[tots]

I have seen posts suggesting 2014-2016 Mazda 3s come with Yokohama S34s. When I checked my tires on my 2016 iTouring, I see that I actually have Yokohama AVID S34FV:

Yokohama*AVID S34FV

Here's one review of the tire: http://www.the-tire-review.com/2015/04/yokohama-avid-s34fv.html

Is there any real difference between S34s and S34FVs?

Thanks!

 

[arathol]

Is there any real difference between S34s and S34FVs?

Yeah, about $60 :grin2:
Other than that it doesn't really make a difference. Those tires are not even worth looking at. My car came with the Avid S34FV Blue Earth tires. To sum up the review in two words - they suck. I had to replace them before the odometer hit 500 miles. Worst tires I have ever seen. Much better tires are available in the same price range.
Blue Earth tires are supposed to be environmentally friendly. They are made of some sort of orange oil by product, not real rubber. Low rolling resistance tires, very little traction on dry roads and none on wet roads. They are Prius tires, made for the hyper-mileage crowd.

 

[MeteorGray]

I have a set of Yoko S34 tires that came on my '15 Mazda3. I'm happy with the mileage, handling and wear.

At the rate they are going, I should get well over 40,000 miles on them.

They came new with 10/32" tread, and at 21,000 miles they are at about 8/32". I've got a ways to go if I run them to 3/32".

And since I'm beating the EPA's estimates of MPGs, I can't complain about that.

 

[geeboss]

Look for a better wet handling tire ...my s34's were taken off for hydroplaning and total lack of wet weather accident avoidance capability they are fair weather tire if driven sedately. Michelin pilot sport AS/3..Continental DWS06..or BF Goodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 AS for east coast weather below NYC. I'll trade high mileage / mpg any day of the week for what those 3 tires can do in wet weather. The S34 may work ok if you drive sedately and know your tires weakness.

 

[MeteorGray]

Maybe I need to pay more attention to the wet weather behavior of the Yokos. So far I haven't noticed any problems.

I live in a state that averages more than 60 inches of rain per year coming over the course of some 110 days. As a result, we drive on a lot of wet roads. I haven't found my factory-supplied Yokohama tires to be a problem in the wet. Most of my driving is on the highway between 55 and 75 mph, so hydroplaning is something that I have to watch for no matter what tire is being used.

I remember one time many years ago (mid 80s) I was driving a Plymouth K-car about 60 mph on the highway on cruse control in rainfall and noticed the engine speeding up and down just a little bit even though the road speed remained the same. I realized that one of the drive tires (FWD) must have been hydroplaning, allowing one of the drive wheels to break loose and speed up on the wet road. I slowed down until it stopped doing that. Weird sensation it was.

 

[arathol]

Look for a better wet handling tire ...my s34's were taken off for hydroplaning and total lack of wet weather accident avoidance capability they are fair weather tire if driven sedately. Michelin pilot sport AS/3..Continental DWS06..or BF Goodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 AS for east coast weather below NYC. I'll trade high mileage / mpg any day of the week for what those 3 tires can do in wet weather. The S34 may work ok if you drive sedately and know your tires weakness.

Exactly this. ↑ After that first scary drive in the rain, I wasn't about to have a repeat performance. Those tires went away next day.

Maybe I need to pay more attention to the wet weather behavior of the Yokos. So far I haven't noticed any problems......

I remember one time many years ago (mid 80s) I was driving a Plymouth K-car about 60 mph on the highway on cruse control in rainfall and noticed the engine speeding up and down just a little bit even though the road speed remained the same. I realized that one of the drive tires (FWD) must have been hydroplaning, allowing one of the drive wheels to break loose and speed up on the wet road. I slowed down until it stopped doing that. Weird sensation it was.

Never use cruise control in wet weather. When a drive wheel encounters a puddle, rotation will slow. The ECU (or what ever mechanism operates the cruise control) reads this as deceleration and will try to compensate by accelerating back to the set speed. Wheel spin, hydroplaning and the resulting fun and games ensue.

 

[Virusslayer]

Exactly this. ↑ After that first scary drive in the rain, I wasn't about to have a repeat performance. Those tires went away next day.



Never use cruise control in wet weather. When a drive wheel encounters a puddle, rotation will slow. The ECU (or what ever mechanism operates the cruise control) reads this as deceleration and will try to compensate by accelerating back to the set speed. Wheel spin, hydroplaning and the resulting fun and games ensue.

I'm glad to come across this thread. I would just like to confirm that the wet traction on these tires, with 30,000 miles to date, are terrible. Braking seems fine, but cruising along on the highway does not instill confidence at all. I almost fishtailed recently on a decreasing radius sweeper after a fresh rain.
Good advice on the cruise control, thanks.