Thanks From A New Member Plus Tyre Comments

[WellersHill123]

Been checking out this forum for quite a while and finally purchased our first Lexus during the Christmas break via carsales.

2005 Silver IS250 Sport Auto with EMV pack etc. 64 000 km and in lovely condition. Wow . . . Lexus make a great car. I paid $29,900.

We have two very young daughters so the tight rear seating is not a problem. This car is easily the nicest car I have owned.

Anyway - thought forum members might be interested in the following.

The rear tyres had only just passed the RWC so decided to get some new tyres all round. Wanted a nice quiet tyre plus excellent wet and dry grip.

Picked up a set of Continental Extreme Contact DW from tirerack in the US for $720. Most mainstream Australian Dealers don't yet stock these tyres, just the ContiSport for which I was quote $2200!

In terms of my research the Extreme Contact DW rated more highly than the earlier Continental tyres as well as Bridgestone, Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli.

My tyres turned up last week only five days after ordering and shipping cost $260. So total price was just under $1k (happily avoiding extra tax).

Had them fitted today at $12.50 per tyre and I am very satisfied. Still a lot of money for tyres but a good result.

Would have preferred to buy locally but well under half price made the decision for me. I'll take the risk on warranty issues.

Almost bought the the Hankook Ventus v12 for $530 plus shipping which also rated very well and look great value.

That's all - just wanted to pass on the info and say thanks to forum members for the wealth of information on this site.

[onnzo]

Welcome aboard. Wow that is cheap! What size did you get them in?

[WellersHill123]

Welcome aboard. Wow that is cheap! What size did you get them in?

Hi Onnzo - standard tyre sizes for the IS250 Sport.

Rears are 255-40-R18 (about $200 each) and fronts 225-40-R18 (about $150 each).

As you have noticed, way below what we pay domestically for performance tyres.

This was not a special deal I negotiated, just standard pricing.

My wife was home when the Fed Ex guy turned up - he is delivering vast quantities of tyres from tirerack to Australian buyers!

[k2sty1]

wow, 150 - 200$ for Continental tyres

i paid 140 for nankangs (DO NOT but nankangs unless you like goes sideways very very often, haha)

gonna try out Hankooks Ventus V12 next time, Hankooks are korean tyres right?

also, very nice price on the IS250, and low kays for a '05 model aswell!

good buy

[onnzo]

Very good deal. I paid 250 odd for sumitomo's. I Have been looking for stuff to buy from the us with the awesome exchange rate :)

[Lexo]

Hi WellersHill123,

I'm also thinking of buying a set of tyres from tirerack given the dollar parity and how cheap you can get them compare for. Can you please tell me how you organise shippings to Australia? I click on Shipping Quote but there's no option to ship to Australia.

Thanks in advance...

[WellersHill123]

Hi WellersHill123,

I'm also thinking of buying a set of tyres from tirerack given the dollar parity and how cheap you can get them compare for. Can you please tell me how you organise shippings to Australia? I click on Shipping Quote but there's no option to ship to Australia.

Thanks in advance...

Hi Lexo - cut and paste of my email correspondence with Derrick Ling from Tirerack.

I paid by wire transfer from CBA and they confirmed the funds the very next day.

Anything else let me know. (BTW - selling two front tyres 225-40-18 if anyone is interested, Roadstone/Nexen N7000 80-90% tread).

Hello

We do ship packages to Australia. In order for me to get you pricing I

will need to gather some information that will allow me to put in a

quote for you. From this quote I will be able to send it to my shipping

department and get the cost of shipping on your order. I will need the

following information from you.

1. Year/Make/Model

2. Full billing address

3. Full shipping address

4. Billing telephone number

5. Complete list of products

Once I receive this information I will send it on to my shipping

department and we will find the best shipping method. Once I receive the

information I will be able to contact you via email with the total

price. We do accept credit cards for payment but this can sometimes hold

your order until we verify your information matches with the credit

card. The fastest way to make payment would be to do a wire transfer.

Send Wires to:

1st Source Bank

100 N. Michigan st

South Bend Indiana 46601

Make Deposits To:

The Tire Rack Inc.

Bank# (ABA#) : 0712-121-28

Account #: 126-300-3

Reference #: Quote #

Swift Code: 1St Source Uses Bic Code, Not the Swift

BIC Code: SRCEUS31

Thank you,

Derrick Ling | Sales Specialist

__________________________________________________________

Tire Rack

7101 Vorden Parkway

South Bend, IN 46628

O: 888 428 8355 ext. 662

O: 574 287 2345 ext. 662

F: 574 236 7707

derrick@tirerack.com

http://www.tirerack.com

[Lexo]

Thanks Mate. I've sent my info to them so will see how much the quote comes to. I'm looking to get a set 4 or 5 (incl. spare tyre) of Yokohama Parada Spec-X. Their web price is $159/tyre. Was thinking to getting the Continental Extreme Contact DWS but I read it has a softer sidewalls which may not suit the RX.

so if the total cost is below $1K, no customs/duties/taxes are payable?

[WellersHill123]

Thanks Mate. I've sent my info to them so will see how much the quote comes to. I'm looking to get a set 4 or 5 (incl. spare tyre) of Yokohama Parada Spec-X. Their web price is $159/tyre. Was thinking to getting the Continental Extreme Contact DWS but I read it has a softer sidewalls which may not suit the RX.

so if the total cost is below $1K, no customs/duties/taxes are payable?

Yes - that is my understanding. My guess would be your order should come in comfortably below $1k for four tyres plus shipping.

Unless you are changing tyre size you may just be better keeping one of your existing tyres as a spare. Five of these plus shipping will put you over the $1k limit. And maybe an extra 10%. I have heard conflicting reports on whether shipping is excluded or included. Unsure? I decided to play it safe. BTW - Continental offer both DW (dry, wet) and DWS (dry, wet, snow) make sure you get the ones suited to your conditions. I went for DW. Extreme Contacts definitely have a softer sidewall. Hate to think what the Yokohamas would cost in Australia assuming you can this specific tyre!

[onnzo]

Awesome info. Just had a look at my rears and they are nearly gone after 70000kms.

Will look to buy a set of 4 and sell off the 2 new sumitomos. They drive fine but I don't like how they don't have rim protection. A set of 4 will cost the same as two rears bought locally. Actually it will be cheaper!

[Newbie]

First of all, it is my first post so thanks everyone in this forum for these great infos. I just bought the 2008 IS250 SL (36000km) and need to replace the two front tyres (Dunlop Sport Maxx A) due to punchure and its wear/tear. As Continental does not have DW stock in Australia, is there a risk of expensive replacement if one tire blow and not repairable, I mean whether I have to replace the tire in pair if this happen? (unless I stock spare and hope AUS dollar is always high). Hi WestlerHill123, how are your DW tyres on the road so far, I am interesting in noise level and bumpy road feedback? thanks heap.

[k2sty1]

i blew my front right tire in a pot hole last week

got 2 new front tires (even tho the left front still have tread left) just because i dont want the wearing to be uneven

i got Kumho's for 150each (cant rememeber what model) at Tempe

[WellersHill123]

First of all, it is my first post so thanks everyone in this forum for these great infos. I just bought the 2008 IS250 SL (36000km) and need to replace the two front tyres (Dunlop Sport Maxx A) due to punchure and its wear/tear. As Continental does not have DW stock in Australia, is there a risk of expensive replacement if one tire blow and not repairable, I mean whether I have to replace the tire in pair if this happen? (unless I stock spare and hope AUS dollar is always high). Hi WestlerHill123, how are your DW tyres on the road so far, I am interesting in noise level and bumpy road feedback? thanks heap.

Hi there Newbie - yes really happy with the Continentals. Noise is greatly reduced compared with my old tyres and the ride is much smoother. With the 18s the ride will always be a bit on the firm side but the new tyres have delivered a noticeable improvement. Of course we need to be careful comparing fresh tyres with bald ones but I think the softer sidewall of the Continentals is a big factor. As I mentioned previously, people who really like to push their cars hard may prefer a different tyre but these have been great for me. I think aggressive cornering was probably better on the old Dunlops, but I don't do much of this anyway! In terms of the blow out risk I wondered about this too. Just kept one of my old Dunlops under the house which I can use as a stop gap while sourcing some new tyres. Probably tirerack again. Good luck.

[onnzo]

I thought I'd update this thread as it's where I got the idea to buy the tyres from. I ended up getting the hankooks over the continental dw as the front continentals don't have rim protection. Having said that, the hankooks rim protection isn't as prominent as the oem sport maxxs.

Delivered was $850 odd ( would have been $70 cheaper if they accepted credit cards) but agh well. Shipping was quick and the whole process was excellent. Fitting was

Another $80 but for under $1k I have low profile performance tyres!

The hankooks seem quieter then the sport maxxs and the sumitomo z3s and grip has been fine in wet and dry conditions. I am a granny driver though with my 2 to and 1 week old newborn in the back so this is quite subjective!

My father in law just paid 185 each (locally) for some Michelin 16" 60/185 or some size like that... I know where my next set of Tyres are coming from!

[ilv1004s]

did you get the V12 evo?

[Lexus Nerd]

The hankooks seem quieter then the sport maxxs and the sumitomo z3s and grip has been fine in wet and dry conditions. I am a granny driver though with my 2 to and 1 week old newborn in the back so this is quite subjective!

Congrats on the new addition to your family, onnzo!

[onnzo]

The hankooks seem quieter then the sport maxxs and the sumitomo z3s and grip has been fine in wet and dry conditions. I am a granny driver though with my 2 to and 1 week old newborn in the back so this is quite subjective!

Congrats on the new addition to your family, onnzo!

Thanks! It's tough work and you forget how small they are when they come out. Yep I ended up getting the v12's.