Yokohama Geolandar G015

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Nov 27, 2018
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I did something I didn’t think I would do.

I’ve been a pretty staunch Michelin Defender user for years. I’ve had a few sets on my personal 2011 tacoma and most of my work trucks have worn them.

However, I was getting close to needing new tires and was getting the itch to buy a new truck so Instead of doing that I decided to spruce up my Tacoma with some beefier looking tires - enter the geolandars.

So far they are great (snow, some decently muddy fire roads) off highway, with excellent on-road manners. 3PMS rated.

They are certainly a highway biased AT (the linear grooves in the tread pattern give this away - as opposed to a more aggressive interlocking AT pattern), with just enough sidewall rubber to change the look of my truck. Maybe in a few years I’ll do something else to keep it fresh in my eye.

$839 OTD didn’t hurt. 265/75/16 SL rated.

I got all the way through this post and realized the only photo I have of the tires has my kid In It so I’ll have to take a new one tomorrow.
 
They look like good proposition for light off road adventure (getting to bike trails, hiking etc). I am currently going through options for Atlas in that category.
Dis you check Continental TerrainContact A/T and Nokian Outpost? I know Conti are benchmark in this category. Nokian is good proposition as they are IMO finally priced for what quality they offer.
 
They look like good proposition for light off road adventure (getting to bike trails, hiking etc). I am currently going through options for Atlas in that category.
Dis you check Continental TerrainContact A/T and Nokian Outpost? I know Conti are benchmark in this category. Nokian is good proposition as they are IMO finally priced for what quality they offer.

Snow performance in the Continentals appeared to be sub par across multiple reviews, including a tire rack comparison. Otherwise they looked like a good (similar HT biased AT) option. They were priced 1100 locally though.

I didn’t look at the Nokians. I looked at Hankook, Michelin AT2, and several other options.
 
Had G015s on a 2018 Titan and agree they're a road biased A/T tire. Quiet, rode and drove well. Didn't do great for me in 6 inches of wet snow on double track but that wasn't normal usage.
This is really my use case. I need a compliant well mannered HT that can tackle some light (western US) off highway work to support my outdoor adventures while being capable enough in the snow (on road) that I don’t need to chain up unless conditions go to absolute crap.

The Michelin defenders were great for this, ideal even.

I just decided I wanted a cooler looking tire so I didn’t feel the need to drop 50k on a new truck.

A worthwhile investment in my mind.

FYI my wife think my mind games are silly… whatever.
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This is really my use case. I need a compliant well mannered HT that can tackle some light (western US) off highway work to support my outdoor adventures while being capable enough in the snow (on road) that I don’t need to chain up unless conditions go to absolute crap.

The Michelin defenders were great for this, ideal even.

I just decided I wanted a cooler looking tire so I didn’t feel the need to drop 50k on a new truck.

A worthwhile investment in my mind.

FYI my wife think my mind games are silly… whatever.View attachment 147483
Let me know if they carry any benefits over the Defender LTX for pavement. My truck sees zero off-pavement use. Other than the 3pmsf rating of some light all-terrains, I fail to see any reason to consider them over a HT tires.
 
Let me know if they carry any benefits over the Defender LTX for pavement. My truck sees zero off-pavement use. Other than the 3pmsf rating of some light all-terrains, I fail to see any reason to consider them over a HT tires.

So far I’ve seen Same/same MPG between the defenders and geolandars.

As far as road manners new geolandars are much better than 4/32 worn defenders. No surprise there.

Entirely subjective but I don’t feel any worse on road with these than my work truck with newer Michelins.

Comparing the tread patterns they are actually very similar in make up (linear grooves vs overlapping blocks) and both have good siping (Michelin probably better here).

I think these and the Michelin AT2 are probably most similar.

Michelin defenders punch well above their “HT” weight in the snow. I don’t see a reason for you to make the switch unless you wanted a better look like me.
 
So far I’ve seen Same/same MPG between the defenders and geolandars.

As far as road manners new geolandars are much better than 4/32 worn defenders. No surprise there.

Entirely subjective but I don’t feel any worse on road with these than my work truck with newer Michelins.

Comparing the tread patterns they are actually very similar in make up (linear grooves vs overlapping blocks) and both have good siping (Michelin probably better here).

I think these and the Michelin AT2 are probably most similar.

Michelin defenders punch well above their “HT” weight in the snow. I don’t see a reason for you to make the switch unless you wanted a better look like me.
All of those comments make sense. I'm at 26k on the factory GY tires and wet traction has been non-existent for awhile. I'm sure anything is an improvement at this point.
 
All of those comments make sense. I'm at 26k on the factory GY tires and wet traction has been non-existent for awhile. I'm sure anything is an improvement at this point.
I’ll be honest - I’d have another set of defenders if I didn’t need a little variety.

If you are ok with the simple utilitarian look and don’t go off highway - Defenders are near impossible to beat as a pickup tire.
 
Snow performance in the Continentals appeared to be sub par across multiple reviews, including a tire rack comparison. Otherwise they looked like a good (similar HT biased AT) option. They were priced 1100 locally though.

I didn’t look at the Nokians. I looked at Hankook, Michelin AT2, and several other options.
Yes, Continental put emphasis on wet performance. They are by far best performer in wet category. I personally don’t care as I have snows.
BF Goodrich puts emphasis on snow, but wet performance is subpar.
 
They look like good proposition for light off road adventure (getting to bike trails, hiking etc). I am currently going through options for Atlas in that category.
Dis you check Continental TerrainContact A/T and Nokian Outpost? I know Conti are benchmark in this category. Nokian is good proposition as they are IMO finally priced for what quality they offer.
I’ve had both. I have the G015 now and had the terraincontact AT for 22k miles on another set of wheels before.

the continentals were significantly better in the rain, at least for the time I owned them. I’ve heard they start to lose wet traction about just after I switched to the Yokohamas. They are also every so slightly more quiet, but only by a very small margin.

however, I kept thinking I had an alignment problem, and even had the truck realigned to no difference. When I replaced the continentals with the G015, my “alignment” issues disappeared and the truck drove straight with equal turn-in between left/right. I’ve read a few reviews where continental in general has a little more run-out in their tires than installers like to see. The yokohamas have continued to be very precise tires, which is quite nice on the interstate.

the Yokohamas are funny in the rain. There are days where they are fine, and there are days when they wont stop at all and ABS goes nuts. It’s not predictable. I have to really watch it for that reason. However, they are still better than other makes I’ve had. G015 is a very well-made tire. If I could get a good set of the TerrainContacts, I would gladly drive them again.
 
I’ve had both. I have the G015 now and had the terraincontact AT for 22k miles on another set of wheels before.

the continentals were significantly better in the rain, at least for the time I owned them. I’ve heard they start to lose wet traction about just after I switched to the Yokohamas. They are also every so slightly more quiet, but only by a very small margin.

however, I kept thinking I had an alignment problem, and even had the truck realigned to no difference. When I replaced the continentals with the G015, my “alignment” issues disappeared and the truck drove straight with equal turn-in between left/right. I’ve read a few reviews where continental in general has a little more run-out in their tires than installers like to see. The yokohamas have continued to be very precise tires, which is quite nice on the interstate.

the Yokohamas are funny in the rain. There are days where they are fine, and there are days when they wont stop at all and ABS goes nuts. It’s not predictable. I have to really watch it for that reason. However, they are still better than other makes I’ve had. G015 is a very well-made tire. If I could get a good set of the TerrainContacts, I would gladly drive them again.
Thanx. Good to know.
I never had those issues with Continental I owned. But I didn’t own their A/T tires.
 
They look like good proposition for light off road adventure (getting to bike trails, hiking etc). I am currently going through options for Atlas in that category.
Dis you check Continental TerrainContact A/T and Nokian Outpost? I know Conti are benchmark in this category. Nokian is good proposition as they are IMO finally priced for what quality they offer.
Got the Outpost APT on a family member's car, replaced some worn Crosscontact LX20s. They are smooth, comfortable and handle well but the noise level is definitely a step or two down from the Crosscontacts, there is substantially more tread growl. It's not awful but it's noticeable.
 
I have the G015 on my V8 Pathfinder right now.
Of my 2 Nissan SUVs this is the one that I envision being more my highway vehicle but I wanted AT rated tires just-in-case.
They did do quite well in deep snow, when brand new 2 years ago .

What I liked about them the most, is that they are "H" rated for speed nearly the only AT tire (at least in my size) that is and this goes with the Hiway role of my V8 Pathfinder.
 
Got the Outpost APT on a family member's car, replaced some worn Crosscontact LX20s. They are smooth, comfortable and handle well but the noise level is definitely a step or two down from the Crosscontacts, there is substantially more tread growl. It's not awful but it's noticeable.
That is what I am also reading, that they are a bit noisy.
 
Got the Outpost APT on a family member's car, replaced some worn Crosscontact LX20s. They are smooth, comfortable and handle well but the noise level is definitely a step or two down from the Crosscontacts, there is substantially more tread growl. It's not awful but it's noticeable.
Can't expect an AT tire to be as quiet as a regular on-road tire like the CrossContact LX's. It's an apples to oranges comparison.
 
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