WellersHill123

Driving along the freeway tonight, I thought I was hearing a loud V8 coming up pretty fast beside me but the car went past and the sound didnt stop so I suspected a flat. The mrs thought it sounded like a chopper flying really close!

Anyway I pull over to the side and my rear left tyre is flat. When I got home I found out it was hole from a nail.

So I opened up the kit (for the first time after 3 years of ownership) and am pleasantly surprised by a warning triangle, a hand towel, pair of gloves and hand wash/sanatiser!

I didnt use any of it but wow, they have thought of everything (except for a torch). Luckily I stopped under a bridge with plenty of light, and I have my own torch in the car anyway.

It made changing the tyre a pleasure! And it means new tyres now. Ive just shot off an email to Tirerack for a quote on some hankooks and continentals (thanks to the OP who wrote about their deal).

On a crap note, F You to the asshole who hit the same rear left side today in the carpark, leaving me with a scratched bumper.

Hi Onnzo - think the OP was me! Gotta say I have been stoked with the Continental Extreme Contacts - very quiet and much smoother due to the softer side-wall. Dunlops probably better for aggressive cornering but not worth it for me.

Also just purchased four new tyres for the other vehicle (Mitsubishi Outlander) and local tyre prices for 18s are outrageous. So went with tirerack again. Around half the price I would have paid locally and less than a week from order to delivery, including some time with customs.

Loving the car by the way. Two work colleagues have now purchased 2nd hand IS250s and are also stoked with their purchases. Some good value around in the low 30s!

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.

Hi Aaron - I went through the same process recently. If you have your heart set on the manual then go for it, but drive an auto first so you can compare. Apparently nothing special about the manual gearbox as per cevu's comments. The paddles are pretty cool if you like to move through the gears in the auto. I don't bother. Auto is very very smooth. I like the alacantra seats but they can get hot on some days - but super comfortable. Sports Luxury has aircon seats - like the sound of this - but decided the sports model was the pick for me. Keep in mind that the firmer ride of the sports model can really be enhanced with some new rubber. Massive difference in my experience and much quieter too. Hard to wrong with the IS250. In terms of which year I would focus more on condition and kms - even on '07 is four years old. Good luck.

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!

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

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!

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.