Feedback requested: Enkei RPF1 & Yokohama S.drive

[Iggy888]

Hello everyone. Last winter I broke down and bought some dedicated Winter tires for my stock steelies. Now that winter has passed, I am looking to get some new wheels and tires for the summer.

I was thinking about ordering the following from tirerack.com:

Wheels: Enkei Racing RPF1 Bright Silver Paint
Size: 15x7
Offset: 41mm

Tires: Yokohama S.drive (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Size: 195/55 R15

My Yaris is my daily driver. I don't have any immediate plans to autocross it. I don't do much spirited driving but would like to improve the fun factor of the car a little bit by taking turns a little faster. I am currently running stock suspension but may lower the car (light drop) somewhere down the road.

Concerns:
Are 195 wheels too narrow for a 7 inch rim? I was concerned that a 205 or higher might hurt fuel economy.
Are these lighter racing wheels okay for a daily driver?

I thought this lighter combination might give a very mild boost to acceleration and braking but have neutral impact on fuel economy (slightly wider tire neutralizing any benefits gained by slightly lighter weight).

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I would like to replace the winter wheels/tires asap. Thanks.

[33OH]

RPF1's are a very good, lightweight daily-driver wheel. Great choice.

195/55/15 or 205/50/15 will both be okay on a 7" wheel and you will not see a significant change in gas mileage between the two.

I've never tried S-Drives so I can't comment on the tire, but they do have good reviews and look like a very good value for the price.

Hope this helps!

[MUSKOKA800]

Iggy,
Yokohama's warranty does not extend across the border. Tires bought in the US are only covered by warranty in the US. Buy Yokohama's here and you'll be covered here.

My research has found the following three companies have warranties with include coverage across North America for US bought rubber, Michelin, Goodyear and General. Others may as well but for sure Bridgestone and Yokohama have country specific warranties which in my opinion deter cross-border shopping. Ya, it sucks!

HINT: look at the General Exclaim UHP. They're dirt cheap at Tirerack, they compare favouably in the TireRack ratings against the others in the price range and the warranty is good here. Plus, there are dealers around the GTA for warranty and CTC sell them should you need a replacement quick.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

^ +1 on those Exclaim UHP. They're 3rd or 4th in class and the S.Drive's are right behind them. I'm debating on those two right now. The General's are 2 lbs lighter, so that means less rotational mass, meaning better gas mileage. The Yoko's have better dry handling. I mainly drive on the freeway, so I might just go with the General's, they're cheaper too. Although the reviews have been saying that their sidewalls are a bit soft, so cornering might be as good as the Yoko's.

[bzinn 1]

Get the RPFs you will love them and they are like 11lbs,very light.......Sdrives are good tires,they get a little slippy once they get worn down and they are fairly quiet.....for a performance tire at least.

[Iggy888]

Thank you all for the excellent feedback. I am definintely going to get the Enkei RPF1s and will take a closer look at the General Exclaim UHP in a 195/55 15. I am hoping to make the purchase this Friday when I get back in town.

[Iggy888]

I called up Tirerack this afternoon and placed my order:

Wheels: Enkei Racing RPF1 Bright Silver Paint
Size: 15x7
Offset: 41mm

Tires: General Tire UHP (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Size: 195/55 R15

They will mount and balance them and include the necessary hardware to put them on (lug nuts and centering rings). I also ordered some locking lug nuts as well. I am paranoid now after having the car broken into last week while parked on my friend's driveway.

Again, a big thanks to all in the community for your help

I will be sure to post some pictures once they are on. The hardest part now is waiting for delivery.

[WeeYari]

RPF1s; excellent choice.

Although I am not familiar with what Tirerack puts in their package deal, I'd be watchfull of the lug nuts they include. When I bought my package from another online retailer, the lugs were uber cheap Wang Chung shit. Threads rusted so badly on them that I snapped a stud trying to remove them once. Very quickly invested in some quality lugs after that incident.

BTW, you know my setup. It's 195 rubber on a 7 inch wheel.

[Iggy888]

Thanks WeeYari for the heads up on the lugs.
If the ones included don't seem decent, I will get some proper ones.

[britishbikes]

Yoko s-drives work very well, quieter, more stable, seem to wear well, hold balance, do not follow ruts like some summer tires and have considerably better traction in rain and dry. You lose perhaps 1mpg over the tombstones. 195/55-15 fit the stock steel rims fine. They are the best overall car tires I have had. Increase speedo reading to the tune of about 2-3 mph at 70 mph according to gps.

[Klink10]

Hurry up with the pics there IGGY. Want to see the clearance between the rim and the caliper along with a down the side shot showing tires to edge of fenders. Thanks

My apologies.....I hadn't read the date of your post. Checked your garage and saw the pics. They look very nice.

[2manywheels]

:( Wonder if I will have the same issue with the Dunlop Direzza Stars.. Warranty wise
Ordered with the same Enkei's above..
But went 205/50/15

[firemachine69]

Head to crappy tire, and buy the McGuard set of lock-nuts.


Or be a cheap idiot like me, use the crap chicom shit, and destroy a $200 rim (after they don't manufacture them anymore, to boot) trying to remove said cheap chicom shit.

[2manywheels]

McGuard.. hmm.. I go checkem out ! thx firemachine

[yarrr]

holy necro post. And if the lug broke a stud, its a 99% chance it was because it was cross threaded, not rusted.

[2manywheels]

"necro"?

[MUSKOKA800]

Originally Posted by 2manywheels

:( Wonder if I will have the same issue with the Dunlop Direzza Stars.. Warranty wise
Ordered with the same Enkei's above..
But went 205/50/15

Just google the Dunlop US website and find the warranty info. It's often in PDF form and will state whether the warranty is North American or domestic (US) only.

Then for interest google the Dunlop Canada website and see what it reads.

Fingers crossed!