Is200 Sport Tyres

[mrbishman]

Hi guys

I wondered if you could advise on a query regarding replacing some tyres on my Lexus...

I Have a 2001 Lexus IS200 Sport, and need 2 replacement tyres.

I currently have Sunew 215/45ZR17 91W tyres. On looking around on the internet, I can find hardly any of the compatible "ZR" tyres - only "R" tyres.

Is it necessary to always use ZR tyres on the car? Looking on the internet it says the letters relate to the "radial construction" of the tyres... but I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to tyres ;)

Can anyone recommend tyres that would be compatible, or if its Ok to use 215.45R17 91W tyres on the IS200 sport?

Many thanks

[J Henderson]

The "ZR" is the tyre's speed rating, but its pretty-much an obsolete term these days so you can just ignore it. You can still see it stamped on some new tyres, but its a throwback to the old way tyre sizes were listed and designated (eg: 195/50VR15, 215/45ZR17 etc).

A few years back the system changed to the one we have now where the speed rating became a single letter that is listed after the tyre size (along with the load index number) - eg: 215/45R17 91W.

Most tyres on sale today in the 215/45R17 fitment seem to be at least "V" rated (up to 149MPH), which is fine for the IS200 so pretty-much every tyre out there is compatible. Your only real buying decision (apart from brand & price) comes down to whether to go for the "XL" (Extra Load, AKA Reinforced) variants which have stiffer sidewalls that can cope with more weight and don't flex as much. Typically, a load index rating of 87 is a normal tyre in our size and an XL is 91.

Hope that helps. :)

[iceman67]

hi try falken 452s mate