(As requested by spi8a in another thread - I thought the information would be more accessible in a thread of its own.)
Well, I've had my Yokohama G012's now five days and have driven some... 600km was it? with them. All driving has thus far been on asphalt - it might be a while before I get any off-roading results worth mentioning (unless I get into another one of those surprise situations that tend to happen to me, that is). In other words this is strictly first impressions only. I do plan to update this thread as I clock more kilometers on my tires, especially if I notice something worth pointing out. Any and all others who run Yokohama G012, feel free to add your input.
The tire shop that had these tires was some 200km away. Fortunately, it was our winter holiday so we decided to solve this problem by making a day-trip out of the whole thing and go see the sights in a new city. As I really didn't feel like dragging my winter tires around all day long, we mounted the old Continentals the previous day. This had the positive side of giving me a good side-by-side comparison between the stock tires and the Yokohama A/T-S. (I checked tire pressures before leaving, so both tires were run with correct pressures.) I had commented earlier that my old tires were well worn but seemed to have misremembered - there was a good bit of tread left, enough for another summers worth of use. (This didn't matter to me because I wanted an All-Terrain tire anyway.)
I chose the size 225/65/17. I had my doubts that aesthetically, they might appear a tad small for my Jeep since I have a 2" lift, however to my eyes at least they appear to be exactly the right size. (I don't care for the style where the tires seem to be hugging the wheel well very closely, I like a little air between my tires and the vehicle - some room for them to move in, you see.) Definite improvement on the looks! My Patriot looks more like a real Jeep with these tires. Girlfriend and dog both immediately commented on the increase of ground clearance, too. Looking good!
(I will add pictures later - Photobucket is being a 'tard to my computer. Stupid Flash sites, built to run on Windows only. )
Over all, on-road performance with the Yokohama tires is impressive! The ride is smoother than with the stock tires, these tires take the worst out of bumps much better than the stock tires. There is a low, very quiet and not in any way unpleasant "growl" that the Continentals (you need to drive pretty slow to pick this out, and to me it just underlines the fact that I've got proper tires underneath my Jeep now ) lack but otherwise, new G012's are much quieter than the Continentals, especially at highway speeds! (120...140km/h or about 80mph-ish.) This was a big surprise for me as I was expecting somewhat more noise. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. spi8a was concerned of dry traction, but unnecessarily in my opinion. These are no mud terrain tires, while there is more void in the tread than a regular, on-road only, summer tire, the tread is comparable to your usual winter tire. Not enough void there to be conserned about, especially considering that this is no racing tire. Unfortunately, as I've had my girlfriend and dog as passengers the whole week and they disapprove of aggressive driving tests, I haven't really put the tires through their paces. I did not notice and difference at cornering when going around a few turns at a rather brisk pace, but the softer ride would make me think that if I were to push the envelope, there might be a small loss there. Thus far this is mere speculation though.
There are two negative issues with this tire: compared to the original Continentals, fuel consumption is somewhat higher - not terribly so, but there is a slight increase. A larger (still not a large one, but larger) negative issue is that braking power is noticeably reduced. Previously, a mere slight tap of the brake pedal would give an immediate effect, now with the larger tires a harder push is required. It is not a big effect, and one I was able to quickly adapt to, but there is a slight change in braking. Oh and a third, weird issue: for some reason my tires rub when turning the wheel all the way right! When turning left, there is no rubbing whatsoever. When turning right, the wheel has to be turned absolutely all the way, so this is not a major issue - a fraction from full lock and no more rubbing. It is just weird, as this tire size should definitely fit sans rubbing, especially with a lifted Jeep. Update: turns out the tire does hit the side of the wheel well at about the same place that those who run 235 wide tires report their rubbing. Weird.
To make a long ramble short, here's the summary:
Positive:
Neutral:
Negative:
My opinion at this time:
These are a good tire for a Jeep. Smooth, quiet, comfortable ride combined with the ability to leave the asphalt - just what a daily driver Jeep needs! If you want street racing tires, due to the effect (although a small one) on braking I can't really recommend them.
Edit: Okay, here are the photos!
First, a general look at how my 'riot sits now:
![Image]()
Okay, now taking a closer look:
![Image]()
![Image]()
And here's a look at the tread pattern:
![Image]()
Well, I've had my Yokohama G012's now five days and have driven some... 600km was it? with them. All driving has thus far been on asphalt - it might be a while before I get any off-roading results worth mentioning (unless I get into another one of those surprise situations that tend to happen to me, that is). In other words this is strictly first impressions only. I do plan to update this thread as I clock more kilometers on my tires, especially if I notice something worth pointing out. Any and all others who run Yokohama G012, feel free to add your input.
The tire shop that had these tires was some 200km away. Fortunately, it was our winter holiday so we decided to solve this problem by making a day-trip out of the whole thing and go see the sights in a new city.
As I really didn't feel like dragging my winter tires around all day long, we mounted the old Continentals the previous day. This had the positive side of giving me a good side-by-side comparison between the stock tires and the Yokohama A/T-S. (I checked tire pressures before leaving, so both tires were run with correct pressures.) I had commented earlier that my old tires were well worn but seemed to have misremembered - there was a good bit of tread left, enough for another summers worth of use. (This didn't matter to me because I wanted an All-Terrain tire anyway.)I chose the size 225/65/17. I had my doubts that aesthetically, they might appear a tad small for my Jeep since I have a 2" lift, however to my eyes at least they appear to be exactly the right size. (I don't care for the style where the tires seem to be hugging the wheel well very closely, I like a little air between my tires and the vehicle - some room for them to move in, you see.) Definite improvement on the looks! My Patriot looks more like a real Jeep with these tires.
Girlfriend and dog both immediately commented on the increase of ground clearance, too. Looking good!(I will add pictures later - Photobucket is being a 'tard to my computer. Stupid Flash sites, built to run on Windows only.
)Over all, on-road performance with the Yokohama tires is impressive! The ride is smoother than with the stock tires, these tires take the worst out of bumps much better than the stock tires. There is a low, very quiet and not in any way unpleasant "growl" that the Continentals (you need to drive pretty slow to pick this out, and to me it just underlines the fact that I've got proper tires underneath my Jeep now
) lack but otherwise, new G012's are much quieter than the Continentals, especially at highway speeds! (120...140km/h or about 80mph-ish.) This was a big surprise for me as I was expecting somewhat more noise. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. spi8a was concerned of dry traction, but unnecessarily in my opinion. These are no mud terrain tires, while there is more void in the tread than a regular, on-road only, summer tire, the tread is comparable to your usual winter tire. Not enough void there to be conserned about, especially considering that this is no racing tire. Unfortunately, as I've had my girlfriend and dog as passengers the whole week and they disapprove of aggressive driving tests, I haven't really put the tires through their paces. I did not notice and difference at cornering when going around a few turns at a rather brisk pace, but the softer ride would make me think that if I were to push the envelope, there might be a small loss there. Thus far this is mere speculation though.There are two negative issues with this tire: compared to the original Continentals, fuel consumption is somewhat higher - not terribly so, but there is a slight increase. A larger (still not a large one, but larger) negative issue is that braking power is noticeably reduced. Previously, a mere slight tap of the brake pedal would give an immediate effect, now with the larger tires a harder push is required. It is not a big effect, and one I was able to quickly adapt to, but there is a slight change in braking. Oh and a third, weird issue: for some reason my tires rub when turning the wheel all the way right! When turning left, there is no rubbing whatsoever. When turning right, the wheel has to be turned absolutely all the way, so this is not a major issue - a fraction from full lock and no more rubbing. It is just weird, as this tire size should definitely fit sans rubbing, especially with a lifted Jeep. Update: turns out the tire does hit the side of the wheel well at about the same place that those who run 235 wide tires report their rubbing. Weird.
To make a long ramble short, here's the summary:
Positive:
- Looks
- Lack of road noise
- Smoother ride
- Increased ground clearance
Neutral:
- Quiet, low growling sound from the tire tread
Negative:
- Slightly reduced effectiveness in braking
- Slight increase in fuel consumption
My opinion at this time:
These are a good tire for a Jeep. Smooth, quiet, comfortable ride combined with the ability to leave the asphalt - just what a daily driver Jeep needs! If you want street racing tires, due to the effect (although a small one) on braking I can't really recommend them.
Edit: Okay, here are the photos!
First, a general look at how my 'riot sits now:
Okay, now taking a closer look:
And here's a look at the tread pattern:
