A ton more money, and most shops won't repair them. Not all shops can mount and dismount RFT's.

 

Second that.

Hey Retro, there are precious few long time SC430 owners who purposely select RFTs. I left RFTs in 2010 and never looked back. I have always had non RFT winter shoes and I have in the trunk an OEM Lexus F-sport tire pressure pump and OEM fix a flat kit that comes standard with the ISF. Search around on line - while the dealer price for the kit could be like $135 or something like that, you can get it cheaper I am sure. I bought mine in the old Sewell Lexus discount days and must have paid $80 or so for it.

RFTs just reduce the enjoyability of our cars

 

Thank you for the advice guys. Truly appreciated.

 

I am huge fan of winter tires for these cars (I have them on my IS350C too). More in this thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...the-sc430.html

 

So it would seem that at least part of my problem is extremely crappy tires when it comes to the snow. The ratings are all terrible.

http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Revie...per/ZEON+RS3-A

"Bad to the point that I thought these might just be summer tires and not all-seasons."

And that was exactly what I was thinking today, so I googled them. They came on the car, nearly brand new.

Not that I would trust any all-seasons in the winter on the SC, but at least I know that these are reviewed as extra-terrible in the winter and even moderate rain. Still driving the Sonata all winter, but these will be getting replaced in the spring.

 

I ordered 16" narrower wheels and Blizzaks from The TireRack. I have done this on several previous RWD cars with considerable more power than my 430 with excellent results. The total cost was about $1000, but well worth it, IMO.

 

Yeah the 16s are what Tire Rack recommends. Had those before on my car but eventually went to OEM rims with regular 18 inch diam winter performance tires. They feel much better in the cold.

 

Not that I wanted to but I now have a fresh SC430 in snow experience: This morning I was driving to work in the NY/NJ area and then I hit an area with a moderate snow squall. For about 12-15 miles, I was on treated highways while snow fell pretty steadily. Accumulation on the sides of the road were about one quarter to half an inch. I finally got to a short stretch where there was an untreated bridge and the snow was pretty much all over the bridge without any melt. SC did fine on winter tires - no slips etc but I did take care not to make sudden turns or send too much torque to the wheels.

Falken Eurowinter HS 449 - cheap and satisfactory performer in standard 245/40/18.

Also very solid and secure in the cold - up to about 95-100 mph on roads with no accumulation. No problems in 10-20 degree temps.

 

The 16" wheels with Blizzaks are a major improvement in ride quality over my regular run-flats! What are those things filled with, cement?