2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41
Winter tyres, unlike summer tyres, carry a lot of responsibility. Ice, a large amount of loose or rolled snow - all this should not become an obstacle for a car shod in high-quality friction or studded tires. In this article, we will consider a Japanese novelty - Yokohama Ice Guard IG35. Owner reviews are one of the most valuable sources of information, as are expert tests. But first things first.
General information
In some countries in Europe and Asia, studded tires have already been completely abandoned. This is due to mild winters and clean roads. In such conditions, Velcro copes with a bang. And the road surface is not destroyed. As for Russia, sometimes the only right choice is to buyhigh quality studs. This is especially true of the northern regions of the country. The roads here are not always clean and there is ice on them. A friction tire in such conditions is not the best choice, owner reviews indicate this. Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 is a studded tire designed for use in low temperatures and on poor quality roads. Such tires are best sold in the CIS countries and Scandinavia. Yes, this is not surprising. Quite another thing is interesting, is this rubber as good as the manufacturer says.
According to many drivers, any tire should be tested empirically. Often, manufacturers' claims about the excellent performance of a tire are just an empty phrase or a PR stunt. In our case, the reviews are mixed, which, in fact, is confusing.
Promised specifications
Japanese company engineers have been working for a long time to create a quality winter tire. After its release, the following advantages were discussed:
- excellent road handling and stability;
- good cross-country ability even in heavily snowy areas;
- predictable behavior when driving on ice;
- increased strength and resistance of spikes to mechanical stress;
- excellent lateral stability.
Although this is not a complete list of the declared advantages, but this is already enough to understand the uniqueness of the tire. It should give the driver not only comfort, but, most importantly,safety during winter driving. However, auto experts are not so optimistic and do not always praise the Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires. Owner reviews are also mixed. There is both criticism and admiration.
About the features of the tread
The Japanese call this tire high-tech. This is due to the fact that it contains a whole bunch of innovations, which should ensure safety and high traffic. The tread pattern here is directional with three-dimensional sipes. The latter have a multifaceted structure, which significantly improves grip on icy surfaces by increasing the contact patch and maintaining the rigidity of the tread blocks.
Another interesting thing is the spikes. They have a special seat with small protrusions. As the test showed, the spikes do not hold very firmly and fall out too often. Sharp starts and braking are generally advised to be excluded. In the central part of the tread there are semi-radial grooves that act as drainage. There are longitudinal grooves in the side of the tire. They provide lateral stability to the Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires. Owner reviews on this subject are mixed. The car very often skids even at low speed.
Behavior on packed snow
Automotive experts tested this tire in different conditions. For example, on clean asph alt - it's a tire like a tire. There are no obvious disadvantages, as well as advantages. But the situation changes dramatically as soon as you have to travel on packed snow. Here the Japanese tire showed itself notfrom the best side. Acceleration and braking are sluggish, yaw along the road and a late reaction to commands are noticed. All this would be forgiven for a friction tire, but not a studded one.
The experts also did not like the fact that the rubber instantly becomes clogged with snow, and the longitudinal and radial grooves intended for cleaning turned out to be completely useless. The main problem here lies in the fact that Yokohama Ice Guard Stud IG35 tires with mileage were taken for testing. Half of the spikes were no longer on it, and the rest were loose and did not hold well in the seat. Although the tire has only covered 1,000 kilometers.
Owner Reviews
As for the quality of the spikes, motorists have long left their feedback on this. They are negative in 70% of cases. First of all, the short service life of the spikes is noted. Approximately 30-40% falls out after the first season of operation. Moreover, as practice shows, little depends on the driving style. Of course, there will be a slight difference, but still, the loss of such a number of spikes over the winter can be called critical.
We should pay more attention to this important point. Indeed, due to the lack of spikes on such rubber, the main problems appear. Her behavior becomes similar to a friction tire, only many times worse. Velcro is designed for such use and there are corresponding changes in its tread design. "Spike" cannot boast of this, therefore, without metal, it is practically useless.
Ride through the snowy yard
The situation is even worse when roads are not regularly cleared of snow. Rubber Yokohama Ice Guard Stud IG35 here also did not please motorists, and experts in particular. The fact is that the tire is buried in a snowdrift and clogged with snow. After that, it becomes completely smooth and useless. The Japanese clearly something went wrong at the design stage of the tread. At the same time, this model cannot be called old in any way. She came out together with Nokian Nordman 4, which the Finns turned out to be very successful. But on the other hand, there are also positive consumer reviews that say quite the opposite, we will consider them a little later.
Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tire price
Despite a certain amount of criticism of the Japanese company, or rather, of this model, it is worth paying tribute to the assortment. Here it is really huge. Tires are available in 9 sizes - from R13 to R22. Therefore, it is possible to install both a small car and a large SUV.
R20 rubber kit will cost about 72 thousand rubles. This is a wide profile tire (275 mm) with a low height of only 35 mm. Speed and load index - 102T. Therefore, the permissible speed is 190 km / h, and the weight per tire is 850 kilograms. If you look at more modest sizes, for example, the 14th radius, then one tire costs about 5 thousand rubles. Many motorists consider this amount too high and it is difficult to disagree with them. For this money you can take an already proven European brand"Goodrich" or the same "Nokian". But such a price is due solely to the fact that the technology "Ranflat" is present. Without it, the tire will cost about 3.5 thousand, which is quite normal.
Positive feedback from drivers
According to many drivers, the Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires, the prices of which we reviewed, are quite good and worth the money. First of all, its softness is noted. It retains its properties regardless of the air temperature. Although you should not ride it in the summer, as this will damage the studs and uneven wear of the tread elements.
Many motorists say that it is quite quiet for studded tires. This is true, with which automotive experts agree. The cost is also often singled out as an advantage, but here the opinions of motorists are divided. As for directional stability, here the score is 3.5 out of 5. If the asph alt is dry or wet, then everything is in order. Quite predictable behavior even in shallow snow.
A few shortcomings
Many drivers are ambivalent about the Japanese company Yokohama. Model Ice Guard IG35 some of them consider very mediocre. It really has a lot of negative reviews, and this already characterizes the company not from the best side. Some of the drivers put a solid five, while others - one. As for the specific cons, for the most part they relate to the low quality of the spikes. Very often they drop out after 1 or 2 seasonsoperation, and we have already figured out that a tire without them is practically no different from a summer one.
At the same time, there are complaints in other areas. For example, tires do not hold well on an icy road, even with all the spikes. Deep snow traction is also much worse than competitors in this price range. In general, there are more than enough shortcomings. Therefore, the developers would do well to revise the tread pattern and change the shape of the stud seat. This would help improve the situation. But no one will do this, since a newer model has already been released today, which, according to the test results, turned out to be much better than the previous one.
Worth taking?
It is rather difficult to give a definite answer to this question. On the one hand, this is a durable tire at an affordable price. On the other hand, very often spikes fall out after several thousand runs. This makes the tire less efficient, especially on ice. But many motorists say that everything depends on the correct running-in. If you start and brake sharply from the first kilometers, make sharp maneuvers and drive at high speed, then the spikes will fly out in an instant. But at least 200 km of measured driving will only strengthen them, the load will be distributed more evenly and all elements will take the proper shape.
Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires, the photo of which you can see in this article, are more suitable for moderate driving. Be that as it may, but at high speeds it is unstable, so rideshe needs to be careful. At the same time, driving in urban conditions has no problems, and clear handling and smoothness will please the owners.
Summarize
Well, we figured out this rubber. Of course, the output characteristics were not at all what the manufacturer promised. The Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 is a mediocre tire with mixed reviews. According to experts, it is better to take something else for the same money.
Nevertheless, the model cannot be called terrible or a failure. Many people use it for quite a long time and do not complain. Motorists who have performed the correct break-in say that only 5-7% of studs fall out in two seasons. But these are rather isolated cases and extremely careful driving than the merit of the manufacturer. The average rating of the tire by experts is 3.5 points out of 5. Some people will be fine with this, while others will prefer to purchase a better option. In addition, it is necessary to take into account your budget when buying winter tires.
Recommended:
Yokohama Ice Guard IG35 tires: reviews. Yokohama Ice Guard IG35: prices, specifications, tests
Winter tires from the famous Japanese brand "Yokohama" - the passenger model "Ice Guard 35" - released for the winter of 2011. The manufacturer has guaranteed this rubber excellent running characteristics, promising reliability and stability in the most difficult winter road conditions. How true these promises are, showed four years of active operation of this model in the conditions of Russian roads
Yokohama Ice Guard IG50 plus tires: owner reviews
The choice of winter tires should be approached with more responsibility than summer tires. After all, the weather conditions in the cold period are very harsh. This is both ice and a large amount of snow - these factors will not be an obstacle for a car on which high-quality friction or studded tires are installed
Yokohama Ice Guard IG30 tires: owner reviews
Japanese engineers have always amazed the world with their developments. The products of Japanese companies are always in demand, as they are very high quality and durable. In the automotive industry, Japan is also not far behind. Yokohama produces tires for cars using new technologies
Winter tires Winter iPike RS W419 Hankook: owner reviews, photo, review
Which tires to choose for the winter? Many motorists ask themselves this question, and this article will tell you about one of the most progressive winter tire models
"Toyo" - tires: reviews. Tires "Toyo Proxes SF2": reviews. Tires "Toyo" summer, winter, all-weather: reviews
Japanese tire manufacturer Toyo is one of the world's top sellers, with most Japanese vehicles sold as original equipment. Reviews about tires "Toyo" almost always differ in positive feedback from grateful car owners