rotated them a little more (I've got a little bit of tread left of my fronts, but the rears have ZERO tread left...)

I got 39K out of the OEMs. I'm going out right not to see if I can remove the amp in the spare tire location so I can ditch the Runflats and get a doughnut spare.

nomobmw

Unfortunately that's not an amplifier. .

That's the reserve battery and control system for your Active Power Stabilizer Suspension System (APSSS) and it's probably something you don't want to mess with. .

What I am going to do (and has been advocated by others) is replace my ER33s with Michelin Pilot Sport 3s (non run flat) which are the replacements for the PS2s. The PS3s have a better tread wear (320 versus 220) so they should last a little bit longer and have better performance characteristics.

If you are willing to sacrifice performance for tread life the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus all season tires have a 500 tread wear rating and I think they are non-directional so you have some more flexible rotation options. .

Also, instead of getting a spare tire, I'm getting an old-school tire patch kit like this. Basically, if you get a nail, you can patch the tire on the road and pump it back up again with a small air pump so you can get back on the road until you can get to a tire shop for a proper patch.

For a more severe blowout, I'll just lean on the Lexus road side assistance (or AAA after the warranty is up) which is no worse off that my original situation with the run flats and no spare.

nomobmw

I was mentioning the PS3s above. . based on this threadhttps://www.clublexus.com/forums/the...upersport.html it's the Pilot Super Sports that are the supreme performance tire.

man0fsteel

Thanks nomo...the sad thing is, those super sports are almost $100 cheaper than the ps2 RFT

I like your idea about using the patch kit. I might have to go that route. I found out in my other thread that the stuff in the spare tire area is part of the apsss so yeah, I'm stuck with RFT's or doing something like you.

Got some thinking to do...

Wood3000

2007 GS450h has Power Active Vehicle Stabilizer, now 115k miles and ride quality is bad in the front.
On rough road, I hear too many interior plasticky squeaks from doors, dash, roof. Looks like new shock/struts would help.

Does anyone has a suggestion?
The shocks are not available anywhere. I am thinking maybe its something else?

Thanks

miket000

I looked into helping my sisters bf replace his.
It looks like they are available. Relatively cheap too for $250 each.
If I remember right the rear shock assy's were the ones I had trouble finding a part number for. Here are the fronts.

https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts/...520-80095.html
https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts/...510-80391.html

Wood3000

Thanks for the information.
The part numbers you provided, are these just shocks or struts?

miket000

I'm not sure. We haven't got around to ordering the struts yet. I'm curious to know what you find out.

Oceans13

Use MyLParts.com. The owner sponsors this website and even gives us a coupon when we order: CL5
https://www.mylparts.com/