If you don't drive very aggressively most of the time, you can stretch them past 16k miles, but since they cannot be rotated due to staggered stance, it will not give the full 30k mile that a square setup can.

 

Why in the world would anyone ever say something like that to someone? Not to mention a fellow Forum Member. "If you cant afford the maintenance get rid of the car"
(Spelling errors and all)

Seriously, you may easily be able to drop mad amounts of money on Engine Bay Mods (Is nice though) and start stacking up for tons more to come, but I dont think I've seen a more conceited post toward another member here.

Rather than shame the guy, perhaps try offering some helpful advice for his issue, or was the "lol" a "just kidding" approach? Absolutely ridiculous statement to make! (LOL)

 

See, how hard was that?
Thanks Rolla.
Still SMH......

 

Maybe someone can recommend a good place to buy the tires online through a vendor here. Once delivered take them to a respectable tire installation place and pay $80 to install them. Alignment should be about $60-$80. Be wise and get good deals when they pop up.

 

I'm expecting to get more miles out of the Pilot Sports AS3s and at the right time, full set + install + future alignments will all cost <$1,000 like doing it at Costco. If you can make them last more than a year which you should be able to, it's more savings to you.

Brakes don't have to be done at the dealer nor do you have to get OEM, so it won't necessarily be outrageous. If you track the car then by all means you're back to square one and there isn't much ways to avoid high performance tires + brakes.

 

I do most of the routine maintenance on my RCF and other vehicles that I own as much as possible.

​​​​​​If you decide to do any routine maintenance, please take good pics with receipts, new parts, AND OLD PARTS plus mileage on the odo. Then send all the pictures (make sure the GPS location is turned on so that each picture is STAMPED) to yourself via email so there is no questions whatever you did WAS indeed done. Also if you are not comfortable with doing any routine maintenance on your own, please seek help. Or look around for independent shops specialized in Japanese imports. Some of these are REALLY GOOD with REASONABLE charges.

One more thing......if you do decide to do routine maintenance on your own, please use safety precautions especially use proper JACK STANDS (not just the jack) to support the car when you are under it. Also if the engine is actively RUNNING or just shut off and HOT......just BECAREFUL not to get burned or get your clothes or fingers caught on any moving parts.

You can save A LOT OF MONEY by doing routine maintenance on your own (IF YOU ARE ABLE, HAVE THE TIME, AND THE ROOM/PLACE TO WORK ON THE CAR).

As for tires and brakes........these depends a lot on how you drive. Usually the ultra high performance summer tires don't wear well.....some something like 15K miles later you'll need to look for replacements. The all season performance tires will last a little longer. Either case, the rear tires will wear out way BEFORE your front ones......like replacing 2 times before the front ones. Then there is the alignment issue.....make sure to get an alignment when putting new tires on. Otherwise your tires may not wear evenly and sometimes only after 5K miles your inner/outter sides of a tire will prematurely wear out and that tire IS GONE!!

The last alignment I got was at Firestone. They had a sale for "LIFETIME ALIGNMENT" and I went for it. So far so good. As far as I know, they (Firestone) put it in writing for the 4 wheel LIFETIME ALIGNMENT" NATION WIDE. They gave me a print out of the measurements on my RCF BEFORE AND AFTER the alignment.

Brake pads change is not that hard to do if you learn how........this is done at track side a lot of times. But if you are not comfortable with this, then the independent shops specialized in Japanese imports can do it at much more reasonable prices.

​​​​​​While it is true that the RCF costs more to operate versus most of the big three domestic brands or some of the Asian imports. A friend of mine who has a 2015 KIA Optima. The local KIA DEALERSHIP used scare tactics to make him to do ALL maintenance and ALL work at the KIA DEALERSHIP by telling him he will VOID the "famous 100K miles warranty" if he let anyone else work on his KIA. I told him this is not true and totally illegal for the KIA DEALERSHIP to do that. So I sat down with him and added up all the charges since new by the KIA DEALERSHIP for his routine maintenance.....guess what!!! The total was higher than my RCF!!!

 

Like the others said here, tires can be had for great deals during rebate season and selecting a well-priced tire shop. I just looked at Hankooks and General GMax RS for the 911, and they came out to under $800 for a full set.

I'm not sure about what you guys mean by the outrageous brake job prices (perhaps I've never had my Lexus/Japanese cars - aside from certain exceptions - serviced at the dealership), but rotor/pad prices for the RCF is comparably affordable to the level of performance this car competes with.

 

The last set of tires I ordered from Discount Tires online. They are part of America's Tires. Since my RCF is located at work in the middle of nowhere in the deep South, there is no America's Tires or Discount Tires anywhere nearby.....I ordered online when they had a sale AND a rebate VISA CARD a few months before I really needed them.

You have the option of shipping the tires to the shop where you are planning to install them (if you know and trust the shop) OR ship to you. I can tell you it is PITA trying to cram all four tires into the RCF (two front tires in the trunk which barely fit and two rear tires in the back seat wrapped up in moving blankets). I had them installed at a local Firestone. I gave the Firestone shop a chance to match the price of the 4 Michellin PS All Season tires. Firestone was unable to and wanted to sell me Firestone and Bridgestone tires (higher priced).....LOL. They also did ROAD FORCE tire balance AND LIFETIME ALIGNMENT. Prices were reasonable (much lower than the Lexus dealership about two hours away).

 

What I meant to say is...this car is going to cost a lot in maintenance, so if you're having trouble with the tires alone, you might want to think it through. There are a lot more things in life that are more important than a car. There are always ways to get cheaper maintenance for the car but at the end of the day, if you're having trouble with paying $1,200 a year for tires/alignment, it might be a good idea to calculate what you can afford and where the car lies in your priorities. If you're planning on modding your car, it is going to cost you an arm and a leg because it's literally never ending, the market for these cars are sooo small, the manufactures mark up the price so they are able to make money. An upgraded exhaust can cost anywhere from $1,000-$7,000 alone. If you're not going to mod the car then I think most people can agree that it shouldn't be an issue but again, i don't know your finances. You can always buy used tires and use groupon for car maintenance discounts. I was able to get a mobile 1 oil change for $50 using groupon, Good luck!

 

You're driving 16k miles per year? Look for tire deals at Costco or discount tire and independent shops for brakes. The maintenance on these cars aren't too bad, especially if you have the time and tools to do some work yourself.

 

Question:

Did you buy the RCF "L" certified from a Lexus dealership?

If yes, then you get that unlimited mileage warranty as per Lexus website (as long as you keep up with the routine maintenance):

"Lexus confidently stands behind these exceptional vehicles with the L/CertifiedLimited Warranty, * when combined with the new-vehicle Basic Warranty, can provide up to six years of vehicle warranty coverage. Mileage is unlimited. ... There is no deductible: Repairs made under this warrantywill be made at no cost to you."

This is better than Mercedes CPO warranty which only covers for 4 + 1= 5 years unlimited mileage warranty with zero deductible.

So a Certified "L" Lexus that is gently used is the way to go UNLESS YOU JUST ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE IT BRAND SPANKING NEW.

 

Another way to look at this:

Based on your numbers......it calculates to $100 per month for "routine maintenance" for your RCF. This is a heck of a deal!!! Given it's NA V8 WITH ALL THAT POWER AND GLORY. PLUS THE LOOK OF A MODERN MUSCLE CAR THAT TURN HEADS EVERYWHERE YOU GO!!

I don't think you can find another car that matches the RCF in terms of power, performance, and reliability for the same "cost of routine maintenance". If anyone out there can suggest another make/model better, please post. I would like to know which car I had overlooked.

 

I was talking about swapping tires awhile ago, but I'm still running on my 1st set of stock tires and I'm at 21,873. Granted, I slip when I step on it, but I still have a good amount of thread. It appears that the outer/inner walls is what slips me a bit, according to the tire shop. I've learned to control the slip when I want to get a semi good launch. I should have my PS4S in a month or two, and I'm sure it will be a night and day difference.

Sometimes you have to ignore the logistics, and just go for it! It's kind of like gas, I don't even bother looking at the price. I didn't buy the car for good gas mileage or low maintenance. I bought it to have fun and put a smile on my face everyday I go to work or take a cruise. Life is stressful, life is hard, and full of worry details. The RCF is that release, at least one of my releases. In the long run the money you pay for extends your life, it really does! From one car lover to another ...get in your RCF and just drive it!

Cheers!!