I wanted to make a post talking about my new Yokohama A052's just because a lot of people asked me about this setup. It's pretty comparable to the Michielin tire, it almost looks the same. The performance is out of this world, I'm very very satisfied with how this tire performs on a daily basis, but I'm most impressed with how the tire reacts when you give it a lot of push. I have plans to take the car to the track in just a week or so, but for now here's a little article talking about my thoughts so far.
My current setup I have right now -
Front - Yokohama Advan A052 - 265/35/18
Rear - Yokohama Advan A052 - 295/35/18
I'm also running -3.1 camber front and -2.5 rear.
I purchased my tires from TireRack.
My overall thoughts about these tires is the fact that I have a lot more confidence. I came from a set of Federal RSRR's which were sticky, but they were way too loud. When I say loud I mean road noise. When I would drive down the road at 75MPH you'd hear a "Roaring" sound. It was like a humming in the back of your head which became super annoying.
These Yokohama A052's are very quiet, which for my daily driven M3 is perfect. I drive this car to work, to the canyons, to meetings, and just for fun all over SoCal. I had the chance to really push the car recently with a few friends at a good pace. I noticed a few things that stood out to me the most.
Anytime I would go into a turn, the car would stick very hard, there was definitely very little sidewall flex in my opinion. Some tires feel soft on the side wall, but these felt rather stiff compared to most tires I've felt before. You get this marshmallow feeling with some tires as you push into a corner hard, but these gave you that feeling of really understanding where the car was going depending on your steering/where you want the car to go.
One thing I noticed is that going around turns very hard felt like you would eventually hear some tire squeal, but with these tires I didn't hear any. I pushed the car HARD and the tires just kept giving me more. It was like a game trying to get them to break loose, but the grip was too strong when the tires were hot. I like this setup because it gave me the chance to see what else the car needs improving on. Now I know I need a set of sway bars and upgraded suspension, I think the tires are maxed out because of this performance. They're a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for. When I went with E88's I didn't want to cheap out, so these were ideal for my setup.
Braking is very solid. I had installed track pad from HAWK a few days ago. I went on the freeway and did a few 90-20 tests. I would slam on the brakes and it was like slamming into a wall, you get pushed into your seatbelt and you can stop on a dime. Most people may not think of the tires when it comes to braking, but it's a huge factor when you take the time to think about it.
I KNOW that people may not agree with me, but this is SUCH a good looking tire. The sidewall of tires making a huge difference and many may not realize it, but something that has smaller font, not a ton of distraction happening and just a smooth sidewall.... it can change the look of a car completely. This tire has a smooth and simple sidewall which I love. The tread pattern is clean and very motorsport-like. When you see the car from the back you can tell it has some serious rubber on it. I love the look.
Overall thoughts I'd say this is a 9.5/10 tire. The only reason why I say it's 9.5 is because of the price, haha. A full set of these in my size (Schirmer sizing) would be around $1,400 from TireRack. But once again, you get what you pay for, amazing tires that give you huge confidence in pushing your car to the limit.
Here's a handful of photos from the day I received them and when I installed the Yokohama ADVAN A052's on my BBS E88's. Thanks for taking the time to check out my articles.
You can pick up a set of Yokohama Advan A052's by clicking here on TireRack.
-Spencer
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