Yokohama introduced a new performance tire this past March that attempts to combine all of the attributes that most of us want: reasonably priced, great wet traction, low rolling resistance, a smooth and quiet ride, and long tread life. It's called the Avid ENVigor, and it supposedly scored higher in tests than the Michelin Pilot and Primacy as well as the Bridgestone Potenza and Serenity. It's so new, it is difficult to find a great deal of information on it. Tire Rack has just begun selling it, but it is too new in order to be rated and ranked on their website yet. I've contacted Yokohama in California and asked for literature and test data to be mailed to me, which they agreed to do....

I had previously decided that our next set of tires on the S-Type would be the Dunlop SP Sport Signature due to their bang for the buck, but I'm going to investigate these new Yokohamas very closely. Our current set of Hankook Ventus tires came new with the car when we bought it in December 2008, they're about to turn 30,000 miles, and I hope to get at least 40,000 miles out of them before they're shot. So I have plenty of time to do some additional tire research before it will be time to pull the trigger. I have to say that these cheap Korean Hankooks have held up far better than I initially believed they would. They've stayed quiet and comfortable, they still don't hydroplane, they've worn evenly, and I never thought they would do 40,000 miles. They just might, and I may add them to my list (which I never expected I would even consider when we purchased the car)....

If you're in the market for new tires soon, you may want to add these new Yokohamas to your list. They come with a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty for the V-rated version and a 45,000-mile treadwear warranty for the W-rated version that would fit the STRs out there....

 

Who cares about tires when you can buy pure cosmetic/non-safety things instead such as caliper paint, grills, satelitte radio, exhaust, pulleys, and re-spraying bumper covers. You need to get your priorities straight man.







Thanks for the heads up.

 

Joe - LOL

Jon/all - I saw somewhere that low rolling resistance translates to longer stopping distance, but is it so?

 

JagV8,

The longer stopping distance you've read about is very marginal. If you constantly drove 150 mph on the Autobahn, that increased stopping distance may hurt you. But for all of our normal driving, I'd much rather have the benefits of increased mpg....


Bull,

Sorry, man, my frigging fault. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll run out this morning and buy a big ol' airfoil for the back of our S-Type and mount it this weekend. And pick up some fuzzy dice to hang from the rear-view mirror as well. Hope that makes you feel better....

 

Jon,

You forgot DUB spinners. After you do that you need to post pics. Then we post them to riced rides.

Concerning the Hankooks, I have found them to perform fairly well overall with my only complaint being somewhat of a harsh ride. This may be a function of me comparing it to my old XJ6 though. The S-Type is quite a bit firmer and seems to handle quite a bit better. Thanks for the Yokohama tip. I was previously looking at the Dunlops since they seemed to be a pretty good value.

Mike

 

Mike,

Don't get me wrong, the Dunlops are still leading my list because they've been around for years and there's a great deal of information out there on them. That can't be said yet for the new Yokohamas, but as summer turns to autumn, sites like Tire Rack should be getting enough info into their database to begin some early reports and rankings. We'll see....

I've ruled out the relatively new Continental ExtremeContact DWS due to the many complaints of soft sidewalls that are prone to irreparable damage and squishy cornering. I think that the S-Type may be on the verge of being too heavy for the DWS tire over the long run....

 

Just looked at them. I wouldn't get them since they are directional. Not only can you not rotate directional tires... They also become very noisy and harsh as they wear. The current set of directional tires on my car are the last set I will get. There are plenty asymmetrical performance choices out there...

 

You absolutely CAN rotate directional tires as long as you do so front-to-rear. I do that now with my Hankook Ventus tires - they are also directional, they are pushing 30,000 miles with hopefully another 10,000 miles to go, and they are still quiet. Directional tires don't concern me one bit. You bought a cheap set of Generals - I think that's your primary problem, along with them not being all-season....

 

Just an FYI: I put the Dunlop SPSS's on the front a few months ago and love them. Will probably put them on the rears early next year. Quiet, handle well, and efficient in the wet weather. I've put about 4K miles on they are still nearly perfect.

 

Straight front to rear rotation is NOT an ideal rotation. The best way to achieve truly balanced tread wear is to rotate in a cross pattern. The "cheap" set of Generals were also rated 2nd on Tire Rack's site..and are most definitely all season. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ireSearch=true
If you feel fine running directionals, go right ahead. The harmonic noise generated by directional tires comes from multiple tire shops not just out of thin air. But then again, god forbid anybody disagrees.....

 

I don't have grounds to disagree (though I've used directional tyres with no such noises), but would like to know the alleged reasons for such alleged noise. (Reasons as in: based on science/engineering.) I'm not going to avoid directional tyres at this level of claimed problem.

 

Many directional tires were indeed noisier a few years ago when they were just beginning to increase in popularity, especially as the tread began to show some wear. Over the years, most manufacturers began addressing that issue by incorporating various methods to reduce the noise. This includes using improved compounds throughout the tire, designing different-sized-and-shaped tread blocks across the tread to help minimize harmonic distortion, etc. The better directional tires are much-improved today compared to just 4 or 5 years ago. The key is to do the necessary research before you buy. That includes a lot more than just looking at Tire Rack's ratings. That's a good place to start, but choosing a tire involves a significant amount of investigation (especially if the tire model is new and there is little data to be found as a result). Of course, you also must take care of those tires throughout their lifespan. I check all of our tire pressures weekly, not monthly as recommended by the tire industry. Most drivers probably don't check their pressures more than a couple of times a year, if that. I rotate our tires at every oil & filter change. Rotating front-to-rear may not be ideal, but it's a hell of a lot better than no rotation at all. And I check the treadwear across the tires at least every couple of weeks with my tread gauge to be sure that the tires are wearing evenly across their contact surface as well as to help me spot potential alignment issues as early as possible....

A lot of guys here on the forum are **** about their vehicle's appearance. Well, I'm **** about our vehicles' tires. In the event of a crash (or crash avoidance using evasive manuevers), optimally cared-for tires may very well be the deciding factor between life and death....

Again, do the research well before you buy. That's what I've always done and I've had great success with our tires across all of our vehicles, past and present. You can bet I'll do plenty of research on these Yokohamas before I decide whether or not I'll choose them over the already-researched Dunlops. It will take quite a bit of convincing information to cause me to buy the Yokos because 1) the Dunlops are tried and tested with a great deal of data out there and 2) the Dunlops will cost $10 to $15 less per tire than the Yokos. Both carry a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty....


ChrisSTR,

Thanks for your feedback on the Dunlops. Glad to learn that you are very happy with them. They have been Number One on my list since early January, and still are. We'll see how it goes with my Yokohama investigation....

 

I've just clocked up 60,000 Kms on a set of Yokohama S Droves. They've been fantastic, and probably still have 10,000 left in them.

BTW - they are directional and the front/rear rotation has been fine, provided you have the alignment and balance done at the same time. I'm on the 2nd rotation now and no problems at all. They are a greattyre for the S Type.

Have checked out replacing them, and sought other input, and my Jag mechanic in Ringwood, Australia, suggests the KUHMO KU-31. Kuhmo is now the best regarded of the Korean tyre companies and I've seen plenty of positive reports on the KU-31, and they are 20% cheaper with a longer expected road life.

Anything would be better than the Pirelli P6000s originally.

But I'm happy to take any other advice on a replacement.

 

Keep in mind that the primary complaint about the vast majority of the Korean tires on the market has long been that they just don't deliver the lengthy tread life that some of the Japanese and American tires are capable of. I have several friends who run various Kuhmo tires on vehicles ranging from a Mustang 5.0 to a Miata and while they're happy with the price and performance, very rarely does a set of Kuhmos last them more than 25,000 miles. These are car guys who know how to take care of their tires, so it's not due to neglect. Of course, the heavy right foot that my friend who owns the Mustang has may very quickly wear out ANY set of tires he puts on that car....

 

Some of the Avid ENVigor tire literature I requested from Yokohama Corporate arrived in today's mail, including the full-color fold-out brochure. The car pictured on the brochure's front cover wearing a new set of these tires? A Jaguar XF....

 

How's that for a sign...

I'm in the market for tires so I was happy to see this thread running. I took a look at the Yokohama AVID ENVigor tires and like the price point. There are a couple reviews on tire rack, just under different car brands (I read some for the pontiac grand prix).

I have the Micheline Pilots now and felt overall they were/are a good tire. Sitting at around 35,000 now and could strech them out to 40,000.

 

Jeff,

I have the default Hankooks the dealers like to use and it does seem as though they are getting noisier as they wear. This is after about a year and a half on them. They have always seemed to be a bit on the harsh side but this may have been in comparison to the XJ I had previously. I will probably rotate them to see if I notice any difference, assuming I don't break any lugnuts in the process. Generally though they seem to perform satisfactorily but are definitely built to a price.

Mike

 

I rotated our S-Type's Hankooks yesterday as part of my typical oil & filter change on that car. The tires have just over 30,000 miles on them now and are between 3/32 and 4/32 of remaining tread all the way around. I keep them at 32 to 33 psi year-round since my wife is the primary driver. If I were the primary driver, I would run them at 35 to 36 psi for a greater chance of extending the treadlife. They have become a fraction noisier but still handle just fine as always. They have never hydroplaned. A few months ago I thought they might do 40,000 miles before they're shot, but I'm revising that downwards now to maybe 35,000 miles. They carry a 50,000-mile warranty from Hankook so it will be interesting to see what Hankook will do when they learn that I will not be purchasing a new set of their tires for this vehicle. I want a pro-rated cash refund from them, not a credit towards new replacement Hankook tires. That may be difficult to win, but you can bet that I'll certainly try....

The Dunlop SP Sport Signature is still number one on my list as the next tire for this car. I like what I'm learning about the new Yokohama EnVigor, but I believe that I'll be able to work a much better financial deal on the Dunlops. We'll see....

 

I have an 06 4.2 S that I purchased new. It came with
Conti ProContact all season tires. Now, the majority of my
driving (over 90%) is highway driving in the Pacific Northwest.
If there's one thing we have in WA, it's rain, followed by rain,
with a 100% chance of rain. Thus, my priorities are wet handling,
quiet, and cost per mile.

My general driving habits are subdued, to say the least. (You
don't have much choice in WA as the speed limits are low and
the H.P. will nail ya for 5 over). Somewhere in WA I heard there
is a stretch of I-5 where you can actually drive 70, but rumor
has it it's only 10 blocks long.

The Contis lasted 38K miles at which time the tread was down
to the wear bars. I wasn't impressed with the wet handling, and,
the noise seemed above average. I switched to Michelin Primacy
MX something or other with a 60K wear rating. The car just turned
85K and the tires measure 7/11; that tells me they should easily go
60k and possibly 75K. They are quieter than the Contis, and, the
wet weather handling exceeds my expectations. Last winter, I
found a parking lot with standing water and tried to break them
loose in a fast turn; impossible.

If the tire meets my basic expectations, I simply divide the total
cost of the 4 tires...installation, etc...by miles expected to get a
cost per mile. Keep in mind that you may find a cheaper tire that
gives you the same cost over a 35k mile use, but you have to factor
the installation cost, etc. over the same period.

A few months ago I had them rotated (free at Discount Tire where
I purchased them) and noticed that Michelin has a new tire with
a 90K treadwear warranty. That will probably be my next choice
when these wear out. Finally, the tires went 23K between between
rotation, and, didn't lose a pound of air!...for what that's worth.

 

What size are the Michelins, and what did you pay for them?

Also, tread depth is expressed in 32nds of an inch. What do your four tires currently measure?