beachboy23

Anyone have experience with the following tires for the current model GS300 in terms of road noise, handling, etc:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (Size 225/55WR16)

Michelin Pilot XGT V4 (Size 215/60VR16)

Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 (Size 225/55ZR16)

Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z (Size 225/55ZR16)

The car came with Turanza ER30 (Size 216/60VR16), but in my opinion, the handling is average.

billh556

I have 17" wheels on a 98 GS400, so there may be some differences to what happens with your 16s. My comments are from experience with 235/45R17 size. That said:

Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 (not the V4): great handling, wet or dry. Relatively quiet when new, pretty noisy as they aged. Fantastic longevity - I had over 60K on them, and could have kept them a bit longer when finally replaced.

Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z: fantastically quiet. You'd swear I had a new car. Softer ride, more sway, but they stay put - it just doesn't feel as confident as the Pilots in a corner. Horrible problem with flat spots after the car sits for a few hours, especially in colder weather. This goes away after a few miles, but it's awful when you first get in the car after it sits for awhile.

I've had the LS-Z's for about 5000 miles.... still can't decide if the wonderful silence is worth the morning thumping that they provide. The Pilots never did that, nor did the oem Bridgestone Potenzas, for that matter.

Hope this helps...

beachboy23

Thanks for your comments billh556. Tirerack has nothing but glowing comments for the Turanza LS-Z. I haven't heard about the flat spot problem before.

I believe that using the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S will definitely improve performance since it's a performance tire, but I also believe that tire noise will be higher and probably the ride will suffer a bit. The W speed rating has got to mean a stiffer ride.

A few years ago, I went to a Lexus drive featuring the GS400 and GS300. The GS400 handled much better than the GS300, and I believe mainly because they used Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on the GS400 and only the Turanza ER30 on the GS300.

I think the Turanza LS-Z will provide better handling than my OE Turanza ER30, but still a very good comfort.. Too bad Michelin doesn't have anything comparable to the Turanza LS-Z.