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Tires - Yokohama Avid Ascent GT ?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by jaw444, Mar 29, 2019.

  1. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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    i ran over something in the road today and my left side tires rolled over it, it was made of metal and both tires were destroyed, i was towed to a tire place and i went home to figure out, urgently, what kind of tires to get. i have been trying to decide by reading stuff on the web. The guy at the tire shop said to look at Yokohama Avid Ascent GT. he had first recommended Goodyear Eagle RS/A. This was based on what i said i was looking for. when i first got my 07 prius, pre-owned in 1/09, it needed tires and after researching on Prius Chat, i got Goodyear Assurance Triple Tread, and they were great, i loved them for their ability to hold the road, stable, secure, short stopping distance, tight on turns, no problems in heavy rain. i drive in a lot of traffic in LA and feel rushed in those conditions, try to get around traffic, and to maximize safety, i need tires of that kind. they wore out in 2012 and were replaced with Hankook set that cost $250 less than the GY Triple Tread set. Horrible :( squishy, skidding, just pulling out of a driveway, they skidded, i kept taking them back to Discount tires and asking them to put more air in them. They said there were no leaks but it seemed like it. they were like that until today. I have been needing to replace them, i don't drive much anymore, my car had 28K on it when i got it in 09 and it only has about 75K now, since i retired in 2013 very little driving, but i still want tires that will be safe for me, i would rather spend more, anything, than have tires that are squishy and poor traction. i was looking at reviews for the Yokohama GTs on consumer reports, good over all, but i don't know how they will be for a Prius. Wondering if anyone knows about these or recommends any other, comfort and noise are not priorities, and like i said, i'd rather pay more than experience long term regret, or worse, be unsafe with the way i drive. thanks
     
  2. 09Prius2

    09Prius2 Member

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    What you're looking for in ratings is wet traction.

    Go on tire rack.com, look up your size and compare all the rated tires... not all of them have been tested or have feedback.

    The prius is a light car, so it will slide around in bad weather if the tires are too hard. That was my experience with the yokos, but every tread design is different.

    I would compare all the numerical ratings on tire rack and find a tire with consistently good ratings in all conditions. Dry, wet, and snow if you get it.
     
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  3. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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    trying to delete weird duplicate message that happened when i clicked and typed Edit on the first reply attempt. the outcome was the reply as intended, and below it, part of the same reply. i am trying to delete that. i got an error saying i have to type something, i can't just remove all the text, so i typed this and hope it will work.
     
    #3 jaw444, Mar 30, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2019
  4. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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  5. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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    it won't let me edit. Every time i click edit and type something, it makes a whole new message. am i doing something to cause that? typical of the way this whole day is going. but not as bad as destroying tires.
     
  6. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    The Yokohama came up near the top for me, too. It was number 3, but so much cheaper with nearly identical ratings that it's a no-brainer. I'm thinking about getting them next month.
    https://www.tirerack.com/tires/dg/TireDecisionServlet?step=processRankings&displayAttributes=false&wethandling=4&wintertraction=4&dryhandling=4&ridecomfort=4&wear=4&price=4
     
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    The Yokohama came up near the top for me, too. It was number 3, but so much cheaper with nearly identical ratings that it's a no-brainer. I'm thinking about getting them next month.
    https://www.tirerack.com/tires/dg/TireDecisionServlet?step=processRankings&displayAttributes=false&wethandling=4&wintertraction=4&dryhandling=4&ridecomfort=4&wear=4&price=4
     
  8. 09Prius2

    09Prius2 Member

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    That is what you want. You never know with tires alot of times a new design will beat out more expensive tires. Just have to do the research to be sure.
     
  9. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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    Hi Jerry -- did you get those tires? I've been having major problems ever since i got them in how my car drives but i'm not at all sure it's the tires, it might be because what led to getting the tires which was rolling over a road hazard so maybe that damaged my car. At first i didn't think of that.

    I experienced the problem the same day i got the car back with new tires, it's hard to describe but i was on the freeway, totally forgot i had new tires, tires had never been anything that drew my attention, except for low air, i was thinking about other things and but then i noticed that i kept needing to correct the steering and bring the car back to the middle of the lane. They had done an alignment with the tires.

    The car has not felt right when driving since i got the tires March 30 and i just thought that first day that it must be the tires. i took it back to the shop a couple of days later and they checked the alignment and said it was fine. I called Yokohama and the guy said take it to the tire shop, get some measurements, check the alignment again, and see if anything else besides the tires could be causing it. A tire shop mechanic drove my car, with me as a passenger, i could feel the abnormality i feel when driving, just the ride of it, very different from all the other tires i've ever had. The mechanic said he could feel it and he kept trying different maneuvers to check it.

    They did another alignment and the mechanic said it's fine now. The sales guy said i had a leaking rear shock and that could cause the problem i was feeling, maybe that's true. Maybe the leak was caused by the road hazard.

    For a long time, i didn't even remember about the road hazard as far as it playing a role in how my car is not driving right, but now, it could make sense of the problems i'm having and i need to find a trustworthy mechanic (recently lost mine) so i can find out if it can be fixed with some kind of car repair, maybe it will be covered by insurance, the tow truck guy that towed me to the tire shop said he almost ran over the thing and he took me back to get some photos of it.

    But if i get car repairs and still have the problem then i don't know what to do, i was going to replace the Yokohamas with the Triple Tread tires since i loved my previous experience with them, but it seems likely the tires aren't the problem and doing that wouldn't solve it after all. the car feels so unsafe to me and i'm worried it could be damaging the car.

    Anyway, let me know if you got those Yokohamas and if you did, are they OK, normal tire experience?
     
  10. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I got 'em and I like 'em. It seems clear to me that something got knocked out of whack with your car when you hit the debris. Ot the tires are defective. Mine run just fine. I've been on a long road trip and have at least 2,500 miles on them now. Great even in heavy rain. Hope you get it sorted out.
     
  11. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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    Thanks Jerry, it's good to know. So the tires don't feel overly 'hard' to you, and feel flat on the road, stable and hold the road good, that's what i get from your nice long trial of them. i will hope for that experience in the future. i sure hope whatever is wrong with mine will be quickly correctly diagnosed and repaired to the wonderful condition it was in before.
     
  12. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    FWIW, I put the same tires on mine the first week in April. They've already been to Phoenix twice and California City once in addition to the local freeways. The tires have been pretty good so far. They got knocked out of alignment when I hit a coyote carcass going 70 mph at 3 am. The rest of the trip they tracked like I was dealing with a pretty strong crosswind but they went right back to being straight and true once the alignment was fixed. As is usual with new tires there was a drop in gas mileage when they first went on the car but at 38psi front, 36psi rear and just over 2000 miles on them they're up near what my previous Pirellis delivered.

    Hopefully they can figure out what's going on in your case. My thoughts are that you either have a defective tire or there is some subtle damage to the car nobody is seeing.
     
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  13. jaw444

    jaw444 Member

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    thanks for that feedback. when driving my car, i have thought that in a strong wind, i wouldn't be able to drive it, it would blow off the road, i've had that thought a few times. It might be an illusion from the way i'm interpreting how it feels, but it just feels unstable. i'll have to get it checked by a mechanic. i need to find one i can trust, not sure how. i'm going to try NextDoor.

    a coyote carcass at 3am, 70mph, whoa!
     
  14. yibo829

    yibo829 Junior Member

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    I got Michelin Defenders and they're very good for dry and wet traction and highway stability.
     
  15. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    I know there are some old threads identifying some of the better Prius mechanics around L.A. so you might be able to find one searching here at priuschat. Personally, I've been using both Jue Motors (for about two years) and Bender's Automotive (for over 27 years) in Covina. Jimmy Jue is one of the better respected Toyota and Honda hybrid specialists around and he's AAA approved. Bender's is not as comfortable with the hybrid electronics but when it comes to everything else having to do with a car they are really good. As honest as they come, too. I used Bender's after the coyote incident since it did not involve the hybrid system. Unfortunately, Covina is a little far for you to use them but they might be worth a shot for a one-time diagnosis and, hopefully, fix.

    The coyote carcass was in the middle of the 10 freeway out in Palm Springs. When I bounced the car over it I originally thought I hit a rock. Fortunately, damage was minimal. Front end alignment thrown off, front splash guard under the engine pulled loose and the splash guard in the driver's side wheel well was destroyed. I had Bender's put new KYB shocks and struts on the car at the same time since they were overdue.

    EDIT: As for driving in wind, it can be a pain in the neck because the car is light and doesn't handle crosswinds well. If you slow down a bit it's fine. Ours has dealt with the Santa Ana winds in Fontana quite well and we've hit other strong crosswinds on the high desert, in Arizona on the I-10 and in Oklahoma on the I-40. I think the most we've ever had to slow down to was about 50 on the I-15 near Devore when the winds were at a lousy angle and they were gusting around 65mph.
     
    #15 srellim234, May 16, 2019
    Last edited: May 16, 2019
  16. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Not overly hard. They feel less hard than the Yokohama Avid Ascends I had on the PiP. Then again, I think the Prime has a better suspension than the Pip.

    I tend to agree with @srellim234 on your issue. Either a bad tire or something with the car. Hope you can find it.
     
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  17. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

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    I just got a set of these tires put on my Prius Prime. I had Dunlop Enasave OEM tires before. I've only got a few relatively short trips on the tires (mainly highway). I don't know if I like them over the Dunlops. They seem a bit noisier and the road feel isn't as good, and my mileage seems a bit less because I ran out of electric power on the same drive I do with the old tires and still have juice to spare when I get home. I understand that mileage on any new tires improves after a few thousand miles though. I expected more over my old tires.