Ditch the runflats since they cost a bloody awful fortune and leave the spare tire at home to save weight. (Carry a can of "fix a flat" and make sure you have AAA.)

 

I' ve said all along that Lexus should have regular sports tires and a spare as standard and make the runflats a real option that has to be ordered only at a customer's request. Customers will then have a choice when to leave the spare at home for more luggage space and when to bring the spare with them (for out of town trips for example) One has to accept that the SC430, as all 2 passenger coupes, is not the right car for them if practicality is a priority.
I ' ve had the Michelin Pilot Sports A/S for 8 months now without a spare and are quite happy with the handling and ride improvement. I' ve pretty much decided that I'll not use this car for trips far out of town, & that Lexus Road side Assistance should provide acceptable protection & service within the city's vicinity.

 

I too, trashed my run-flats and, living in Southern CA, opted for the Pilot PS2's. They are, indeed way better than the RF's, but as mentioned elsewhere, are somewhat noisier than I expected at highway speeds. Michelin rates the PS2 as a 6 on their 1 to 10 scale for quietness, while they rate the Pilot All Season as a 7 out of 10. My dealer will exchange the PS2's for the A/S's since I only have a few hundred miles on them, but he warned me that as the Pilot A/S wears, they will begin to make much more noise than the PS2's. What to do? Do any of you have the Pilot Sport A/S tires with 12,000 to 15,000 miles on them? Have they become progressively more noisy? Any thoughts?

 

Does anyone have the Pilot Sport A/S tires with some miles on them (12 to 15K)? If so, have you noticed any appreciable increase in noise? I've only got a few more days to decide whether to swap my PS2's for the All Seasons.

 

Forget the runflats, I have the PS A/'s also. But I live iun NYC, and as of right now two of my tires are bubbled already. I'd like a larger profile tire, because the car is simply too heavy for the size given to them, but then I lose on already sketchy handling. I haven't decided what to do yet, i'll probably just get 2 new PS's for now

 

 

I have just returned from a tire 'information gathering" expedition and the dealer told me I didn't have to replace the "run flats" with new run flats (about 17K miles and they have a few miles left, but the rims have gotten bent from the lack of "rubber" between the rim and the road).
The new KUMHO ECSTA AXS tires are being competitively bid for this car since they are breaking into this market, only $156 compared to about $250 or more for a Michelin, and the KUMHO's have a 420 rating for wear (max is about 440).
Anybody else try these new tires or have other suggestions to replace these "would not have bought run flats if I knew better at the time" tires?

 

Hi All,

Well I like the concept of runflats but I sure don't like the ride and handling I've been getting from the stones so I got a set of the Dunlop DSSTs. They'll go on Monday for at least 6 months. They're all season so I'd like to think I'll keep them through one winter but dry road ride and handling will be the deciding factors. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, has anyone else spoken to their dealer about the "spare package"? Mine says $1500 for the donut, anchor, cover and new carpet. Wow, what a rip!

George

 

One of the members of this forum got a very good price from his dealer on a spare kit installation (I'll let him discuss the details if he desires). I mentioned to my dealer that I wish I were as well-liked at my dealership as he is at his. So, my dealer gave me a "goodwill" discount for the spare kit. Labor, parts, and tax came to $826.72 minus a $300 goodwill discount for a total of $526.72.

The pre-discount cost broke down this way: Labor, $128.58 (1.5 hours); parts, $659.12; sales tax, $39.02. This was done May, 2003. Seeing as how I've never before purchased a car from this dealership, I thought this was a very nice gesture on their part. On the other hand, they made a tidy profit on the sale.

 

And I thought I was alone........NYC based SD430 with two new wheels and two new tires already installed. Last service @ 10K dealer says two other tires have bubbles and will need replacement. I go nuts and get the manager, and Lex HQ on the phone. Lex HQ attitude is awful: 'not our responsibility'. I say car should be sold with an warning: "Do Not purchase RFTs if you intend to actually take this car out on a road! Display this vehicle only in your driveway!'
Scary is the only word to describe some of the jolts. My wife will not be a passenger in the car anymore....
Dealer manager says (on the QT) BTW don't get regular tires, our customers come back with them with bubbles too.
Any sage advice, or is this really simply not a city car. If tires should be replaced, who has the latest on which are best, to give it a try. Doing nothing is not an option. Thanks all!!!

 

Joe, I no longer have my SC430, but I did own one from 9/02-9/03. I completely agree with you... the ride with the RFTs is "jolting". There's no other way to describe it. In addition, it tends to create unecessary rattles in various places inside the car.

I replaced my RFTs with Michelin Pilot Sports after less than 2,000 miles. It greatly improved the ride and made the car less "jittery" over road imperfections. The interior rattles also went away. If you search back over some of the threads on this topic, you'll find that everyone who has replaced the runflats has been happy.

I never carried a spare because I really only used the car a few days a week and didn't really take it on trips. I carried a can of Fix-a-flat. It works. It sealed a tire with a major air leak over a weekend until I was able to get a replacement. Unfortunately, Fix-a-flat can damage the tire pressure sensors, but if you no longer have runflats the pressure sensors aren't an absolute necessity.

Of course, your other alternative is to take your chances and rely on Lexus Roadside Assistance or check into the spare kit mentioned in an earlier post. That's my advice.

 

I got rid of the run flats a while ago. Have truly enjoyed the car since then with the Michelins. As to lost trunk space - I have no problem. I did install the spare tire. However, around town the trunk gets little use and when I really need it, I just keep the top up and there is plenty of space.

For trips out of town; I run the highways with the top up and gear in the trunk. When I arrive, I put the gear in the hotel room and I am then free to put the top down for the duration of the visit. Then the top goes back up and the gear goes back in for the run home. In addition, sometimes I just use soft bags in the rear seat for some trips and then can use the top up or down as desired.

Before deciding on this car, I came to the conclusion that there was no one car that would meet my needs. The along came the SC430. This one car combined all my desires into one car. It is a small sacrifice to pay to work around the trunk/roof issue on some occasions.

My one downside: I park on small gravel and they do become imbedded in the deep tread. Some stay in a while. Did not have that problem with run flats.

 

I just had four new Kumhos installed on the car on Saturday and replaced the run flats with 17,500 miles on them a little early - could have gotten another 500 miles, but why? With the Kumho's, rated at 420 (the Michelin tread wear is 440, highest in the industry, the Kumhos are pretty close), I am expecting a lot of miles out of these tires; the rubber on them is incredible. Two great results: 1) the tires are quiet, great handling and I feel like I just bought a new car - I cannot believe Lexus put the run flats on this car and ruined handling, noise, comfort, you name it; and 2), the Kumhos are only $122 per tire, about half of the Michelins and expected to last as long; they won't stay at this price forever, but Kumho is working hard to establish its brand with a wide range of racing and road tires. These are the ASX tires, not the lower rated (220) dry weather tires. I couldn't be happier and will now keep the car for awhile since it's such a joy to drive.

P.S. I have the extended AAA membership, as I did with my Cobra, so it's good for extended towing, etc. in case of a flat. I've driven for so many years now without a flat and either fix-a-flat or extended AAA gives an extra measure of caution. Besides, if you have to pull off the side of the road and wait for help, with a car like this who wouldn't stop to offer?