Choosing the right tire means doing extensive market research and shopping online to get the best price. If you are looking for a good, affordable, and all season highway driving tire. I guess the Yokohama Avid Touring S might be the best option to meet your requirements. To save you some time, we have done the research for you about it. All you need to do is read through the whole section and do due diligence in the last part.
Why choose this tire? Actually, you do not need to instantly choose this tire, instead evaluate and decide later. There several things to love and gripe about this unit which you will know later. This tire has three main benefits to offer you: silent ride, compatibility with any season, and longer tread life which lets you save more. In terms of compatibility, you can have this for passenger cars, mini vans, or even SUVs and crossovers.
There are several tires in the market which offers comparable benefits and even more but for a greater cost. This one offers a great tradeoff compared to expensive ones. If you are still not convinced, together we will review and scrutinize the specs and performance of this tire to check if it can satisfy your needs.
About Yokohama Tire Corporation
The main manufacturing plant and origin of this company are in Tokyo, Japan – The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. This company was founded by the convergence of BFGoodrich Company and the Yokohama Electric Cable Manufacturing Company.
They have gained much knowledge about tire features and performance by joining several motorsports worldwide. Yokohama produced their first snow tire during 1954 while the first tubeless tires on 1955. Likewise, their flagship brand is “ADVAN”.
Currently, they have established a global presence in 120 countries and two of its manufacturing facilities are located in the United States. In North America, Yokohama Tire Corporation is the production and marketing branch of the main company in Tokyo.
Yokohama has continued to live up to their basic philosophy of creating beneficial and value for money products that promote the well-being and convenience of the people. Likewise, research and development are one of their major strengths in meeting this philosophy.
Features
The basic features of a tire which you need to look for include tire compound, tread design, and warranty service. Now, let us go over these essential features and see if this tire unit exceeds your expectations or not.
Tire Compound
The tread life of this tire model has been improved by using the Tri-Plex Tread Compound. This is a patented new innovation by Yokohama which increases durability and traction aspects of the tire. This tire is much affordable compared to the Yokohama tires with patented Orange Oil. The oil adds up to the tire’s unit cost and perhaps they need to replace it with a low-cost but comparable durability. Thus, strength and quality are still comparable to those similar models with Orange Oil. Further, the embedded twin steel belts wrapped with nylon puts that extra tensile strength.
Tread Design
The compound used for this tire is molded into a tread design pattern which enhanced the wet traction, handling, and reduced noise driving performance. For the tread design, it includes the following: tapered rain channels, circumferential grooves, cross traction sipes, silent shoulder with several sipes and varying tread block, and at the center of the tire is a twin rail rib for enhanced stability.
Warranty
Most customers would also look at the after-sales service in case there might be problems with the product or service offered. For this tire, it offers a 65,000 mileage warranty and a 30-day trial.
Performance
Knowing these features is because it will justify the expected performance of the tire. Below is the performance review of this tire model.
Dry Traction
The tread design and groove patterns of this tire are ideal for highway driving and wet surfaces. The groove sizes are not that large that will make the tread life shorter. The cross traction sipes provide better dry and wet brake system and handling due to enhanced biting edges.
Wet Traction
The wet traction of this tire has been greatly improved through its tapered rain channels and cross traction sipes. The tapered rain channels supplemented by the longitudinal grooves allows a quicker and efficient water removal system from the tire surface. The depth of the groove is also sufficient enough to channel the water out. Meanwhile, the cross traction sipes help in effective braking and handling on wet surfaces.
Snow Traction
All tires have their limitations and this one is only limited to little snow conditions. It does not have enough traction to withstand medium to the heavy snow surface.
Noise Level
This tire definitely gives a silent and smooth ride, particularly in highway driving. This amazing quiet feature is attributed to the shoulder design and twin rail rib of the tire. The shoulder design of the tire has alternate tread block sizes which effectively reduces the noise produced in every turn. Meanwhile, a smoother ride is attributed by its twin rail rib which improves center stability when driving.
Tread Life
The UTQG rating of this tire is 620-AB. This means that the tire’s durability is 6.20 times the standard 100-rating tire quality. This is justified by the Tri-Plex Tread Compound of the tire which is reinforced by twin steel belts wrapped with nylon in internal composition.
Pros
- Longer tread life with its Tri-Plex Tread Compound
- Better wet traction with its tapered rain channels and cross traction sipes
- Better brake and handling system
- Affordable
- Smoother ride and low noise level
- 30-day trial and 65,000 mileage warranty
Cons
- Not suitable for medium to heavy winter conditions
- Not that suitable for off-road rides
- Wet traction mechanism must consider oily liquids on the road surfaces
- Dry traction improvement on very steep surfaces
Let Us Wrap Up
Overall, I would say this tire offers more qualities and benefits compared to its equivalent price. True, it may not be the best and most expensive tire you will have but surely it is a great option for highway and comfortable city driving. There are a few gripes about it and I think you have seen that all the way here. Looking at the various performance factors such as dry and wet traction, tread life, noise level, and snow traction. This tire model actually performed above average.
Before you go shopping for tires, make sure you have inspected the compatibility specs of your vehicle. This tire model can fit almost wide arrays of vehicles such as mini vans, SUVs, and passenger cars. When you go shopping for tires, the things you need to look for include vehicle compatibility, tread life, traction, temperature resistance, warranty, and price. Going back, I guess the benefits and features of this tire model is a good tradeoff for an affordable cost.