Long-time lurker, first-time poster.
Car: IS 200, manufactured Sep 2004, bought used in May 07 from previous owner's estate. Tyres are OEM 215/45/R/17 Bridgestone Potenza RE040's. Owner was a lady who died in 2006 after which the car had remained in her garage. Had 13,000 miles on it when bought, now up to 15,000. Travel has mostly been short and city-based with the occasional trip to Manchester, Sheffield, York from Bradford.
I'm going to be needing new tyres for this shortly. I've been through all the old posts here and Club Lexus looking for reviews on suitable tyres. Had decided on the Goodyear Excellence as they're the successor to the Goodyear F1 Eagle's that have been the most lauded ones I've seen. Also the Bridgestones seemed a bit uneasy in the wet and I wanted my next set to offer better grip there.
Still not sure whether to go for these though. Winter's just around a corner and I live in a somewhat hilly area. I need a tyre that offers good performance in all weather conditions. Something that offers excellent summer driving isn't much use if I need to leave early in the morning and the roads are still icy. Hesistant to go for specific winter tyres since the weather is so variable i.e. it's near the end of October and we had blazing sunshine on Sunday.
Other tyres I have considered are the Lexus-specific Dunlops, Michelin Exalta Pilots, Toyo T1-Rs. But again they seem more like racing, summer tyres. Considered the Falken 514s? but don't really want to go for a budget tyre as I've been told what you save on price you lose on road noise, tyre life and performance.
Finally, a probably daft question: Do the tyres at the front experience more wear or the ones at the back? At the first MOT three weeks ago, I was told my nearside rear tyre looked worn and needed replacing. Typically I thought front tyres wear out at about twice the rate of rear ones, so I was surprised that was the first one to go.
Also I know the car geometry needs rebalancing at WIM. Is there a place in the North I can get this done or do I need to make a trip to Hemel Hempstead? And do I need to do this before or after I get the new tyres fitted?
