Yokohama Avid TRZ

January 2009. Professional review organizations prefer to test fun-to-drive performance tires rather than staid all-seasons, but we did find a thorough test of the Yokohama Avid TRZ at Consumer Reports. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a valuable source for treadwear, traction and heat-resistance ratings for more than 2,400 tires. The Tire Rack is the best place to find owner-written reviews of the Yokohama Avid TRZ; another retail site, 1010Tires.com, has attracted far fewer reviews.

Tests show that the Yokohama Avid TRZ performs almost as well as more expensive all-season tires, displaying good traction on all road surfaces except ice. But although the Avid TRZ carries an 80,000-mile treadwear warranty, some owners report that it wears out faster than they had hoped. Some owners find it noisy. For a quieter ride and longer treadwear, critics favor the more expensive Goodyear Assurance TripleTred (*est. $115). For better performance on ice, the high-performance Continental ContiExtremeContact (*est. $90) gets the best ratings, although reviews say the Continental wears out faster than either the Goodyear or the Yokohama.