The 3rd gen RX Tire Thread
 

Thought it was about time to start a thread on replacement tires for the RX to benefit other members. For those of you who have changed out the OE tires, whether to an OE or non-OE brand, please provide some basic information. And keep it specific to 3rd gen RXs only.

1. What tire brand/model did you get?
2. Tire size?
3. Price paid and place of purchase?
4. What tire did they replace and mileage?
5. Other tires considered (if applicable)?
6. What do you like most/least about your new tires?
7. Updates?

I’ll start. It's been almost a year since I switched to the Pirelli Scorpion Verdes for my ’10 450h with the 19” rims (original thread here). They replaced OE Dunlop Grandtreks which were failing at 16.5K miles. The Pirellis were installed at my favorite local tire store, part of a chain, at $249 per tire. Total price with alignment, necessary charges, taxes, and discount - $1,179.50. On the short list were the Yokohama Paradas (~$300 less) and OE Michelin Latitudes ($120 more). It was a tough choice but the Pirellis won out for the better treadwear rating and decent warranty.

First impression with the Pirellis, the RX felt higher and more confident on the roads. Over bumps the drive is firm but not bumpy. They definitely compliment the sport suspension well. I haven’t experienced road noise and don’t have to fill the tires often. As far as negatives, the increased mileage claim hasn’t panned out. The Pirellis are a few pounds heavier than the Dunlops. But they’re definitely keepers. I’ll post how they’re wearing after the annual post-winter alignment next month.

the best comfort tires are Michelin Pilot MXM4 (IMHO)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

There are most comfortable, low-noise, and grip the road very well. Decent for some winter driving ...on the city roads.

Poor review on snowy road.

We changed out tires when we had our 2010 450h AWD with 19 inch rims. It came with the OE Dunlop Grandtreks and had 36,191 mies on them, almost entirely on excellent roads. Could have got another 6 or 7000 miles on them, but had a wear issue on the inner edges which I didn't catch until to late. We were traveling cross country at the time, so just called a few dealers along our route for the best prices on the Michelins, which were getting good reviews on this forum at the time. Parker Lexus in Little Rock, AR. had the best price, so scheduled to have them ready for us during our overnight travel stop. This is what we got:

Michelin Latitude Tour HP 235/55/R19 101V 440AA. The out the door price was $1373.50, which included a 4 wheel alignment, 4 wheel balance, Nitrogen air, taxes, etc. May have got a better price somewhere else, but we needed something convenient, and didn't want to put on to many more miles with the wear issue.

Although the Dunlops were not bad, we did notice a better ride with the Michelins, so much so we got them on our recently purchased 2013. Mileage results remain to be seen, as we only had about 4000 miles on the traded in 2010, and only 6000 miles on our 2013.

Anita
Thank you for starting this. My 2011 450h has a set of very loud OE Dunlop Grandtreks with only 28k miles on them. We will go to Orlando, Fl this year for spring break but the Dunlops will not be on the car in April. Looking hard to see what others are putting on their car when they have changed out the OE tires on their RX.

I'm currently riding on a dedicated snow tire set. The goal was to significantly improve snow and ice traction while retaining stock ride and handling. Results have exceeded my expectations.
The ride is a little softer due to a larger sidewall of 18" rims compared to stock 19". By going with wider tires, I was able to compensate for weaker dry traction softer snow tires provide. Snow handling is still superb. Same goes for ice.

Surprisingly, wider tires (255mm) were $10 cheaper each than stock 235mm.

1) Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2
2) 255/55R18 (TireRack doesn't have them listed right now)
3) $177/tire at TireRack minus $70 rebate
Wheels were purchased at the same time, which included free mounting and road-force balancing. Total was about $1,500. TPMS sensors were not installed (no real need).
4) N/A - new dedicated set
5) Considered Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT due to their low price
6) No deterioration in ride quality and excellent handling despite having soft sidewall and tread
7) No updates yet

If you live in New England, you probably would be better off w/ dedicated snow tires/wheels set; here in NY we had very little snow last two winters, and the Pilots MXM did just fine.
For all-season tires they perform really well in snow (compared to continentals and dunlop tires)

Looking at the price of these tires, it my be the number 1 reason to lease. LOL

Careful with the verbiage on the lease document. There is usually a line which states you will return the vehicle with a given amount of tire tread left.

What tire brand/model did you get? Pirelli Scorpion Verdes

Tire size? 235/60-18

Price paid and place of purchase? Not sure of exact amount, I think about 1k installed. Small independent tire shop in New Jersey.

What tire did they replace and mileage? Bridgestone Dueler 400's with about 40k

Other tires considered (if applicable)? Tried out Dueler Ecopias because we were satisfied with the 400's. Decided to take advantage of Bridgestone's buy & try 30 day guarantee, and swapped them out for the Pirelli's after about a month. Very happy with that decision.

What do you like most/least about your new tires? The handling difference between the Pirelli's and the Ecopia's is significant; the Pirelli's are much better. Perhaps a slightly firmer ride on the Pirelli's but not by much. The RX is my wife's car and she noticed the handling difference right away, with no complaints about ride quality. Road noise is about even between the 2.

Updates? Wearing well after about 10k miles.

Glad to see another happy Pirelli owner, from Jersey too ;)

Thanks to all for contributing so far. Keep the tire reviews coming in.

Tires - Yokohama YK580's

Size - 235/55R19

Paid $898.44 - $100 (rebate) = $798.44 at discount tire.

Replaced Michelin Latitude HP (OEM) w/ 48,479 miles. Could have drove another 3k.

Other tires considered - Pirelli Scorpion Verdes.

What do you like most/least about your new tires?
Well I drove on the YK580s for about 400 miles and the first day I got them they felt fine. Very quite like the michelins they replaced. Pretty smooth for the most part. I only drove 25 miles or so. It also rained so i got to experience them in rain. They really felt glued to the road in the rain. The next couple days after that, they felt horrible. They started to pick up every little thing on the roadway and everything in my car started to vibrate and my car was bouncing around. My RX felt like a bouncy ball on wheels. Had pressure adjusted yet they felt the same. I felt i had less control too. I thought it might have been a bad balancing job, but I took it to discount and they looked at them and adjusted the pressure from 32 to 35 at my request because I use to keep the michelins at 35psi. That didnt help at all. I dont know what happen with them but others have had good experience with them but i didnt. I had a similar experience with these tires on my Camry last year and I had to take them off and replace them with michelins. I don't know what it is but I've had two pairs of the YK580's and both were taken off cuz the ride changed for the worst. I thought I might have gotten a bad batch of tires the first time but it happened again with the Lexus. My friend has them on his G37 and he loves them. Guess they work well with certain car and not others.

fast forward to yesterday,

What tire brand/model did you get? Pirelli Scorpion Verdes

Tire size? 235/55R19

Price paid and place of purchase? $1031.43 - $100 (rebate) = $931.43 Discount tire . Paid the difference only cuz they took the YK580's back. so I ended up $132.99 cuz the pirelli's cost more.

What tire did they replace and mileage? Yokohama Yk580's at ONLY 400 miles.

Other tires considered (if applicable)? Michelins at first but too expensive.

What do you like most/least about your new tires? I love how the Pirellis feel. Gives the RX a very firm and sporty ride. I feel in control of the road. No vibrations of any sort even with the different road surfaces. They definitely cover up the imperfections of the roadway, at least much better then the YK580's. Feel like I'm sitting a bit higher now too. The RX feels like a sports car more then a luxury car now. I love it! Use to drive a Camaro so i don't mind the firmer ride. So if u want a smooth plush ride don't get these. Stick with the Michelins. These tire do seem to be louder then the michelins but I'm hoping it's just cause they are new and have less then a 100 miles on them. No rain this week so I can't comment on that. They are currently set at 32psi and I'm gonna adjust them to 35psi.

Update? will post an update in a couple months once I get some miles on them and after it rains.

Btw, Anita what psi are you running ur Pirellis at?

Sevn, I've had the tire pressure set at 35 since November. I plan on lowering it to 34 now that it's starting to warm up. The recommended pressure is 33. One thing I've loved about the Pirellis is how the cold pressure stays constant. Check yours in a month. It'll be the same. Enjoy the tires.

Ok thanks! I guess I will have them adjusted to 34.