Wheel/tire protection plan / need thoughts asap
Moderator
Joined: Nov 2016
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From: GA
You know, I have to say, the absolute worst tires I've experienced were the Bridgestone Turanza EL400 that came on, amazingly, both my 2015 Camry SE and my 2016 IS 300 AWD. Those tires absolutely sucked in anything other than a dry, warm day, yet they were billed as all-season tires. They held back my IS 300 AWD so badly. I swapped to a set of BFGoodrich G-Force Comp-2 A/S, which was a sporty all-season tire, and wow, what a huge upgrade. I don't think those were even the most highly-reviewed high-performance all-season tires at the time, but they made the Turanzas seem like hockey pucks.
Rookie
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 41
Likes: 17
From: FL
Oh I see, that would make sense regarding the Bridgestone Potenzas. Also, weird those Dunlops were what my car rolled off the lot with back in 2017. Maybe it has to do with the dealer I bought it from being a "Germain Lexus Dealer." On a side-note, after a brief google search I found that Dunlop's manufacturing rights were just recently sold by Goodyear to a company named Sumitomo earlier this year.(2025) Making it a good possibility that a lot of Dunlop's tire lineup will be discontinued, including my Dunlop conquest sport a/s tires.
Moderator
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 9,593
Likes: 4,784
From: GA
Oh I see, that would make sense regarding the Bridgestone Potenzas. Also, weird those Dunlops were what my car rolled off the lot with back in 2017. Maybe it has to do with the dealer I bought it from being a "Germain Lexus Dealer." On a side-note, after a brief google search I found that Dunlop's manufacturing rights were just recently sold by Goodyear to a company named Sumitomo earlier this year.(2025) Making it a good possibility that a lot of Dunlop's tire lineup will be discontinued, including my Dunlop conquest sport a/s tires.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 1,374
From: TX
The worst tires I have ever had were also Bridgestones, the RE92/RE92A that came on three Subaru's I owned. ('04 WRX Wagon, '05 Legacy GT Wagon, ''08 Impreza 2.5 Hatchback.) The RE92's are such a terrible tire! They undid the traction advantage of AWD. My Supra in the rain with a 3/4 throttle launch and far sportier tires had more grip that the Subaru with those tires in the rain. The WRX felt like it was sliding when you turned the car as it scrubbed desperately for traction. Continentals fixed that issue in the rain and snow. So with that tire reference the IS 500 Bridgestones were remarkably better in their very "average" performance.
Last edited by Bechtold; Mar 25, 2025 at 07:47 PM.
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2023
Posts: 417
Likes: 394
From: FL
Just today I was griping about these tires. It constantly feels like there’s gravel under the tires under acceleration, especially exiting slow 90º turn.
7th Gear
Joined: Apr 2025
Posts: 7
Likes: 5
From: NC
In my experience of getting the wheel and tire plan, it was very worth it. I didn't have to buy new tires for 5 years and it basically paid for itself. I did come in for some rim touch ups once or twice too. That can be a bit harder because my dealer only had 1 rim guy and he was only in 1 or 2 days a week. I'm pretty sure when I did the math last that I actually got more $ worth in tires & rim repairs than the plan cost in total. It's also nice to not have to worry as much about the wear and tear of your tires knowing you can just get a new one covered under the plan. Go ahead and make that turn a little fast. It's what you have the plan for. I recommend it heavily.
Pit Crew
Joined: Mar 2024
Posts: 199
Likes: 165
Sad to say, but IMHO, the only time this warranty makes sense if you're shady/unethical enough to put nails in the sidewalls in the tires right before the wear bars. (Yes I know someone who does this - it's not me! lol) Then again you're gonna keep ending up with crap OEM Bridgestones so it's a NO for me.
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