[rjstyles69]

Disclaimer : This review is solely based on my driving style and experience after having changed to Yoko's. Nothing written here is from hear-say, all from my own experience.

Upgrading tires was the 1st thing on my mind when I picked up the Scorp' . The Scorp' comes with standard 235/70/R16 Bridgestone Duelers HT from the factory. I bargained hard for these tires while buying the scorp' since there were shipments coming with the JK Elanzo's too.

The only deciding factor was the exchange prices I would be offered for these tires while upgrading. I did close to 5k clicks with the Dueler HT's and they weren't to my liking. Did quite a few shorts sprints to Mysore and Wayanad and one long trip to Vagamon.

Never became a fan of these tires for the following factors

1 - Road Noise
2 - Braking was pathetic even with ABS I could hear the tires squeal during hard braking.
3 - Aqua-planing was way too evident ,drive into a water puddle and absolutely no traction, I experienced this 1st hand during our drive to Vagamon.


Definitely not my piece of cake. Having moved over from a torquey sedan to a SUV my quest for good tires only got stronger.Come Dec 2009 I was in the market hunting for tires before my new years long drive which involved some of the worst roads karnataka could offer. You can read my travelogue here (My sojourn:Theerthahalli-Kuppali-Agumbe-Kundapur-Karkala-Mlr-Bekal-Muzhappilangad) .

When driving equally on paved roads, highways and off roads(the indian highways) hence considered going for an all-terrain tire.

I had only 3 choices in my mind Yokohoma/Maxxis/BF Goodrich. Started off my hunt and got price quotes from various dealers in town. Did a fair amount of research and all of the 3 had their own loyal fan followers.


Maxxis had just then come up with something called as the " Multi stepped grooves" (cant quite remember the name) which was pretty similar to the Yoko's and BF's. The multi stepped grooves is however patented by Yoko's.

Wasn't too impressed with the Maxxis , don't ask me why could have been a mind block. The BF's were awesome and butch looking , but my gripe was the markings in white.

My mind was all set on the Yoko's since I have been a fan of them from the days of my baleno. The S-drives were simply awesome and I knew when they could make something like the Advans and the S-drives they could never go wrong with the AT/S range.
Called up Hercules tires and spoke to the owner. He offered me a price too good to desist and the devil in me was grinning teeth to teeth. Well I was offered a price of 6450 per tyre and the size was 255/65/R16.

2500/- per tire for my older BS Dueler's which had run 5k.
Alignment and balancing free.

I dint look any further and simply swapped them out and drove out a happy man from the tire shop. The real acid test was only to come during my new years trip.

Initially I could hardly notice the difference because of the city driving. Come Dec 27th and we were off for a long sojourn and trust me I did put these tyres definitely thru some acid test.

It was a complete salad of roads that these tires had to go thru. They never squealed or complained , simply took everything in its stride.

Some features what Yokohama have added on their website

1 - Multi stepped grooves
Increase surface area of the tread to increase traction in dirt or loose gravel while simultaneously reducing tread squirm for enhanced on-road capabilities.

The OTR gurus can comment here since from what I have read these are the most benefitted folks from the multi stepped grooves.

2 - Four Circumferential Grooves
Join forces to displace water for increased wet traction.

3 - Dual interlocking Pyramind Sipes
Maintain tread block rigidity for improved tire wear and excellent
all-weather traction.

4 - Rounded Edged Tread Blocks
Soften the contact between individual tread blocks and the ground to combat uneven tire wear and reduce noise.

5 - Aggressive Side wall protectors
Fight off sidewall cuts and abrasions, and increase off-road bite.

6 - Large tread blocks
Means more stability at highway speeds and enhanced handling with less noise.

7 - Staggered Center blocks.
Means more stability at highway speeds and enhanced handling with less noise.

Not all of these mattered to a novice driver like me in the world of SUV's. Road noise,handling and wet traction were the key considerations in my quest.

It wouldn't be fair on my part to compare the HT's with the AT's. However if only our manufacturers proactively gave away SUV's with AT tires. Not all 2WD SUV's are only gonna be always highway driven.

what are HT tyres built for

HT (High Terrain) tyres are recommended for drivers who spend limited time off-road. These tyres have a shallower tread depth, which allows lower noise levels because there is less air passing through the tread grooves.

This shallow depth also improves speed durability due to the lower heat generation. The shallow grooves may not be very good for a muddy trail however, it’s good enough to expel water on wet bitumen.

The tires have thinner side walls when compared to other terrain types and this greatly improves ride comfort because the tyre casing is more flexible. The use of thinner belt wire also gives a smoother ride because the tread
area conforms to the road surface much more easily.

Using HT tires will limit your off-road driving capabilities. It's not that the tyre is incapable of handling offroad situations, however it will make obstacles such as sand and mud far more difficult to manoeuvre with ease.

The AT tires

The preferred choice for 4WD owners who wants to use their vehicle both on and off road. Unlike HT (Highway Terrain) tyres, the extra void in the pattern improves grip on unsealed surfaces and aids clearing of mud and dirt from the tread surface.

Considerable advances in technologies mean these tyres can now be used for everyday driving on the road, with acceptable level of grip and ride comfort. Better tyre designs have improved traction, greater gravel wear
resistance and decreased stone retention. Bruise and puncture resistance is supported by multiple full-width steel belts, whilst giving precise steering response and cornering control.

Over time I even found out that these tires self cleaned themselves. The tires had accumulated a lot of muck between the grooves while driving via the forests of NR Pet, Shimoga. All it took was 1km on normal hardened surface which never had any tarmac, all the stuck and hardened muck was history. Samurai confirmed this during his OTR stint in Coorg.

My take on the Geolander AT-S

Sidewall strength

Haven't taken a real hard hit, albeit I did take a hit once en-route Karkala and all has been well. I checked the tire for any visible damage and none.

Road Noise

The deep tread with these tyres is what have reduced the tyre noise to acceptable limits. Drive a 1000kms and am sure the tire noise wont overshadow your music.

Aquaplaning

I really cant comment much coz since I picked up these tires, bangalore has been devoid of rains. Only experiment was in Kannur at Mauzhippalangad beach.

As of now I have done close to 3.5k clicks with the Geolanders and they have been a hoot to drive around with. I mean no offense to any of BFG or BS Dueler fans. Money well spent is all I can say for now.

Your choices with the AT's

1 - Bridgestone D694
2 - Pirelli Scorpion A/T
3 - BF Goodrich T/A
4 - Maxxis Bravo Series

[suman]

Nice review Riju!

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

As of now I have done close to 3.5k clicks with the Geolanders and they have been a hoot to drive around with.

Money well spent is all I can say for now.

And that, in a nutshell is what I can say about my Yoko Geo ATs as well - after having clocked 25k kms on them

[condor]

Riju, when's the alloys coming ? Would make the change complete.

Yoko's exactly what's on my mind for the next round. Considering feedback from you & Suman, these should be safe choice for me too.

(I have done 54k on the OE BS duellers, and these are looking good for another 30-40k atleast.)

And nice pics, as always. Would have liked a couple of more close-ups.

[rjstyles69]

Thanks Suman.

Originally Posted by condor

Riju, when's the alloys coming ? Would make the change complete.

Parwath no dabbu for now . All broke and I gotto wait till my next paycheck comes through.

Originally Posted by condor

Yoko's exactly what's on my mind for the next round. Considering feedback from you & Suman, these should be safe choice for me too.

Have a look at the BF's too.

Originally Posted by condor

(I have done 54k on the OE BS duellers, and these are looking good for another 30-40k atleast.)

Apparently these tires (used) sell like hot cakes amongst the cabbies.

Originally Posted by condor

And nice pics, as always. Would have liked a couple of more close-ups.

Thanks. Close ups meant cleaning the tyres which wasn't an option here. The soil was red in color and I had a layer of dust already resting on the body when I drove to this location.

[raj_5004]

great review buddy. even my older scorpio has the same tyres but it has white lettering on its sidewall. i agree its a great & VFM purchase.

[suman]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

great review buddy. even my older scorpio has the same tyres but it has white lettering on its sidewall. i agree its a great & VFM purchase.

The 15 inchers (old Scorpio & TCIC Safari) come with white lettering

[ScorpMan]

RJ, how is the pickup, ride comfort & steering feel after the upsize? Is there any noticeable drop in FE? And, hope the new tyres dont touch anywhere while negotiating lock-to-lock u turns.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by ScorpMan

RJ, how is the pickup, ride comfort & steering feel after the upsize? Is there any noticeable drop in FE? And, hope the new tyres dont touch anywhere while negotiating lock-to-lock u turns.

Scorpman I simply can vouch for these tires after my recent road trip. Has been brilliant in terms of handling and ride comfort. The steering feels better and road noise is next to zilch. If there's any at all you can live with it coz its hardly noticeable.

Naada it doesn't touch anywhere except for the road .

[ScorpMan]

Thanks RJ. After your assurance and so many rave reviews for the Yoko's, I will surely go for them, and that too 255's.

[sidcruise79]

Just got my Safari's Yoko's rotated. Then I realised I didn't know whether they are uni or bi -directional.
Yoko users please shed some light on this.

[condor]

@Sidcruise, what is the model of the tyre ?

[sidcruise79]

Originally Posted by condor

@Sidcruise, what is the model of the tyre ?

They are Yokohama Geolander AT-S, Size- 235/70 R16. Bought in July 2009.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by sidcruise79

Just got my Safari's Yoko's rotated. Then I realised I didn't know whether they are uni or bi -directional.
Yoko users please shed some light on this.

Originally Posted by sidcruise79

They are Yokohama Geolander AT-S, Size- 235/70 R16. Bought in July 2009.

They are not uni-directional.

What's your odo now?

[razor4077]

Nice review Riju. I had these on my Scorpio as well, and was very happy with them. Didn't get a chance to do much off-roading with them, but they were very well behaved in the city and on the highway in dry or wet conditions. Huge step-up from the JK Brute 4x4s I used to run before.

I would add another tyre to the list of choices for AT tyres: Michelin LTX-AT. I've heard good things about these tyres, but they are costlier than the others.

[sidcruise79]

Originally Posted by jkdas

They are not uni-directional.

What's your odo now?

Thanks JK. They have run for 12K km's. How does one figure out the correct direction.