New Tires - Yokohama AVS ES100, 205/60-15 - Any opinions? Options

[avidfanjpl]

I finally got totally sick of the Sumitomo HTR 200's for being nothing but greasy and generally a loose ride.

May put them on another set of rims and keep them around for a while.

Anyone like the ES100's from Yokohama? I did not want to go with 50 series.

Thanks!

John

[JimmyG]

What would be the closest thing to racing tires for road driving?

[pcar916]

What would be the closest thing to racing tires for road driving?

DOT (road legal) racing tires. Plenty of manufacturers make 'em.

Toyo
Yokohama
Bridgestone
Kuhmo
Hancook, and more

Go to TireRack and have a look in your size. They aren't the only ones.

Vilven Tire
Vulcan

Here's the thing. They won't last a long time. Toyo Proxes RA-1's are about the best I've found for durability vs grip and I love 'em. But the rubber is quite different. Street tires, to varying degrees, are formulated to retain heat.

With the exception of AX tires, race rubber (including DOT race rubber) is formulated to shed heat. AX tires are very different from road-race tires since they need to heat up very quickly. Facts about race rubber.

1. They have a limited number of heat cycles in them before the rubber gets hardened and slippery. When you run a racing tire on the road you accumulate a lot of heat cycles if it's a daily driver.

2. Many will have to be shaved (tread removed) to keep them from chunking due to heat. If they have tread, they are for rain which cools the rubber. If not for water there would be absolutely no reason for tread and we'd all use slicks all the time.

3. Race compounds need to be heat-cylcled. That's bringing them up to 180F and letting them cool (unloaded) over a day or two, in order to align the rubber molecules for durability. This isn't trivial. It will extend the life of a tire by up to roughly 35% - 50% depending on the tire and it's usage.

4. Tire rack will do both for you and others as well. But it will cost you. You can heat-cycle them yourself if you go out to the track or a big parking lot and scrub them in with drifting or something like it, but you then have to raise the car for 24hrs or remove the tires to let them cure.

5. Race tires have to be at a higher temperature to attain the grip advertised by their traction rating. On the road they may seldom get to that temperature. In fact, in cool weather you'll have considerably less grip than good street tires.

6. AX tires will wear out very quickly on the road. Period.

7. Their resistance to punctures may be less than street tires. The really light ones are notoriously fragile but make for the best handling because they reduce your unsprung-weight.

So running DOT racing rubber has it's advantages but only with specific usage.

Good luck