I am about to place an order on tire-rack for a winter tire package for my 2010 RX450h AWD, and I am looking for some advice before I make my order. Here are the 18" tire choices I have:

1) Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT (Studless Ice & Snow) @$153each
2) Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 (Light Truck/SUV Studless Ice & Snow) @$156each
3) Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow (Light Truck/SUV Studless Ice & Snow) @$152each

I live in Ottawa, Canada, and we get a fair amount of both Snow and Ice

I am leaning towards #2 because I have used the Blizzaks before (have them on my IS250 AWD) and I like them a lot. Tirerack preferred package chose #3.

What do you think? which ones would you choose?

Also, for wheels, I was initially going with the lowest price modaEB1 (see top pic below), but my concern is the big openings in the wheel, would it be filled with heavy snow and cause steering to shake? (I had this issue with a Nissan Maxima before, but this might not be an issue with the RX?). Tirerack's Preferred choice was the Sports Edition CX model (see second picture), but it is $30per wheel more than the first one. I added a third pic of a third choice that has the least openings to avoid lots of snow from getting stuffed in the wheel, even though it is a hideous looking wheel but again looks is not really a huge factor for me in the winter. So again what do you think about the wheels? should I just go with the lower price and save $120 on the set?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help

 

Hi Chad2!
You can save some money by purchasing an all weather tire such as the Good Year Forterra triple tread. No need to change the tires to a winter or summer tire as these tires are winter rated and can be used all year around. I had them on our 2007 explorer sport trac and they were very good. Even consumer reports rated them as the best all year tire a few years ago.
There are some other all weather tires available such as the Nokian tires, I am not as familiar with the other brands but if you check around you may find others.
I do not work for any tire company and I am just advising from my own experience.
Cheers,
Jim

 

Gladiator9: I know you live in the Okanagan Valley in BC, where winter conditions are different from the Vancouver, BC area (it's milder here). I have the Nokian WR G2 tires on my wife's Honda CR-V (and I also had them on the minivan I had before acquiring my present 2010 RX 350). After much consideration, I concluded that these tires are the best compromise for my local climate and my driving requirements - they may or may not be the best compromise for, say, Ontario.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), we haven't had any appreciable snow or ice here for the past two winters, so it's hard to say how well or badly these tires do in "real" winter driving conditions.

That said, I'd put Nokian WR G2s on my RX if they came in the required size, but they don't!

 

I'd go with the Blizzaks. I've had great experience with them since 2003 on three cars. I don't agree with those from the left coast who say you could use Nokians, TripleTreds or any all weather tire in Ottawa. Just like Kitchener, you get a lot of snow, really cold temperatures and the odd ice storm.
BTW the Automobile Protection Association (apa.ca) has a report on their website discussing winter tires and the Blizzak is in the highest rated group.
My dealer is selling a 17" steel wheel/winter tire package for $1,939 including TPS, balancing and mounting on the RX. With all the extra fees that Tire Rack charges to ship a Chinese made alloy to Canada I figure I am just as far ahead buying the dealer package and my wheels won't look shabby after one winter in our heavily salted Ontario roads.

 

I understand that the Nokian tires are also an all weather tire, and probably as good as the Good year's. If you have to drive on the coquhalla or up to Whistler , these tires would certainly be better than a regular all season. We get quite a bit of snow here in Kelowna but it can melt in a few days or a few weeks, but a good all weather tire will suffice in most cases. As we drive to Mesa for 3 or 4 months, we still can encounter snow or ice on the highway in the higher elevations. My RX still has the original michelins on but I will have to replace them in the next year sometime. I may have to look at the Nokians as Good Year don't make a 19" all weather tire. Otherwise I will put on a set of Yokahama Parada Spec X. These are highly rated also.
Did you bring in your RX from the US?
Cheers,
Jim

 

As you can infer from my having chosen to buy the Nokians, I believe that they're better than the Goodyears.

Winters in the Vancouver area are quite a bit less severe than in Kelowna, so I decided it was an acceptable risk to go with the "All Weather" Nokians. If I [still] lived in Ontario, I probably would not, as an earlier poster, kwbuggy, correctly suggested.

The Yokohama Parada Spec-X probably ranks highest in my list of possible choices for replacement of my OEM Michelin Latitude HP tires, since the Nokian WR G2 doesn't come in the required 235-55 R19 size. Unfortunately, the Yokohama is not "mountain-and-snowflake" certified, like the Nokian.

Nope. Bought a Canadian-market spec car locally.

 

Thanks for the advice gladiator9. Unfortunately, I don't think these great all-seasons would do for our weather here.


Thanks kwbuggy, the Blizzaks are my top choice too. And great to know about the 17" option at dealers, do you know the brand and size of tires they packaged? And for sure it will fit a 2010 RX450? As that price is very close to what it will cost me with Tirerack for the 18" package.


I know you were asking BCRCornet, but I just want to let you know that I did bring my 2010 RX450 from the US last year. Its actually my second Lexus from the US; I brought a 2008 IS250 AWD back in 2008. Let me know if you have any questions regarding that.

 

Buy the Blizzaks. Winter tires are just that. They are winter tires not all season. Its actually the law in Quebec to have winter tires. I am in Winnpeg and yes we get snow and ice here so winter tires on steel rims really do make a difference in stopping more than anything else.

 

Hi Chad2
I also imported my 10 RX. Bought it from a California dealer and it was a cpo vehicle. Saved a ton of money and no real hassles to bring it into Canada. RIV makes us install a relay to ensure the daytime runing lights are on all the time. This vehicle comes standard with DRL'S but you cannot be able to turn them off. I also imported a bmw motorcycle about 3 years ago so I am familiar with the process.
Cheers,
Jim

 

Thanks InRBigrness, that makes a lot of sense. Winter and Ice Handling is way more important for me than high performance in winter. I am not sure how it is in Winnepeg, but our roads here are getting cleaned less and less, and I drive a lot through Quebec Highways where they assume everyone has winter tires, so better be safe.

 

Yes it was very simple to bring both cars. For the IS, you had no way to turn off the DRLs, so it was no issue. I was worried with the RX since it has a switch to turn them off, but Canadian Tire said nothing in the inspection, and I didn't mention it, and it passed with no issues.

I remember reading somewhere at the time that if you can turn the DRLs off and the switch indicated that clearly, then you are OK, and thought maybe that's why my RX passed the inspection, but I have a feeling that I got lucky, as I know there is a way through the menu to permanently switch the DRLs off and override the switch.

 

Chad2,

Just curious, what website are you using to see how different wheels look on your Lexus?

Also, are you planning on installing tire pressure sensors for the winter?

I inquired at my local dealer about steel rims and he says that Lexus doesn't recommend installing steel rims because of the weight of the vehicle. Has anyone heard of this before?

 

Hi Sir1900, those pictures are screen shots from Tirerack's website; a very nice feature they have. Once you have a certain vehicle chosen, you can click on the "View on vehicle" link from the Wheels page, and it will let you select the color of the car, and you will see how that wheel looks on your car.

Yes I am; they cost $307 at Tirerack for the 4 installed on the tire/wheel package I am getting. It will cost about $60 to get them programmed at the dealer.

I was told by both Tirerack and my Dealer that a steel wheel will not fit on the RX, specifically for brake clearance.

 

To Chad 2: Thanks kwbuggy, the Blizzaks are my top choice too. And great to know about the 17" option at dealers, do you know the brand and size of tires they packaged? And for sure it will fit a 2010 RX450? As that price is very close to what it will cost me with Tirerack for the 18" package.

Yes the 17 steel wheels will fit the RX 450, the tires are Michelin X-Ice 2s. I am a bit curious about the comment someone made that their dealer advised against them, my dealer is the closest one to the plant and is used by both Toyota and Lexus to model what both types of dealerships should look like and the services they should provide so I think it very unlikely that they would be selling a product that will cause problems later on.

 

As far as max traction winter only tires go, nothing comes close to the Nokian Hakk 7 SUV. They are studded and come in a 235/55/19. They likely won't wear well but nothing on the market will touch them in the traction department.