tires and wheels Yoko S.drive Rain Review

[M3M3]

taught competition school last weekend.  students use full race cars, so instructors don't ride with them. had to bring a car for the sessions we take our students out for track fam and passing drills.  i usually get two race students and a student instructor so i needed four seats.  crappy wx forecast so took the e30 325e slushbox.  but...the yoko es100's on it for commuting just suck so put the street wheels/tires from the 2002 on the car for the weekend.  they are yoko s.drives 195/50 15 on rota rb's.

 

my buddy with an e30 m3 wearing 225 goodyear rivals was playmate on track for drills.

 

wx for the weekend was bad for those of us standing around but great for students

sat - 46deg and rain

sun - 38 deg, 20+ mph winds, driving wet snow and heavy rain.

 

 

the s.drives were great in these conditions!  good grip, predictable, cut through the puddles, no hydroplaning at 90+.  they are not close to a full hoosier wet race tire of course, but for an inexpensive performance street tire they worked really well.  impressed!

 

the rota's looked really good on the e30..was tempted to leave them on the car for a while, but the first pothole i hit on the way to work convinced me not a good idea.  too bad as the transformed the dry handling of the e30 also.  off they came tonight.  besides...they needed cleaning to get the WV mud off....

 

s.drives highly recommended for a good three season performance street tire.

[DonP]

Excellent timing, thanks Marshall.  I was planning on getting a set for my M3, and your review sealed the deal!

 

Don

[Chamonix72]

I run S-drives on my 02. I live in Western Washington, and it rains a bit here as you may have heard. I've never had an issue on wet roads. i get plenty of grip and performance. 

 

Now when it's COLD and wet, things can get slightly sketchy...

[Mike Self]

If they only came in 185/70 x 13s....

 

Sigh.

 

mike

[jgerock]

If they only came in 185/70 x 13s....

 

Sigh.

 

mike

And 195-60/14. I need a set of tires for the tii. The current tires are old.

Great review Marshall- the Rotas transformed the look of the ETA.

[roadhog0]

I run S-drives on my 02. I live in Western Washington, and it rains a bit here as you may have heard. I've never had an issue on wet roads. i get plenty of grip and performance. 

 

Now when it's COLD and wet, things can get slightly sketchy...

 

This is my thought exactly. First 15 miles in 40* ish rainy weather its a little dicey. But when they warm up, they're great! I will be purchasing another set for my 02 this summer, wore out one set already!

[M3M3]

They seemed pretty good to me at 38 deg cutting fast laps with no warm up...

[ray_]

The rain is wetter out west. ;-)

 

Could be road surfaces too.

 

Cheers,

[Chamonix72]

Most of the sketchiness I notice is on wet roads that are shaded all day, so they stay a little cooler. And by sketchiness, I mean a slight wiggle in a turn.

[Slideshow]

I've been eye-balling the S-Drives for my Tii with 15" Panasports. I don't intentionally drive this car in the wet (only by accident). How would the S-Drives compare with the Potenza RE040s for sporty (drier) road work? (Anyone with experience? Marshall?)

[M3M3]

i have not run the re040's, but i have run the s.drives in anger on a dry track on both the 2002 and the e30.  they work very well.  jgerock used the same set on his tii at an auto-x.  (that set of s.drives gets around!)

 

the price/performance ratio on s.drive is really good.  if you want to spend a bunch more money there are better extreme performance summer tires, but the s.drives rock the price point.

 

(i have no connection to yokohama....i run hoosiers and hankooks on my race cars)

Edited April 2, 2014 by mlytle

[jgerock]

I've been eye-balling the S-Drives for my Tii with 15" Panasports. I don't intentionally drive this car in the wet (only by accident). How would the S-Drives compare with the Potenza RE040s for sporty (drier) road work? (Anyone with experience? Marshall?)

I borrowed mlytle's 15" Euroweave wheels and Yokohama S-drive tires for an AutoX session.  I was impressed.

[roadhog0]

They seemed pretty good to me at 38 deg cutting fast laps with no warm up...

My sketchyness is in a good continuous rain on a cool day the car is rather darty and dodgy on the highway, after about 20 miles they're nice. May just be shitty highway too   I've driven em down to something like 25* and they're still pretty good.

[Slideshow]

Great feedback folks, thanks. I can't rationalize the cost of the Potenzas with such positive thoughts on the S-Drives. Wish I could say I would auto-x them; maybe I'll get lucky... The last time I autocrossed was 1991 in an '83 Porsche 924 Turbo (ugh). I squeaked by my dad's best time of day in his '90 E30 M3 that particular day, but I'm sure it was my shear recklessness or dumb luck (definitely not skill). I need to go back to school!

[Chamonix72]

I put my S-drives through a track day on a roasting hot day. They pilled up a bit, but they performed well, far beyond my skills for sure.