Sport Pkg

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If I buy Grand Touring tires for my 2002 Lexus GS300 (w/ sport pkg) will I regret not buying high performance?

It has the sport design package which has euro suspension, 225/16/55 tires on them currently.

I drive somewhat aggressively and appreciate good responsiveness at high speeds. This leads me to the high performance tires but I also drive a Lexus in the first place now because of the smoothness/quietness of the ride. It seems the Grand Touring tires are designed to offer a smoother, quieter ride than the high performances...

I am thinking to go with GT over HP unless there is a very noticeable loss of handling. Has anyone ever compared and could really tell?

The answer to your question is that the GT tires ARE high performance already. Hey there tire inquirer. First off I would like to tell you that I hope you didn't put those 225/55/16's on your ride, because they are THE WRONG SIZE FOR YOUR VEHICLE! The 2002 Lexus GS300 comes standard equipped with a 215/60R/16 radial, with no specifications on the performance options. The car is not speed rated for any high performance or Z rated tires. You want to decipher exactly how you drive though, to essentially choose your tire brand yourself. Example: If you are a hard driver, who likes to corner hard, and brakes hard, then you ARE going to want a performance tire such as a Goodyear Eagle GT ($96.00 avg), Dunlop Sport 5000 Symetrical ($120.00 avg), or even a Continental ContiExtreme Contact ($90.00 avg). These are good tires with stiff sidewalls, and will allow for better handling/traction in wet and dry conditions. These are primarily V Rated tires, which is the only speed rating that your car requires. (Unless you intend on doing over 150 m.p.h!). You will notice a significantly stiffer ride though in these performace radials, as the stiffer sidewalls are sometimes very unforgiving.

Example 2: Let's say you are not Mario Andretti, or Danika Patrick, and that you just drive your GS300 as a means of transportation and not a race car. You still must use a V rated tire, but you can pick something up like the General Altimax HP, which is still a V Rated tire, but is a Grand Touring ($87.00 avg) tire, so it will ride somewhat smoother and your suspension wont take such a beating. The reason I picked the General Altimax HP, is that you get a touring tire, which is directional. So you are riding comfortably, but you still have a sporty look because you have a directional treaded tire. Directional tread makes for alot better traction in any season too.

Okay, so now you know something more about your tires. You don't have to buy a high performance tire at a high performance price, just to get the high performance ride. You want to look at the stiffness of the sidewalls (harder=rougher ride) and the amount of traction that the tire actually gives you. Traction is rated by the UTQG or Uniform Tire Quality Grade rating. A UTQG of 400 or less means a really slippery ride and very little traction. The General Altimax HP's have a UTQG of 440, which is really good. You may want to go higher though and get a KUMHO tire, which averages in the 600's for UTQG. This however will hurt your wallet alot more.

Hopefully I've helped you a little in your tire selection. You can go with a GT tire, but you could also get a standard V Rated radial for less. It's all in how much creature comforts you want in your ride.

L8TR TATOR!

Tim