Morning all -

Thanks for reading. My car had 25k miles when purchased it and the CPO dept told me the tires were "fine". After two recent service visits due to shaking and grinding issues at highways speeds the dealership replaced the two front tires due to uneven wear (was not a balancing issue). This fixed the shaking and has my 2009 RX350 driving great...feels tight on the road, no shakes, etc.

Now i question whether i need to replace the back tires (at my expense) to have a set of four new tires to be rotated and wear evenly going forward. Any thoughts?

I assume the back tires are the original tires which means they have approx 29,000 miles. I read mixed reviews that tires last as few at 15,000 (specifically these high end performance tires) or as long as SIX years???

Not sure if i replace the back two now, or wait a while, or back tires don't matter and replace them in a year????

Thanks again,
Joe

 

The important tires are the front ones. Until they wear out equally you are fine. You just do not rotate for a while until you see wear on the front, and that could be 15,000 miles away.

Enjoy your ride for now. Keep the money and replace all 4 in due time.

 

Now days they say your best tires should be in the rear...You can control the front with your steering in case of a blow out...

 

Sorry, but the OEM are not performance tires.

Buy the tires as soon as you wear them down to lowest safe tread or if there is inherent problem with them. No need to buy them sooner. You can run over a nail any time. [It can happen to a new tire too, but push it off in the future].

Keep a look out for sales and special offers .. typically 4 for the price of 3.

As pointed out the research form tire company suggests that having the better tires in the back is best for directional stability. I am old fashioned and prefer better tires in the front for improved traction (I have FWD) and braking.

Salim

 

Update: The tires in question are Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 in case someone has a history with these tires and knows their wear and tear.

Maybe I am over thinking this but the car feels so much better with the new tires in the front that I'm contemplating replacing the back. For safety and for peace of mind.

I just did the "Lincoln - Penny test". The tread depth on the front tires (new) go from the top of the penny to his chin, basically 13/32 of an inch. On the old tires the tread is only to his eye socket, basically 7/32 of an inch. A tread difference of 6/32 (3/16). So the tread on the old is half what is found on the new tires, and the old tires are approximately 2yrs and old have 29,000 miles on them.

I have lived in the city for the last decade and am new to car ownership. I realize there are several courses of action that all work fine...but curious the most prudent and efficient path to take...for now and down the road.

1. Do I replace the back tires and allow a normal, even tire rotation going forward. Up front cost but smooth driving and tune ups going forward.

2. Do i keep the good tires on the front, continue using the old rear tires, and then in 10-15k miles buy new tires. In this case I assume they take the two front tires (new today) and rotate them back...putting brand new tires on the front again. And this would be my rotation going forward...front tires to the back, and new tires on the front.

Last question...wow i feel annoying.... does anyone know how a proper tire rotation takes place with Lexus? Does left switch with right, but front and back remain in place? Or do all tires end up in completely different spots? In my case it seems I benefit from having the newest tires in the front and want to stay this course perhaps?

Thanks again....
Joe

 

Take Option 2. Rotate tires front to rear and vice versa. Chill for another 10K. Maybe a year? Then go for it. Also consider that you may want a different set of shoes rather than Michelins. You have that option in a year.

Bridgestone Alenza's have had good reviews among members here. As well as a few other brands. Michelin ranks low in people's choices.

 

I have Michelins and can not complain about them. But will replace them with Alenza's. The Alenza's have a bigger footprint with the same spec tire. But that's a year or 2 away. Right now, I rotate them every oil change (~6-7K miles). Even wear so far. Keep it at 36 psi.

 

My '05 330 Michelin tires lasted 46000 miles and I only replaced them because the winter was coming and I wanted as much tread as possible on the wheels. Had this been spring I would have driven those tires another 4000 easy. So, you might get another 20-25000 miles on the tires. They aren't cheap but if you want to have tires that all have the same mileage and are the same brand, it might give you piece of mind. Did you measure the tread to see how much is there?

I rotate my tires every 5000 miles with each oil change and I got near perfect tire wear. If your rear tires are in good shape there isn't any reason why you can't do normal rotations and allow them to go up front.

 

I would also stay with the new tires on the front. Mainly in that is your steering and you would want the best traction and tire condition on the front. Once they wear down then you might want to rotate. Thing is I had the MXV4's on my Thundercloud RX and they looked pretty good at 25K, by 33K I replaced them all with Alenza's. Winter was coming and I didn't feel comfortable with the tread life left in the MXV4's. If I lived down south or southwest where icy roads or snow are not a problem I could have went another 5K to 8K on them. I have heard of many people getting only 20K to 30K on the MXV4's. As pointed out you could get a road hazard at any time that would wipe out a tire so don't replace until you have to. I have about 25K on the Alenz's now and at the 60K service the tech thought I had put new tires on recently. Tires are 2 1/2 years old and as I said 25K.

I would say stay the course on the tires and keep an eye out for good tire deals in the future. Good Luck and hope the tires keep going for you for a long time.

2005 RX Thundercloud, Thundercloud Mist, Gray and Black interior with Black Birdseye Maple, NAV and ML, HID, Tow Package with OEM hitch, Alenza tires.
1998 GS300 previous Lexus and first Lexus