Just picked up a 2004 RX330 with the 18" wheels and the OEM Michelins need a replacement. Have read good things about the Fortera tires but before I change from OEM - Can anybody chime in on real world driving in the snow with the OEM Michelins from people on this forum? If they drive good in the snow, I'll stay with them. I'm coming from a Subaru that was unstoppable in the snow. Any advice would be great.

 

Just got my rx350, and had a 1/2 inch of snow on the ground 2 days ago, and the micheliins on the 18" were pretty slippery! I was going to wait for a real snow storm to try them again, but I am starting to think of some real snow tires, like the Blizak DM-z3.

I am curious what others with more snow experience have found out.

 

For some reason the Mavis website (mavistire.com) and tirerack do not have this tire showing up on their web site (at our size). What's the deal?

 

I have an RX330 with the 18" wheels and I put on 4 of the Bridgestone Blizzak 235/55 R18 DM Z3 snows. They were the recommended snow tire from Tire Rack and they are truely amazing in the snow and ice and on any size hill (they're actually great in the mud on hills too). Stopping power is outstanding. I've also had them on my MB 190 2.6 for 2 winters and love them. Some say they are noisy but I have not found them to be. Some say they wear fast due to the softness but my buddy has run them back and forth in the winter from NY to Florida 6 times on his Mini Cooper and they're wearing well. The sidewalls are the stiffest, strongest we've ever seen so it's no walk in the park to mount them.

 

I don't doubt that winter tires are the best choice, but I am trying to find an all-season tire that performs better than the Michelin OEM's, unless of course, people here tell me that the Michelin OEM's were fine in the snow. From what I have read, they are not. The Bridgestone (Alenza) and the Goodyear Fortera Triple Tred seem to have the best ratings, but my quesitons are:

1. Do both or either of these tires perform better than the OEM Michelins (18").
2. Is there a preference of one or the other (I'm leaning towards the Goodyears) for overall traction (including snow).
3. How do I get these since they don't come up on tirerack or Mavis, but the goodyear web site says they make my size (235/55/18).

Thanks for the help.

 

I found the blizak on this website:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...=S&search=true

I have some michelin XICEs on two avalons, and they are doing well in the snow, but I do not see the tire available in 18" wheels.

You may be right about going all-season instead of winter. The XICE has really deep tread and soft rubber, and you can feel them move around a little when you are cornering hard. You have to decide if you want the best winter, or the best all season performance, because you have to compromise some parameter.

 

They also list a pirelli at tire rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...=W&search=true

 

Thanks for the help. Hopefully, I'll hear from some people about the winter performance of either the OEM 18" Michelins, Forteras, or Alenzas. From what I've read the Michelins ride the quitest (they are a passenger all season) but are bad in the snow. The Forteras and Alenzas are better in teh snow, but not sure how true that is. Also wonder if they are alot noiser or only a bit more.

 

Had to replace my Goodyear RSA's (at 18k miles) and finally, after a lot of research and frustration, went with the Michelins. Had wanted the Bridgestone Alenza’s but was unable to get them anywhere close by. We drive a lot in our mountains, and so far the Michelins have handled all that mother nature could throw at us. Just got back from running Stevens Pass (4061 feet in Washington State) in what amounted to a blizzard, and had zero trouble. Whether that’s due to the inherent stability of the Lexus AWD, the tires, or dumb luck is certainly open to question, but probably a combination of all three.

At any rate, we’ve had the chance to work the Michelins hard this winter, including an early two foot snowfall Thanksgiving weekend, and a number of trips over the mountain passes. So far no issues with tire performance.

 

I have an 2005 RX330 Thundercloud with the 18" Michelin MXV4's and from my experience they are fairly acceptable in winter conditions. I just returned from a Christmas trip out to Boise, ID and back to ND in all sorts of driving conditions. Thru parts of ID on the way out ran into 4 inches of snow with interstate having compacted snow and ice for over 150 miles. Ran about about 50 mph thru this area. Had a few pass me and a few that I passed. On the return trip ran into compacted snow and ice for over 70 miles on I-15 in northern ID and southern MT (Mondita Pass at 6800 ft), again thru the Butte, MT area including the pass there at 6400 ft, in the Miles City, MT area and in the Glendive, MT area and all of this was at around 45 to 55 mph range. Back in ND I ran into a snow storm of about 3 to 5 inches with the driving lane fairly clear but the passing lane snow covered. I ran at around 60 to 65 mph and here again I was passed by some and passed quite a few. Most traffic was running around 55 mph. The RX felt secure in all of this driving and not once did the "skid control light" come on in the dash. I will admit I did not try to push it and stayed at speeds I felt comfortable with. The tires worked well for the second winter I had them. The first winter they felt better than this one, but I'm sure that has to do with them being more worn (23K). In Jamestown on Sat. thru early Sunday morning (the 30th and 31st) we received 14 inches of snow. I had the RX out and about on Sat. afternoon and again on Sunday morning and had no problem getting thru the snow (which did surprise me somewhat). There were some wheel tracks but still was alot to get thru. I am planning on putting Blizzaks (or something similar) next winter because I know the Michelins will be too worn for winter use by then. I had a 98 GS300 with Blizzaks and ran thru all sorts of ice and snow with it. Just remember, some people are more comfortable running on ice and snow then others and having the right tire can influence that as well. If your tires are getting worn than I would suggest getting a set of winter tires (mounted on rims) such as Blizzaks for now then switching back to the Michelins for summer use (my plan for next winter).

2005 RX330 Thundercloud, Thundercloud Mist, Gray/Black interior with Black Birdseye Maple trim, NAV, ML, HID with AFS, Rain Sensing wipers, Tow Package with OEM Hitch, 18" Thundercloud Rims with Michelin MXV4's.

 

Here's a vote for the Alenza. It's simply a superb tire in the wet, dry or snow. Braking on wet and snow are superb. Going up a relatively steep hill of unplowed 6" of snow in my subdivision was no problem. Sure some of that is AWD, but there was nary a slip.
The tire is much more responsive to steering input. It goes where it's pointed and tire squeal on turns disappears. Road noise overall is lower than the Michelin's (especially on coarse pavement), however the tire does produce more noise over expansion strips. Unlike some tires, the road noise even drops a bit after the first few K of driving.
The trade-off appears to be mileage, which for me dropped approx 1 mpg after the switch. However, the stock Michelins are some of the least rolling resistant tires on the market so I was expecting a drop of some sort.
After 6.5K miles of driving, there is no wear evident that I can see.

 

Thanks, everyone. I tried my best to get the Alenzas, but they are much more difficult to get locally. Since I've never driven on the Michelins, I figured I'd give them a shot and see for myself. If I find that they don't handle the snow well, then I'll get the winter tires next year. The place where I got the Michelins throws in installation and removal of snow tires for free (lifetime). That sounded too good to be true, so I asked to be clear, and they said once you get tires installed there, they throw that in for free, even if I get the snow tires elsewhere. I paid $760 for 4 tires, including all tax, etc. They pricematched with Costco. We'll see soon!

 

trey, let us know what you think of the Michelins, would be nice to compare experiences.

Cheers - Orzel

 

I definitely will. Right now, it's 67 degrees in NY, which is NOT the usual January temperature. Around town in dry weather, they seem fine. I didn't expect the car to handle like a sports car, so my expectations are being met with the current michelins. They seem very quiet on the highway and around town. Actually, even the "bald" Michelins were quiet in my opinion. My other car was a G35 coupe with 18" Pilot Sports and there was ALOT of road noise. I'm really interested to see how they handle in the snow.

 

Much like the weather you are having in NY, the Chicago winter has been pretty tame so far. We had one good snow that dropped about 8 or 9 inches and I was happy with the way the Michelins performed. I've got about 19k miles on them and had no problems with traction or braking. I wouldn't hesitate to replace them with the same tire when the time comes. I had Yokohama's on my previous SUV and found they also performed very well under dry, wet, and snowy conditions.