Lexus IS 220D Tyres

Just replaced all 4 Bridgestone Potenza RE030's (factory fitted from new) on my Lexus IS220d-SE. First impressions: After 19,800m on the Bridgestones, these feel lovely. Great grip - both wet and dry - and coped really well with a spirited drive to son's rugby match down Doncaster way on the A19 - a high speed rural A-road freshly caked in tractor-dropped mud!

Lovely and quiet - quieter than the Bridgstones in almost all conditions EXCEPT... The M1 near Leeds has sections of tamped concrete surface. These tyres 'sing' on that stuff! Must be a harmonic with the frequency of ridges on the surface and the funky tread profile! Not a major issue.

Very comfy yet responsive ride, with pressures at the 'mid' setting of 45psi rear / 42psi front.

Full report when I'm done - probably as I change cars in March 2012.

Put these onto my Lexus IS 220D as i was sick fed up of asking for push out of pancacke flat supermarket car parks when there's 1/4" of snow on the ground!!

What a fantastic difference. They allow you to confidently predict how the car will behave in wintry conditions.
Its a little scary realising just how risky it was driving around on normal tyres before.
Also, my Insurance Co. didn't have an issue with changing over to winter tyre.

I got these part worn and I have done 20k on them and there is still 4mm tread left on them. They are a good tyre and have lasted really well, and perform well wet and dry I might try a set of brand new ones when they finally die on me.

Actually a review for the factory fitted RE030 that came on my Lexus IS220d-SE from new. Just changed all 4 after 19,800 spirited miles. Fronts had about 1.5mm above wear bar, rears actually had about 4mm left (OK to sell as part-worn!) Fronts exhibited some outer edge 'tearing' and shoulder rounding. Rears have probably been saved by the traction control? Lexus state 3 pressure ranges for tyres and I've used the lowest generally (the dealer recommends the middle or higher to save wear), to give good wet weather grip and smooth ride on some appalling local roads. Overall very pleased. Replaced with Toyo Proxes T1-R and will report separately. Changed all 4 otherwise I'd end up replacing the rears even closer to handing my lease car back when changed next March. Thought I'd get my money's worth!

Is my second set of these tyres, and they have covered about 20k so far with more than 50% of tread left.
In the dry they grip amazingly, and still very well in the wet.
They give a firmer ride than most but this explains the grip as the push harder to squash the tread and grip firmer.
My driving is mainly motorways and A roads but I drive in all weathers and have these on a Lexus IS220d with rear-wheel drive and 180bhp. As the cars suspension isnt setup as hard as the average BMW it can cope in the snow, a little weight in the boot doesn't hurt to carry to push down on the drive wheels and my snow socks have never been out of their packets and live in the boot :)
My rear tyres are 245/45/17 the front are the 225/45/17 which may explain the snow driving being ok as the rear tyres footprint can overcome the rolling resistance (footrpint) of the front when moving off easier as the fronts would be larger due to the engine weight above.

...anyhow, great tyres all round and great price..will be buying again :)

Have had these tyres on my car now for 3 months, replacing the original Dunlops.
As with the Dunlops they grip well in both wet and dry. Progression is good with plenty of feedback.
I have been a little disappointed with the amount of noise from them though. I did lots of research and expected them to be quiet compared to the Dunlops but if anything they are a bit noisier. The first 1000 miles left me very worried as they were even noisier and tram lined badly...that has now improved dramatically.
In summary, good quality tyres at a very reasonable price. Would recommend overall but believe the extra cos of the Toyos is probably worth paying if your a bit of a fanatic like me!

Had Bridgestones before and have had excellent performance on them, so had no hesitation to switch from Dunlop soft compound that wear quickly to these. However, big mistake - road noise is bad. Had bearings check, alignment redone and still noisy at low speeds and under braking. Dealers say very blocky which is causing the problem, but with 5mm left looks like will have another 20,000 mile to go before replacing with alternative.