bought yokohama's - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

william rogers · #1 07-04-2002, 03:24 AM

after asking this forum witch Michiliens to put on my 500 SE I bought a set of 205 65 15's Avid Touring Yokohama mama's $288.00 out the door(Americas Tire in Eugene OR) compared to $542.00 for Michliens will let you all know how they work out. Larry they have pie mold marks, and I did as you said and had them dynamic ballenced .......... miss the spell checker, I blame a very ptetty girl that always sat next to me in grade school speeling classes........
William Rogers....

omegabenz · #2 07-04-2002, 03:50 AM

yokohama makes a tire for discount tire/american tire that is called the YK420 or something like that which is the exact same thing as the AVID. That is probably why you got them for such a great price.

My friend just got the same ones that you got about three months ago. He really likes them. I recommended michelins to him, but he likes the yokyamamas so Ill see you around.

Austin

PS I just bought Michelin Pilot Sport AS for my diesel...LOL

Ockman · #3 07-05-2002, 09:12 PM

Purchased a set of Yokahama YK420 tires for my E300 and they are great. Treadwear rating of 420 in a V-rated tire! They are much quieter than the Michelin Energy Plus tires that were OEM on the car. One thing I noticed is that my MPG went down 1-2 MPG since I installed them. I guess the low resistance claim is true on the Michelins but they didn't wear very well even with constant balancing and rotations. They roared so bad that I thought I had a wheel bearing problem!

MikeTangas · #4 07-07-2002, 12:11 PM

William,

I think you'll like the Yokohama mamas you bought. I have a set of Avid Tourings on the 4.5 and a set of H-4's on the 560. Nice tires and I have about 15K miles logged between the two sets with no problems at all.

Piotr · #5 07-31-2002, 11:33 PM

Bought a pair of Avid T4's for 190 D (1985). Great tire, traction compatible to Dunlops Sp Sport A2s but MUCH quieter and smoother (it matters in a light MB)

190D22 · #6 07-31-2002, 11:56 PM

I have toyo on mine right now... I'm not very familiar with tires. Are toyo good, bad, just ok? I'm going to need to retire her soon, what do you recommend, and what is the price?

#7 08-01-2002, 08:09 AM

William,

I think this will work out for you. Would you please report back in a few weeks to let us know how well the balance works at the highest speed you drive, and then again after you've stacked some miles on them.

I'm really anxious to know the long term results of Yoko's. I am leaning toward trying some next go around for economy reasons.

Have a great day,

Piotr · #8 08-02-2002, 12:03 AM

Nate, I'd suggest Yokohamas T or H 4's for 190d. In Ohio you probably have more snow than we did in Delaware (and Philly) in the last couple of years so T would be a better choice (also softer tires are better for non-mod MBs). Dunlop tire is great in dry, good in rain, looks like it would be ok in the snow, but I feel slight vibrations on concrete (non on Yok's). I'm ambivalent about Toyos, but I've heard these are just ok (average)

190D22 · #9 08-02-2002, 12:09 AM

Yoko's expensive?

190D22 · #10 08-02-2002, 12:26 AM

Well I looked 'em up on tire rack's site. They are pretty cheaply priced and seem to be good tired. I think I like the Yoko Avid Touring, it's 41 bucks, has the best ratings (over the ones piotr recommended).

william rogers · #11 08-02-2002, 02:16 AM

Larry. Will keep you posted I have been driving the SE and have put some miles on the yokohamas as doing front end on SD. So far I,m pleased with their handling but have slight shimmy at 60 that goes away at 65 ,so will have them reblanced as I had to do soon after purchase with the rainforce Michilens on the SD that I also got from Americas tire in Eugene OR.there are few places to get up to speed here as we have mostly narrow curvey mt. roads but car sure smooths out above 80 he he....
William Rogers.......

#12 08-03-2002, 10:37 AM

William,

Sounds like you're enjoying the tires. Have I given you my dynamic balance lecture? Make sure they use weights on two planes.

Also, there are always some roads that will make you think you have imbalanced wheels.

Good luck,

#13 08-03-2002, 03:25 PM

Larry,
I get shimmy circa 70-75mph.Rebalanced no change.
What do you mean by balancing in 2 planes please?
Havent seen your balance lecture.
Do you advise balancing on hub?

Tigerfox.

#14 08-04-2002, 11:15 AM

tigerfox,

Many tire stores will balance alloy wheels with the weights ONLY on the inside lip. This is called a static balance and will keep the wheel from hopping up and down. They do this because someone has complained to them about scratching their fancy wheels with weights on the outboard lip.

Although the tires will not bounce up and down, they will "wobble." To prevent wobble you must do a "dynamic" balance. This requires weights on the inboard AND outboard of the wheel, or "two planes." If you do not want a weight on the outboard lip, a competent tire tech can use tape weights just behind the spokes of the wheel. Some of the newer machines will even tell them where to put them so that they are hidden behind the spokes.

By using weights on two planes the wheel will not wobble. Modern cars have nimble suspensions that will transfer this wobble through the whole car.

It is amazing how many tire stores will statically balance and charge you full price and lead you to believe that their fancy machine did a great job. It is all about attitude. The necessary ingredients for a proper wheel balance is: any computer wheel balancer in decent condition, an operator with an IQ greater than room temperature, and an operator with an attitude coducive to doing the job right.

There are a few rare cases where a proper dynamic balance will not get the job done. In these cases, you need to find a shop with a Hunter GSP9700 balancer that has a pressure roller to properly evaluate the tire looking for stiff spots. But this is only necessary about 2% of the time. If it is necessary, you can find a machine in your area by going to: www.gsp9700.com

Good luck,

#15 08-04-2002, 03:05 PM

Larry,

Many thanks for that.It is surely my problem,as I asked for no weights to be placed on the outside(Lip) because of detracting from appearance on alloy wheels.
I had been informed that it was possible to balance a wheel correctly without weights on the outer lip.
Now that you have explained the science, I will correct it forthwith.Thank you again.

Tigerfox