Yokohama Parada Spec-X - a Review

[Rogue Leader]

Let me preface this review with a few things, firstly I have 7000 miles on my SS with the Pirellis, secondly I have only had the Yokohamas for a few days, they may be different when broken in. Thirdly, a lot of things can be attributed to the fact that they are designed as a Sport truck tire and the load rating is far different than the stock Pirellis. Fourth, just to qualify my experience and opinions I have been racing cars of some form or another for 11 years, I have 2 regional autocross class championships, and currently hold SCCA and IMSA competition licenses. I'm no definite authority but I have a decent amount of tire experience. I drive a little like a maniac on the street, and I would like to make this review to introduce people on what to expect when switching. Finally the tires were mounted and balaned by a good local shop who mounts my race tires for me and always does a great job. I have never had a balance issue with any wheel they have done for me, so I have no concern this would end up being a problem.

So I mounted the stock size Yokohama Parada SpecX's this weekend. In terms of fit they fit the wheels well, they have a nice sidewall design and they look great, the tread pattern is directional, it doesn't look too agressive, but it looks serious enough to do the job.

The first thing you will notice is road noise. These tires are noticeably louder than the PZeros, but was with any all season or winter tire this is to be expected. I didn't notice any significantly worse noise vs tires I've owned in the past, except maybe slightly more probably caused by the width.

Next; feel, you will feel the difference in the steering wheel especially as you speed up. The ride and road feeling is far rougher than the Pirellis you will notice it in the steering wheel. The tires do track straight and true, but as speeds increase the feeling from them is noticeably less confidence inspiring as your speed approaches 80 mph. I topped out at 85 and I wouldn't reccomend going any faster than that with them. At more normal speeds 60-65 they are noticeably rougher than the PZeros but nothing of concern.

Finally handling, the first thing you will notice is its much easier to break the rearend loose, the rest of this section should be obvious. They hold the road fine normally but once you get to some spirited moves while they don't lose control, you can feel that they are struggling to keep up. Admittedly they put up a good fight but I've driven better all seasons that don't feel like they are stuggling so much.

Unfortunately (or fortunately lol) I have not had a chance to try them in the snow, but in the wet they performed admirably. They felt no better or worse than the PZeros, the temperature was around 45 degrees at the time, and they felt as confident in the wet as a set of tires can. The wide tread pattern tells me snow should probably not be a problem for these.

In the end these are a "good enough" set of tires. I have driven far better sets of All Seasons such as the Pirelli PZero Nero M+S which feel like race tires compared to these. Unfortunately to fit our stock size we are limited to these. They will definitely do the job for the winter and give decent enough performance for regular street driving of the car. However if you want to get anywhere near the limits of the car these tires will be quite dissapointing. They really are very pedestrian and not a performance oriented all season tire at all. That said they are made for vehicles that are larger and heavier, so the fact the Camaro is not a truck probably exacerbates these tires shortcomings. They feel like a pair of Sketchers compared to the New Balance 785 running shoes the car came with. I hope in the next year some more choices are available, as I said they are good enough, but I feel that many owners will be dissapointed in their performance when its not crappy out, and there are far better all season tires out there, just not in our size.

[stirthepot]

Thanks! much appreciated as these tire are on my consideration list.

[chopss]

Great Review of this tire. That is how i feel. They are good enough for cold temp. driving. I cant wait to get my Pzeros on.
joey

[Rogue Leader]

I'm getting a hum from the front wheels only between 65 and 70 mph with them now, I am gonna have the front balance checked, but its vaguely annoying as well....

[live2well]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

Let me preface this review with a few things, firstly I have 7000 miles on my SS with the Pirellis, secondly I have only had the Yokohamas for a few days, they may be different when broken in. Thirdly, a lot of things can be attributed to the fact that they are designed as a Sport truck tire and the load rating is far different than the stock Pirellis. Fourth, just to qualify my experience and opinions I have been racing cars of some form or another for 11 years, I have 2 regional autocross class championships, and currently hold SCCA and IMSA competition licenses. I'm no definite authority but I have a decent amount of tire experience. I drive a little like a maniac on the street, and I would like to make this review to introduce people on what to expect when switching. Finally the tires were mounted and balaned by a good local shop who mounts my race tires for me and always does a great job. I have never had a balance issue with any wheel they have done for me, so I have no concern this would end up being a problem.

So I mounted the stock size Yokohama Parada SpecX's this weekend. In terms of fit they fit the wheels well, they have a nice sidewall design and they look great, the tread pattern is directional, it doesn't look too agressive, but it looks serious enough to do the job.

The first thing you will notice is road noise. These tires are noticeably louder than the PZeros, but was with any all season or winter tire this is to be expected. I didn't notice any significantly worse noise vs tires I've owned in the past, except maybe slightly more probably caused by the width.

Next; feel, you will feel the difference in the steering wheel especially as you speed up. The ride and road feeling is far rougher than the Pirellis you will notice it in the steering wheel. The tires do track straight and true, but as speeds increase the feeling from them is noticeably less confidence inspiring as your speed approaches 80 mph. I topped out at 85 and I wouldn't reccomend going any faster than that with them. At more normal speeds 60-65 they are noticeably rougher than the PZeros but nothing of concern.

Finally handling, the first thing you will notice is its much easier to break the rearend loose, the rest of this section should be obvious. They hold the road fine normally but once you get to some spirited moves while they don't lose control, you can feel that they are struggling to keep up. Admittedly they put up a good fight but I've driven better all seasons that don't feel like they are stuggling so much.

Unfortunately (or fortunately lol) I have not had a chance to try them in the snow, but in the wet they performed admirably. They felt no better or worse than the PZeros, the temperature was around 45 degrees at the time, and they felt as confident in the wet as a set of tires can. The wide tread pattern tells me snow should probably not be a problem for these.

In the end these are a "good enough" set of tires. I have driven far better sets of All Seasons such as the Pirelli PZero Nero M+S which feel like race tires compared to these. Unfortunately to fit our stock size we are limited to these. They will definitely do the job for the winter and give decent enough performance for regular street driving of the car. However if you want to get anywhere near the limits of the car these tires will be quite dissapointing. They really are very pedestrian and not a performance oriented all season tire at all. That said they are made for vehicles that are larger and heavier, so the fact the Camaro is not a truck probably exacerbates these tires shortcomings. They feel like a pair of Sketchers compared to the New Balance 785 running shoes the car came with. I hope in the next year some more choices are available, as I said they are good enough, but I feel that many owners will be dissapointed in their performance when its not crappy out, and there are far better all season tires out there, just not in our size.

Awesome review ......I agree with everything you have said. I have been running a set of these now for about 500 miles.

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

The Hankooks I got for the rears are ok but not the P-Zero's. I think when the fronts get ready to go I will change them all out for the Nitto Invo's.

[Rogue Leader]

Well after 1000 miles heres some thoughts.

They still suck in the dry

In the rain they kick ass, they are one of the better rain tires I've used.

Perfect in the snow as well. The car design obviously helps but they had no problem going through the snow very safely with minimal slippage.