Opinions of Yokos?

[El_Douglito]

After weeks of being in the garage the Willy has finally been fixed and now needs an MOT. To pass it must have new rubber.

Does anybody on this forum use Yokohama rubber, what do you make of it, how durable is it and am I likely to die in the wet?

I appreciate the magnitude of the "which tyre is best" dabate, but some advice from Yokohama users would be appreciated as I've been quoted a good price.

Thanks

Doug

[Lunner]

TBH mate opinions vary widley as you will no doubt be aware, personally i'd have em if you're getting em cheap and make your own mind up

[drsmith1979]

yeah, some people love them, use them on sprint/track cars etc.. others hate them and wont touch them! lol

i personally like the a539's as they are cheap and wear extremely well and in my experience have given me good performance and grip! tempted to try the Parada spec II's as they look uber sexy ......

[number1]

The compound of parada spec 2's look like the same grade as pencil eraser stuff! just look like they would leave a bit of rubber on every bend..

I like that idea!!

Dave

[Danlp6]

A539:
http://www.alexnolan.net/articles/terms/car_ditch.jpg

[drsmith1979]

Some of the most advanced tyres in the world.........

Tyres are not the determining factor in most accidents - unless illegal.... its the muppet behind the wheel!

Too easy to simply say they are 'shit'... especially when there are a lot of people having alot of success in sprints, races etc....

personal choice at the end of the day. 8)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/drsmith/FerrariF1Crash.jpg

[El_Douglito]

I was aware that opinions vary wildly as I found out when choosing a tyre earlier this year. The Eagle F1 turned out to be the one I went for based on the eulogies from this forum and has been faultless. Unfortunately nowhere localy stocks them and I can't afford to wait a week for mytyres to post them through.

I think the chap said the tyres were a new line from Yoko called S Drive, anyone know much about them, any good?

[drsmith1979]

s-drive are for sports saloons iirc? not an out and out performance tyre which i would go for.

[Bailey_1260]

Depends on tread pattern and of course there is personal opinion. As a rule Yoko's are fantastic in the dry and a bitiffy in the wet.

Wouldnt trust "S or A" drive on a willy/Valver but A539's or Parada spec 2's would be fine and dandy.

There are plenty of F1's in 195/50 V 15 in the country but the 185's are getting harder to get (although still a lot about as neither of these sizes have been discontinued)

[Danlp6]

ive had:
eagle f1's
a539's
kumho ecsta spt1's

At the moment im running the kumho's just as i could get them cheap. and tbh im very impressed. the a539's, good when dry, lethal when even mildy moist. the f1's are by far the best ive used, though the kumho;s are coming close at the mo!

[drsmith1979]

kumho's are a great tyre, got them on my willy at the mo, superb and great price!

[willy3]

all depends on how you drive your car, will take a very spiritful driver to really out perform a tyre, so if your just needing a good all rounder then you will be ok....... i personally always go with toyo's but wouldn't hesitate to try yokohama at a decent price........

[drsmith1979]

had toyo t-1s on the front and i didnt like them, wore too quickly and i were horrible in the wet... will try the T-1R next

[willy3]

don't think there is a good tyre for the wet, due to our great roads that seem to hold water, that and the bloody amount of rain we get....... :D

[Lunner]

Best tyre i've found for the wet are the uniroyal rain sport.....ace, just not as good as they could be in the dry, and wear like fook

[Twincam]

All depends what driving your doing, most of our motorclub members have now moved away from using Yoko's (think the best tyre they made was the A520 then they stopped making it :( ) and not a fan of the A539.

Most members currently run including myself Eagle F1's the only problem that we keep getting and I dont know whether many have experienced here; is soft side walls. If you hit anything rough or pothole (not huge ones and not partically fast) they seem to just blowout or bleb the sidewalls. Also if you hit any gravel or mud it makes it a little interesting.

Will still run F1's over summer, but for competeing on road rallys and winter going to try some colway road plus's :D

You can only put a set on and try them

[number1]

ive found t-1s's to be pretty damn good in the wet compared to A539's and some other cheapo brands! give great feedback, but yeh wear out quickly and i will be trying out t-1r's soon on the front, i already have them on the back and they seem good

If my new job comes through then i will be getting pretty much any tire at cost price so will try a few, those falken fk512's?? are supposed to be good and will try some of the kumho range soon

Dave

[jay s]

i swear by eagle f1's, midge is runnning a set of parada 2's and is very happy with them. Yoko s-drive arnt very good , they came 9th in evos 07 tyre test ( only 10 entrys to give u an idea )

[El_Douglito]

I wasn't expecting this much response so quickly, so thanks.

From the sounds of it the S Drive is poo and there is a reason the chap is offering them cheap.

Would it be fair to say that the Eagle F1s and Exalto Pilots are still the best bet when choosing a tyre and are most suited to the characteristics of a Williams, or are they just the most common choice on this forum?

Also does anyone use Bridgestone rubber?

Keep the comments coming!

[Coops]

eagle F1 all the way imo up to now. toyos (t1 r and s i have used) are very very good, but are pipped by the eagles for wet weather performance and all round ability. saying that i want some r888 semi slicks next! 8)

but if cost and availability factors into it then i'd try the ones ur on about and see tbh. personally i dont skimp on tyres for the exact reason that ur unlikely to out perform a good tyre in road condistions, so take it out the race of limiting factors by buying best i can afford! :lol:

[eternalife]

As mentioned previously - there are mixed opinions on the Yoko tyres.

Yoko A539's - can perform well in wet and dry conditions. Just need the right pressure set up and imo they really do crave heat in order to perform.
They wear well too.

[Twincam]

Like coops said above seems funny that people will spend hundreds on suspension then skimp on tyres

IMO your better putting good tyres on first then change anything else after

In the end your car will only grip and handle as well, as the tyres touching the ground

[stevie_b]

I've got Yoko AVS Sports and Yoko A032Rs on other cars and find both of these tyres pretty good (not sure if you can get them in Willy sizes though?). The 032Rs work surprisingly well in the wet, once you get a bit of temp into them. I can't really comment on the S-drives, having never tried them, but from the Evo report I got the impression that they were not the most performance-oriented tyres in Yokohama's range (they came top in the low rolling resistance category, suggesting they have been developed to save fuel rather than give the best grip performance)

[Daz.]

I don't like Eagle F1's I'm looking forward to the day they come off - way too soft, great grip in dry but its all or nothing its there or it isn't and doesn't tell you when its about to throw you in a hedge...

They're also piss poor in the rain or certainly the worst I've had on the willy...

[midge]

ive had a load of tyres, parada's are the best ive had ever, closely followed by f1's then the a359s.. couldnt get on with the toyo's.

[El_Douglito]

Thanks for all the advice.

As it turned out the tyres, which I was 99% sure would fail the MOT are still road legal, so don't need changing as pronto as I'd imagined. Coops mentioned that fools skimp on rubber and I completely agree.

So it looks like another set of 195/45/15 Eagle F1s from mytyres is the order!

Thanks again.

Doug

[Daz.]

^^^ bad tyre and an even worse size :wink:

[drsmith1979]

i can vouce for the size.... get 50's instead, will transform the handling and comfort of the car, i did it a month ago and loved it since

[Bailey_1260]

Get 195/50's cheaper and much better handling.

[16v_paddy]

I've got yoko paradas on my valver, had em bout 10 months now, imo they're fantastic tyres only complaint is they're crap when its freezin cold, PI55 poor grip on roundabouts (easily cured with some lift off oversteer tho :lol: )

Got mine from Top Gear Shop on ebay, cheap as chips £82 a pair delivered, defo gettin another set when mine go bald

and yeah they do look sexy 8)

[midge]

so piss poor on roundabouts? doesnt that just mean piss poor on corners? my paradas are the best tyre ive had on any surface in any condition.

[16v_paddy]

only when its proper freezin cold out, or maybe its me bein a crap driver as well :oops:

but still best tyres ive ever had :)

[drsmith1979]

oooh midge you may have just convinced me! hehe they look sexy as fooooook

[MAXIBOY]

http://www.mycaterham.com/66828/42806.html

read this. guy talks some sense.

[BRUN]

the best tyres are Michelin Pilot Exalto II's

you will struggle to get F1's anymore, Yoko's will kill you in the wet

[Bailey_1260]

the best tyres are Michelin Pilot Exalto II's

you will struggle to get F1's anymore, Yoko's will kill you in the wet

If i ever meet you i am going to shake your hand lol.

[arj256]

I personally rate Yokos.
I had a set of a539s on the Williams and used them for quite a few trackdays and was happy with there performance.
They grip well last long and at the lower price region.
These also gripped very well in the very wet brands trackday i did.
They do lack the ultimate wet weather grip of say eagle f1s in the wet, but they communicate to you nicely so you can adjust to suite.

Once these had gone unfortunatly i couldnt get hold of any more a539s as they have been discontinued now. So i tried some parada spec 2s.
These felt easily as grippy as the a539s and wore well on my last trackday and visit to the ring.
I cant comment on there wet weather grip for spirited driving but where fine in the very bad torrential rain i had in germany.

I have tried Eagle f1s before - nice and grippy but wore very quickly.
And Proxes T1R's these dont grip as well as eagles and worse wet performance than Yokos imo.

For the money you can get Yokos for there a very good tyre.

[Eckascliovalver]

value for money i would'nt pass the 539's, excellent when dry, and good in the wet until really pushed, i found the back end was'nt the most stable :shock:

[white16valver]

F1s I like a lot, haven't tried PE2s yet but may try them now 185/55 F1s are impossible to come by :(

[1fast6]

I have tried the 539's, T1-S, Eagle F1 and PE2 and the PE2 is the best all round tyre with the most grip in the dry too imho.