One of the first things I noticed when I inspected the new-to-me 1996 Lexus LX 450 sitting in my driveway was the horrid condition of the tires. Date-coded to 2011, the Toyo Open Country A/T rubber showed plenty of dry-rotting and visible cracks – as well as some regrettable gloss black overspray on the spare tire from when the previous owner repainted the trailer hitch.
The first order of business was a $1,700 trip to the mechanic, who resealed the front axle, replaced the front wheel bearings, installed a new set of oil pan gaskets, cleaned the throttle body, and reset a check-engine light. But with that out of the way, Noah and I sourced a set of LT285/75R16 Firestone Destination X/T tires. The stock 275/70R16 size is surprisingly hard to find, and the 265/70s already on the Lexus look like roller skate wheels. Hopefully, the 32.8-inch-diameter Destination X/Ts would fit the bill, so to speak, measuring 2.2 inches taller and about eight-tenths of an inch wider than the dry-rotted Toyos.
