Almost time for new tires for the GXP.

[05gxp]

Okay, the decision has been made.... The Nitto's are now officially at the wear bars with 35K hard miles on them. The edges show signs of extreme heat from cornering but they are worn evenly and while this tire has a rather "unique" tread design they have performed admirably.

I will be installing the Yokohama Advan S-4's next week.

Report (and maybe even pictures) to follow.

Stay tuned.

[CMNTMXR57]

Nice tire!

I'm also waiting on reviews for the Yoko's like Ed just put on his car, to start coming in. I believe they're a replacement for the V4S/W4S line of tire, which I always liked.

[00Beast]

With 900 miles and an air adjustment on them they're performing great. I'll let you know when I hit 10k, which will probably be almost a year.

[repinS]

Nice tire!

I'm also waiting on reviews for the Yoko's like Ed just put on his car, to start coming in. I believe they're a replacement for the V4S/W4S line of tire, which I always liked.

You're thinking about the Yokohama ENVigor. I like the predecessor V4S/W4S/H4S also. Great in the summer, hopeless in the snow (even though it's an all season), I hope the ENVigor addresses that.

[CMNTMXR57]

Yup.

But I never had issues with the V4S/W4S in snow and had them on about 4 vehicles. The only issue I had with them was that they wore quickly.

[dpnewfie]

I'll be going with the ENVigor's as well; when the time comes of course.

[05gxp]

I actually considered the Envigor and believe it would be a great choice as well. I was more interested in the performance of the tire over mileage and given the small difference in treadwear ratings vs. the traction ratings felt that the Advan S4 (Advan is their High Perf line of products) would deliver better cornering while still offering acceptable wet traction and mileage.

The Envigor does have a 45K warranty (in 'W' speed rated products), 560 treadwear rating and an "A" traction rating where as the S4's have a 400 treadwear and an "AA" traction rating with no mileage warranty.

By comparison the Nitto Invo's had a 260 treadwear rating and I got 35K on them.

If they Advan S4 turns out to not have been a good choice I will put another set on Nitto's on it in a heartbeat!

We will see how well my decision making abilities are as I age.

Also bear in mind that I am running 245/50R18 rather than the 235's

[00Beast]

I got the ENVigors in 235/55R17 99H, not the W's. $60 more for tires that I won't truly use to their full potential, and for 10k less treadwear? I think I did the right thing. We'll see if there is a difference.

[CMNTMXR57]

How are you doing space wise against the strut primarily, then lock to lock with those bigger 245's? I wanted to do this with my F1's, but settled on the 235's simply because I didn't have the time or patience to start playing around with it.

[05gxp]

It is tight!

As mentioned previously, they do rub on the rearward splash guards/inner fenderwell when at full lock (but only like backing out of a driveway, not on u turns). There is minimal clearance between the tire and the strut so going bigger is not an option.

I will see if I can get some pics of the Nitto's taken this weekend.

[05gxp]

Okay, the Yokohama Advan S-4's are on!

Drove about 70 miles after install through some seriously twisty mountain roads. Still too early to tell but so far I think this may turn out to be a good choice.

Very smooth and comfortable and although brand new I was able to get some heat in them and scrub them on the twisties.

As mentioned before, they are the biggest tire size that fits and they are tight.

I will try to take some pictures this weekend and get them posted.

Oh yeah, it needs front hub bearings replaced too

[dpnewfie]

Keep us posted on these tires.

BTW, the hubs are an easy install. Took me about 1.5 hours.

Norm

[All Things Gxp]

Is that a good price for the pirelli's? and is that a good place to buy from?
http://discounttires.com/list.php?getli ... +this+make

[Neanderthal]

I have about 5,000 miles on the Conti DWS and am happy with them.
They cost 198/188 F/R, stock size front and rear is the size you're talking about here, 235.50.18 since they don't make a 225.50.18. Yet.
Total was $919 installed with lifetime balance at the local Discount Tire.

[GXPete]

Guess I jumped back into this post at the right time, cuz I just put the Conti ExtremeContact DWS tires on mine too. They were dang hard to find - national backorder on them. Strangely enough though, after all that a small local tire shop was able to get them for me and at the lowest price I'd seen - $167/tire and these are the ZR's! I let my dealer mount and balance them cuz I wanted to do an alignment as well. But like Neanderthal said, I can get free rotations and balance for life at the tire shop where I bought them.

I've put about 400 miles on them and I'm liking them. They ride better than the RS/A tires. Haven't had much chance to try aggressive driving on them, but they feel good. Got rid of the 70 mph shudder to boot, but that probably had more to do with the balance than the tires.

[05gxp]

Okay... I am at 6K on the Yokohama Advan S-4's and time for first rotation. A few observations....

These things are very smooth and equally quiet!
They do not handle as good as the Nitto's when pushed.
They are quite acceptable in the rain (so far, we haven't gotten much rain yet).
If the wear I am seeing at 6K is any indication these will last a very long time.

I tried to take pictures showing the clearance (or lack thereof) between the tire and strut but my photo taking skills are poor at best. See for yourself.











Time for new pads and rotors. I got about 25K out of the OEM front pads and am over 50K on the Akebono pads... given that they perform very well and have lasted twice a long as originals I am probably going back to them. I am torn on which rotors to buy and will either be going with the EBC or SSBC units. And repainting the caliper brackets.