I'm looking to upgrade to an 18" wheel here shortly, and I wanted to ask u guys which tire will perform similar to the A046??? Please share experiences if possible...

I like Bridgstone Potenza's and Michelin Pilots, BUT I would REALLY LIKE to stay with Yokohama ... I know they don't make the A046 in for 18" wheel but what about the AVS Sport??? Would the funky tread pattern work out well on an all wheel drive car? I had a set on my 00' Ford Lightning and they worked great, but I just can't imagine how they will work out on an evo. The strange thing is that the AVS Sport's are listed at the Tirerack as MAX Perforance tires, and the A046's are Ultra high performance (one less then max), yet the AVS Sports are much cheaper (maybe its just a mistake) But if not, does it have to do with the fact that the A046's are not as popular over here (less availability), or is the A046 just a softer, better gripping/performing tire then the AVS Sport??? Please ... thanks!

 

Tirerack defintely mis-classified the stock tires. I think you'll find anything short of an R compound tire will not perform close to the stock tires. I just ran the snot out of the stock tires at Button Willow raceway and I was impressed. They are really close to R compound tires. They felt incredibly similar to the Advan A032.

The reason you can't get the A046 in any other size here or anywhere else in the world is that it's exclusive to the Evo 7 and 8.

If you can wait til October, Yokohama will be shipping the A048 in a 225/40 18. It's narrower than the stock tires, however the 48 is grippier.