With only 3900 miles on the odometer, I destroyed an OEM Yokohama tire on my new Forester the other day- must have hit something nasty, as there was a one inch slit in the tread just at the sidewall. Funny thing is I did not see or hear anything but the thump-thump of the rapidly deflating tire. Anyway, I have been disappointed in the noise level of this vehicle and suspected the tires were serious contributors to the problem. I stopped in at the local friendly tire shop where I do business. They found that they could procure a replacement Yoko for about $115.00. The question was did I want to invest the money in preserving this set of OEM tires, or should I bite the bullet and find something better (I.E. quieter). Ultimately, I opted to install a full set of new Toyos, 800 Ultras, a 100K rated tire that I have run on an older Legacy. Wow- what an immediate improvement in noise level. This is like driving a different car. I don't know about performance aspects, but I don't care, as I'm an old guy not worried about such things anymore. $435.00 net cost (traded in the three remaining Yokos) and I am a happy camper. I would heartily recommend this tire to anyone looking for a significant noise reduction.
- posted
17 years ago