Team-BHP - Yokohama A-Drive Reviews

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon (Post 2885790)

^^^Yokos are soft compound. I don't think they will harden appreciably that early. Not actually observed it either.

Raccoon, After 3-4 yrs all car tyres get hardened even if not used, because they are exposed to elements of harsh weather. I dont know about A-Drive tyres as this is my first set i am using. Bridgestone tyres on my santro did only 28K in three yrs and i am able to notice big difference in ride and breaking for the next 5000K, so i changed to yokos after 33K. I have to wait and watch the performance of A-Drive tyres.

My friend used bridgestone tyres on his santro for 68K in 7 yrs, one fine day the front left tyre just split open in parking while he is about to leave his hospital. He did not care even after repeated warnings form friends. Lucky he is not on road which would otherwise have been a disaster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachinj12 (Post 2886042)

How long does the Yoko A-drive last? I have 23k clicks and the tires have almost worn out. I think they are good to go for another 10k clicks. Maybe I can push it up to 13k clicks at the most. What is the expected life of these A-drives?

The A-Drives on my swift have done 35k kms till date and looks for about 10k more at the most. I think they might be good for around 40k kms. Again it depends on the usage too, the kind of roads it has been used on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by addyhemmige (Post 2886082)

Mine runs mostly on the highway. Out of 23k, maybe 3-3.5k is city running,rest is highway. Even if the running is primarily on highway, I feel the wear is bit on the higher side. However, I have not had any uneven wear or steering vibrations or any other problems. I am completely satisfied with the tires. The only grouse being the higher wear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drbones (Post 2886054)

Tyre just splitting open like that suggests bad quality. I know it was 7 years old, but I'v seen older tyres in use, of course with tread wear and of course rubber hardening. But splitting open like that (unless it has happened due to some valid cause) certainly suggests bad quality. Generally tyres should be safe for use for about 6 years. Of course there would be some loss of traction and ride would not be as smooth towards the end... depending on brand/quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon (Post 2889274)

Tyre just splitting open like that suggests bad quality. I know it was 7 years old, .. But splitting open like that .. certainly suggests bad quality. Generally tyres should be safe for use for about 6 years. .

COntradicting yourself, sir ?

You say tyres should be safe for about 6 years. If tyre has lasted beyond that, isnt it good quality - by your own words ? How did the tyre become bad if it has lasted more than what you yourself have said ?

^^^Where is the contradiction? I guess I haven't stated it elaborately - I ment a good tyre is said to be good for use upto 6 years in "normal" conditions. This is irrespective of tread wear. After 6 years or so, the hardness can be beyond what is required for reasonably safe traction. But it should definitely not just split open one fine day, as described above. That is of course unless it has been damaged in some way.

I'v seen a lot of tyres in use beyond 6-7 years. Traction and tread wear aside, not seen one that just split open one fine day.

After 33k kms on my Tjet, the Goodyear Eagle NCT 5 needed a replacement. I was surprised since on my Petra, the NCT5 had run for about 50k kms.

I picked up 4 new Yoko A drive R1 in size 205/55/R16 (which is the stock size). I paid Rs 6,750 per tire. One of the tires on the car had done about 12k kms. The stepney was brand new NCT5 and was a replacement tire for the one on the tire on the car that had blown on a pothole and for which i got a replacement through the insurance company. The dealer agreed to take back the unused stepney for 6k. Thus in total, I paid 21k for 4 new R's, and got the relatively lesser used tire as the stepney. This was a good deal for me since i didnt want to run the car on 1 used and 3 new tires.

I picked them up from Sai Iyengar on Lalbagh Road Bangalore. I have picked up all my tires from him.

There was an offer of an Arrow shirt free when you buy 4 Yokos. For some reason, i didnt ask for it, although he had initially mentioned about it.

First impression of the tire - feels lighter on the steering. Not sure if this is psychological though !

Just bought Yokohama Advan Sport replacing my run-flats which had just done over 15k km and had a blotted front tyre.

Since the change was from a run-flat to normal radial as well as from a goodyear to yokohama, i can feel a sea change in the driving comfort.

The harsh ride of run-flats have gone into the wind.
The hard steering of the X1 is suddenly as good as the steering of a normal vehicle with electronic power steering, parking maneuvers is a breeze rather than muscle flexing exercises.
High speeds have become more confidence building drives.
The road noise is completely gone.

I have fallen in love with my vehicle once again.

I had to buy the tyres from Reliance Autozone at Ambience Mall Gurgaon as they had quite a few brands of the tyre size that i required 225 50 R 17, secondly they were ready to buy back the 3 run flat tyres that i had, i got a deal of Rs 8000 for the three tyres and a further discount of Rs 3000 for the whole set of 4 tyres, it cost me Rs 39000/- in all for the 4 tyres after the buy back and all discounts. Others can throw light on the price offered.

The shop also had Michelin tyres of the same specs, but once i felt the sidewalls of both the tyres i preferred Yokos as the sidewalls of Michelin felt like banana peel.

Sweetness of the deal was i have got hold of one guy in the shop who is completely aware of all the nuances of running without a stepny and he is arranging a steel rim with tyre as well as the jack and tools required for the stepny, so that will make a spare tyre set for me, it should not cost me more than Rs 2-3k.

Got the A-Drives put on my 2006 Verna, the 175/70 R14 Apollos that it was clad with were just way too skinny for this car, no grip, no weightiness (yes, steering I know., but tyres too!) especially since it already has an over-servoed steering.
Anyway, the 195/60 has transformed the handling, to some extent. There is virtually no change in ride quality, the grip has improved by leaps and bounds and tyre noise has also reduced.
On a straight road, the car seems very composed at speeds this side of 140. The steering weighs up just about adequately now (still doesn't cut it with me). However as soon as you show it a corner, the steering is back to its original feel. Or rather the lack of it. Though still marginally better than before.
Got a set of 4 for Rs. 4850 each. No exchange since my previous tyres were almost completely gone.
Definitely more VFM than the Michelin XM1 that I was looking at and I'm super satisfied with its performance. The car's done around 2000km since I got it. Hope they last for the next 38k km!
Overall, a great buy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mango_pal (Post 2929019)

I replaced the Bridgestone B250s on my 2008 Verna CRDI SX with 195/60 A-Drives in 2010, and have done 29,000 kms since then. In addition to the benefits you listed down:

1. I do frequent highway drives, and the previous tyres had a habit of inducing wobble at speeds above 140 kmph. A design defect. The A-Drives feel smooth upto 160 kmph. You can't hold on to anything beyond this speed on Indian highways, plus the car itself lightens up too much for comfort :).

2. A-Drives are very silent, and designed to dissipate heat and run cooler over long drives. This is a benefit when you're looking to do 500+ kms in a day.

3. Even at 29,000 kms, the tyres have a fair amount of grip left. Recently they've been recording some punctures, but that could be as much due to Gurgaon's potholed roads as to the tyres themselves!

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v (Post 2933420)

How is the performance of Adrive R1. I was looking for S drive for my Skoda VRS. I was told by the dealer that only AR01 is now on sale as S drive has been dicontinued due to ISI issue.

I need 205 50 16. Any other options?

I feel Adrive R1 is a bit bouncy when compared to S drives but absorbs potholes better. I compared this with my bro's ride with runs on 205/50/R16 on his Swift. Are you sure that S Drive is not available anymore? I'm planning to buy a new set for my car. I dont want any rejected/factory stocks to my head. Where did you get the news? I had checked with local shops few weeks back and they said they have S drives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by naveen.raju (Post 2933869)

I am more concerned about grip and barking around corners and at higher speeds. I am pretty satisfied for Sdrive performance. Yoko dealer told me. I cross checked another couple of them. As per them its not coming since last 6 months. Its at-least not available in Delhi. Do check the DOT before you buy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by v&v (Post 2933977)

Both S Drives and ADriveR1's performed well. But S Drive should be a bit better since its more comfortable. This is just a personal opinion. Tested on Swift with both tires.