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I have 18k miles on my OEM Dunlops and they ride very rough and have always been very noisy. Thinking of replacing them for a smoother ride. Are the newer MXM4's or P7's better for ride smoothness. My spirited driving is probably equal to most GS owners normal driving��. Will get them from Lexus so if they screw up during the mounting they will fix it such as the tire pressure sensors.
Avoid the MXM4's. Premature treat and wall cracking after 3 years or so is common according to the tire shop guy that I talked to. They're a good chunk more expensive too. If you're looking for comfort.. the P7's are better for that anyways.
Michellin has the new Premier A/S which has gotten really good reviews, but they don't have the size we need for our cars.
Prinny - I'm curious how big of a performance gap there is between the MXM4 & the P7. Is it significant? Does the P7 provide better traction overall? Does it perform better in the rain?
I realize that you just got a new set of tires, but I would appreciate if you could answer these questions once you get some more mileage on them and have a chance to drive in various weather conditions.
I replaced the Dunlops that came on my 13 350 with Kumho Ecsta 4x IIs. I've used them before, on different cars. Quieter, better handling wet or dry, and lasts longer. IMHO a good balance between performance and comfort.
I see references to the older MXM4 cracking. Does this mean they all crack after time or is it an older version that cracks and has been replaced with a newer version that does not tend to crack over time.
Prinny - I'm curious how big of a performance gap there is between the MXM4 & the P7. Is it significant? Does the P7 provide better traction overall? Does it perform better in the rain?
I realize that you just got a new set of tires, but I would appreciate if you could answer these questions once you get some more mileage on them and have a chance to drive in various weather conditions.
Thank you in advance,
~ Im2bz2p345
No problem lol. The performance gap isn't significant enough to bother. I only thing I noticed a little bit was while making harder turns that it didn't feel as comfortable, but that was initially and I don't really notice it anymore now. The MXM4's were okay in the rain for me, but the P7s definitely do have better traction overall. Rain is no problem. Didn't feel a difference between the roads being wet compared with the roads being dry.
I'll keep posting updates from time to time as I put more miles on these.
Originally Posted by Tom450
I see references to the older MXM4 cracking. Does this mean they all crack after time or is it an older version that cracks and has been replaced with a newer version that does not tend to crack over time.
Maybe they corrected that in the newer versions. I'm not too sure. The guy at the tire shop said that he has seen this happen fairly often lately from other models as well. I have a newer one that I didn't throw out that's a little less than 2 years old that hasn't cracked yet, but that's still too early to determine anything especially since the tire looks pretty new.
ES will be your best bet if your looking for comfort , I have GS F sports and it doesn't ride like the typical Lexus soft cushion but coming from Bmw I don't mind but when I ride my brothers LS460 that's what a comfort Lexus is known for.
I ended up going with Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 's on my GS. Stock tire size, stock wheels. They are quieter than the OEM Michelin MXM4's. Grip seems to be very similar. Can't say they are better yet but i've only pushed them once. The steering feels abit lighter or twitchier vs the michelin's. Not a big difference but i noticed it a bit. Might have to check tire pressure. for 2/3 the price of Michelin's, and they are rated for light snow and more mileage, I'm happy.
I'm at 47700 miles right now. No regrets at all. Feels about the same.. not sure if road noise went up a little bit from the beginning of if it's my imagination, but so far so good. MPG is a tad bit better. Maybe 1 mpg at max or something, but it's not very significant. Comfort is fine and traction in the rain is great as well. Drove through heavy rain and never had any issues. I may try out the DWS06's later on, but I really like these. They make the long commute to and from work more bearable. They aren't performance tires so just don't expect to do anything too crazy with them lol.
UPDATE:
I'm at 47700 miles right now. No regrets at all. Feels about the same.. not sure if road noise went up a little bit from the beginning of if it's my imagination, but so far so good. MPG is a tad bit better. Maybe 1 mpg at max or something, but it's not very significant. Comfort is fine and traction in the rain is great as well. Drove through heavy rain and never had any issues. I may try out the DWS06's later on, but I really like these. They make the long commute to and from work more bearable. They aren't performance tires so just don't expect to do anything too crazy with them lol.
Thanks for this update on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires Prinny. How many miles total have you put on them? You mentioned 47K miles, but I am assuming that is your vehicle's odometer reading, not the amount of miles put on these tires.
Glad to hear you're enjoying them. I may switch to these after the tread of my OEM Michelin's wears off.
Thanks for this update on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires Prinny. How many miles total have you put on them? You mentioned 47K miles, but I am assuming that is your vehicle's odometer reading, not the amount of miles put on these tires.
Glad to hear you're enjoying them. I may switch to these after the tread of my OEM Michelin's wears off.
~ Im2bz2p345
No problem lol. I tried to look back to see the exact mileage I have on them, but it's more of a hassle that I had expected.. may have to go find the receipts that I filed away. I drive a lot so I believe that it's safe to assume that i've put on at least 6k+ miles on these tires.
They definitely wouldn't be a bad choice over the OEM Michelin's.
I switched out the brand new, cheap tires that were on the '13 GS I bought (tires were Fuzion brand, I think). Put on P7's and it was like driving a completely different car. Noise difference was the most noticeable, and I'm guessing handling and grip were just as different if I would have had a chance to compare them (swapped them in my first week of ownership).
