Second opinion: Yokohama Geolandars 265/60/18

[Eric L.]

Just wanted to post my tire experience here. Some people have been kind enough to post their tire experiences, so I just thought I would add to it. Keep in mind, different people will have different opinions depending on their driving style and conditions.

Having searched in vain for alternative tires which would outperform the stock Goodyear Eagle LS, I ended up choosing the Yokohama Geolandar HTS G052 in 265/60/18. I took Kris' review into consideration, but simply could not pull the trigger on the alternatives. I passed on the Michelin Crossterrains in 235/65/18 because they did not meet the T-rated speed of the stock tires (CT's are S-rated) and also the Goodyear Fortera in 245/60/18, both of which have a UTQG DOT traction rating of A (wet traction) but a temperature rating of B, indicating these are more passenger tires than performance tires. The Yokohamas are rated A for traction, A for temperature, and are H-rated for speed. Some folks will say, its not a big deal, and it might not be, but I guess I'm just someone who would rather go by the specs than take a gamble. I would expect both the CT's and Fortera to have a smooth ride like the Eagles, but with better foul weather handling (than the stockers), although I wouldn't push either on a curvy road.

I had the tires mounted at a hot rod speed shop which used one of the later model Hunter wheel balancers, so it was all done correctly and so far after a few hundred miles of driving on city and highway, I've felt zero vibrations. They did charge more than a normal tire shop, around $30 per tire, but I feel I got my money's worth because I had the peace of mind knowing the shop had the latest equipment and would be very careful with my stock tire pressure sensors.

My initial impressions of the tire are favorable. On normal driving, I can turn in a tighter line due to the better traction (it surprised me the first few times, I expected to turn wide as I had become accustomed to with the Eagle LS's, but the car just held the line).

As Kris pointed out, the ideal tire for the Murano would be a car tire, not a truck or SUV tire. However, other than the stock Eagles, there are no car tires available for the Murano. Nevertheless, I do not notice any noise difference between the old Eagles (which had 28k on them, and had maybe 25% tread left) and the Yokos. Ride quality appears to be unchanged as well, and I run the same inflation pressures, 36F, 34R. I was more than willing to trade ride for handling, but the comfort of the Yokohamas have really surprised me.

Looking at the tread, I can understand why. This is a "sport truck" tire and does not have the blockier tread that passenger crossover tires tend to have (for example, the CT's or Forteras). I would say this is probably the most carlike tire for the Murano other than the stock Eagles. There are also Bridgestone Potenza RE92's in 265/60/18, which are the stock tires for the FX35, but after reading horror stories from the WRX crowd, I fear that the RE92's would be a death sentence once the roads freeze over. If I did not live in the snowbelt, I would have probably considered summer tires instead of all-seasons.

I will continue to post comments as I put on a few more miles. In particular, I am eager to find out how the Yokos perform in the snow, which should come anyday now. The Goodyear Eagles were competent in the dry, but it was in the wet and snowy weather that left me less than impressed.

[senza]

50,000 +kms on my Yokos, Eric, and continue to be impressed by their overall performance. You will notice an improvement in traction in snow! The extra width and slightly larger height give the MO a moe aggressive/muscular look....

[Eric L.]

Had a chance to try out the Yokohamas in the snow over the past few days and here are my impressions.

Straight line traction: I'm still able to break the tires loose on fresh snow such that the traction control comes on, but it takes more gas to do so. On the slush, these tires definitely have more grip than the Goodyears, even when new. Verdict: Yokohamas

Snow/ice handling: Immediately I noticed I could drive 5-10mph faster in the Yokohamas without getting the "off the road" squirm the Eagles gave me, even when new. However, when taking corners fast or accelerating into a turn, I can still get the understeer/oversteer event common to AWD Muranos. However, a quick snap of the wheel corrects this before VDC kicks in, and I can be much more aggressive on turn in with the Yokohamas. Verdict: Yokohamas

Snow/ice braking: This is where the difference between the Goodyears and Yokohamas is less apparent. When slamming on the brakes on fresh snow, they both end up in ABS hold on for your life skid. On slush, the Yokohamas appear to stop more confidently - I braked pretty hard and came to a quick stop with little ABS chatter. Overall though, its not such a dramatic increase in performance over the Goodyears as with straight line and handling. Verdict: Tie.

[Murano_driver]

Finally, I lost my stock GY. I put the same tire as Eric L. did and here is my first impression. Yokos looks a lot better on the MO than stock. They have nice sidewalls and add extra to the appearance of the vehicle. I put 34 psi in all tires and because I drove only 30 miles on the dry pavement I can only comment on the handling and noise. Handling was way better than GY (keep in mind that I have 3 years old GY). They are cornering 10 times better and changing lines on the highway is great. Noise is the same as GY. My personal feeling that overall driving w/ Yokos is different than w/ GY, and I mean different (it’s like to be on the train or on the ship). Both tires have good sides and bad sides (I hope I will not found any w/ Yoko). I will post more as I drive more, but right now I need some heavy rain or snow to really do comparing.

P.S. I paid $600 for all four installed including balance ($150 a piece)

[Eric L.]

We had about 6 inches of snow last night so I had a good chance to try the Yokos on deep fresh snow. The bottom line is that they were unstoppable. I had the AWD Lock on, and there was no slip at all, and braking was fantastic. I feel I made a very good decision going with the Yokohamas, in my opinion they beat the Goodyear Eagles by a mile in every category.

[xrnd]

Did the Yokos mount on the original rims?

[Eric L.]

Originally posted by xrnd
Did the Yokos mount on the original rims?

Yes. 265 is about as wide as I would try on the stock 7.5" wide rims though.

[xrnd]

Did the original tire pressure monitors in the valve stem work with the Yokos?

Thanks!

[Eric L.]

Originally posted by xrnd
Did the original tire pressure monitors in the valve stem work with the Yokos?

Thanks!

Yes, just find a shop that will be gentle dismounting the tire, and they can reuse the pressure monitors.

[xrnd]

Did the original tire pressure monitors in the valve stem work with the Yokos?

Thanks!

[KSmurano]

Eric - we had a 13" snow last Thursday here in KC & the new tires did great. As crazy as I got, I just couldn't get the MO stuck, but it sure was fun.

Did you see in the Nissan article that the home office in Tokyo is moving to Yokohama? The need to team up as a EOM supplier.

[Eric L.]

Originally posted by KSmurano
Eric - we had a 13" snow last Thursday here in KC & the new tires did great. As crazy as I got, I just couldn't get the MO stuck, but it sure was fun.

Did you see in the Nissan article that the home office in Tokyo is moving to Yokohama? The need to team up as a EOM supplier.

Fantastic. Well the way OEM tires work is that the manufacturer choose whoever can give them the lowest price. In fact, many OEM tires are not spec'ed as high as the same tire that you would buy at the store - I guess these are called "OEM spec" for lack of a better name. Usually OEM spec tires have a lower treadwear rating, which means they wear out quicker. And since tires are never covered under the vehicle manufacturers warranty (tires have a separate warrnaty), it doesn't matter what tires the car comes with, as far as the manufacturer is concerned.

[xrnd]

Ok Ok, you guys have been great! As you can tell I'm in the market as well for replacement tires. 48 k on GY LS, still some decent tread left, but I want a better tire - I plan to keep this vehicle - been GREAT Sounds like yoko or michelin are better.

One last question (I think...) which Yoko, GEO HT G900, HTS G051, HTS GO52 or HTS GO53?

[Eric L.]

Originally posted by xrnd
Ok Ok, you guys have been great! As you can tell I'm in the market as well for replacement tires. 48 k on GY LS, still some decent tread left, but I want a better tire - I plan to keep this vehicle - been GREAT Sounds like yoko or michelin are better.

One last question (I think...) which Yoko, GEO HT G900, HTS G051, HTS GO52 or HTS GO53?

Read the very first post in this thread for the answer.

[xrnd]

Ok Ok, you guys have been great! As you can tell I'm in the market as well for replacement tires. 48 k on GY LS, still some decent tread left, but I want a better tire - I plan to keep this vehicle - been GREAT Sounds like yoko or michelin are better.

One last question (I think...) which Yoko, GEO HT G900, HTS G051, HTS GO52 or HTS GO53?