lexusrus

What about the "overall outer diameter" of the tire? I think it will be best if this is exactly the same or very close would be fine. So the skid/traction control works as engineered.

Also, I've always wondered if there is an accident where different parties are pointing fingers at each other...... I guess someone (lawyers) can make the argument that if YOUR LX HAD the factory OEM wheels and the CORRECT tire size, the accident COULD have been avoided all together or less damaging or "whatever". So IT IS YOUR FAULT because YOU ARE OPERATING WITH UNSAFE EQUIPMENT!! GOD forbid, they get a HOLD of that Lexus "service history" and THERE IT IS IN PRINT: "Service adviser (insert date) had advised customer (YOU) to use OEM wheels AND the correct tire size as per factory specs, but customer DECLINED." I can see they are going to have a field day with this. Also from the Lexus dealership point of view......if the Lexus dealership DID NOT advise YOU on this, then the Lexus dealership COULD be liable.

This is why Sam's Club, COSTCO, and Walmart WILL not officially install a tire that is not within "factory specs". In fact Sam's Club officially from HQ (I was told) NOT suppose to install any tires NOT bought from Sam's Club. I tried to ask Sam's Club to put on some EXACT same spec tires I had ordered elsewhere and they refused.

IDK. These things are OK if nothing bad happens, but IF AND WHEN things gone wrong......it's a lot of headaches. To me it's not worth it. On the other hand.....if an official Lexus dealership had installed those wheels and tires, they YOU have a way out. I suppose. From a "tire shop install"....IDK.

Also this vehicle is not some "Yugo". Meaning the LX owners USUALLY has some "worth" from lawyer's point of view "I can get some money from this guy/gal". Whereas the "Yugo" owner most likely does not have anything to get from (I can be wrong, but I'm sure the lawyer will run a background check before he wastes any more of his time/efforts because most lawyers do not work for free).

To me it is just not worth it for me to take the risk.

hankinid

Count the number of LX's in non-North American markets...I doubt there's a predominance of 21" wheels. Same with Land Cruisers, essentially the same truck, save AHC.

I'd agree in selecting a tire with the same diameter as 21" oem wheels. Way to many 200 series on the road with different size wheels, and no issues. Another way to look at it is to understand the Tundra has a much higher towing rating and cargo carrying capacity than a 200 series...seems that Tundra wheels could be considered an upgrade.

As to lawyers, that's why I have insurance...and I do not see a risk.

lexusrus

I know, I know. Most responsible persons have insurance. And one can almost bet the more insurance you got, the more appetizing to the victims' lawyers. If one is a "hobo" and "borrowed/stoled" a car and crashed and hurt someone or property. That "hobo" had nothing..... nothing to be had.....so the "hobo" lands in jail.

A close friend's wife of mine got into a car accident involving a motorcyclist "splitting lanes" on the freeway at high speed. She changed lanes with proper signaling and all, but somehow hit the motorcyclist and the motorcyclist ended up in the hospital with critical injuries but survived. Since the motorcyclist is "young and was making a good living"......the payout was HUGE (not including the medical bills already incurred, but also ongoing too. Plus pain and suffering and lost wages, etc..). My friend had "more than GOOD insurance", but in the end they still lost a nice fully paid for rental condo in OC (WAS going to be their retirement nest), plus lost what they had in their savings at the bank (they learned too late a lesson on how to hide and protect their assets.... that's another story). Since the husband had a high paying job he was made "to pay" the "poor motorcyclist". He is still paying years after the fact. Nevermind if the motorcyclist was speeding and "splitting lanes" which I guess it's legal in Cali. Even the CA highway patrol motorcyclist do it. This all happened WITHOUT any modifications on their family minivan. So with modifications involving critical safety items will just raise more questions from the victims' lawyers.

Again, IF the Lexus dealership is willing to officially change wheels and tires out of OEM specs with paperwork indicating the same, then go for it. I doubt the Lexus dealership will for liability reasons. This is not unique to Lexus. Several years ago I ran into some road debris and damaged one chrome rim and tire. Since I had bought the MB AMG from a third party (not MB)， MB will not replace with a matching chrome AMG wheel bc "they did not come from factory chromed". It's the same size, but not chromed. So I had to "order the replacement wheel and tire" from a large chrome shop in LA. I had "tire and protection package" back then, so I got reimbursed MINUS the "chrome fee" which I negotiated down to just one hundred dollars out of pocket. MB officially DID NOT want anything to do with my "chromed wheel" bc they said if not done right the metal in the wheel will be weakened in the chrome process which is absolutely true. Again, it's all about liability. Since I didn't want to be rolling around with non matching wheels, I went with a chrome replacement installed by the largest chrome shop in LA with proper paperwork.

For me.....I just want to adhere to the KISS principle.

hankinid

...that in spite of lawsuits, frivolous or otherwise, tire retailer seem to prosper. E.g., Les Schawb, Tire Rack, etc., etc.

ClaytonW

You can use Land Cruiser 18" wheels and tires of the same size as on Land Cruiser (although most of us use slightly larger Tundra size tires). For your service advisor it would be extremely difficult to argue about how unsafe are these Land Cruiser wheels because these two SUVs are almost twins.
Just consider Jeep Wrangler drivers. Most of them (including myself) have completely different tires (much larger) than stock. And I do not hear about insurance problems. Maybe, there are some, but very rare.

hankinid

ClaytonW, you're spot on. Count the number of vehicles that do not use the original make / model when it comes time to replace the oem set. Then consider how many buy a vehicle with different tires added by the dealer...like the Tundr owner that upgraded and left me his take-off's.

On topic, Wandl's service guy noted non-oem rims are "not good" for the LX. I'd ask why, and there's really no good answer. Staying with "oem" wheels, there are still ton of 18's available that came on older and new Toyota trucks, and definitely TRD rims if you feel a little spendy. Tire limitations are ridiculous for 21" wheels.

foodieLX

INFO on 18" WHEELS/TIRES vs 21" WHEELS/TIRES

The stock LX570 21" OEM wheels are 21x8.5, ET54 weight 43#
stock tires are Dunlop Grandtrek P275/50/21 weight 41#, outer diameter 32"

Keep these numbers in mind as you swap in other toyota wheels.
I run the stock LC200 18" OEM wheels, 18x8, ET 56, weight 33#,
with tires BFG AT KO2 LT275/65/18 weight 55#, outer diameter 32".
I have no issues whatsoever with rubbing, etc. I would like to upgrade to the new forged BBS tundra TRD Pro wheels at some point, for less weight and better looks.

as long as the wheels have similar offsets and widths, you will be fine. and as long as the tires have similar outer diameters and widths, you'll be fine. Lexus does make a 18x8 ET60 wheel for the LX570 for other markets, using 285/60/18 size tires.

as previously mentioned, there are a ton of tire choices in the 275/65/18 and 285/60/18 sizes, in both P- and LT- types. they have outer diameters of 32" and 31.5" respectively (and come standard on the tundra TRD Pro and LC200 respectively). we won't get into monster truck tires here.

hankinid

No disagreement on KISS.

In my case, my Tundra take-off's were purchased from a Lexus dealer and came off a new Tundra. Obviously, no issues in my buying the tires for my 200 series.

hankinid

Thank you for a great reply with no paranoia.

I'd suggest an LT rated tire. Why? Both our LX and Land Cruiser are close to 3 tons unloaded, and obviously more if loaded and/or pulling a trailer...I forget about "P" rated tires completely. We're currently using Toyo ATII's on both trucks with no issues, no noise, and great performance on dirt roads.

malba2366

Great news! Looks like there is a new tire available for the 21 inch wheels. Yokohama Geolander H/T G056. It is on the Lexus tire site for $373 installed. I called Tire Rack and they said it is a new tire and they anticipate having it in stock in 3-4 weeks, their price is $273 a tire.

UZ214

these are noisy tires, had them on my older lx570; I took them off after 15k because of how much road noise it made.

hankinid

So with 2 tires available now on Tirerack.com, you've got a $450 regular tire and a $250 so-called winter tire. Now you're up to a total of 3 possibilities, none of which are great tires.

Sounds like a switch to 18's or even 20's might be logical.