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I still need to take my car up to the mountains and put the ExtremeContact Sport 02 tires to the test. In daily driving, so far, so good!
I would say the main things that drew me to this tire over the Michelin PS4S were the price and the possibility that it would be quieter than the Michelin. Most reviews I've seen have rated the tire as comparable to the Michelin in terms of performance, just with a bit of a different personality. I think the Continental is a little more relaxed to drive, but it still feels sporty. It's an upgrade over the OE Bridgestone, to be sure. I think it's also a bit softer riding than the Michelin while still being firmer than the OE tire. Steering feels more reactive, too, and I feel adjusting the car's angle while in a corner is where this shines the most. In the case of the Bridgestone, steering adjustments mid-corner felt a little vague and delayed, whereas with the Conti, I get feedback from the car immediately as I adjust the steering angle. That's probably my favorite thing about the tire. Oh, and the steering, to me, at least, seems slightly heavier than with the PS4S, though it has been a while. I just seem to remember the PS4S having somewhat light steering. Anyway, I like them! Hopefully they last a while and hold up on the mountain roads.
Are the Conti's noticeably quieter than the PS4S on the IS500? I found the stock tires to be very loud on rough pavement. I've heard the PS4S are about the same...
Are the Conti's noticeably quieter than the PS4S on the IS500? I found the stock tires to be very loud on rough pavement. I've heard the PS4S are about the same...
I would say the Contis have a different tone than the Michelins, but it's hard to say for sure which is louder without experiencing them back to back. I need to meet up with @DLPTony and figure that out. lol!
From what I remember, the Michelins were just slightly louder. Not a huge deal. But I think the tone they made over the road was more noticeable as well.
I would say the Contis have a different tone than the Michelins, but it's hard to say for sure which is louder without experiencing them back to back. I need to meet up with @DLPTony and figure that out. lol!
From what I remember, the Michelins were just slightly louder. Not a huge deal. But I think the tone they made over the road was more noticeable as well.
I think the Michelins are a little louder at speeds of 80+ mph than the Bridgestones. (That’s cruising speed for everyone here. 😎 But the performance of the PS4S’ can’t be matched. We have the Conti extremes (All Season) on a ‘04 Infiniti G35 coupe and they’re pretty good.
I think the Michelins are a little louder at speeds of 80+ mph than the Bridgestones. (That’s cruising speed for everyone here. 😎 But the performance of the PS4S’ can’t be matched. We have the Conti extremes (All Season) on a ‘04 Infiniti G35 coupe and they’re pretty good.
Yeah I did feel like I was pushing to keep up with y'all last time, but in my defense, I also was running on little sleep and not driving that great. I really need to get back out there and learn the roads better. And also, my alignment was pretty bad, which may have been throwing off the handling somewhat. It felt so much better afterwards.
But anyway, I do like the way the Michelins dive into corners. The Contis are not far off, but they are somewhat more relaxed, which makes them better for dailying IMO.
We've had consistent mid 80 degree weather up until today. The stock Bridgestones are feeling better but they're still not good.
They love warm weather, but the Contis just put the power down SO much better. The car feels faster because TC isn't kicking in as much in the lower gears. The Bridgestones always had decent feel, but they just aren't up to par with newer summer tires when it comes to outright grip.
Yeah I did feel like I was pushing to keep up with y'all last time, but in my defense, I also was running on little sleep and not driving that great. I really need to get back out there and learn the roads better. And also, my alignment was pretty bad, which may have been throwing off the handling somewhat. It felt so much better afterwards.
OH!! Point of clarification… I was saying the Bridgestones weren’t a match for the Michelins, the Contis are quite good. I blow through tires every 15 months, so I could grab some and test it out. (It’s not like I’ll be stuck with them for long.) 😈
You did quite well, Charley is just crazy and reckless. None of us were close to him. 😎
Hello All. Bumping this thread as we close out summer and start talking about tires again for the upcoming colder season. Let me preface by saving that I don't drive my IS500 all that often in winter as I have another car to get me through the rougher days of winter. However, I do like taking it out every so often to get all parts moving and just enjoyment of driving it. So I'm debating about whether to put on the PS A/S 4 so I can at least drive it on days where the pavement is dry, but might be still cold (< 32F) or just put on a proper summer tire (PS4S, Conti Extremecontact sport2, Yokohama apex v601) and keep the car stored all winter on a battery tender (which would basically be mid November to mid-April). I've read, especially with the Michelins, that you are playing with fire by driving those PS4S on a cold day where you run high risk of cracking the tires. So the option of occasionally driving the car with the summer tires on during a cold, but dry day is out of the question. How much performance drop off is there with the A/S 4 versus the summer PS4S? I'm sure even the A/S 4 still runs circles over the current Bridgestones, which are a summer tire? It's nice to have the option to run the car in the winter, and especially if in a pinch. I'd be very hesitant to take out the car with any of those summer tires I mentioned above unless the temperature was above ~45F. Now on the other hand, one of the best mods you can make to the IS500 to truly get the most performance out of this car is to put on a proper set of grippy summer tires, and from what I've read from all of you - the difference in performance with the summer tires mentioned above is night and day versus the OEM tires.
I can only speak from experience; but, I’m glad to live in the heart of the city where everything is walkable. Took mine out at 44 degrees and white-knuckled it the whole time. I was theoretically prepared for the diminished performance, but I wasn’t prepared. The tires were like solid bricks and I was too unnerved to wait around for them to heat up. (If they would heat up.)
I say get the A/S or a winter tire if you’d like to drive the 500 during winter.
I can only speak from experience; but, I’m glad to live in the heart of the city where everything is walkable. Took mine out at 44 degrees and white-knuckled it the whole time. I was theoretically prepared for the diminished performance, but I wasn’t prepared. The tires were like solid bricks and I was too unnerved to wait around for them to heat up. (If they would heat up.)
I say get the A/S or a winter tire if you’d like to drive the 500 during winter.
Is this on the Michelin's or the stock Bridgestone's?
Driven ~8000 miles over two winters on the OEM summer tires with zero issues whatsoever other than one time predictably facing zero traction going uphill when didn’t make it back home prior to some newly fallen snow coating the road. And even then, got it uphill after the snow had been packed by other cars (~400 ft elevation change over 3/4 mile, do decent grade).
Obviously didn’t take the 500 out when there was already snow or ice on the ground, but really do think the fear of using the OEM summer tires in sub 40 degree temperatures on otherwise clear roads is massively overstated. After all, there is zero chance that the legal department at a company as cautious as Toyota/Lexus would ever approve of selling tens of thousands of cars each year with tires that are known to fail in sub 40 degree temps.
Now, of course, not speaking to using non OEM summer tires in winter, but the OEM summer tires ability to work perfectly well in sub freezing temperatures might be part of the reason that they perform so poorly as actual summer tires. And again, not speaking to using the OEM tires in actual ice or snow, just using them when temps are colder and roads are otherwise clear.
All that being said, excited my OEM tires are finally worn down enough to replace. Going with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus as holding out hope they’d be good enough for use on light snow days.
Driven ~8000 miles over two winters on the OEM summer tires with zero issues whatsoever other than one time predictably facing zero traction going uphill when didn’t make it back home prior to some newly fallen snow coating the road. And even then, got it uphill after the snow had been packed by other cars (~400 ft elevation change over 3/4 mile, do decent grade).
Obviously didn’t take the 500 out when there was already snow or ice on the ground, but really do think the fear of using the OEM summer tires in sub 40 degree temperatures on otherwise clear roads is massively overstated. After all, there is zero chance that the legal department at a company as cautious as Toyota/Lexus would ever approve of selling tens of thousands of cars each year with tires that are known to fail in sub 40 degree temps.
Now, of course, not speaking to using non OEM summer tires in winter, but the OEM summer tires ability to work perfectly well in sub freezing temperatures might be part of the reason that they perform so poorly as actual summer tires. And again, not speaking to using the OEM tires in actual ice or snow, just using them when temps are colder and roads are otherwise clear.
All that being said, excited my OEM tires are finally worn down enough to replace. Going with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus as holding out hope they’d be good enough for use on light snow days.
Doesn't the manual say that the OEM tires aren't for cold weather? That is all legal needs. Cars come from the factory with even stickier tires that are even worse in winter. It's not a problem from a legal perspective.
Driving summer tires in cold weather can also damage the tire.
Driven ~8000 miles over two winters on the OEM summer tires with zero issues whatsoever other than one time predictably facing zero traction going uphill when didn’t make it back home prior to some newly fallen snow coating the road. And even then, got it uphill after the snow had been packed by other cars (~400 ft elevation change over 3/4 mile, do decent grade).
Obviously didn’t take the 500 out when there was already snow or ice on the ground, but really do think the fear of using the OEM summer tires in sub 40 degree temperatures on otherwise clear roads is massively overstated. After all, there is zero chance that the legal department at a company as cautious as Toyota/Lexus would ever approve of selling tens of thousands of cars each year with tires that are known to fail in sub 40 degree temps.
Now, of course, not speaking to using non OEM summer tires in winter, but the OEM summer tires ability to work perfectly well in sub freezing temperatures might be part of the reason that they perform so poorly as actual summer tires. And again, not speaking to using the OEM tires in actual ice or snow, just using them when temps are colder and roads are otherwise clear.
All that being said, excited my OEM tires are finally worn down enough to replace. Going with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus as holding out hope they’d be good enough for use on light snow days.
On the contrary, I thought the Michelin PS4S that I had on my IS 350 performed better in winter than the OE Bridgestones. Granted, if it was below 40 degrees, I didn't drive on them. The Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 tires I have now seem to fall off pretty hard when the temperatures get into the 40's, but again, haven't driven in sub-40-degree weather on them.
Hello All. Bumping this thread as we close out summer and start talking about tires again for the upcoming colder season. Let me preface by saving that I don't drive my IS500 all that often in winter as I have another car to get me through the rougher days of winter. However, I do like taking it out every so often to get all parts moving and just enjoyment of driving it. So I'm debating about whether to put on the PS A/S 4 so I can at least drive it on days where the pavement is dry, but might be still cold (< 32F) or just put on a proper summer tire (PS4S, Conti Extremecontact sport2, Yokohama apex v601) and keep the car stored all winter on a battery tender (which would basically be mid November to mid-April). I've read, especially with the Michelins, that you are playing with fire by driving those PS4S on a cold day where you run high risk of cracking the tires. So the option of occasionally driving the car with the summer tires on during a cold, but dry day is out of the question. How much performance drop off is there with the A/S 4 versus the summer PS4S? I'm sure even the A/S 4 still runs circles over the current Bridgestones, which are a summer tire? It's nice to have the option to run the car in the winter, and especially if in a pinch. I'd be very hesitant to take out the car with any of those summer tires I mentioned above unless the temperature was above ~45F. Now on the other hand, one of the best mods you can make to the IS500 to truly get the most performance out of this car is to put on a proper set of grippy summer tires, and from what I've read from all of you - the difference in performance with the summer tires mentioned above is night and day versus the OEM tires.
I put on the AS 4 and get just as good dry traction with better wet/ old traction compared to stock. I am not sure what I give up compared to the PS4, but I gained year-round usability!
Originally Posted by jororo
Driven ~8000 miles over two winters on the OEM summer tires with zero issues whatsoever other than one time predictably facing zero traction going uphill when didn’t make it back home prior to some newly fallen snow coating the road. And even then, got it uphill after the snow had been packed by other cars (~400 ft elevation change over 3/4 mile, do decent grade).
Obviously didn’t take the 500 out when there was already snow or ice on the ground, but really do think the fear of using the OEM summer tires in sub 40 degree temperatures on otherwise clear roads is massively overstated. After all, there is zero chance that the legal department at a company as cautious as Toyota/Lexus would ever approve of selling tens of thousands of cars each year with tires that are known to fail in sub 40 degree temps.
Now, of course, not speaking to using non OEM summer tires in winter, but the OEM summer tires ability to work perfectly well in sub freezing temperatures might be part of the reason that they perform so poorly as actual summer tires. And again, not speaking to using the OEM tires in actual ice or snow, just using them when temps are colder and roads are otherwise clear.
All that being said, excited my OEM tires are finally worn down enough to replace. Going with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus as holding out hope they’d be good enough for use on light snow days.
The stock bridgestone doesn't have a sub 40 degree warning which could be why they suck so bad.
But the performance of the PS4S’ can’t be matched. We have the Conti extremes (All Season) on a ‘04 Infiniti G35 coupe and they’re pretty good. 
I really need to get back out there and learn the roads better. And also, my alignment was pretty bad, which may have been throwing off the handling somewhat. It felt so much better afterwards.
