So finally ended up getting the Continental CrossContact LX20's (275/55/20) on my '11 LE. Before I talk about the tires themselves a funny back story,...
Ordered the tires from TireRack and wanted to get them on the truck before a family vacation down in the Outer Banks, NC starting the 26th of May. Tires arrived at a local shop on the 23rd and I got them mounted and balanced (got a front end alignment done too) later that day. So, I pull out of the shop around 5:30pm and get down the road maybe a 1/2 mile. Come to a light to make a left hand turn,..light turns green, I begin making the turn and as I'm about halfway through I hear a really loud, metallic-like CLUNK noise from the right rear of the vehicle. Immediately after a "click, click, click" as the wheels are rolling,...hmmmmm. Just so happens there's a gas station on the right side of the road that I had turned on to so I'm able to immediately pull off and get out of the flow of traffic to see what the hell happened. Get out of my 4Runner, run around to the right side of the vehicle to find the right rear tire quickly deflating. WTF?!? I see part of the bead of the side wall sticking out from the edge of the and instantly thought an issue with the mounting. So, I call the shop that had done the work and they send a truck out to help. While I'm waiting a gentleman that worked at the gas station comes out and asks if I need help. I tell him I just got these tires mounted, blah, blah, they're sending a truck, blah, blah, etc. While I'm talking he takes a look at the tire from behind the vehicle,...stares for a few secs and says "well there's your problem". I move to where he is and look at the tire and see the head of this sticking out of the center of the tread:
Looks like a lag bolt that broke right at the top of the treaded portion. So I apparently ran over it, the tire grabbed it,..tossed it up and it hit the wheel well then came down in the perfect position. I ran it over in the center of the tread, then it angled and tore through the bead right before the side-wall starts. Un-F'ing-believable. :redbrick: :lol:
The guys from the shop arrived, put the spare on for me (good god the color of the rim used for the spare tire is atrocious looking), and they took the now useless tire back the the shop. I called them the next day to have the old tires put back on (need to as we were leaving that coming Sunday,...wasn't gonna run three new tires with that spare on). Ordered a new tire from TireRack,...and made and appt to have them all put on a second time after I got back from vaca - :lol:
Anyway,...tires are on now. Like the look a lot better. Impressions after driving on them for the past four days -- Ride is nicer, not smoother but more stable. I don't notice a difference in road noise,..about the same. Better road feel and the handling seems firmer,...more sure footed for lack of a better way of putting it.
Oh, had the road hazard with the Continentals, so TireRack emails you and RMA for shipping the tire back to them, then they ship the tire back to Continental and I get my CC credited. Pretty cool.
