Yokohama Avid Ascend tire issues (kinda long)

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Is anyone on here running these tires,or considering buying them?

I noticed a while back the tread on my Traction T/A tires on my daily driver HHR was trying to separate. The tires had about 35K miles on them,and they rode fantastic. I had a set of these tires on my wife's old Grand Prix GTP. They rode and drove great after initially riding quite harsh. The set I bought for my HHR was great from the get-go,and got even better.

When I was shopping for new tires I had decided on Goodyear Assurance Comfortred tires based on reviews I had read,and their warranty. In addition,there was a very good rebate on them going on.

I was just about to pull the trigger when I found Yokohama Avid Ascends on sale on Ebay from Discount Tire Direct. The offer was for four tires shipped for $352 bucks!! The specs and reviews that I read on the Yokos were very similiar to the Goodyears and 100 bucks cheaper so I pulled the trigger on the Ascends. This was a smoking deal for a 740 treadwear tire that was so highly reviewed. It was about 100 bucks cheaper than the Goodyears even with the rebate.

My HHR has 75k miles on it. Two weeks ago I replaced the struts,sway bar links,and sway bar bushings because I was getting bumping noises constantly, and bottoming out. The ride was like a new car again. I still had the Traction T/A tires on. No more bumping,and the ride was so much better!! Money and time well spent.

I had the Yokohama tires put on on the 12th. OMG,they were awesome at first. SOOO smooth and quiet,and the ride was great. I drove the car about 50 miles or so last weekend,and they swallowed up bumps like nothing. My wife drove the car out of town on a business trip last Monday night,and returned on Tuesday. She said they were awesome at all speeds with no issues at all. These tires had to be the bargain of the century. I thought I had knocked it out of the park.

Thought is the key word. While coming home for lunch on Wednesday I noticed the car was riding much more rough. It seemed fine that morning too.

These things have turned into absolutely the roughest riding tires I've ever experienced in my life. It's the opposite of every other tire I've experienced wherein they smooth out over time. I'm running the same pressures as the Traction T/A tires I ran previously. You can feel EVERY bump,ripple,and joint in the road. I took these tires out on a 100 mile road trip,and the ride was unbearably bad. Every road I've driven on since I got the Yokohama tires is one I'm very familiar with,and the ride is much,much,much worse now. I even let out some air today to try and help,but it wasn't much better at all.

If they had started out rough I could take it a little better,but they started out so good. Any ideas,or similiar experiences?? I apologize for the book,but this is very frustrating. I don't know if I can stand these things or not! I may have to dump them. This is so disappointing after reading the overhwelmingly positive reviews for these tires. All I can say is the people who like these tires must have been riding around on Fred FLintsone tires or something.
 
I would try re-checking the balance. It's possible that the tires "slipped" from the rim due to the bead lube, and are now out of balance.

I have a set of these on a 2009 Honda Fit and after 30k, there's a ton of tread left and there are no complaints on the ride or handling.
 
After getting all those suspension components changed maybe you need an alignment.

I'd get the tires re-balanced at a reputable place as people have mentioned above.
 
Originally Posted By: Racerjk
Is anyone on here running these tires,or considering buying them?

I noticed a while back the tread on my Traction T/A tires on my daily driver HHR was trying to separate. The tires had about 35K miles on them,and they rode fantastic. I had a set of these tires on my wife's old Grand Prix GTP. They rode and drove great after initially riding quite harsh. The set I bought for my HHR was great from the get-go,and got even better.

When I was shopping for new tires I had decided on Goodyear Assurance Comfortred tires based on reviews I had read,and their warranty. In addition,there was a very good rebate on them going on.

I was just about to pull the trigger when I found Yokohama Avid Ascends on sale on Ebay from Discount Tire Direct. The offer was for four tires shipped for $352 bucks!! The specs and reviews that I read on the Yokos were very similiar to the Goodyears and 100 bucks cheaper so I pulled the trigger on the Ascends. This was a smoking deal for a 740 treadwear tire that was so highly reviewed. It was about 100 bucks cheaper than the Goodyears even with the rebate.

My HHR has 75k miles on it. Two weeks ago I replaced the struts,sway bar links,and sway bar bushings because I was getting bumping noises constantly, and bottoming out. The ride was like a new car again. I still had the Traction T/A tires on. No more bumping,and the ride was so much better!! Money and time well spent.

I had the Yokohama tires put on on the 12th. OMG,they were awesome at first. SOOO smooth and quiet,and the ride was great. I drove the car about 50 miles or so last weekend,and they swallowed up bumps like nothing. My wife drove the car out of town on a business trip last Monday night,and returned on Tuesday. She said they were awesome at all speeds with no issues at all. These tires had to be the bargain of the century. I thought I had knocked it out of the park.

Thought is the key word. While coming home for lunch on Wednesday I noticed the car was riding much more rough. It seemed fine that morning too.

These things have turned into absolutely the roughest riding tires I've ever experienced in my life. It's the opposite of every other tire I've experienced wherein they smooth out over time. I'm running the same pressures as the Traction T/A tires I ran previously. You can feel EVERY bump,ripple,and joint in the road. I took these tires out on a 100 mile road trip,and the ride was unbearably bad. Every road I've driven on since I got the Yokohama tires is one I'm very familiar with,and the ride is much,much,much worse now. I even let out some air today to try and help,but it wasn't much better at all.

If they had started out rough I could take it a little better,but they started out so good. Any ideas,or similiar experiences?? I apologize for the book,but this is very frustrating. I don't know if I can stand these things or not! I may have to dump them. This is so disappointing after reading the overhwelmingly positive reviews for these tires. All I can say is the people who like these tires must have been riding around on Fred FLintsone tires or something.



First, my experience says that the ride qualities of tires don't change much in the short term. All the ride engineers I know (and that means both vehicle manufacturers and tire manufacturers) don't take this into account. If this was an issue, I would think they would know about it and adjust their procedures appropriately.

And certainly a difference of a few hours should have perceivable differences.

So I think there is something else going on. I'm thinking suspension.

Did you do an alignment after you changed all those parts? If not, it is quite possible you have worn irregular wear into the tires.

Second, is the ride just rough (as in harsh), or is there a vibration? The difference is important in diagnosing the problem. A vibration means to look for an imbalance or irregular wear, but harshness would be looking for stiffness or binding.

And one last thought: Is it possible there is a bushing that has cracked or bound up?

Anyway, those are my thoughts.
 
Originally Posted By: Racerjk


I had the Yokohama tires put on on the 12th. OMG,they were awesome at first. SOOO smooth and quiet,and the ride was great. I drove the car about 50 miles or so last weekend,and they swallowed up bumps like nothing. My wife drove the car out of town on a business trip last Monday night,and returned on Tuesday. She said they were awesome at all speeds with no issues at all. These tires had to be the bargain of the century. I thought I had knocked it out of the park.

Thought is the key word. While coming home for lunch on Wednesday I noticed the car was riding much more rough. It seemed fine that morning too.

These things have turned into absolutely the roughest riding tires I've ever experienced in my life. It's the opposite of every other tire I've experienced wherein they smooth out over time. I'm running the same pressures as the Traction T/A tires I ran previously. You can feel EVERY bump,ripple,and joint in the road. I took these tires out on a 100 mile road trip,and the ride was unbearably bad. Every road I've driven on since I got the Yokohama tires is one I'm very familiar with,and the ride is much,much,much worse now. I even let out some air today to try and help,but it wasn't much better at all.

If they had started out rough I could take it a little better,but they started out so good. Any ideas.....?



This is confusing...
If the tires were fine on Saturday...and 4 days later, not.....

This suggests that the tires (if in good condition) are NOT inherently the culprit, and likely not the suspension...

unless...
a tire has come apart somehow, (ouch, were the tires bought used?)... or
something in the tires' mounting/balance has come apart (a wheel balance weight coming off)...or
a suspension part has broken/come apart...

Get the car on a rack and inspect EVERYthing.
 
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Add me to the group of people thinking that this situation doesn't make sense. I would say that if the issue is real, then it's not the tires.

I don't see a way the tires could change ride characteristics in four days, unless somehow the tire pressures changed.

What exact tires pressures are being run in the tires?

The OP also needs to explain what he means when he says the tires were "riding much more rough." I'm assuming he means they seem much harder and cause a more jarring ride over bumps. That would not be caused by a tire balance like some people here are suggesting.

A tire balance issue would cause a vibration on the highway. If that's what the OP means when he says it's riding "rough," then the tire balance is a possibility.
 
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
What was the speed rating on the Traction T/A's and the Yokohama Avid Ascends?



T/A/s were T, Yokos are H.

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I would try re-checking the balance. It's possible that the tires "slipped" from the rim due to the bead lube, and are now out of balance.

I have a set of these on a 2009 Honda Fit and after 30k, there's a ton of tread left and there are no complaints on the ride or handling.


Originally Posted By: Falken
After getting all those suspension components changed maybe you need an alignment.

I'd get the tires re-balanced at a reputable place as people have mentioned above.


Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
My bet is the Yoko's are an "H" rated tire, stiffer sidewall...


I would expect a stiffer sidewall,but the Yokos rode fine at first.

I suspected out of balance myself,but I've had great luck in the past with the shop I used.

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer



First, my experience says that the ride qualities of tires don't change much in the short term. All the ride engineers I know (and that means both vehicle manufacturers and tire manufacturers) don't take this into account. If this was an issue, I would think they would know about it and adjust their procedures appropriately.

And certainly a difference of a few hours should have perceivable differences.

So I think there is something else going on. I'm thinking suspension.

Did you do an alignment after you changed all those parts? If not, it is quite possible you have worn irregular wear into the tires.

Second, is the ride just rough (as in harsh), or is there a vibration? The difference is important in diagnosing the problem. A vibration means to look for an imbalance or irregular wear, but harshness would be looking for stiffness or binding.

And one last thought: Is it possible there is a bushing that has cracked or bound up?

Anyway, those are my thoughts.


The tires were purchased new from Discount Tire Direct.

I'm not experience any vibration or shimmy in the steering. The ride has just become harsher or stiffer. I installed the new parts myself,and I torqued everything back to specs. I should've had the car aligned,but haven't had the time to do so.

I ran 34 to 35 psi with the Traction T/A tires,and the same with the Yokohama tires. The temperatures here have risen in the last few days,but I've kept the pressures the same until I lowered them yesterday.
 
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Pressures don't remain the same for different temperatures. 10F equals approximately 1 PSI.
 
Racerjk,

Thanks for the detail.

This is sounding more and more like something other than tires.

If I were you, I'd look again at the suspension - looking for cracked bushings, or binding of some sort. Don't assume that because you assembled it correctly that it stayed that way. Sometimes things move, then bind up.
 
Recheck the trq again on suspension parts...

Sometimes they even require that in FSM after a certain number of miles.
 
Well,I apologize for the ranting post. Nothing I do seems to ever go right,but I thought the new tires/suspension work had gone quite well. It did for a few days as I said. I couldn't have asked for a better ride

Something must have gone awry. I seem to be getting more and more of the bumping noise I had before,but not constantly. Only on pretty decent bumps in the road.

In the past couple of days I've heard a peculiar noise,and I've heard it on both sides. It's mainly on the driver's side when entering and leaving my drive way. There's a slight incline from my driveway to the street,and I hear what I can only describe as a "bong" or "boing" noise. I have heard it on the passenger side as well.

Does this sound like a binding noise?

I am really starting to worry about the Monroe Quik Struts themselves from what I've read about them!

I really hope it's not the tires! I want to like them! They're a really nice looking tire,and the price for such high treadwear tire was unreal. I practically stole them!!

Did I shed any more light,or just muddle things up more??
 
Come on....really, we can't see the car...take it to a shop...maybe the shop that did the work and have them inspect it, and if all looks good, then have them go for a ride with you while you replicate the problems....that's the best advice anyone on the net can give to you...really...
 
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I've seen some issues with the Monroes- mainly in the bearing plates. From what you describe, it really does sound like it's in the suspension and not the tires. Time to get it up in the air and recheck your work. Check out the lower control arm bushings. I believe yours will have a vertically mounted bushing and a horizontally mounted bushing. Check the vertically mounted bushing closely- they like to tear away from the shell. Also recheck the torque on everything you touched.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
I've seen some issues with the Monroes- mainly in the bearing plates. From what you describe, it really does sound like it's in the suspension and not the tires. Time to get it up in the air and recheck your work. Check out the lower control arm bushings. I believe yours will have a vertically mounted bushing and a horizontally mounted bushing. Check the vertically mounted bushing closely- they like to tear away from the shell. Also recheck the torque on everything you touched.


Well Kita basically said don't post anymore but....

I rechecked all the torque settings last Friday. The torque was unchanged on eveything except where the strut mounts to the spindle. The nuts were a little looose so I re-torqued them.

It's still riding rough. I'm getting bumping noises more than I should IMO. I really think it might be the new struts,but I have thought about it being the LCA bushings.

I'm going to take the car to a shop tomorrow or Friday to have them look it over and see what they think.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Racerjk

Well Kita basically said don't post anymore but....

Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Come on....really, we can't see the car...take it to a shop...maybe the shop that did the work and have them inspect it, and if all looks good, then have them go for a ride with you while you replicate the problems....that's the best advice anyone on the net can give to you...really...

I'm going to take the car to a shop tomorrow or Friday to have them look it over and see what they think.


Nooooo....I said have a shop see it since we can't and we'd only be guessing...that could get you into more trouble.

...let us know what the shop says...
 
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Well,I have a small update.

I had my HHR aligned last week,and the shop looked the struts over. They said they lookded fine to them. I still have the rough ride issue,or so it seems to me.

I definitely have strut issues though. I went to the dentist this morning,and I noticed a binding noise and feel in the steering. The driver's side strut spring is binding from turn to turn. I took it to the shop I use,and showed it to the owner. He said that was definitely the problem. They also said they never have any issues with Monroe struts.

This is very redneck,but I tried white lithium grease down in the spring seat to see if that helps with the binding.


I absolutely have zero luck with anything I try to do.
 
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