bz268

Hi,

The S.Drive is rated 300AA
The YK520 is rated 520AA

Does this mean the rubber in YK520 is very hard so it lasts twice as much as the S.Drive?

PACman

Yes

richman2072

My choices are Yokohama W4S and S. Drive. I pick S. Drive at the end. Depend on what u want, long tread life or better handling.

aaronng

S.Drives are nice.

bz268

The S.Drive is cheaper. Does this mean the S. Drive is not as good as the YK520?

hotpinoy69

I've had the s.drives for 3k miles. I will definately be buying another set once these wear out.

acurunner

I just bought a new set for my 2006 TSX a few weeks ago and had issues w/ the balance. It turned out that the tire shop did not properly balance w/ the weights on the rims. After properly balancing them today, it rides like a charm and very smooth. I got just over 30K on OEM Michellins. I could have gone another 5K but had a blown a tire (large screws) which was in an area that was not repairable in several spots.

I got a great price on the YK's and love them so far!

Jeff The Pianist

My 2006 has around 38,000 miles right now on the stocks. I'm planning on getting the S Drive in the near future! I'm excited for the road noise improvement!

knakane

I've put about 1,000 miles on my YK520s & don't really have any complaints...they are quiet, ride smooth, track well and who can complain about 520 treadwear w/a 60,000 mile warranty...I've been told (but haven't independently confirmed) that these are the same basic tire as the V4S but with a tad bit more technology as well as an asymmetric tread pattern. I was hesitant going away from the V4S (my previous tire) since that was truly a great tire, but I took the chance since I put a lot of faith & trust in Yokohama and would never buy another brand...

If the TSX was a more high performance car, I would probably go with a more aggressive tread & compound, but I don't really feel that it is necessary for a stock TSX...as far as initial turn in, etc. with the YK520s, I would say it's about the same, maybe a tad bit smoother & with less jerk if you know what i mean, but at this point, i'll take the better ride any day. Don't get me wrong, the YK520 isn't by any means a soft cushy tire like the piece of crap stock pilots, but they will get the job done...

Note: The main thing I miss about the V4S is the fact that the tread pattern doesn't look as aggressive...but that's kind of unimportant in the big picture...to me at least...

chuson

There's no direct comparison between these 2, YK520 is all-season, while S.Drive is Summer Performance.

If you don't have snow in winter; OR like to push your car a bit, go get the S.Drive.
If you plan to use it all year around, YK520 should be the best for all purpose.

I have a set of Yokohama Advan Sport summer tires, they are so great that I generally can't push the tires close to limit (lost traction) in Dry OR Wet, pretty scary lol. I will most likely get a same set afterwards.

bluefang08

I had the YK420 (YK520 are the new ones) back in the day they are not a bad all around tire. I live in colorado so we get all types of weather.

mxmattd

I've had the YK520's on for a little over 10k miles. They seem to be wearing very well, and I've never had any complaints about the traction/noise/ride etc.

Like others have said before, if you drive hard go with the S.Drives. If you want a great everyday tire that should last a good while, I would definitely recommend the YK520's

Jeff The Pianist

Which kind do you have?

I'm trying to decide between the S Drive and the Advan S4

chuson

Advan S4 is ultra performance ALL-SEASON; it's the best (traction) All-season tires that you can get from Yokohama. Trade-off might be less tread life compare to YK520, but you got the fun part all the time.

While S.Drive is delicate summer performance, it should be easily out-handle the YK520 in traction, and a bit better than S4 near limits.

My Advan Sport is Max summer performance whatever TireRack calls, here's the link . This is the best summer tires Yokohama offers except Neova AD07 R-Compound.

aaronng

I always thought that the best all season tyre would still have trouble competing against a very good summer performance tyre, especially during the months without snow.

chuson

That's right, summer performance > all season performance for sure. However, given how the technology has improved, AS tires has closen up the gap in traction big time. Unless the driver is pushing the car (tires) in limit, the difference in regular spirit driving will be small, if not the same.

stogie1020

I need new tires ASAP, and am planning on getting the S.Drives. I am a spirited driver, but no track and no "in the mountains" runs or anything, just local and freeways stuff. How many miles should I be able to get out of these? 20-30K? I got 32K out of the OEM Michelins.

If it matters, I am in Phoenix, so the roads get pretty hot in the summer.

stogie1020

OK, getting the S.Drives put on Saturday for $600 OTD.

chuson

You will LOVE it in all condition (wet/dry/braking/corner traction and road noise) ~

Make you think the S.Drive should be the stock tires for TSX.

stogie1020

Chosun do you have them? While I know the tread life will be less than on a different tire, I am wondering what I can expect for the tread life... 10k? 15K? 30k?

I got 32K out of the stock Pilots.

hotpinoy69

i have the s.drives. expect between 25k-27k. you have to rotate religiously to get more mileage out of the tires. i'm sure you'll love these tires. i've had them for about 5k miles now and i still haven't been able to break these loose even in the rain.

stogie1020

Thanks Hotpinoy69!

Ended up getting them for $575 installed.

hotpinoy69

were yours a replacement for the stock tires?

jlukja

Two questions.
1. How worn out were your Pilots? bald? just down to the wear indicators?
2. Where did you buy your S drives?

stogie1020

The S.Drives will be a replacement (Saturday) for the Stock Pilots. The Pilots are worn badly at 32K, and the tech at the dealership looked a little scared letting me drive away. I don't have the tool, but I am guessing 2/32 or less. Tech said they were getting ready to separate.

Initially I was going to get the S.Drives from Tirerack.com and have a local suggested installer put them on, but I have 7.5% tax, and the tax on the Tirerack price is less that the shipping, so I asked the installer if he had them in stock. He did, and gave me the same price as Tirerack ($600 installed). This installer is a few miles from my house, and is a Goodyear place, so I called the Discount Tire right down the street from my house and asked them if would beat the price, and the guy said yes. Hence $575 out the door with stems and balancing.

They go on Saturday (or maybe Monday if they take an extra day for DT to get them in...)

hotpinoy69

That's cool man. At least you didn't have to get the 19's like I did. The cheapest I got mine for at Discount Tire was just over $1000 . Discount Tire has really delivery service if they don't have the tire in stock. Mine took a day to get to Dallas from New Orleans and they quoted me 3 days. I'm sure you like the tires once you get them on though.

jlukja

I'd love to hear your opinion of them once you get them on. Right now its between the S drives and the Avid V for my future replacement.

stogie1020

I will definitely post back once I break them in a bit.

My only concern is the wear on them. If I don't get 20K, I will be a bit upset, although i drive kinda hard. I got 32K on the stock Pilots....

richman2072

Only 32k for OEM tire is little bit less unless u drive very aggressive. Mine get over 60k. By the way S. drive is so good, excellent traction and less road noise than I expect for summer tires.

timbo04tsx

I just put a set of stock-size 215/50-17 S.Drives on mine but I haven't really had time to truly test them out (been too busy detailing my TSX). But for the 25 or so miles I put on them they were really quiet and I could tell an instant difference. I had Sumitomo HTR+ on them and they SUCKED...but that's what the Acura dealer had put on them when I bought it used a little over a year ago. They only lasted 13k miles.

I got mine mounted and balanced along with an alignment for $625 at a local tire dealer. I'll report back after I put some more miles on them. Hopefully these will be just as good as everyone says they are. I'm also hoping to get at least 25k out of them.

hotpinoy69

When I got mine the guy at discount tire told me I would have to rotate just about every oil change to get the best mileage out of them.

jlukja

I hear you. I'm not as hard on my tires, they will probably make it to 40-45K miles before they're done.

stogie1020

I have the AT, but I spend about 75% of my time in Sport Shift... Phoenix highways are so wide and long, if I squint the speed limit signs look like they say "95"....

stogie1020

Just got them installed this evening. I am going to give them a few days before I form any conclusions. I will say, though, that there was a signifcant decrease in road noise, although I can't say it wasn't due to previously riding on worn tires and now having new ones... New Pilots vs new S.Drives would be the only way to tell...

I will update in a few days with impressions.

chuson

Throw your car in corners and you can tell the differences. Dry or Wet.

stogie1020

yeah, about that... Under 75 they are great. Good traction, good handling, etc... Lost 1.5-2mpg, but I expected tat with stickier tires.

However, over 75mph.... I feel like the sidwealls are made of tracing paper. input lag, output lag, lots of side to side wiggle, the tires respond to the road by "floating" all over within the limits of the sidewalls. I don't feel too stable on them at high speed, although when I do rapid lane changes (late at night, no one else on the road) they perform as asked.

I do not know what pressure Discount Tire put into them, but I will check as soon as these 18 hour work days end for me...

BTW they are 215/50 R17 on the stock 2006 TSX rims.

aaronng

Check the tyre pressure for sure. I'd be using 36 psi cold all round.

stogie1020

^will do.

timbo04tsx

When I got mine installed the shop had each tire set at about 38 psi but I dropped them to the factory settings. Is there a reason to run this tire pressure (36) when the factory settings are 32 front/30 rear?

aaronng

Yup, because factory setting is based on the Michelins. In Australia, the factory spec is 32/32 because we get Dunlops. For the Yokohama, I find a bit higher tyre pressure to be better than the 32/32.