Yokohama Avid H4 - Sticky Tires for An El-Cheapo Price! UPDATED!
Written: Apr 29 '03 (Updated Nov 27 '04)
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Pros: Precise, sharp handling, great cornering
Cons: You may have to order this tire
The Bottom Line: I will buy these again, but perhaps go up to the Avid T4's that have a longer tread life.
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| CRXLover88's Full Review: Yokohama AVID H4 Passenger/Performance Tire |
You'd think from noticing my Epinions name that I drive a Honda CRX. Well, I did years ago (in fact I've had 3 Honda CRX's since 1985) and still regret the day I got rid of the little red rocket car. I now drive a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier Rally Sport, which I bought new 6 years ago.
I purchased the Avid H4 tires in early January 2003 and have put 2,000 miles on them. They replaced the original equipment Goodrich Touring T/A's which still had a lot of tread left, but they had been plugged and patched. The size of tire purchased is: 195 x 65 x 15. I researched lots of tires on-line and since I really like to drive a car hard, I wanted a performance tire. I like to feel the road and want the tire to have good cornering characteristics - these things are very important to me even though I drive a compact car which I don't regard as sporty.
Granted, I've only driven them 2,000 miles, but it's been 2,000 miles of every kind of road condition. Of course, the tread is still like new. These tires have a 45,000 mile tread-life warranty, so I expect these will last me the life of the car.
Ride: Stiff, not squishy at all. These are performance tires, not touring tires. If you want a softer ride, buy a touring tire. Since the rubber is so hard, these tires should last over 45,000 miles if you have them rotated/balanced on schedule. No road noise is noticeable, but I do drive with the stereo turned up.
Cornering: My Cavalier doesn't have the stiff suspension that comes standard in the Z24 Cavaliers, it's pretty much the same suspension that comes with the base Cavalier. Very mushy with the OEM Goodrich tires. Much improved cornering with the Avid H4's. I only wish I would have had these tires on my CRX. I can take 90 degree turns about 5 MPH faster now with these tires.
Driving in Rain: Great control, no hydroplaning whatsoever, even at speeds up to 80 MPH. These tires have 2 deep V-grooves in the center of the tire, which helps to channel the rain away from where the tire meets the surface of the road. Braking is very good, would be excellent if I had new brake pads.
Driving in Snow: Just a few days after mounting these tires, we had a wet 10" snowfall in Indianapolis. These tires had much better traction than the Goodrich OEM tires. I mean, I couldn't drive as fast as your typical 4 wheel drive truck, but they got me there without sliding, and whenever I had to stop, I stopped in a straight line.
All the above are what I consider as "pro's". Now for the only "con" for this tire I can think of: I had to order these tires as no one locally carries them. I find it hard to believe that in a city the size of Indianapolis, not one tire store carried the Yokohama Avid series. Tires Plus had the best price, and it took them almost a month to get them in. They couldn't tell me what the holdup was. Hopefully I won't have to have any of these tires replaced - if I do, I'll have to settle for an unmatched tire.
Pet Peeve: Tires themselves are pretty cheap. What really gets to me is all the add-on's that really jack up the price. It was $60.00 for valve stems and balancing - ridiculous. Then Indiana tacks on a new tire fee, and a tire disposal charge - this is $10 additional. Tires Plus adds $4.00 for miscellaneous shop supplies - who knows what that was - am I paying for their dirty rags? Just be aware of all the additional charges you can encounter.
UPDATE: November 27, 2004. I have had these Yokohama's on my car for almost 2 years now. They still look like brand new and I am still very pleased with my purchase.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 48.00
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Epinions.com ID:
CRXLover88
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Debby
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Reviews written: 102
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
I love Las Vegas, Ebay, cats & dogs...I miss the OLD Epinions.
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