Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires Avon tech m500 review...

I recentally purchased the Avon tech M500 from tire rack. I read the tests and talked to luke to make the purchase.

I have E1's and wanted to stay with the 215/50-16 size. The Avon's have to be one of the widdest 215's, they just clear the strut, I can't get my fingers in between the tire and strut but no rubbing issues.

The are a summer uhp tire with a 280AA A rating so they will wear a little faster than other tires, I don't put alot of miles on my car and it's stored winters, so not much of an issue with me.

When I first got them, I was really happy how they look in person, hard to get that looking at pics, but the side wall is very nice along with the tread. They are very stiff and seem well constructed.

I have only put on about 50 miles since they got mounted, but I wanted to give some type of review so I did some highway and spirited back road driving. keep in mind that they are brand new so the mold release has to wear off and there will be some tread squirm.

I started out on a twisty back road and found the tire to respond rather quickly to steering inputs and with confidence, I started to pick up the pace and the tire just kept begging for more, no houling or drauma, just kept providing grip. My car has the stock se suspension and the tire handled the body roll very well and actually felt like it compinsated for this.

At this point the ride was very nice and not really rough, but you can tell they are a uhp tire, they are a little stiff. When I came to a long straight area and no one was around I did some very quick back and forth turns of the steering wheel to see if they would give up some grip, nope, they kept wanting more .

I made it to the interstate and hauled butt up the ramp, it has a nice arching appex, tires just loved this. On the highway the ride was very nice, and the noise level I though was respectable for an uhp tire.

WHen I came to the exit I wanted, I drove in hard, the exit ramp is very wide and again no one was around, so I dove in hard to the inside to see if the tires would give up any grip and slide the nose. They kept holding the road and at that point I didn't want to see what it would take for them to give up grip.

I made it through the appex of the ramp and did some late braking to see how the compound help in braking, no real way to measure this, but I think the soft compound helped out.

I took some more back roads home and was pretty much more of the same. When I got home I checked the tires out, no sign of any marks on the sidewalls, so they didn't appear to roll over much if at all. The compound is very sticky and your fingertips stick a little the tread. They did however have some sand stuck to them that brushes off, but is also a good indicator of the compound. If they grip this well new they are going to only get better with som wear. The tread squirm will dimminish some and that will allow for more grip, although they may get a little louder. They look really nice, and have a wide stance and go really well with the car.

I'll post wet weather drive when I get the chance. I'm not saying they are the best tire, which if I did would be debated to death, but I found that it would take some pretty high speeds or some really rough driving to break these loose. We all have had tires that right away you could tell weren't what you wanted, my self included, but I had a smile on my face after running this little test. I think for $87each and having another 215/50-16 tire to choose from, any ceger who also gets these will be very happy.


Chris

I've had them on my car for a few months now. I've been pretty impressed with their cornering ability. Wet and dry traction are both decent. They do wear pretty quickly though.

To give the rest of us some real world perspective, what tires did you have on your car BEFORE and how do these compare?

I had Kuhmo Ecsta MX's. The MX's were probably a little stickier, but the Avons are much more stable in the turns.

Less sidewall give... Got it.

I had Kumho 712's. They weren't the best tire, but 4yrs ago when I bought them they where the best out there at the time for the price.I don't put on a ton of miles so I don't wear my tires out, I just look for a change after awhile.

The Kumho's had a softer sidewall, found that out right away, and would need alot of air pressure to keep them from rolling over on themselves, downside is they would slide more. The avons have really stiff sidewalls and unreal grip.

The kumho's let you know the limits and you could gather it up if they where pushed hard, but once you relized this the fun factor went away becuase they would limit you, no longer the case with the avons. I tried to push the avons hard and they kept gripping, the problem with too much grip is you need enough road on the other side of the turn to gather up the car because the tires let you go in deeper and faster, and if you finally reach the breaking point you are gonna run out of road. The point I'm trying to make is the kumhos would give up early at a lower speed than the avons, you back off the kumho's and drive out of it. That isn't really fun, and makes you not wan't too throw the car around, fearing they would loose control at some point. The avon would really need a ton of speed to break loose in a turn at which point you would need more road to catch the car. This gives me more confidents in the tire. I have no interest in pushing this tire to the limit, but I am no longer worried about having some fun spirited driving now with this tire.

Just an update. This past week I got stuck in a heavy downpour, lots of standing water on the highway and roads. The avons where awsome in the rain, cut through the puddles very well, no jerking or pulling when hitting standing water.I picked the speed up a couple of times(70-80mph)and the car didn't get nervous at all, couldn't keep that speed though, rain was coming down hard(had high speed on the wipers)but atleast I didn't have to worry about grip and could keep my consentration(sp?) on driving which was nice.no sliding during moderate cornering(wasn't gonna push it in the corners in the heavy rain)and stopped perfect.

Yesterday My wife and I went to mystic ct. for a day trip(put on around 150+ miles) very nice on a long trip down I395,very compfortable you almost forget these are uhp tires. came back home rt.12 to rt.169 nice country roads again, very sticky and alot of fun to throw around.No issues so far, very happy.

I just bought a set of the Avon tech M550 all season UHP tires. They'll be put on the car on Friday or perhaps on the weekend. They seem to test out quite favorably in all categories compared to the BFG G-force Sports, and only cost $6 per tire more. I was concerned about the all season tire making noise or giving up grip, but the tests & reviews on tirerack indicate they'll be better than I expect.

We shall see.

First impression on the Avon tech 550 all season ultra high performance tires. Good. They seem very sticky straight line braking, Better ride than the BFG G-force Sports, but the sidewalk is softer & rounder. BFGs track like on rails, Avons have considerable give by comparison, but very well mannered. The Avons are more quiet than the BFGs too.

I haven't pushed them in the curves as yet, so I'll let you know how they do when the time comes.