Yokohama Advan Apex v601 Impressions

Yokohama launched an ultra-high performance tyre into the market sometime in 2021 named the Apex v601. Notably, this was and still is part of the Advan line-up, Yokohama's flagship range. You may be wondering why I am penning my opinions this late, years down from launch. The answer is simple.

Unlike whatever else you read, this isn't a paid review. I mean, everything is good when it is brand new right? So what's the real point. Bottomline, tyres are one of the most important but overlooked areas of investment. Bluntly put, these are what keep you safe on the road and are as critical as your brakes. In fact, they work together so never stinge on tyres as they are life-saving. This is especially true under challenging driving conditions.

With that clarified, let's take a look at the thread pattern on the Apex v601. 

Obvious to the eye, the Apex is really aggressive looking with large outer rib blocks that are visible with the stiffen sidewalls, making the v601s resemble Bridgestone's Potenza RE070 (another really nice set of slicks) to a certain degree. Eat your heart out for that sporty look but this doesn't make your ride a BMW M3 or a Nissan GTR. Why not stick to track tyres like the Yokohama A052 one may ask? Well, you technically can if you have enough money to burn a 200 threadwear slick buying groceries without ever being caught in the rain.

Like most ordinary humans, I'm in my 40s and no longer a boy racer. Hence, some level of driving comfort is also appreciated.

Interestingly, my v601s have been with me for a good 20,000 kilometers now and have recently been through its second rotation on my front wheel drive Audi A4 B9.5. Based on my utilization profile of daily commute with occasional sporty driving around corners and bends, I must say that the v601 performed well with good overall control and stability. Although I did not test this on the track, the v601s didn't unexpectedly break traction even when pushed hard and wears reasonably well (280 threadwear UHP) for a performance tyre. Perhaps, this is highly compound related. 

The v601 does provide a reasonably comfortable and sporty drive for what it is. Good tarmac grip in the dry and good enough control in the wet. However, due to its aggressive thread patterns, one needs to exercise some caution for slight hydroplaning in heavy rains over large deeper puddles for the v601s may not evacuate water as much as other road tyres. Nevertheless, they do relatively fine in modest rain.

I must say that the tyres were reasonably quiet for the first 5,000 kilometers and when the compound started to age and wear over time, it did get significantly noisier but within bearable limits. It's a far cry from what you could expect with an Advan dB but your ears will certainly not bleed.

While the price of these Yokohamas vary across dealers and distributors, I would say that the v601 is quite the sweet spot between performance and comfort for the money but in my opinion, they still do not hold the candle to the more expensive Michelin Pilot Sport.

Impressions were based on a profile of 245/45R19 and pressurized between 250 to 260kPa.