so i'm getting ready to purchase either the yokohama s.drive or the hankook v12's. can anyone who has either of them let me know your thoughts regarding these categories:

1. dry/wet conditions:
2. noise:
3. tread life:
4. sidewall (stiff/soft in cornering):

thanks

 

I've had both on the G, I don't know that many other members have. Here's my opinions on the things you asked about:

1 Both are great in dry conditions but so were the OEM Bridgestone Potenzas IMO. The OEM were not so good in the wet but the S Drivers are very good. The Ventus V12 is pretty good, not great. I think the Yokos are a bit better.
2. Both are quieter than the OEM Bridgestones, especially when they start to wear. Very close but I think the Hankooks may b a bit quieter, - pretty close call.
3. I'm still on the Hankooks so I cant say how much mileage I will get out of them. I got rid of the Yokos (sold because I got bigger wheels that already had tires) when they still had quite a bit of meat left on the fronts. The back were getting close to needing replacement. I got as much mileage out of them as I did the OEM Bridgestones and they still had about 2 to 3 more 32nds of tread left while running a similar number of miles. Advantage Yoko over OEM. I don't know how much mileage I'll get on these V12s because I haven't had them that long.
4 Don't quite know what you mean here? The Hankooks have a more square sidewall to tread profile than the Yokos, they look more "square" on the corners and less rounded if that makes sense. Both seem to have softer sidewalls than the OEM, Yokos were a bit softer than the Hankooks but not too soft IMO.

Having had both I prefer either over OEM and the Yokos over the V12. Hope this helps.

 

Black Betty I appreciate your time in writing up your review on both As far as the sidewall question, I was asking more along the lines of if they are soft or not during cornering so you were spot on.

and just to be clear, you prefer the OEM's over both, or you prefer the Yoko's over V12/OEM, or V12 over Yoko/OEM?

 

My overall opinion is S Drive, then V12 second over a very close OEM Bridgestone third. The main reason the OEMs come in third is due to rad noise and poor tread wear for me. The actual performance of them I didn't find to be too bad in dry conditions.

 

I have the yoko s drives and they are overall pretty good. Better ride and quiter than the oem bridgestones, especially after some wear. Wet traction is alot better, but I think the dry traction could be better. I've ran both tires at the track and it seemed the bridgestones had better traction cold and would warm up alot quicker. The yokos were kinda slick until they got nice and warmed up, then they perform excellent. Equal to or better than the bridgestones.

 

I just ordered thes, so I can't give you any first hand insight, but the Car and Driver comparison test did it for me. From what I understand, there are several other comparisons that the Hankooks performed very well in, too.

Carlos

 

I havn't driven on the Hankooks, but here's my take on S-drives vs RE050A.

Dry Grip: RE050A. The S-drive isn't even in the same league.
Wet grip: S-drives are a bit better, but not as good as a all-season tire.
Tire noise: S-drives are quieter at speed. However, they will "screech" a lot louder than the RE050A, and a lot earlier. Expect to hear a little noise, even with something as easy as a right turn from a stop.
Ride: S-drives have a softer sidewall, and provide a slightly less bumpy ride.
Treadlife: I havn't worn S-drives to the point where they need to be replaced, but based on wear, I'd expect them to last 1.5 to 2.5x longer than the 050A.

 

Two differ classes of tire really. The Hankook is a max perf tire, the Yoko an ultra high perf tire. The Hankook will handle dry better and have crisper steering response but be a bit noisier than the Yoko and a bit shorter lived.

The Yoko will ride better, be a bit quieter, and last longer. They will trade a bit of the more aggressive driving side to be a bit more practical (if you can use that word in a summer tire conversation ).

Both are really hot tires right now and cant go wrong either way. If you want a fun tire for a dd car that wont beat you up I'd do the Yoko.

 

thanks everyone for your opinions really appreciate it!

to neal@tirerack: thanks for the clarification. i didn't realize they were in different categories.

 

NP

 

Get the Yoko's, I love them. Got 'em from Tire Rack too!