Yokohama A539 Opinion (Yokohama)

Member Name: M@NiM4L

Product:	Yokohama
Date:	04/04/04 (1594 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb Dry Grip, Fun Factor, Safety + RunFlat

Disadvantages: Fast Wear, Dont expect the same in the wet!

I can only comment on my A539s as I have no experience of any of their other tyres, and only limited experience of performance tyres from other manufacturers.
Its the first 'performance' tyre I have ever bought and was stunned by the differnce they make, even on my tank-like, (1.8t) Nissan Almera 2.2 DiT...
Of course they give superbly precise handling in the dry; (needing a powerful and controlled attitude to steering); I was hard pushed to get them to drift at all (probably due to the weight of a diesel engine), even pressing frictional limits, whereafter they would soon regain control; and scarily impressed by their wet grip too.
Some might say that they can suddenly lose control if you brake too hard or corner too tightly at speed in the wet, but hey, what do you expect if you're exceeding the limits of friction in poor conditions?
The problem, as you and many others point out, is the rate of wear. They stay true to form right up until nearing the end of their life (in my case getting thin after 9 months of often hard driving and 9000 miles), and only seem to degrade noticeably, in terms of handling in wet conditions, near the end of their usefulness.
Personally I observed that they seem to wear almost a fast as a pencil eraser!
Granted that Yokohama take stock of this by the very deep grooves (almost an inch on a new tyre) to compensate for the soft compound this tyre uses; and that I often pushed them very hard (being rushed for time or heavily laden): It does seems rather a short life-span to me.
Thus it's all down to your own personal requirements and economics.
Taking into account the trade-offs between wear and grip of both hard and soft compound tryes in your choice; you'd be hard pressed to find a tyre with is as much fun and versatility as this one, even if it will only last as long as you can afford or allow it to...

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