New England Off Topic and Banter as Most Brilliantly Proposed by Cape Cod MINI

[snid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Theo

I believe Jason uses these, so he may have more realistic insight.

I haven't used the Yokos... I used the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 which looks similar (big V-shaped treads). They (the Goodyears) worked on the track, but that tread shape leads to nasty looking tread wear when pushed really hard on the track. They held up, but didn't look happy. A tire with less "edge length" to the tread blocks would probably work better, but they you're losing rain performance.

Compromises...

[jwardell]

Theo I have the AVSes and I am pretty happy with them. No side chunking, in fact these (and the paradas I had before) have a great edge design that gradually loses grip in side sliding, making it really easy to tell when you're at the limit, as opposed to other tires that just let go without warning. And I can attest, no chunking, even after dozens of autocross runs. Still not as sticky as the best but for the price and their good water traction they are great.

Speaking of which, yesterday being the first day of no rain I finally attempted to put on the summers, but after 3 hours I could not budge 3 of the snow rims off the hubs. I gave up and bought a sledge hammer at home depot, and we'll try again tonight.

[Pamlico]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

........

Speaking of which, yesterday being the first day of no rain I finally attempted to put on the summers, but after 3 hours I could not budge 3 of the snow rims off the hubs. I gave up and bought a sledge hammer at home depot, and we'll try again tonight.

Here's how to get them off. You need to be careful, but this technique has worked for me (and others) in the same situation. You probably want to do this one wheel at a time. Loosen the lug nuts on the wheel. Not too much, loosen them, back out a bit, then finger tighten and back them out a little. Then drive the car forward a few feet and firmly apply the brakes. You may hear a bit of bang, but that's the wheel being released from the bonding to the car. May need to try a couple of times, but the wheel should break away. Just remember that you do not need to loosen the nuts very much for this to work.

Good luck

[jwardell]

Not only did I try that, but when that failed I drove around the block like a maniac. That's why I went out and bought a sledgehammer.

[NoNo]

Oh, how everyone laughed at Annette when she couldn't get her tires off. Everyone had all the answers. I just want you to know that I'm having a good laugh over my no-whip mocha at your expense. Speaking of which, in the battle of Cafe Mochas across Olympia, this Goat Head blend is the clear leader. Also, the bashing of VRs must stop. I have seen TWO VR/VRs just in Olympia! Take that!

[Theo]

Snid:

Sorry, I knew you were using a tire in which I had an interest. How are the F1s in the rain? Thought about those pre-yoko.

Josh:

Have you noticed any degradation in dry preformance as the tire wears?

The

[MetalMiniMayhem]

Theo.. I never used the Yoko's, but I have to say my Toyo Proxes 4's have performed superbly!.. They handled the utter abuse I dealt them on the Dragon, in rain and sun. Not to mention the 900+ mile trip in the toreential downpours on the way home.. never once did my DSC light up (although I took the DSC off for the Dragon).. If I get the video together that I'm working on for a guy that's putting out the MOTD 06 DVD, I'll send it up to MoT to be played..

Ian.. Harvey doesn't even have a computer right now.. I have no idea about the PayPal thing.. my suggestion would be keep it as "low-tech" as possible.. perhaps a Money Order made out to them?..

[snek]

I drove around on my BFGoodrich Traction T/A Vs, and I must report they handled the bad weather much better than my SO.

[jwardell]

NoNo...speaking of Olympia, do they sell Olympia beer there? What would you charge to bring or ship a case back? I have a friend who is fanatical about the stuff (even though it is barely a hair over Bud) and would love it as a b-day present. I've actually written them asking how I could get it around here and they basically told me tough luck. Anyone else know a place that will custom order beer that shouldn't be around here? I have another friend who flips for Fat Tire...can't get that either.

Theo, they are still grippy and I would guess are at half through their life. Drove around the aformentioned block with one on, and noticed it picked up tons of stuff from the road that stuck to it..I forgot what soft rubber was like.
I'm sure the Goodyear F1s are better, they truly are top rated in many tests, but I think they are $150 vs. $80. The point of the yokos is they are a very good tire but inexpensive. Still there could be a few other options out there now that fit that bill.

Edit--Shoud have mentioned I was looking the other day at these BFGs which are rated higher dry traction than the yokos and cheaper too. I wonder how they are.

[MetalMiniMayhem]

BTW... drove by Harvey and Terry's today on the way in to work..
the water has receded quite a bit.. I believe they should be able to drive to the house itself if not today, definately by the w/e..

[snid]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Edit--Shoud have mentioned I was looking the other day at these BFGs which are rated higher dry traction than the yokos and cheaper too. I wonder how they are.

And, surprisingly enough, those BFGs are what are on my MINI right now. The three street tires I've used are, ranked by price highest to lowest:

Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position ~$150 each
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 ~$120 each
BF Goodrich g-force sport ~$70 each

Surpringly enough, that's also the rank in performance. I haven't had any rain related issues with any of them, as long as you don't run them down to the wear bars, anyway. They're all sticky, they're all noisy-ish. The more you spend, the more you get. That said, I think they break down this way:

If you want some performance but dont care about extreme performance, the BFGs are great. Of course, I don't have tons of miles on them yet...

If you need to have the most performance, the Bridgestones win. But I don't think they're worth the increased price over the Goodyears for most people.

The Goodyears are great if they're in your budget, and can stand the obnoxious tread pattern.

If you've got a second set of wheels, you can get a set of the BF Goodrich g-force sports for daily driving and having fun on the roads and use them on the track when it rains, and a set of Falken Azenis for autocrossing and track stuff in the dry - for just a hair more than one set of the Bridgestones. That's what I'm doing now.

[snid]

Yes, that means that my MINI has seen 7 different sets of tires so far.

Stock runflats
Nokian Hakka 1's
Bridgestone Pole Positions
Goodyear Eagle F1s
Nokian Hakka 2's
BFG g-force sport
Falken Azenis (the old style)

[Pamlico]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Not only did I try that, but when that failed I drove around the block like a maniac. That's why I went out and bought a sledgehammer.

Yowie... be sure to pick up a bottle of anti-sieze compound. After my first adventure with loose nuts (??) I started putting a film of anti-seize on the wheels when changing between summer and winter wheels. That seems to do the trick as they don't bond to the hubs any more.

[rfinprc]

Yes... (anti)seize the moment. Hasn't failed me yet.

[NoNo]

Not being much of a beer drinker, and not having a real meal since I've been out here, I haven't noticed anything regarding Olympia beer. There's a package store near me and I think a UPS. But I doubt the cost of shipping said beer cross-country would be worth it. I can take a look if you're really interested.