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It may have been my post you saw on Tirerack re: Potenzas vs. Sumitomo. Here's my latest experience for your review. I bent one of my 18" Konig Villains two weeks ago, and was going to the track this past weekend. Already had a pair of cheap 9"x17" rims I planned to use for everyday driving, wondering what tires to put on them. Decided to go with Sumis, since they ran so well the last two track weekends. Had them mounted and swapped Thursday, ran all day Saturday and Sunday, this time on a short technical course, never saw over 125. Saturday, with heavy rain, air temp of about 35 and track temp of ?, I was constantly breaking loose when accelerating out of turns (and sometimes even on 3-4 upshift) but braking was excellent, and it never felt loose in the turns. In fact, I was probably tiptoeing thru the corners more carefully than I needed to, but hey, my 'sponsor' can't afford repair bills. Sunday, with temperatures in the high 40's and 50's and the track beginning to dry out, the car was untouchable; the M-3's and 911s that had outcornered me Saturday were getting lapped so much that most of them went home early. The only cars that could stay ahead of me on most days weren't running because of the track conditions, but I think I'd have been pushing them too. Bottom line, the tires are a little iffy below 45 degrees, but not because of the wet, just the temperature - at least that's my feel for things. On warmer days, from the 60's to the 80's the tires stick like track tires, but never got so hot as to be a worry (and this was at speeds up to 145 followed by hard braking that literally burned up my front pads). On the street on very cold mornings i.e. less than 30, I notice a little more 'squirm' when accelerating, especially when the tires are stone cold, no matter how dry it is. Driving normally though, it is not noticeable, but I tend to drive like I own stock in Exxon and like to get my money's worth from the traction control system, so it is there. I didn't note your address, but unless you live in an area where it gets below 30 and stays there for weeks at at time and you don't have a set of winter tires and wheels, you will waste alot of money on the Yokohamas. I have run AVS on my track car, where they feel like they're made of bricks but wear forever, and their Geolander all terrain/all season model on my sport tuned Tahoe, where they were loud as h--- and wore out in less than 25,000 miles. Hope that's some help; by the way, I run the 285/35 rears and 245/40 fronts on my 18" rims, and they ride, look, and handle great. Good luck.
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15:23:27 03/05/02
