Why Choose Yokohama?
Yokohama was born in 1917 and quickly expanded across Japan before opening up U.S.based manufacturing facilities in 1969. Today, Yokohama’s American factories in Virginia and Mississippi produce millions of ultra high performance and high performance summer and winter tires for passenger vehicles, buses and trucks every year.
Since its inception, this company has built an impressive reputation for its expansive range of cost effective tires and ultra high performance all season products. The company also operates extensively using its alternative brand name, ADVAN, especially in Japan. Many soccer fans may recognize the Yokohama brand and logo from high-profile matches as the company used to be the premier sponsor for Chelsea Football Club. Other sponsorships include Japanese Super Formula racing, the Macau Grand Prix, the Boston Celtics, and the San Antonio Spurs.
Quality Control
Quality has always been at the heart of Yokohama’s design endeavours. The company was the first Japanese tire producer to be granted an ISO9001 certification. This certification refers to an international standard for systems management, which takes into account everything from manufacturing procedure to the product itself. Yokohama tires are put through extensive quality control and rounds after rounds of testing to make sure their tread life, grip, handling, and braking capacities are up to scratch long before you purchase a set. The extensive amount of research into the best rubber compound composition for Yokohama tires pays off in the form of extremely grippy, durable tires and every test administered to each model reveals consistent and reliable performance pretty much across the board.
Value
Yokohama tires are excellent value for money. They may not be the cheapest brand available to consumers, but rest assured your investment will reward you will long-term driving satisfaction. The lower end Yokohama tires, such as the AVID Touring line, will set you back between $85 and $100 dollars. The ultra high-performance passenger vehicle products, such as the Avid ASCEND, will cost approximately $150-$200. Now, for those who fancy some speedy summertime racing, you’ll be looking at Yokohama tires all the way up to $400.
Remember, when shopping for any tire, make sure you purchase your products from a reliable dealer and get them fitted properly. If you buy your tires from an unqualified supplier, you will face losing all warranties on your purchases.
Environmental Sustainability
As hinted above, environmental sustainability is central to much of Yokohama’s design strategy. Here is a breakdown of some of the steps Yokohama takes to reduce each of its products’ impact on the environment.
- Yokohama tires are designed to minimize rolling resistance (also known as rolling drag or rolling fiction). This refers to the amount of resistance your car encounters as it moves forwards along any given surface. Many factors affect rolling resistance, such as the material of the wheel and the road and the speed at which the vehicle is moving. For example, a high speed train wheel will glide along a steel track with much lower rolling resistance than a textured rubber tire on asphalt.
Low rolling resistance in cars is especially important for two key reasons:
- Lower carbon emissions: By minimizing the amount of resistance to forward motion, less energy is required to move the vehicle forwards. This in turn means your vehicle emits lower carbon emissions and so, decreases its impact on the climate crisis.
- You save money: Lower energy consumption translates to lower fuel consumption. You will not only minimize your vehicle’s carbon emissions, but also save some money as your fuel tank will take you further (and chip away a tiny bit at major gas corporations’s revenue).
One of the other major design features included in Yokohama products is petroleum substitutions. This is where orange oil shines anew. Between 10 and 20% of a standard wheel is made up of oil. Most of the time, this oil is derived from petrol, the extraction of which (you already know) is a major contributor to global. Yokohama actually stumbled on a major breakthrough with this substitution. The use of naturally derived oils in place of petroleum isn’t new, but none work as well as this one. The orange oil, in use for over two decades now, works as an incredibly effective binder for the other compounds in the rubber. It increases the tire’s tackiness on driving surfaces, meaning better grip and more sensitive handling.
As well as pushing for design innovation, Yokohama has a dedicated team of experts working to minimize greenhouse emissions at requires that all new products make at minimum of a 5% improvement on their predecessor.
Yokohama Tire Reviews: Features
BluEarth
Many Yokohama tires are BluEarth certified. So what does this mean?
The BluEarth series represents Yokohama’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and, according to the company website, “keep our Earth as blue as possible.” The design technology works to maximize comfort and road performance while minimizing environmental impact. All BluEarth certified products feature:
- Light Weight Design: Decreasing the amount of material in the tire and the overall mass reduces the amount of energy required in manufacturing and when driving.
- Advanced Reaction Technology: There isn’t a whole lot f information about what this actually means. Presumably, A.R.T. refers to some of the technologies used in the rubber compound to reduce rolling resistance.
- Fuel Saving Properties: As mentioned previously, the lower rolling resistance will add up to savings for you as each refuel will be able to take you further.
- Low Noise: As well as decreasing carbon pollution, these tires also work to reduce noise pollution.
- Environmental Design
- Reduction of Natural Resource Consumption
- Reduction of CO2 emissions in production and usage: These last three ostensibly means the same things and highlight Yokohama’s focus of developing products which contribute minimally to the current climate crisis.
NanoBlend Compound
Yokohama’s nanoblend compound formula is at the heart of their sustainability efforts. The compound has several functions:
- Decrease rolling resistance: This results in lower fuel consumption and a more comfortable driving experience.
- Increasing tread life: Most tires compromise their mileage with low rolling resistance. The nano blend compound improves the rubber’s durability and longevity, helping you get the most out of your Yokohama set.
- Improved Wet Grip: Just like with the tread life, good traction often gets thrown out the window with low rolling resistance products, but isn’t the case here. The nanoblend compound increases the tire’s grip on all surfaces with a marked improvement on wet driving surfaces.
Matrix Rayon Body Ply
The body ply is the lining along the interior rubber wall of the tire. Body plies serve to reinforce the tire in specific ways, depending on how they are angled. Rayon is a cellulose fibre with exceptional strength and durability. You will probably have encountered rayon in your day to day life in clothing as its comfort and longevity make it extremely popular in textile manufacturing. These properties are also what makes the material desirable to tire manufacturers. Yokohama’s rayon matrix body ply fits inside tires at an angle to the sidewall in order to increase the product’s lateral rigidity. This works to maximize the tire’s responsiveness, agility and handling for an optimal driving experience. In addition to snappy driving, the rayon also lightens the tire as the material weighs significantly less than other kinds of body plies.
Best Selling Yokohama Tires
Yokohama Avid Touring S All-Season Tire
This Yokohama budget-friendly all-seasons tire was designed to provide exceptional comfort and responsive handling. The unidirectional tread pattern ensures even weight distribution across the entire surface of the tire. The cross-siping effectively irrigates water when driving over wet roads. In the winter months, these smaller grooves accumulate light snow to maximize grip through snow-on-snow adherence. The thick block tread on the shoulders improves stability in all weather and allows the tire to bite and grip snow and ice. The inside of the tire features twin steel belts reinforced with nylon strips to improve the tire’s lifespan and provide additional strength for high-speed driving. Like many high-performance all-seasons models, these AVID Touring S model won’t be able to handle extreme temperatures. If you live in an area with heavy snow and ice, invest in a dedicated set of winter Yokohama tires to ensure your safety on the road.
What We Like
- Excellent dry grip
- Triplex tread compound for longevity
- Extra siping for improved traction
- Rubber sidewall improves shock absorption
- Good tread life
- Comfortable driving and responsive steering
- Cost-effective and includes a 65,000 mile tread life warranty
Yokohama AVID Ascend Radial Tire
Eleven years ago, Yokohama tires introduced a groundbreaking addition to their rubber which reduced rolling resistance by up to 20%: the orange peel. The orange oil not only improves the tire’s flexibility and adherence on the road but also reduces the overall volume of petrochemicals in each product. Combined with the low rolling resistance, this tire offers a compelling option to those looking to reduce carbon emissions. The four deep grooves running along the middle of the tire help stabilize your vehicle on slippery surfaces while cross siping quickly works to clear any water beneath the wheel, supplying excellent grip in a variety of driving conditions. The thick block tread on the shoulders balances your car over tricky terrain and help bite into deeper snow.
While most ultra high performance all-seasons products can’t hold their own in extreme winter conditions, it has to be said that these Yokohama AVID Ascend tires put on an incredibly impressive show. It’s easy to see why this Yokohama AVID Ascend tire has garnered such positive reviews from customers.
What We Like
- BluEarth certified
- Excellent dry and wet handling
- Excellent snow grip for a high performance all-seasons tire
- Excellent tread life
- Extremely comfortable and quiet
- Uncommonly long 65 000-85 000/five-year warranty
- Cost-effective and includes a 65,000 mile tread life warranty
Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 All-Terrain Radial Tire
This tire holds the honor of being one of the toughest and most adaptable tires Yokohama has ever produced. Built as an ultra high-performance all-season and all-terrain tire, this impressive product will have you feel incredibly safe and comfortable in a huge variety of environments. The tire’s rubber compound is remarkably strong, once again reinforced with orange oil, and provides uniquely strong traction on and off-road. Just looking at the tread pattern on this model is impressive. The deep lateral grooves and thick shoulder blocks provide stability and balance.
The entire surface of the tire is divided into chunky short blocks, without any continuous ribbing. This helps the tire flex and adapt to uneven off-road ground. The 3D siping across and between these blocks helps move water and increase traction on both dry and wet surfaces. While this tire doesn’t necessarily look like it would be a smooth ride for long stretches of highway, the A/T G015 holds up well at high speeds. The sipes are cut in such a way to maintain grip and stability as the tire wears down, making it an excellent drive on smooth asphalt or rocky off-roading. This model’s traction on snow is also extremely good, making it an excellent choice for those looking for heavy-duty traction year-round.
What We Like
- Ultra high performance on and off-road
- Surprisingly comfortable and quiet
- Long tread life
- Puts on an impressive performance in snow and ice-- certified for severe weather
- Holds a 60,000 or 50,000 tread life warranty
Yokohama Review: Conclusion
Here we are, at the finishing line. Looking back over Yokohama’s company ethos and product range, several things become clear.
- This is a brand at the forefront of more sustainable tire technology, making them a good choice for those of us who are trying to minimize our negative impact on the planet. (Although, it should be noted that to truly reduce our impact on the environment at an individual scale, its best to opt for public transport. If you live in a city and regularly drive to work, why not consider hoping on a bus!)
- Yokohama’s range of products means drivers of any vehicle and in any climate can find the perfect Yokohama model.
- The warrantees on some of the tires alone present a huge vote of confidence: Yokohama believes in their products and is willing to compensate you if they prove to be wrong.
- Scores of online reviews express admiration for Yokohama’s tires, which certainly inspire trust in me, a perspective consumer.
So, if you’re in the market for a new set of wheels, make sure to look out for the Yokohama logo!
That’s all folks! We hope you have found some answers in this Yokohama buyer’s guide, and that you find yourself one step closer to your perfect set.