I recently replaced my 16" Continental SSRs with the Yokohama ENVigor in 205/55-16.

I wanted to pick up a little extra sidewall compliance, and to neutralize some of the optimistic speedometer behavior. The car is an '09 Cooper S Clubman without the factory Sport Suspension.

So far the tires are all that I hoped -- quieter and smoother than the Contis, with little practical difference in steering feel, turn-in behavior, or loaded stability. There were no issues mounting them on the factory wheels and they don't have the "balloon" look I read about in other posts, at least to my eyes.

I recognize that I may have given up some marginal capability at the extremes of cornering loads, due to the taller sidewall, but the different rubber compounds, tread design, and section width will also factor into that somehow. In practical terms, it made no meaningful difference to me on a street car, since exploiting the full performance potential (where that final smidgen might theoretically matter) is dangerous and irresponsible on public roads anyway.

So it all seems like a win-win so far. Prior to these tires I tended to favor the Falken ZE-912 for its combination of quiet ride and reasonable handling performance, but the Yokos' newer design and comparable price seems to be a better option overall.

twj

 

Thanks for the review.

 

They seem like pretty cool looking tires. One can see a bit of the balloon shape to the sidewall in this photo. But that is largely dependent on the rims you use, I would think.

 

I would think the balloon shape of the sidewall would be dependent on the height of the tire as well! The old contiextremecontact tires I have looked like balloons on their stock photo, but in a 215/40/17 they look great!