kgmobley

Hello,

I am only considering replacing my wife's 2002 SC430 tires with run flats (we have 30K on the first set). Below is the tire rack survey results of the Bridgestones vs. the Dunlops.

Bridgestone Potenza RE040

Results from our online tire survey: 141 surveys submitted 1,764,930 miles reported

Dry Traction 8.1
Wet Traction 6.7
Hydro Resistance 6.6
Snow Traction N/A
Cornering Stability 7.7
Steering Response 7.6
Ride Comfort 6.3
Noise Comfort 5.9
Tread Wear 4.8


Dunlop's SP Sport 01

Results from our online tire survey: 1 survey submitted 3,000 miles reported

Dry Traction 7
Wet Traction 6
Hydro Resistance 7
Snow Traction N/A
Cornering Stability 8
Steering Response 8
Ride Comfort 6
Noise Comfort 6
Tread Wear 8


The survey results for the Dunlop is only based on one person vs. 141 for the Bridgestone. I would like to hear board experiences comparing the two tires side by side (I had read the posts where people talk about the two tires, but I am interested in the board’s opinion based on the tire rack survey criteria).


They did not have any survey results of the Dunlop SP Sport 5000M DSST (this tire is listed as all season, where the other two are summer only). The Dunlop is listed as having the lip to protect the rims, the Bridgestone does not list the lip--do the new Bridgestone have the lip? I would like the lip.

For those that have purchased the latest sc430 with the new and improved run flats, what has been your experience with the Dunlop and the Bridgestone using the tire rack criteria?

Kevin

1ton

Kevin,

I have 34K on my factory Bridgestones and I am going through the same issue. The Bridgestones are on national backorder but some places can get them as early as a week's time. I went ahead and got the Bridgestones because I didn't see any survey results on them. I think in general, Bridgestones are better than Dunlops. I am going to replace mine with the same tire since they have not had any problems in the past.

JCtx

Kevin, let me start by saying EVERY Bridgestone tire I've ever had has been a P.O.S. I've also had them on about 7 of my new motorcycles, and the feeling is even worse. My last car experience was my GS400, where those 17" stones were absolute crap. And hey, I had this feeling even before Firestone bought Bridgestone, okay? I think Dunlop is much better than Bridgestone, but you'll hear as many different comments as people responding to this post, so just read them all and make up your own mind.

Anyway, my '04 came with the Dunlops, and I reallly like them. No summer tire will be as quiet as an all-season. The SP5000 has been around for a while and it's a well proven and popular tire, with more emphasis on performance than touring. I like them a lot, but only have 600 miles on the car. The only performance evaluation I can make is on road noise, and I'd give them an 8 (out of 10). My only concern is the tread depth seems very shallow, and the wear indicators are where I expect them after 20K miles, so I hope they last at least as the stones (they should). Tire rack has them for $235 a piece, which is even less than non-RF Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.

Hope this helps.

JC

Phu

Call Brandon at tirerack, his info is listed in the tirerack forum. I purchased a set of Yokohama Dbs from him and they are great all-season performance tires especially in the rain and light snow. The Yokos are a huge improvement over the run-flats in term of noise and ride quality. Brandon is a very nice guy and he knows his tires, give him a call.

JPI Racing

Go with Dunlop and you will be happy. A lot of my clients switching from Bridgestone to Dunlop.
www.jpimportz.org

kgmobley

I received the Dunlops on this Friday (Dec 26) from TireRack. I had them installed Friday evening. After two days of driving, the ride is smoother with less shock from potholes and rough road. The ride however is not butter smooth. I really do not think any tire will make the ride butter smooth. It’s a GT car, and the performance nature means a firm ride with some road noise. I took the car in to Lexus the yesterday for the 30K service; they gave me the RX330 as a loaner. The RX has the "Lexus" ride, but not the handling and performance of the SC (I know the vehicles have a diff composition and that is my point). After riding 30K on the Bridgestones and switching to the Dunlops, I am not convinced that putting on non-run flats will make this car ride as smooth as the RX. It’s a GT car and there will always be a firm ride and road noise. The two upsides to the new Dunlops is that the car transmits less resonance from the bumps (you do not get the jarring that I was getting with the OEM Bridgestones that came on the 2002 SC). Second, I keep the peace of mind of the run-flats—I had a nail puncture with original Bridgestones and I was able to safely drive the car for repair.

Another nice feature of the Dunlops is the lip that covers the edges of the rims (I have the original SC wheels). My wife and I have scratched the edges of the wheels extensively over the past two years (we had two of the wheels replaced a year ago) with the old rimless Bridgestones.

BTW, I paid $108 ($25 per tire) at West Paces Exxon (TireRack recommends them as an installer and I have used them in the past to put tires on another vehicle and repair a nail puncture on the SC original Bridgestone run-flats). They did a really nice job and price was $270 less than Lexus (they wanted $87 per tire).

Does anyone know of a reliable source of used (scratched free) original SC wheels?

I will let everyone know how thinks work out with the Dunlops. BTW, West Paces Exxon mentioned a Michelin run-flat that sells in the $450 range that fit the SC. Has anyone heard of them or installed them on their SC?

Best regards,

Kevin

JCtx

Hey Kevin. Granted; you'll never have a creamy ride on a 40-series tire, with only 2" of rubber between the wheel and road. A slightly softer non-RF might be a tad better, but not enough to sacrifice the piece of mind of a RF, IMO. I'm glad you compared the Dunlop favorably over the BS; I'd like a better ride too, but the Dunlops are acceptable to me. I just hope they last as long as the bridgestones, because the tread indicators look awfully close to the surface to me, and the tread depth very shallow (the tires looked used ). Being all-season', I'm confident they will.

On your other question, I've seen stock wheels dirt cheap on Ebay. And the 'pie plates' even more; I recenlty put my immaculate ones for $50 and didn't sell, so I kept them. Make sure to ask specific questions about their condiiton (dismounting is much harder to perform without scratches than mounting), check feedback (don't even bother with '0s'), talk to the seller (legitimate sellers don't have a problem with that), and make sure area code matches location specified. I'd only buy from original owners; no SC owner would screw you , IMO. The liquidators, pawn shops, and scammers (a lot lately)might, however. The excuse of the 2 former is: 'what do you expect from a used product? I can't check everything I sell 100%' (I'd only do COD or escrow from those).

Good luck.

JC

Bobs SC

I have the dunlop RFs and only 16k miles on my vehcle and the dealer is telling me I need to replace the tires. He said 415 a tire I said HELL NO!. I am going out looking for new tires on my own. Does anyone suggest I go with the Michelin Sports without runflast and take my chances with Road side assistance or should I buy dunlops from tire rack and have someone else install them for me? Anyone know how much that would cost to get installed?

Doc C

I love my Michelin Pilot Sports All Seasons. Call Tire Rack. They had a good price for me. They are quieter and smoother. Handle better. Look great. I got 19s and they blow away the 18 inch run flats in all above categories.

Doc C

kgmobley

Bob,

TireRack has the Dunlop RF for $235. Per my post last night, I do not think any tire will give a butter smooth ride (RF or non-RF). I chose the peace of mind for my wife with the RFs.

Kevin

Bobs SC

I decided to go with the michelins. So many people have told me the ride is night and day. I will take my chances with roadside assistance. I already had 2 dunlops go flat on me in less then 3 months and with only 16000 miles the tread is already worn.

dseag2

As a previous SC430 owner (9/02-9/03), I can tell you there is really no reason to accept a poor ride as a compromise for "GT car" performance, and also no reason for an SUV (albeit a car-based SUV) to ride better than a $60K luxo-cruiser.

I changed my runflats to Michelin Pilot Sports (non-runflats) and it not only improved the ride but the handling as well. I'd like to think it rode better than an RX, and it rode almost as well as my current GS300, even though it had 18" wheels. You'll see that quite a few SC430 owners on this forum have made the switch and have absolutely no regrets.

Bobs SC

Well thats great to hear. I ordered My Michelins and they should be in by the end of this week. I can't wait to see the difference. The dunlops were horrible IMHO more so the quality then the ride.

Doc C

Bobs SC,

You will love your decision. You MUST post what you think after you drive on the new tires for awhile. You won't be sorry!!

Doc C

Gojirra99

No regrets for me switching to Michelin Pilot Sports A/S. . The ride is only improved slightly but noticeably,but the handling is significantly better.