I just purchased an RX 330 and immediately noticed how poorly the oem tires are in the snow and ice vs. the snows I had on my old RX 300. I am told that there is no snow tire available in the 225 65 17 size, but there are someat 235 65 17.

Can I use the larger size and if so, what tires do you recommend.

Thanks.

 

That is odd. I just tried tirerack.com and as you say they don't have any tires in that size. They recommend the 235/65/17, which is a wider tire. This will increase the overall diameter by 0.5 inches. The end result: your speedometer might be off by 1.7%, which is negligible.

That aside, I would probably get a good set of M+S tires, rather than pure snow tires.

tirerack.com does a good job of rating tires for traction, road noise, etc.

 

This change will make it 1.8% too slow. IOW - your speedometer reads 60 mph, but you're actually traveling 61.1 mph. (FWIW)

 

I'm curious, did you get the Michelin or Goodyears? We had the Michelins on the car we bought, but when we looked at the tread on the Goodyears on the car sitting next to it, it was apparent that the Goodyear's tread was more aggressive looking. We made them switch them over for us. The service guy was telling us they weren't stocking the Goodyears anymore and yadayada about how we were making a mistake.

Also, both tires are rated M+S, so I assume you mean Winter tire, not snow tire.

 

There also appear to be no 235/55/18 snow's available.

used 245/50/18 dunlop's fwiw

 

It came with m+s michelins. The tread looks more like a highway tire than the m+s I have had on prior vehicles.

Ebby

 

FWIW, wider tires actually provide less traction on wet, snowy, or icy surfaces. So if your favorite snow tire isn't available in 225, try 215, not 235 or 245.

Yes, size does matter.

 

Correct!

Having said that Ebby, thats what I have found also that the size recommended is 235 65 17. There is nothing available in the 215 & as you know, the 225 size.....this is the best I can find that is available currently.....click the link:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...nce=W&x=20&y=6

Perhaps if you can rough through this winter & be patient, there will be some winter tires available in your exact size as time goes along......probably before next winter hits.

Good Luck!

 

I ended up getting Mastercraft Courser winter tires from Cooper. They were recommended by several friends. They were available here in Cleveland in 235 65 17. They are a huge improvement over stock tires and have comparable traction to the Blizzaks I had on my 2000 RX. (and a lot cheaper).

Thanks,

ebby

 

Good Luck ebby!

 

For what it's worth, I went bigger and got 235/65/17 Dunlop GrandTrek WT M2's.

 

Hi.. I am from Toronto, Canada.. I have the same problem.. The OEM 17" Michelin LX4 can't handle the Canadian snow... I have spent sometime to search around for the OEM sized Winter Tire (225/65/17).. and I found it !! Toyo G02+ and Dunlop SJ6.. They are selling approx.C$170-200 each. The Toyo sold out in Toronto so I installed the Dunlop SJ6.. I have drived 3000km and go through 3 or 4 snow storm, IT is GREAT.. With 4 wheel drive and Winter tire, now I can say I have a sport SUV for winter...

By the way I purchased a set of replica RX330 17" wheels.. The style is same as the OEM.. The shop even provide the OEM center cap... It looks great.. By the way.. If you go to the Lexus dealer for a set of snow tire,,They properly will sell you those and make 50-70% profit from your pocket.. I purchase those at C$250 per wheel...

You can find information on SJ6 from the Japan Dunlop Web site.. It is made in Japan..

 

Your right Ontario (nice to see a fellow Torontonian ) the Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus is a very highly rated winter SUV tire. I've heard many good reviews about it & is an excellent choice! They have that model of tire for passenger cars as well