Ordered 2 SP9000 Lexus type tyres for my IS200 @ £109 each incl. fitting.

Anybody had any experience on the Lexus type as I've been running standard sp9000's. The garage advised me to get these as they're harder wearing and less prone to feathering.

Cheers!

I never knew they did 2 different types of Sp9000's?

Interesting....

the only difference is a bit of a lip that protects the rim. i've had both and there is not really much difference to be honest. the lexus type you refer to is the japanese version and the other version are manufactured in germany i believe. didnt notice any difference on wear between the two.

Thanks guys.

Well I'm gonna try these on the front and see what happens.

Will let you know in a couple of months when they're ready to be changed again !!!!!!AAHHH!!!

Squarehead,

I just got 4 SP9000s last Thursday , nice looking tyre but they sound a bit "louder" than the factory Bridgestone Potenzas in my opinion , the Potenza also had a nice rib of rubber to protect the rim but these sidewalls are pretty flat to be honest.

Get your alignment done . I searched high and low for someone to do a proper check on my geometry before I got the new rubber as I didn't want the insides wearing off my new fronts like they did on the original tyres . Got the whole lot checked and the toe was way out on my car (wheels turned too far outwards and trying to turn the car in two directions at once if you follow). Camber was also out on the rears. They reset all four wheels on the old tyres and I am going back at the end of this week to let them recheck the settings based on the new tyres. Must say the car steers alot better now, not nearly as twitchy as before so hopefully I'm sorted

I had potenza's on mine when it was new & they only lasted 17k! That's why I swapped to SP9000's as well.

I'll get the tracking checked whilst I'm there tomorrow.

Surprising what they tell you.

When I got my new one a few months back from a main dealer they said that the Lexus ones had a stiffer wall.

I hunted high and low for an independent dealer but none had the Lexus variety in stock and those that tried to order said there were none in the country at that time.

Main dealer had loads though.

I got the Lexus Sp9000s recently, but the pronounced lip is no longer there. Its apparently a stiffer sidewall tho. In my opinion, the Dunlops are a lot better than the bridgestones. There's less noise and more grip. However, the difference is not too great.

Has anyone driven an '05' IS that has the new tyres on? Have no idea why they've changed them but they now have the SP Sport 8090 tyres on them, which are the worst tyres I have ever used. They are incredibly noisy on any surface other than brand new tarmac, and have no grip whatsoever (so scared in the wet cos it keeps losing grip in the dry! )

we chnaged all 4 tyres to the lex version of the sp9000.
the difficulty is that we live in MK which had lots of roundabouts-----now this is fantastic as it means traffic flows really well and fast but it eats tires and brakes.
our tires are all starting to feather and they`ve done <1500m!!!!!

Still, when they replaced them we had a fright as all tyres had worn edges, therefore needed replacing, but the "flat" part was completely slick. And i didn`t even see that............if we`d have been caught we`d not only have been fined but quite possibly shot................on sight. Check them tyres THOROUGHLY


GOOD TIP for brakes in MK--------
go to a franchise, eg KWIK fit, formula 1 etc.................once brakes have worn b4 12000 miles or 1 year (which they will do ), go back to garage, have a whinge etc----they get replaced FOC 3x in a row is our record at F1 in bletchley!!!!! Guarantees are great

Got 2 Lexus SP9000's fitted today and they have a larger lip rim protector than the standard SP9000's. If anybody else is after them I purchased them from johnsons tyres in Wrexham @ £108 each.

Could you put up a picture of them, cos the ones I have (supposedly Lexus ones) don't have a pronounced lip

Wrexham eh? Just down the road from me, I'm in Ellesmere Nice to know I am not quite so isolated from the rest of the LOC world

can you have a look and see what the tread wear is pls.

I've got the lexus type sp9000s on the car, fitted to the wheels a couple of months ago, was told that the walls are stiffer than the other ones made in germany, also the lip does stick out more.

Treadwear for a Lexus SP9000 is 280. I don't know whether or not this is the same as for a non-Lexus SP9000.

They do look slightly different tbh, and they seem to stick to the road better. I'll try and post some pics later!

Ive started switching my tyres to Vrederstien Ultrac. Beast of a tyre!!

Here's the pic with the lexus type on the left and the standard on the right

I hope you can view it!

Im about to order 2 Dunlop sport 9000's (215/45zr17) for my is200 for £86.40 inc vat and delivery, garage down the road ganna fit for a tenner a piece when they do my MOT. Anyone found anywhere else on the net cheaper? im getting them from www.mytyres.co.uk ive had a look around these are as cheap as i can find them.

Whats the craic with the Dunlop sport 9000's are they the standard tyre for a is200. Any other tyres come highly recommended?

Cheers

Neil

Mine had Bridgestone Potenza RE040s factory fitted on a 2003........... don't know if Dunlops were factory fitted to earlier models?

I would guess that the Dunlops were the original ones as there is a specific 'Lexus' version, but I think its down to the dealer whether they fir Bridgestones or Dunlops. In my own experience, Edgware Road fit Dunlops, Woodford fit Bridgestones, so this must occur all over the country

Hmmmm, that is what I was expecting when I was getting the Lexus ones, because the original ones on the car looked like that. They assured me tho that they were Lexus ones, so I assumed they must have changed the design. Seems I might have been conned

Sorry to hear that parthiban - might be worth a visit back to the garage you bought them from? Especially if you paid more as the Lexus ones are £5-£10 more expensive.

To help answer other questions, my IS had Bridgestone Potenza's on from new and I swapped them to Dunlop's based on the recommendations (and price) from LOC.

you will find that the standard lexus one's will have 'made in japan' on them and the non standard ones will have 'made in germany' on them. That is the best way to tell the difference if you are not sure if you have got the right one's

Well its not really a big deal, as I only paid £100 each, which was the same as the normal ones. I'm pretty careful when parking, the only real reason I wanted the Lexus ones was that I prefer the way they look with the slight gap to the wheel, makes the profile look smaller

Didn't know the Lexus ones were made in Japan, will check that when I get the car back

As far as I know the only way to tell the difference is to check where they are made. The Lexus/Japanese SP9000s have a stiffer sidewall which is better suited to the IS. Other than that they are identical. I had a German set of SP9000 on the front of mine and they wore on the edges in no time at all. The Japanese versions are much better.

If you can't get the Japanese SP9000s you might be be better off with Toyo Proxies...

That's why I posted the pics to show everybody!!

Unfortunately, I'm the owner of an '05' IS with the Dunlop 8090 tyres. Yes they are rubbish. Noisy and not very grippy. I'm working hard on wearing mine down a little more before I swap over to something better. Maybe a 'gentle' track session with lots of untidy laps would be in order

That said, I've been alternating between P-Zeros and Pilot Sport for the longest time (previous ride, GF's car, etc) and so I'm a little spoilt. I think I'm probably going to go for the full P-Zero setup (P Zero Direzionale Front, P Zero Asimmetrico Rear) when I judge that my 8090s are sufficiently worn

I'm about to get 2 new rear tyres and it's the first time I've got new ones for my IS. From the prices I've got so far it looks like it will cost £30-40 more to have the Lexus SP9000 tyres fitted as opposed to the standard ones. The front has the standard SP9000s fitted.

Can anyone tell me if it is worth the extra cost involved?

The lexus ones have got thicker rim protectors, I will defo recommende them - I wont buy the standard ones anymore!

According to Dunlop, the non-lexus version of the SP9000 Sports are NOT recommended for use on the IS200 as it upsets the handling.

The differences between the Lexus and non Lexus versions are....

1. Lexus version is made in Japan, non is made in Germany
2. Lexus version has Lexus on the tyre sticker - check before fitting!
3. Lexus version has stiffer tyre walls
4. Lexus version has different tyre compound - the tread wear rating is AA rather than A.

Micheldever tyres in Hampshire do them for about £90-£100 as do Headley Tyres near Newbury. Make sure the tyre dealer is 100% sure they are the Lexus ones, as most don't know the difference and may even have to order them.

If they are havingn difficulty getting them, call Dunlop support and mention it, as they say they will supply dealers quickly if they know they have customers waiting. Otherwise large dealers order up loads of stock to be stuck on shelves!!

Also, the new Dunlops, SP Sport Maxx or whatever, about 4 months ago, Dunlop were still recommending using the SP9000 Sports for the the Lexus. Shame, cos the new ones are supposed to be really good.

I find the Dunlops to be excellent for tyre wear and pretty good too for grip, though the bridgestones are quieter.

Hope this helps you all, feel free someone to add Dunlop tyre details to Knowledge base if you want.

Kev mentioned the SP Sport Maxx.

I asked Dunlop about the SP Sport Maxx, which is newer than the 9000 and for which I had seen good reviews. Their reply is:

"The 9000 is specifically homologated for the Lexus IS200 & would recommend
that tyre. The Sport Maxx has not yet been authorised by Lexus to date
thus the reason for our recommendation."

Is that because the 9000 is more suitable or the newer tyre has just not been looked at by Lexus and/or they can't get a good enough deal to specify it as original equipment?

Guess I'll go for the Lexus 9000s then. Problem is the cheapest I seem to be able to find these round here are £118 each (fitted). Anyone know anywhere in the Sunderland area that you can get these cheaper? It doesn't look like too many of you are from this far North though...

I can't afford to get all 4 tyres changed now though (need a service and tax is due end of June) so I'm stuck with the standards on the front. When they wear out I'll replace them with the Lexus ones.

Oh, and just out of interest, what tyre came on your spare wheel? Mine has apparently never been used since it came from the factory but it only has a Dunlop SP 2000 on it. Is this right?

Thanks for the advice.

the japenise ones have double rim protection,it does work to protect your rims very well,always check when buying ,these are the better tyre by far.too exspensive for my liking though ,you can get all different kinds of tyres with the same quality for a lot less.

Hi

I just had Dunlop Sp9000 fitted to my lexus 215/45/17 the Lexus version and yes they do have a lip to protect the rims!

I got them for £75 a tyre fitted from Brackbell Tyres on Longshot Lnae absolute bargain!

I used to have Falken Ze512 and they lasted 14K and I drive carefully I was disgusted with the wear on them and they are absolutely CRAP too!

Didn't the fronts wear the inners and the rears the middle due to Geometry issues and motorway driving?

Yeh both front were worn on the inners and were bold! And the rears were worn in the centre about 2 inches in the middle of the tyre and were bold! Yes I do a lot of motorway driving approx 80 miles everyday mon - fri with the occasional 200 miles to leicester and back on the weekends!

I had uniroyal rainsports 1's when I got the car and they did 28k they did have front inner wear but were fine at the back! I will be getting it checked out by the DR once I get some shocks sorted!

i have sportmaxx and find them to be fine, not too loud either

If a tyre has two options lexus and non lexus then i woulnt even consider the non lexus ones ... must be a reason for this!!

I was told that the German SP9000 where not designed for and should not be used on the lexus and that is why they made the lexus versions in Japan.

If i was you i'd stick to this or get a different make or brand.