Re: Snow tire roundup: Guardex 600 & Winter 210 Asimmetrico (longish)

["Thomas Miller" <thomasm@frii.com>]

Chris,

I can attest to the Yokohama Guardex 600's in the snow.  I won't put
anything else on my car in the snow!  They are THAT good!

One of the car rags did a comparison test with these tires last year.  They
pitted a Yokohama shod Camry against a factory tire'd Toyota Fore-Runner.
They tested the cars for acceleration, deceleration, and a snow covered race
track timed event.  The Camry with the Yokohama's smoked the Fore-Runner in
ALL categories.

The Yokohama's are very soft like you had stated and are not that great on
dry pavement, but hey, you are buying snow tires here.

Thomas Miller
thomasm@frii.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Newbold <cnewbold@transarc.com>
To: quattro@coimbra.ans.net <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Monday, December 01, 1997 11:34 AM
Subject: Snow tire roundup: Guardex 600 & Winter 210 Asimmetrico (longish)


>Winter is approaching and since I put nice TSW Imolas with
>summer-only D40M2s on the 1993 90 back in the spring, it's time
>for real snow tires...
>
>I decided to put real snows on my wife's A3 Golf too, with the
>expectation of getting real rubber for it next spring...
>
>I went with Yokohama Guardex 600 185/60 14 for the Golf. It's
>light and doesn't have ABS, so it begs for maximum winter grip.
>These tires have been a pleasant surprise. Though softer than
>the OEM Goodyear Invicta GLs (Q vs. H rated) they handle *better*.
>Sharper turn-in and more apparent stability. That's probably faint
>praise for the 600s and dammnation for the Goodyears (trust me,
>they really suck), but not bad for snow tires. The 600s are quiet
>and smooth around town, though they set up a vibration around
>60-65MPH like corrugated or sirrated pavement. Go faster and they're
>fine :-) I'm happy that the car feels at least as secure in the
>dry and wet as before.
>
>For the Audi (much weight, ABS) I picked up the Pirelli Winter
>210 Asimmetricos, 205/60 15. These are the replacements for the
>old Winter P210, and are H rated. I would have preferred 195/65s,
>but for some reason that sized doesn't seem to be imported. The
>205/60 is listed as an alternate fittment for the 93-95 90s, though.
>They're a tad wide for the 6" OEM Ronal rims--if these weren't snows
>I'd be worried about sidewall rollover, but hey, you've got to slow
>down a little in the snow :-).
>
>I can whole-heartedly endorse these tires. They are most certainly
>less capable in the dry than the D40M2s, but they feel very stable
>and secure. Directional stability isn't bad; turn-in is a little
>squishy, but what wouldn't be after the Z-rated D40M2s? They have
>about the same feel as the OEM Goodyear Eagle GA touring tires the
>car came with. Again, a pretty crappy handling tire, but...
>
>They work well in the wet, too. I over-cooked an exit ramp the other
>night in fog and rain/drizzle: didn't see the stop sign at the end
>until quite late. I got into the brakes hard and got some four-wheel
>ABS action and came to a halt about 20 ft before the sign. The 210s
>didn't feel anywhere near as secure as the D40M2s under those
>conditions, but they got the job done; though with more dramatic
>squeeling noises.
>
>We haven't had any snow here yet, so I can't report on how well either
>of these tires fair "in their element". Time will tell...
>
>-Chris
>1993 90CS 62k
>