Tyres For A Rx 400H...branded Or Budget?

[nick willox]

Hi,

Bought two Bridgestone Potenzas this summer for my Lexus RX 400h which cost me £180 each and now considering Hankooks or Nexen budgets for the back two. Has anybody bought these tyres and what's your feedback/recommendations?

Nick

[Tyrosman]

My RX300 MK2 is fitted with Bridgestone Potenza on the rear and Nexen Premier Classic CP521 on the front. No problems so far.

When the Bridgestones wear out, provided I do not have problems, I will replace them with Nexens.

[Radoslav Asparuhov]

The one thing you should consider is this is AWD vehicle, so the four tires should be the same on each corner. Mine was fitted with Potenzas, but when weared - I've replaced all four of them with Continental ContiSportContact5. The fact that this is the only part of the car that keeps you on the road I wouldn't make compromise. There are many things that I could, but tires and breaks - never.

PS The rotation of the wheels is something i do every season - when putting back the summer tires, they go to the next position, thus ensuring even wear.

[lurch]

Hi,

Bought two Bridgestone Potenzas this summer for my Lexus RX 400h which cost me £180 each and now considering Hankooks or Nexen budgets for the back two. Has anybody bought these tyres and what's your feedback/recommendations?

Nick

Hi mate had four Hankooks fitted to mine 18 months ago and can't fault them ,find them excellent and at £104.00 each fitted good value.

Phil

[DanD]

This is a 4WD vehicle, so all 4 tyres should be of the same type. I firmly believe that, where tyres are concerned, you get what you pay for. In everyday driving you may not notice any tangible difference, but in the event of an emergency, tests seem to report that a car on budget tyres will invariably require a longer stopping distance. Moreover, this stopping distance will increase the heavier the car is.

I would therefore suggest that you would be better off spending the extra money, bearing in mind that that little patch of rubber is your only contact with the road. If you do some research, you will also find that you do not need to pay full price for premium rubber either.

[Silver Arrow]

A real can of worms...

For permanent 4 wheel drive vehicles, I understand that the rotational circumference has to be equal for all 4 wheels - so if you have 3 tyres that are down to 2mm, you shouldn't fit 1 new tyre, but replace all four. Audi make it clear to you that you must do that else the quattro diff's actually work over time leading to problems (and the warranty will not cover you). Technically, tread pattern makes no difference at all, and most budget tyres are actually pretty good any way. The differences are marginal, and in the event of an emergency, tread pattern/quality of brand is less important than what you do with the steering wheel or brakes.

in the case of the 400h, it's largely front wheel drive anyway, isn't it?

If it was a serious issue insurance companies would stipulate what you can fit and what you can't, but I take the point that only 3 square feet of rubber are what stop2 tonnes of metal, with force, hitting that tree and you and yours from dying, so fit the best you can afford....\

I used Budgets that were as good as any goodyears in the past....so I don't think the differences are big....

[Tyrosman]

My RX300 was bought with an AA Inspectors report that did not mention the different tyre makes on front axle as opposed to the rear axle. It did, however, report that the speed ratings were different - 99HR and 99VR respectively. As I have no intention of driving in excess of 130mph I think the HR rating would be sufficient.

Although tyre wear, apparently, has little effect on a dry road, it does have a major effect in the wet. According to published figures for a complete stop from 60mph the stopping distance with 8mm tread is measured and identified as 100% effective but with 4mm tread it is 120% and at the legal limit (1.6mm) it is 160%. So maybe fit budget tyres and change at, say, 4mm tread depth if absolute safety is paramount. (ref. http://www.etyres.co.uk/tread-depths-distance).

[ipwn]

When you come to the point where you compromise safety over your wallet then it's time to sell your car and purchase a Mondeo which takes smaller tyres.

[Duncan Roberts]

When you come to the point where you compromise safety over your wallet then it's time to sell your car and purchase a Mondeo which takes smaller tyres.

Very good point