Yokohama AVS S/T Tires
By Chris Henry

It is an unfortunate but true fact that most Jeeps never see serious offroading. In fact, in warm climate they may never see anything that demands four wheel drive traction. I wanted a maximum street performance tire with aggressive styling without looking too wimpy. The Yokohama AVS S/T without a doubt looks very aggressive. Many people actually think they are an aggressive offroad tire because of their radical design. I wanted to keep my stock wheels and all terrain tires around for wheeling and also to use exclusively during the winter months so I opted for a whole tire/wheel upgrade. In the quest for maximum performance and looks I chose an 18" wheel (the Radius R6). Now most people including the Tire Rack recommend the 255/55R18 tire size. I too would say that this size is the best choice for onroad performance with an 18" wheel. I actually opted for the wider, more expensive, and heavier 285/50R18 size. The 285/50R18's diamter of 29.3" is near the stock tire's diameter of 29.1" but it is much wider. There are over 2 inches wider which is certainly overkill. It is a massive tire that quite simply makes people stare and wonder what you are thinking. The wider size while putting more rubber on the road, adds rolling resistance, and extra weight both of which equate to a performance tradeoff not to mention the that that these tire barely fit in there.

I popped the rear hatch to show V rated monsters to my lady and she gasped and told me that I was nuts. I shook my head knowingly and smiled.

The 285 width is not to underestimated. It is a monster tire. The tread pattern is very aggressive and stylish.

They looked great before they were on the WJ but I was nervous about the fit and feel of the massive tire. The next day, they were on the WJ and they looked almost as if they belonged there in the first place. It just looks like the WJ is on roids now. The look is very impressive.

The road noise was certainly up a little bit but no more noisier than my BF Goodrich All Terrains and I don't even consider them very noisy. Plus with a supercharger and performance exhaust on there I don't even notice the noise one bit. Now the important part, the handling, I got up some speed and hit a hard turn. WOW! The cornering performance of these tires is incredible. I never hear a peep from them unless a do a brake torqued launch with 7psi of boost and 340hp forcing them to chirp a split second.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the tire. It is great on the road and on wet roads. They are however heavy and it does take more from the brakes to slow them down and acceleration is a bit slower, but the extreme looks and insane cornering ability help to justify the impractical size. In the 255/55R18 size, I'm sure they would be perfect. While they might break free a little sooner in a skidpad test, they wouldn't hamper straight line performance as much. When it comes to performance tires, the AVS S/T is the best looking and one of the top performers as well. What more could you ask from a street tire?

http://www.yokohamatire.com