Well, I've had the Avids on for a little over a month now and I thought I would post my overall thoughts on these tires.

They replaced my Blowtenzas and I paid roughly $500.00 for all four installed etc...

Road Noise: With my summer Nitto 555's being about a 5 or 6 on a 10 point scale and the Potenzas being a solid 4, I would say that the Avids are a solid 1. Virtually no road noise coming through the tires.

Sidewall Stiffness: Again using my Potenzas being a 7 out 10 on sidewall stiffness, I would say that the Avids are a 4 or 5. They ride really smooth. Even on my drop with H-Techs, they feel very smooth.

Handling: They handle the turns pretty well. (probably better than my Nitto's truth be told) I would give them a 8 out of 10.

Traction=DRY: Pretty pathetic. I can light these up with just a touch of the gas. These tires are for daily driving not zipping from 0-60mph.

Traction=WET: Excellent traction in the rain. I feel stable and sure. My Nittos do good in the rain and these are at least equal if not slightly better.

Traction=SNOW/ICE: Really well. I pulled right through the couple of inches we had last night with no problems. The Potenzas were like snot on a wet condom.

Overall Impressions: I feel really good about these tires and would recommend them to anyone looking for a replacement in the 225/50-17 size. I only have about 1200 miles on them but they are quiet, good in the wet and seem to handle snow pretty well. That's a perfect combo for an all-season tire. I must say that these are not performance tires by any means but that's why I put them on my stockers.

If you're in the market for some new tires, give these a look. I picked mine up at Discount Tire and they price matched the online price of $108 ea.

 

Thanks for the opinions... I've always wondered about those tires. I've only had experience with the Potenzas, Falken 512s, Traction TAs, and some Contis so far and was deciding what to try next.

Anyways, I had some quick questions, you rated the sidewall stiffness pretty low compared to the Potenzas, and from your comment that you were primarily looking at ride quality. What tire pressure are ya running? And how does cornering feel on these tires? Are the sidewalls so soft that the car feels "squishy", for lack of better terms, during hard cornering? Or are they a nice ride yet feel firm and controlled around bends? You said they handle turns well, but I think there are some sticky tires that handle turns well while feeling squishy and loose at the same time.

Just curious to know, thanks.

 

I run right around 34 psi. I saw all the reviews @ TireRack and went looking for these tires.

The sidewall may very well be stiffer than I think but they ride uber-smooth. For comparision, when I run my summer 18" Nittos they feel "squishy" but "sticky" to me. They corner but I feel on the edge. They grip the road when I punch the gas. The Potenzas always felt "firm" but they cornered like crap and had zero traction. The Avids feel "medium" but they handle as well as my 18" Nittos with considerable less "sticky". Does that make any sense?

I think they do the job of "all-season passenger" tire exceptionally well but they are not "performance all-season" tires. "Performance" to me means "sticky" or at least some version there of. These tires handle corners but are not "sticky" in straight line acceleration.

I hope I answered your questions.

 

You sure did, Sgt, thanks for the explanation. It does make sense to me because going from the Potenza RE92s to Falken 512s, I could feel the difference in sidewall firmness (less firm with the 512s at 31-33 psi), but the 512s were much grippier in a straight line and around corners than the RE92s. I bumped the tire pressure up in em to 36-38 all round and it feels much firmer now. Thanks again.

 

I just got my Yokohama AVID V4S installed and I used to have the Falken 512's. And I must these Yoko's are way ruffer than my Falken's. I feel every bump in the road, as to where my Falkens were smooth and forgiving. Im not sure if it's due to the higher tread rating or what, but it's sure not a smooth sailing ride anymore. I'm not sure if I need to ride on them to break them in some, but if they dont feel any better I am going to have to return them before it's too late. But on the flip side they are way better in the snow. Chicago just got there first serious snow and they put my Falkens to shame. And I would say they are about equal in wet condtions. And the side walls are pretty much they same. I have not ridden that many miles on the Yoko's yet but when I do I'll have a better summary

 

i put about 5K miles on mine already
give them few hundred miles to "break in"
also check your tire pressure...and yeah for the money i payed these can't be beat

 

I got some yokohama a550 which were supposed to be like the avid, except it was a sears brand. anyway, I like the way they look, but I like to test them on wet roads and my cheaper tires (dayton hrs) did better.


....just my 2 cents, yes im' a newb!

 

Thanks for the great review. It certainly helps in my analysis of what to buy this week. I too am running the crappy "blowtenza" tires (OE) and here in New England when driving on the snow it's like I'm fearing for my life.

I went into my local tire shop, Town Fair Tire, yesterday (12-23-05) and I was ready to purchase a set Yokohama AVID V4S tires, but he leaned me towards the TOYO Proxies TPT (225/50-17 size) or the Cooper Mastercraft Avenger LSR (also 225/50-17 size) instead. Wanted to do my research and found this board, excellent resource which I've bookmarked.

So I read all the reviews about the TOYO's on this board, so now I'm leaning towards those, but haven't seen any one comment about the the Cooper Mastercraft tires, which the guy actually said were all around better. If anyone has any info about the Coopers tis guy is recommending, please start a thread or comment below (I don't think I can receive IM's here yet as I too am a newbie here)

Again, a great and very helpful review of the Yoko's!!! My thanks!

 

I would take the Avid V4S over the Toyo Proxes TPT, but I'm biased as I bought a set of Avid H4S in September and quite like them.

I've never heard of the Cooper Mastercraft tires.