KJSmitty

A short tire thread/plug,,,

Well, after much research and a personal struggle breaking away from Michelin's resulted in me trying a set of Yokohama tires for my 04TL (auto).

Overall tire desires in order of my preference:

1. Ride comfort and SMOOTH at highway speeds
2. Dry and wet traction
3. Fit/looks of course

I'm not an overly aggressive driver yet do demand tires to handle well given the possible events TX weather, drivers, and roads can throw at you. I don't plan on driving in snow/ice yet prefer all season tires over purely "summer" due to the "you-never-know" aspect of mother nature. Plus I find A/S tires to be more rounded in their abilities (go figure).
This is the third set of tires on the TL. First were obviously the crappy Bridgestone EL-42's (OEM) that came off at 14K. Second were a great set of Michelin PS2's that were superb in all aspect with exception to mileage and noise (once warn) - I made it to about 24K miles and I was on the 2/32 wear indicators. And remember, I am a near 85% highway commuter and easy driver etc.. The later issues are what caused me to look at something other than a swap to another set of PS2's.

Tires I have owned/used on my vehicles (TL and others):

Michelin
Goodyear
Bridgestone
Toyo
Cooper
Continental
BFG's
Firestone
And now Yokohama

Mire first choice was a set of Michelin PS All Seasons. I owned a pair of these on a vehicle prior to the TL. I didn't run them min tread as the vehicle was sold prior. Overall great tire in all aspects/my desires above, but I was a bit concerned on longevity of tread. That and my current desire to keep what is in my wallet mine, had me looking elsewhere as well...

Why did I describe the above - not sure yet felt like typing... :-) Anyway, I decided to try a set of Yokohama's.
I ended up with the AVID W4S's - 245/45 17's. This was the same size as my previous PS2's yet they look wider. They are also all seasons and have 11/32's of tread vs the normal 10/32's found on most 245 series. TireRack had them for $114 and my local Discount Tire sold them to me for $124 plus M&B. $10 more per tire locally yet with shipping from the TRack it was a wash. I have ordered from TireRack in the past and love em, yet now I tend to use them only for research and "leverage" to get the price I want locally - has worked every time.

The Yokohama's have been on the car for over a week now. They ride very smooth and tend to have a luxury yet sport feel to the sidewall. The worst tire took 2 ounces total to balance - the other three took about 1.25 max. They do exhibit a small amount of flatspotting but nothing like the Bridgestone tires I have had. And it only lasts for about 1-2 miles. Currently the weather is hot so it's TBD to see how they are when temps are below 50 etc..
Remember, I'm not out there taking off ramps at 120 mph or track driving the TL on the weekends, thus wont comment too much on whether I feel the tires aren't "precise" on turn in and/or whether they feel terribly"spongy." Did not buy the TL for that specialty thus I buy tires for the car etc.. Overall I think the Yoko's feel great and match the 5AT/TL's suspension nicely. Not too soft by any means yet not thumpy/thudding during typical road variances etc..

Very quiet ride! The Michelin PS2's were much noisier form day one and increased with a vengeance as the wear indicators became more visible. :-) Now I can hardly tell when the road changes from asphalt to concrete etc.. Before I would have to adjust the stereo by about 5 digits.

Grip: though I haven't had them in wet weather, they appear to be quite excellent for the TL's overall driving nature. OK, I did take a few off ramps at excessive speed to explore the initial limits - no surprises and they held ground like the PS2's. However, i did not ever reach the limit of the PS2's w/exception to a few hydroplaning issues once the tires were significantly warn etc..

Looks: different yet I like them. Tread is directional and aggressive. With 32psi they also stick out (bulge) ~1/2 inch from the rim providing a nice bit of protection from curb rash. Overall, given the A/S nature the tread is deeper with wider groves yet it looks great.

Bottom line,
I am overall impressed with the Yokohama AVID W4S. The ~$600 final price tag was much easier to handle than the ~$1100 the PS A/S's would have run. So, if you're looking for a new set of TL shoes, check the TireRack reviews for the AVID W4S's. I can collaborate by saying I am currently impressed with them as well. I'll update as the miles accrue.


Cheers

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

I have the Yoko W4S and love them as well. I've been running them a couple of months now, in some pretty heavy rain, and they've performed very well on my TL-S. No hydroplaning or wheelhop from stoplights in the wet....also, the wider tread looks great on my 8.5" A-Specs.


I'd get another set in a heartbeat.

CrazyNurse

Rollin' on Yoko S.Drives and very satisfied.

Was gonna get the W4S, too, but wanted to try a summer tire.

I have never had problems with Yokohama--Rock on!

05tlguy

Did your mpg go down with these tires?

FR4NCH1SE

Yoko's look like solid tires. I cant wait to buy them once my first rubbers are done. How are Toyo Proxy's? I hurd those are good tires.

eaglegreen48

using Yoko AS430's with no complaints. I'll be checking out AVID's next purchase.

KJSmitty

I'm early in to ownership yet haven't seen the mid down more than 1 mpg from my average - yet that could also be due to the amount of town driving I have been doing. I do believe however I read where one individual thought he lost mileage with Yoko's.
I'll update at the next fill-up.

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Marginally, if any.
TBH I haven't really noticed a drop in mileage. They're not that sticky!

I wouldn't let that prevent you from buying a set of W4Ses.

05tlguy

I asked about mpg. decrease because tire for tire, the yoko's tread width is 3/4 to 1 inch wider than all the other tires i'm considering...--- eagle f1a/s , contin. extr., pirelli nero, etc...{ according to tire rack's spec. info}

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Understood....and yes, they are wider than mostly every other UHP AS of the same size. Mostly due to the square shoulder profile versus rounder profile of most other tires. But since the W4s isn't a super sticky compound summer UHP tire, the increase in friction due to the wider footprint isn't an issue IMO.