I have a 1997 850R that needs new tires. I am considering the Yokohama avs100, or the Yokohama Prada specII. I enjoy driving my car AGRESSIVELY. Does anyone have a sugestion for a 4300+ pound car with such a short sidewall? Thanks.

I have Yokohama Prada spc-2 on my 854R. The biggest difference you'll notice is that they are quieter than Pirelli PZeros. The rim-guard rubber grove is also a good idea even though my rims are already scratched.

As for road handling, it's not nearly as responsive or sticky as PZero, but given the high tread count and its price, I think this tire will last longer than my previous set of Pzeros.

Get them if you tread life is an issue, otherwise there are other tires on the market that will give you the responsiveness and traction that you are looking for. Pradas do look good but I've driven sticker tires than these.

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96R / 02z06

I have the avs100's on my V70 wagon. Size is 205/45/17 on Volan wheels from an 850R. My car may be a bit lighter since it's a base 5 speed (no power items - sunroof, seats, etc.) but the tires stick to pretty much anything. Wet and dry are both great, although I'm in Oregon so mostly wet testing so far. They have exceeded my expectation in the grip department. I have Bilsteins but other than that and the wheels the car is stock. These are the first 17's I have had, so no direct comparisons to offer. Price was also good. I have about 4k on them and wear looks reasonable. Also, I have had them loaded down with no issues (800 lb load - just fine at 36 psi); also cautiuosly had them off road a couple of times (fire roads) and had no problems. These last items are key on a wagon and may be borderline behavior for this size wheel but I am pleased that I can still use the thing as a car with the bigger wheels.

Good luck.

I have a new set of Prada Spec-2s on my '96 855R. I did not pick them, they came from my DEALER with them on. The rears still have the little "wiskers" on the tread surface!

My owner's manual puts the curb weight of a '96 sedan at 3250 or so, the wagon obviously more.

Road & track looked at Pradas in February, page 108,it's worth the read.

"has an outrageous attention-getting tread design", "there is plenty of substance behind the style", "less squuirm and sharper cornering",

"silica-rich tread compound ... better wear resistance and improved wet/dry grip and also having increased load-carrying ability" " an excellent tread wear rating of 300, plus a wet traction rating of AA, the highest there is."

"This last point often overlooked because many people don't realize that low-profile tires often don't have the load carrying rating of the car's original taller-profile tires"

(after track testing at Sears Piont on a Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V and an Accura RSX) "I came away quite impressed not just with the tires' overall grip and autocross performance, but also with their ability to stand up to lap after lap of abuse." --- Andrew Bornhop

My tires claim 1102 lbs at 44 psi. A close call for a wagon carrying an 880 lb full load!

I only used them for a month last fall, and I was impressed. (I'm not that hard to impress, but I suspect that R&T is.)

There's always a lot of stuff stuck to them after a ride - If I am going to get frisky, I might just clean them off a bit first!



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3 8s & 2 7s 740,000 miles total

3200 pounds seems awfully light for a full sized luxury sedan- The 4300 lb estimate seems more on the mark.

It's not a cooper. So I need a tire that will not rollover on the sidewall.

I have been running Bridgestone SO2 Pole Positions on my 95 T5R and have been very impressed, especially in the rain. Be sure to get them up to temp before doing any aggressive driving! They are far superior to the P-Zero's that came on the car as far as handling, grip and wear. I have heard similar comments about the SO3's. I'll let you know mt impressions in a couple of months when I replace the one on the car.

I do not believe the 850 sedan weighs 4300+ pounds. I believe it is more like 3200 pounds.