As some of y'all know I'm running down the last few thousand miles of life on the 205/50 R17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires mounted on my 2009 Mazda3 and am actively evaluating what I'll buy to replace them. To date I have about 46,000 miles in the Michelins (which I had mounted on my car when there were only 714 miles on the odometer, the OEM Goodyears were absolute junk), and while it seems likely they'll last until the 50,000 mile mark, winter will be looming large by that point and with the thin tread (not yet to the wear-bars) I wouldn't trust these tires in so much as a dusting of snow.

So, with the above said, I've been planning on either a second set of Pilot Sports (which have gotten considerably more expensive over the last three years), or a set of Continental ExtremeContactDWSs. A recent check of tires meeting my requirements (i.e. good handling, long life, passable in snow) revealed a new player on my radar scope namely the Yokohama AVID ENVigor. The reports seem to indicate the Yokos will outlast the Michelins, will handle nearly as well as the Michelins (something the Continentals cannot claim), and yet will cost a bit less than the moderately priced Continentals. Suddenly my short list looks like the following:

1. Yokohama AVID ENVigor at $119 per tire
2. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus at $195 per tire
3. Continental ExtremeContactDWS at $131 per tire

I know several folks with the Continentals and they've been very happy with the tires, however, the numerous complaints of soft rolly-polly sidewalls has me a bit apprehensive given that the roads around here in New England are anything but straight. With the good handling reports and good treadwear ratings the Yokohamas are generating, that tire has materialized out of nowhere to be placed on top of my short list.

I'd love to hear from anybody with experience on the relatively new to the market AVID ENVigors.

 

Ill ask around, i have a few buddies that work at tire shops and usually get their hands on the new stuff just to try to it. What you mentioned about the Continentals is pretty much dead on, great tire, long life, grippy and overall just about the best tire ive purchased in a good while but yes the soft sidewalls have made a few people a little iffy about them

 

Thanks!

FWIW, I've taken on a second contract of late and am driving either 80 miles per day if I take the bus (which I'm on now) into Boston in the mornings, and 160 miles per day if I drive to both companies. As such, I'm racking up the miles pretty fast and just last night I decided to pull the trigger on the Yokohamas; they should be here next week (Hurricane Irene permitting), and I should have time to have them mounted a week or so after that.

Naturally I'll keep y'all posted on how I like these relative new-comers to the market place.

 

Sounds good, ill be in the market soon for some new tires i may just go with yokos on my other car and compare with the Continentals i have on my 3