steve haley

Michelin Lattitude tour HP - very pleased as are wearing well and fuel consumption is better from stock bridgestones

Has anyone else had issues with brake calipers. I have just had my 4th and last one go at 106k/9yrs. First went at4 yrs and 30k then the two rears at 6 years and 60 k. This is the first car I have seen these problems with. Regards Stephen

I have full winter tyres on my rx350, Nokian SUV WR3, Dont think I have see the traction light yet after three winters in the alps, Goes up the driveway in 6" plus of snow no problem and eats slush and deep puddles. Trouble is that they wear badly once the temp is above 12-15 deg. Remember that you need a minimum of 4-5mm tread for snow - In some countries it is "illegal" to have less than 4mm. Never sure about all season tyres always seem like the worst of both worlds. Got them from openeo who I can heartily recommend, unlike most their warehouse is in the UK Always liked the german winter rules that if you have to be rescued or cause a jam in winter conditions while wearing summer tyres you get landed with a big fine.

Did you/anyone solve this problem? I tried striker line down it but it didn't appear to go through. Do you have to take of the trim by your feet? Exactly where are the drain hole exits? Regards Stephen

Quick update after a few thousand miles. The lattitude tours initially were very noisy and jiggly until I checked the pressures and found that f1 had set them to 40psi now they are at 32 they are quiet and way better than the bridgestones. The mpg appears to be up 2mpg as well. Appear to be wearing well Recommended

Hmm Bit more complex than that. Almost never use high unless going across a rutted field to retrieve gliders. Low will auto cancel over 20mph Tend to use normal except for 1 winding roads where the car is rolling or I want to corner with more control 2 motorways - low stiffens the stearing and makes the car less susceptible to wind gusts In theory the car drops automatically at 75mph but mine never appears to. There is a button under the dash that enables low entry/exit ie drops car to 1cm below low when engine turned off. There is a green light on the dash to show it is enabled at bottom of fuel or temp gauge I think.

Yes Not had problems with my 350 yet 65k 08

Yep examine tyres VERY carefully one will have blown out a portion of the tread aka egg Fit spare ASAP before driving. One of your tyres has basically failed structurally it won't be far off a complete blowout.

thanks for all the feedback. Have eliminated the Continental as a friend had them on a toureg and said they were entertaining once you left tarmac. The pirelli are interesting but too many iffy comments around and they don't perform as well as Lattitude in the tests and are £100 more expensive by the time I have got the discounts. So will pull the trigger on a set out Lattude Tour HP from f1autocentre and report back in a few weeks,

I am fairly sure that the tyres in the states are different to ours. The mileage claims are just too large. I reckon I've done well doing 40k on my bridgestones and that is largely motorway. The us talk about doing 70-80k on a set.... Tyres are exactly the same. Pirelli scorpion verde all season are made in Britain and they get exported out whereas Michelin are made over there and get imported in. No difference in tyres but obviously you have to be skeptical of the mileage claims. Other than that the tyres are very good. Michelin's are very quiet, had them on the last RX. Never had pirelli scorpion verde all season though but it gets good reviews and if im not mistake, is oem on Range Rover Evoque's and the new RR Sport, probably because theyre made in britain tbh Curious as to where you get your information as I have heard the opposite, most US tyres are made in the states or made for that market. Note hey arent milage claims they are milage guarantees. Most Goodyear are circa 90k and Michelin 65k. I consider myself good on tyres but count myself fortunate if I can get 50k out of a set. 40 is my norm. American roads are if anything worse than ours so I just dont see it. See tyrerack etc for more info,,,,,

Dont use tyre foam except as a last resort - has a nasty habit of wrecking the tyre.

Thanks I did know about those but they are probably too extreeme for my needs. Can be sourced at a reasonable price if you have a local garage willing to fit them or costco will do them for 175. So given no discount they work out a lot more than the tour hp.

I am fairly sure that the tyres in the states are different to ours. The mileage claims are just too large. I reckon I've done well doing 40k on my bridgestones and that is largely motorway. The us talk about doing 70-80k on a set....

Pirellis are 72db. Remember the sound scale is logarithmic so the diff between 68 and 72 is not 7%. Having said that not sure how good these labels are as the bridge stones and my winter vredestein have the same rating but while the winters aren't very noisy there is definitely a difference. The bridge stones always coped only the limited amount of off-roading that I do but the continentals look smother still. I don't want a tyre that is as noisy as my winter tyres. I can live with that out of necessity with my winter tyes as my driveway spends jan and feb under snow and ice and the alpine road outside is often under 4" Still being pulled slightly by the continentals as they are so highly rated for grip but their noise rating is higher and their are comments about the wear not being great. How well are the continentals wearing compared to your bridge stones. The only true all season tyres used to be the nokians not sure if any others have turned up in the last few years.

Are the continentals any good on wet grass?

£150.59 at f1autocentres. They are participating in the michelin cash back so you will get £70 as a sainsburys card also 2.5% via quidco so another £15. Costco want 163 and you only get 40 cashback for some reason and that is only available until end of the week. Are the continentals any quieter than the bridge stones? Not sure the latitudes qualify as all season although curiously they are branded m&s in Germany website but not the uk one. Was going to ring michelin. Personally I have always found all seasons only average at best and never great on ice/snow. As I have a set of vredestein winters for use in the alps they don't attract me. Which did a review of them and they didn't fair very well... On the other hand tyre rack rates them better than the michelin but quotes them quieter wich is odd as the michelin are rated at 68db and the Pirelli at 73. My winters are 73 and I really notice the noise....

Yes I know these have been discussed before but neither options I am looking at show up in searches for use on an Rx300/350. Was seriously thinking of michelin lattitude tour hp. (£130 fitted with offer). The alternative that show up well are the continental sport contact 5 but more expensive at £160. Reluctant to go back to the bridge stones although they are available at 133 as I think both these options are better. I am tending towards the michelin as the tread pattern looks as if it will be slightly better for the odd muddy lanes and grass fields I end up in. They are also quieter supposedly than the contintals but not quite as good on wet roads? Anyone tried either of these and can give feedback vs the bridge stones. Rgds Stephen

There is one possible contributing factor here. I think if you lock the door with the key the alarm is not enabled nor are the deadlocks engaged. When you lock with the fob you should always press twice the first locks and arms the alarm the second engages the deadlocks which means it is impossible to open the doors even from the inside. Not what you wanted to hear but .... Rods Stephen

Thanks. Will have a look for it. The swiss now demand that you have headlights or drl on at ALL times. Despite two fluorescent warnings on the dashboard I still forget occasionally and our one month of grace is now up. The tax collectors aka police have already started setup up road stops!! If I tape over the sensor then I can just leave it in auto and they will turn on when I start up and I will avoid the £28 fine

Does anyone know where the light sensor that turns the headlights on at night is - I need to disable it before I end up paying the latest swiss tax for not having driving lights on at all times.

Does anyone know where the light sensor that turns the headlights on at night is - I need to disable it before I end up paying the latest swiss tax for not having driving lights on at all times.

Fine as long as you don't need Germany etc. This is only one out of the four disc set. I wouldn't mind paying the 125 lexus demands if the maps were actually up to date. The last update was missing roads that were over two years old...

Fitted a towbar myself to my 350sel. No problems with the self leveling at all so not sure why he got antsy. Think I used a witter it was the same as the one lexus use but way cheaper.

I am a huge fan of winter tires. I have been using them for over 20 years as I normally go to the alps for Christmas. But even if I didn't I would probably keep on using them. 1. They stop quicker in temps under 10deg. 2. They are much better at coping with wet roads and won't aquaplane as readily. 3. They can cope with really extreme winter conditions ice and heavy snow. 4. I can't proove it but I think they wear better an normal road tires in the winter. Negatives are 1. They are slightly noisier and have marginally less directional stability. Having said that I would be surprised if you noticed. 2. petrol consumption is marginally worse maybe 3-5% 3. You need to find an identical set of wheels unless you have a reasonable insurance company. I get a scrub set from eBay. 4. You can't wear them down too much before they loose their benefits. 4-5 mm is the min in my opinion. But provided you don't wear them in hot weather they wear ok. I have a set that have done 15000 and they have only worn abou 2mm. 5. You have to change them 2 a year and find somewhere to store them. test here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2011-Auto-Express-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm The costs aren't as high as you think as you can sell the alloys off and you will reduce wear on you summer tires. Would stick to Michelin alpine, continental (get great reviews but never managed to buy any). Vredestein or dunlops. Costco normally do 25% discounts on Michelin 2 or 3 times a year. I do wonder that michelin cross 4x4 may not manage to cope with British conditions and can be used as an all year tyre.

Now get a set of winter tyres and it will go anywhere.