Yokohama ADVAN Apex V601 Tire Review: Affordable Summer Performance

We sent a set of Yokohama ADVAN Apex V601 tires to a C8 Owner for real-world testing, and he’s really impressed. Here’s why.

If you’ve been watching C8 Corvette videos on YouTube, you’ve probably run across a channel and YouTuber who goes by the name Speed Phenom. For those less familiar, Speed Phenom is a younger man who has dedicated the last few years of his life to fast cars and on-track performance driving. He started his channel with Shelby Mustangs, but earlier this year, became one of the first people to document a 2020 C8 Corvette purchase and the track sessions that followed.

Over the course of 9,000-plus easy and hard miles, Speed Phenom (aka Austin) has tested out the C8 Corvette Stingray Z51 with the GM-suggested track settings as well as Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. Along the way, he caught the attention of several CorvetteForum members, who routinely share his videos in our C8 General discussion forums.

Given his experience with the C8, on and off the track, my editorial team and I thought Austin was the perfect person to review a set of Yokohama ADVAN Apex V601 Ultra High Performance summer tires for us. To be clear, Yokohama is a CorvetteForum sponsor, but from an editorial perspective, we didn’t want to pull any punches. We demanded an honest review. But rather than a typical review, we elected to interview Austin directly about his experience. (And share the videos where he talks about and shows off the ADVAN Apex tires.)

My team has now spent about two months with the Yokohamas — we also tested them on a Camaro SS, Dodge Challenger Hellcat,  and Porsche Cayman — and everyone came away impressed. The TL;DR version is that they offer Michelin Pilot Sport 4S-like performance at a much more affordable price. Are they quite as great as those? Almost. But outside of track days, we don’t think most folks will notice.

Here’s the full review-interview (intereview?):

CorvetteForum: You recently got to test out a set of the Yokohama ADVAN Apex V601 Ultra High Performance Summer tires on your C8 Corvette. How did you go about testing them and how did they perform?

Speed Phenom: I took this opportunity very seriously in the sense of trying to truly figure out how different performance tires impact the performance characteristics of this new Corvette. That being, I wanted to put them through the paces they were actually designed and intended for, in order to figure out how they performed compared to the stock Michelins.

Taking a step back and looking at the Corvette community, a lot of owners end up going with more affordable alternative performance tires, in order to make that annual tire change pit stop a more livable experience (especially if they daily drive)! Having tested the ADVAN Apex V601s on the street and track, I must say they honestly surpassed all of my expectations. The grip, the control, the predictability, and the comfort factors make this tire relevant.

What do you think makes a great summer tire and how do these tires compare to your personal benchmarks?

The main idea I think is to not hinder the performance but improve streetability. These are tires that do not have an R-Compound construction, making them more tuned for daily driving. However, a key characteristic is to be able to allow the driver to fully experience the performance their car offers.  Ideally, maximizing grip, giving the best possible feedback, and maintaining good ride quality for a non-R Compound tire. What I’m happy to say is that the Apex V601s fit the mold perfectly.

How was your traction during hard braking & acceleration?

The acceleration and braking are where it gets interesting. During my time with the OEM rubber, I clocked a best 0-60 of around 2.7 seconds. On average, the car instantly hooks up on each launch resulting in repetitive sub-3 second 0-60s. In lesser conditions, the average moves up to around low 3s. Launching with the new V601s in the same locations and with similar conditions, they don’t seem to hook to the same extreme. I’m getting quite a bit more wheel spin, and almost never make it into the sub-3 second 0-60 range.

I believe the reason behind this is that the OEM tires are bespoke for the C8 Corvette. Michelin worked directly with Chevrolet in the development of these stock tires. The compounds and structure were tailored to this exact chassis and power outputs. A lot goes into a collaboratively engineered product, which is why the cost of the stock PS4S tires are on the higher side. In terms of braking, the performance on both was neck and neck.

How would you describe the ADVAN Apex V601 lateral grip qualities?

Lateral grip was great! Loved it. Very predictable, and just plain fun. Get close to the edge and then you start hearing the squeal come into play. Once these tires lose grip, it is mostly a gradual experience catching the rear end. Balanced performance, and confidence-inspiring on the track. I can tell these were made for the enthusiast, and I did not feel like they were holding me back for being a summer performance tire. The best part is, after all the joy and fun you still are saving money.

I’ve often found that upgrading to performance tires adds extra noise to the driving experience? How was the road-noise/quiet factor for these tires?

Right away, driving with the V601s, the car maintains its luxuriously-smooth ride. No increased noise is present that I can tell. The ride quality is still there… I felt confident that these performance tires were in sync with the Corvette. To the average owner, they probably won’t be able to tell the difference.

If you could suggest an improvement for these tires, what would you tell the Yokohama engineers?

If I were to come up with something, I feel like it would be the tires not becoming as soft as I would like them to be, especially after heating them up. Though, I primarily run competition tires for my road course racing… So as is, this is a great package that Yokohama engineers put together. It’s marketed as it delivers!

We’re in the middle of a warm summer in Southern California, but did you have the chance to test these tires in any cold or wet conditions?

I wouldn’t say I necessarily put these tires to the test in the colder temps of Southern California (due to our days hitting over 100 degrees lately). As you would expect, the tire pressure starts low and over time moves up to normal operating pressure. For performance, these tires generally heated up pretty quickly! I didn’t notice an apparent drop in performance on our 60-degree mornings next to San Diego, so I don’t have much to comment. Simply hop into the car, and it is always hooked up!

ADVAN Apex V601s  are a street tire, but are they grippy enough for track usage?

Being street tires, the performance grip is spot on. Driver inputs were translated quickly and efficiently. The turn-in felt excellent. As I mentioned earlier, you can instantly see these were designed by and for enthusiasts. You can easily autocross the V601s or even take a stop to the local road course. These tires like to be played with and pushed. Not just that, they actually looked good! The tread pattern is futuristic and makes the stance look the part. It has a competitive appearance and feel.

How did these tires perform compared to the OEM Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Tires?

Compared to the stock tires, these two are definitely neck and neck. However, you get more if you pay more. I think the stock tires have an edge due to being specifically engineered for the C8 Corvette, and only the C8 Corvette but with a price to pay. Since the Yokohamas are off-the-shelf tires, a balance must be struck in order to work in the best way possible for a wide range of applications.

To the everyday driver will they notice a difference? Probably not. How about to the autocross racer? It depends… In the end of the day, the performance we’re talking about here between these two tires are actually quite similar. When tires get this good, it becomes harder for the average consumer to feel the specific differences.

Last question. Would you personally recommend these ADVAN Apex tires for Corvette and other sports car drivers? 

I would recommend these tires based on the mindset of a Corvette owner. These are an affordable option and performance substitute… Pay more for the OEM rubber, and get a product specifically engineered for your car allowing you to comfortably reach all of the advertised performance from Chevrolet. The PS4S. Both are great choices and completely depend on buyer mindset and price. Bottom line, the ADVAN Apex V601 is a more affordable option, and could be looked at as a performance substitute to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (which is high praise in my book!).

Photographs provided by Speed Phenom. Used with permission.

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