slawless

It was time to replace the OEM Dunlap runflats on my 2004 SC. We all know about the harsh ride. I did alot of reading about options. I really wanted to ditch the runflats and go with Bridgestone Pole Positions. However this is my wifes car. She liked the security of the runflats and did not want to loose trunk space to a spare.

So I decided to try the 245/40ZR -18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP RunFlat. What a good move. The ride is much improved, the harshness gone. The car has the ride I expect from a Lexus.

The tires are quiet, about the same as the Dunlaps

My wife used to complain the car slid on wet roads. We recently has some bad weather around here. She said the car was great.

When you buy a $68,000 car tire replacement cost is not a huge factor, but as an added bonus, the Michelin tires are $70 LESS per tire than the Dunlaps.

I have not had a chance to try them in snow. The SC is the worst car I own in snow, I don't expect much improvement. (if you want to go in the snow, get snow tires. They made a world of difference on my M3) As to tread life, we haven't had then long enough to comment

If you want to keep the runflats, give these a try.

Just a few ramblings.

I was appalled that all 4 tires wore out in 24000 miles. This car is not driven hard. I know 18 inch wheels don't last long. but my M3 rears have 24000 and are getting near replacement. But that is the rear. You can't rotate the tires on an M3. The fronts should last 40000 or more. What bothered me more was the ware pattern. All the tires were worn almost to the cord on the inner edge. Apparently this is "normal" for the SC. I did some more research and found the camber on the SC is -1.5 degrees. This is abit aggressive. Aggressive camber can help with cornering. Putting this all together, harsh ride, ware pattern, slipping... I am convinced the SC, from the factory, is riding on the inner edge of a very stiff tire. At the advice of another post, I had a custom alignment done and reduced the camber to -0.8 degrees. Thats about as low as it will go. I left all the other settings alone. This should mesh well the softer Michelins. So far I think I made the right move. The car seems to handle the same. Admittedly I don't push the car too hard.

Hope this helps.

VVTiBob

24000 really? For our cars that's doing very well. I had one set that was done at 15K with religious rotation.

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

I really don't understand the comments that tires on this car do not last. I replaced the OEM Bridgestones with Continental DWS. The rear camber is set at -1.25 degrees and the front is at -.8. I have about 10,000 miles on these tires and they are showing no uneven wear patterns and look almost new. I have no doubt that they will get at least 50,000 miles. I got about 18,000 on the Bridgestones and the alignment was way off in a number of aspects and since I hated the tires I never rotated them even once. I couldn't wait for them to wear out. Am I just lucky?

azkaty

I have the same Micelines..how do you get a shop to do a "custom" alignment?

The dealer won't

I would love to keep these tires as long as possible, as they were very expensive..

Katy

Habious

My first set of Dunlop RFT's...on the front...lasted a grand-total of 12,000 miles before they were due for replacement. Ouch.

The Michelin non-runflats lasted like 25,000...I just replaced those this year.

But yeah, the tire rotation must be done religiously. Every oil change...whether it's the dealer or Jiffy Lube, get the tires rotated.

alamberth

I have about 10,000 on my Michelin Pilot Sport ZP's now...huge difference...love them! Did anyone else have them nitrogen filled?

m3nv

I have Pirelli Rossos on mine now and the've probably lasted about 20k miles. Tires on this car are nothing compared to my CLS 55. That thing goes through tires every 8k!

OBP

I heard about the negative camber on our cars when they come from the factory. I got the NY Lexus dealer I bought my CPO car from to reduce some of the negative camber to improve my tire life. So far I have put 13,000 miles on these Pirelli PZero Nero RFTs and I do not see uneven wear. Looks like I might get another 10,000 from them without much trouble. Would love to try Michelin P Sport A/S ZPs when I replace my tires some time down the road. I am running the regular ( non ZP ) version of these Michelin tires on my other car and they ride very well.