ok - thanks for the information. What does it mean for steering to feel greasy? do you think that the tire shop could have accidentally thrown off the alignment when they were mounting the tires? my car still tracks straight though... which is why I don't think it's an alignment issue.

 

Tire Tech Information - Breaking In Your Tires

It's hard to describe without knowing how attuned you are to different driving conditions. That's why people use metaphors such as greasy even though there's no grease involved.

The easiest way to best describe decreased traction, imagine driving on a wet road rather then a dry one.

 

hmmm ok thanks. I think that is sorta what it feels like...

 

Since I opened this this thread about 4 months ago, I feel it is time to update it after a winter of driving. I was a little afraid of their snow performance. MU daughter drove the car all winter. She lives 16 miles from an very nice Indian casino where she works 5 to 6 days a week. The 16 mile commute is primarily on rural county roads that do get plowed but not as often as the Interstates. Also the casio is located on the southeast corner of Lake Michigan so they get a lot of Lake Effect snow. Single snow falls of 8 to 12 inches are very common. I can report that these Yokohamas served her well all winter. She make it to and from work when others did not or reported off.

I have to stress that these are all season and not winter or On/Off roads tires.

How do you measure how good of a tire it is in snow? Well, she never got stuck and made every trip that she needed to make all winter. She did not try any 2 foot snow drifts or off roading through corn fields but for on-road rural travel they were fine.

 

I put a set of Yokohoma Avid Ascends on my Fit a few months ago. I'm pretty happy with them.

I would say they improved as I broke them in. The performance is better than the Dunlops and hopefully they will last longer.

 

I now have about 8,500 miles on my Yoko Avid Ascends after replacing the OEM Dunlops. (I got 60,500 on the Dunlops.) After break-in, I would definitely say that the Avid Ascends have been quieter and wet traction seems definitely improved compared to the Dunlops. Snow traction is fine for an all season tire, but to be fair I thought the Dunlops were pretty similar until tread depth got low.

The jury is still out on fuel economy and the effects (hype?) of LRR tires. After 8,500 miles, my average mileage is 35.9 mpg in mixed driving. (I have tracked every tank since I bought the car new.) My average with the OEM Dunlops was 36.8 mpg, so at first glance it appears that the Avid Ascends are getting worse mileage. I don't think that's a valid statement yet since the Yokos are new with more tread depth and more importantly because I just bought them in November and I always get worse mileage during the winter. It only turned warm here in Virginia during the last week.

I haven't tried to estimate wear yet - I think it's too early at only 8,500 miles. They still basically look new. Assuming that I get at or better than the 60k miles that I got out of the Dunlops and assuming that over time my mileage improves to be at least as good as the Dunlops, I will certainly look to replace them with another set of Avid Ascends in a few years.

 

I replaced 2 of the Dunlops with Bridgestones (Same size) at 30K because of nails in the Dunlops. Handling went to hell with 2 Dunlops on the front, and Bridgestones on the rear. Darting all over the road. Tried to get matching Bridgestones after I got fed up with the handling problems, but none were available. Switched to Yokohama YK 580's, 195/55/16's. Smooth, quiet and great handling.

 

Another vote here for the Yokohama Avid Ascends. Just put a set on a couple of weeks ago. Wow, what a difference when compared to the Dunlops. Much quieter, and a smoother ride to boot. I can't recall when changing tires in a car made such a difference.

Mileage seems fractionally lower, but definitely not a dealbreaker.

My only niggle is that the car seems a bit more "darty" on the highway. The shop had found the alignment a bit out of spec and fixed it during the tire install. Even with that, it's pretty sensitive at 60-75 mph. This car has always been really susceptible to crosswinds & gusts anyway, so I'm going to wait a couple of thousand miles to see if the tires "settle in" at all.

Does anyone have any experience with alignment settings that make the Fit a bit more stable at highway speeds?

 

I thought the same thing about my Yokohamas when they were being broken in. How many miles do you have on yours? Mine felt like what you are describing initially, but after they were broken in, they feel amazing, better so than the Dunlops ever felt.

 

I have about 700 miles so far. Thanks for your encouragement...I'll wait it out.

 

I actually love the OEM Dunlops and am still running them with 25K miles (I have a stack of new DWS contis for when these wear out).

The Dunlops are still smooth, wearing evenly, and handle fantastic when inflated in the high 30s.

Yokos? The last ones I had were defective and had cracking sidewalls in 2 years (just had them replaced on my other vehicle. a few months ago). Yoko customer service was ok and I got a nice discount on replacement tires.

 

It looks like a lot of people are pleased with the Yokohama AVID Ascend, and I was thinking of purchasing them. I have a honda fit LX with the oem tire size of 175/65/15 . I was wondering if I should stick with the OEM size or go larger. Would there be any benefits or disadvantages of doing so?

Thank you!

 

positive shout out for YK580s as well... rolling 205/50/16's and have about 30k+ on them... dont think i'll get the manuf rated 60k on them but wouldnt be surprised if they last for 45k-50k, would definitely buy again.