[Dr ST]

Dear Narayan Sir,

Congratulations and wishing you and Bhageera millions of trouble-free miles together. The latest ES has better ground clearance.

Regards

[V.Narayan]

Bagheera's tyres were last changed exactly 4 years and 37,000 kms ago. Can't decide if I should change now or let them roll for another 6000 kms till the next servicing falls due in about 7 to 8 months. Tyres seem okay to my untrained naked eye. Bagheera's running has dropped a lot as my family living with me has shrunk. When Bagheera came 7 odd years back, 10-12,000 kms a year was normal. Now it was more like 8000-9000 kms a year. In 2017 both my in laws, my mother & my aunt lived with us and all the children, whilst out of the house had their umbilical chord still secure. Now out of the earlier generation only my mother is around and the kids are all married and flown. So, less mileage for poor Bagheera.

[Chethan B G]

Excellent ownership thread and a nice write up. Thanks for sharing!

I am in the market looking for a luxury sedan and extremely impressed with ES300h. Your ownership review helped me too. Not a boring car to drive at all except that it doesn’t like to corner hard.

Which tyre would you be looking at for replacement? I was thinking of increasing the side wall thickness from 105 to 117, as the current sidewall thickness is on the thinner side and would result in alloy damage when driven in rural areas (I drive a lot in rural areas and I like sedans and not SUVs). This will increase the ground clearance too by 12 mm.

And for this, I am looking at Verdistin Ultrac Vorti 235/50 ZR18 101W. These are wonderful tyres that I have used previously on BMW X1. These tyres are better specked from the stock ones which are 235/45 18 94V. Even though the difference in diameter is slightly above 3%, I think it should be fine.

I have discussed this with the Lexus service and they have no issues with it.

Would be interested to know your thoughts.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Which tyre would you be looking at for replacement?

Dear Chethan,

I am no expert on car tyres at all. regret I cannot offer any suggestions or opinions. Infact I will use your ideas and talk to Lexus for my upgrade! My best wishes to you. Increasing ground clearance is a deeply desirable aim as size of speed breakers keeps increasing.

Best wishes,

V.Narayan

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Not a boring car to drive at all except that it doesn’t like to corner hard.

Perhaps add- doesn't like to be revved up as well

I was thinking of increasing the side wall thickness from 105 to 117, as the current sidewall thickness is on the thinner side and would result in alloy damage

Yes, you will be in safe limits. Can check details here.

https://www.calculator.net/tire-size...culate#compare


Sidewall will definitely help in better comfort. Although size 45 as OE should also not be a problem for most. If you are buying a new, you can exchange the stock ones. However, I will prefer to stick with OE for a while and on next change decide if there is any need to upshift.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Would be interested to know your thoughts.

Coming from my 2014-2018 Camry that has 17" wheels, I could immediately feel the difference in ride comfort when I drove the new Camry fitted with 18" wheels (relatively speaking). This is something I have observed consistently with other cars also.

Why don't you consider downsizing to 17" wheels? Most cars officially support downsized winter wheels - so I'm sure 17" will be an officially supported option. You can also explore 17" wheels from Camry, I am guessing all specs will match including Lexus hub cap fitment. Or you can ask any reputed tire dealer to import them for you - would be cheaper than buying from Lexus.

You can see the Camry wheel design here (Enkei is the OEM supplier, spec 17x7 ET45, 215/55R17):

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...7-22-lakh.html (2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid launched at Rs. 37.22 lakh)

I would 100% downsize to 17" if I am buying this car as the primary reason to buy this is for a smooth and comfortable ride. I purchased 19" wheels for my S Class just for kicks but they are mostly in storage even though the stock 17" wheels look super boring.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Dear Chethan,

I am no expert on car tyres at all. regret I cannot offer any suggestions or opinions. Infact I will use your ideas and talk to Lexus for my upgrade! My best wishes to you. Increasing ground clearance is a deeply desirable aim as size of speed breakers keeps increasing.

Best wishes,

V.Narayan

Dear Sir,

The 2023 face-lifted ES300h has one difference WRT rear suspension. That is the coil springs are different - they are stiffer. Because of this change, the car doesn’t bottom out easily and most humps are cleared.

If you are interested / planning a small upgrade, you can consider changing the coil springs and the tyres (with higher side wall). That should sort out the problem permanently.

Thanks and Regards,
Chetan