enormus

Anybody out there have personal experience with both of these tires?

I am about to replace my standard 17" wheels with A-spec wheels and am trying to pick out a new set of tires. I was just going to go with the recommended Yokos, but when I started researching them, I saw quite a few negative reviews (particularly in regard to wet traction). When I looked at Tire Rack's comparison of Ultra High Performance Summer tires, I was VERY surprised to see Generals at the top. After poking around here and on some similar forums, I am unable to find a single negative post from someone who actually owns the General's. Can't say the same about the Yokos.

It would really help to have a first hand comparison, as I find it hard to believe these two tires are in the same class. I replaced a set of Continental ContiTracs with Yokos on my last vehicle (Ford Escape) and a set of Goodyear Eagles with Yokos on the one before that (Pontiac Bonneville SSEi). In both cases, I felt like I had gotten a new car. Better ride and handling and very quiet.

A little bit about my tire needs . . . While I would LOVE to have the highest performing summer tires, the winters here in NC are too mild to justify a separate set of winter tires. We never get more than a dusting and are more likely to get ice or torrential rain. That being said, I cannot afford to be completely helpless in bad weather. I run a corporate data center and need reliable transport. I am pretty happy with the Michelins that came on the TL, but wouldn't mind if they were quieter. I do not race or AutoX, but occassionally like to "live dangerously." I am willing to compromise some performance in order to have a little better all-weather handling and a quieter and less harsh ride. Price is not much of an issue (not going to skimp on tires for a $35K car . . .), but I don't want to pay double or triple for tires that are only marginally better in dry traction and worse in wet or winter conditions.

Maybe I should just bail, and go with Car and Driver's top pick -- Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3?

jmichaelp

I also saw the good ratings on Tire Rack from people who owned this tire, but haven't read the test results yet. I like what I see in the Goodyear, but don't want to pay $190 for them particularly if they'll have less noise/better ride quality. This is a sport luxury car! Look pretty decent for the price... Here are the user ratings for tires from Tire Rack that are priced less than $150, with the average score (total, column but too lazy to change it):

jime

If you are interested, both tires are on my Tire Rack Test Analysis where I compared almost all of the tires that Tire Rack tested.

See: http://home.comcast.net/~jherick/TL/tires.htm

There is a lot of good information if you want to compare two or three tires.

johnny--2k

I have driven cars with the Yok's, and they are a nice tire.

I have the Generals now and the main reason is treadlife, price, and they actually tested out better than a lot of other tires in that class, including BFG, Goodyear, Yok, and Michelin.

jmichaelp

Thanks jime! Too bad I didn't see your information before I started compiling it

Good idea to incorporate wear into the cost. Since you're normalizing all performance to the RSA, did you consider normalizing the wear to the RSA's instead of to 400? Also, what about modifying the rated treadwear by the TireRack driver's actual wear quickness compared to their expectation (i.e. rating, I'd guess)?

enormus

Tire Rack just posted a test of the Exclaim UHPs comparing them with the Yokohama AVS ES100s, Kumho ECSTA SPT and Goodyear Eagle RS-As. As I had read, the Yokohamas don't seem to like wet driving surfaces. I'm going to take a harder look at the Kumho's now, but the comment about "the Exclaim UHP tire's exceptional hydroplaning resistance" has me leaning harder towards the Generals. Still, the tread pattern on the ECSTAs looks similar to that of the Exclaims -- no surprise they handle wet driving better than the Yokos.

Hmmm . . . just noticed the test is dated May 27, 2005 . . . wonder if that is a misprint.

johnny--2k

Get the Generals. You won't be dissappointed. I say this coming out of an S2000 where tires are extremely important, and I would have put these on my S2 in a heartbeat!

enormus

Great to hear these pass muster from someone who knows performance tires when they drive on them. Sold.

johnny--2k

Conisidering your region, the Generals get awesome wet traction, great dry traction, treadwear is extremely high for their category, and road noise is minimal if any.

The tire is technically rated as an M+S so it can be used in extremely light snow according to my contacts at TireRack.

On top of the awesome ratings, my 245/35/19's only cost me $127 each, so cost is also a huge factor for me!

enormus

The versatility is the biggest factor for me. I want to go as high performance as I can without shooting myself in the foot if it rains or we get a millimeter of snow (gotta get to Wal-Mart before the locals buy ALL the bread and milk ). I work with more than one guy riding on Pirellis or Nittos that can't get to or from work unless it is 75 degrees and sunny outside. Of course, the price point doesn't hurt.