Yokohama iceGUARD iG52c Sizes & review

As a WRX owner, I am a “spirited” driver. Other snow tires I have had, did not respond well. They were “spongy” and “rolled” around corners and lost traction on wet roads, let alone in the snow. These tires are excellent!!! They respond almost as well as summer tires. They are not “spongy” nor do they “roll” when cornering. They have excellent traction. I recently made a trip to Columbus, OH (3 1/2 hours from me). I drove in the snow covered left lane, (unplowed 1″-1 1/2″ snow), the whole way. I was able to pass everyone. These tires have excellent traction and responsiveness! The only times I had to slow down was when someone was in front of me, fishtailing. In addition to the responsiveness of my awesome WRX, these tires are the best winter tires I have had! My son has an STI and he is going to purchase these tires. When I need new snow tires, I will purchase these again. I can’t say enough about these snow tires. They are awesome!!!

This was not my first choice but I was very pleased with the traction on ice, and how QUIET these snow tires are. My summer Mish A/S 3+ are much louder but handle so well. The snows are on my AWD Q50RS and I am amazed at how good it is in the snow. These are also good in slush. I live in NH so snows are important. I saved $200 getting these. Let’s hope I get 3 seasons out of them. Not enough miles to tell the wear yet.

I live in Minnesota and I have used these tires this winter to commute to my 9-5 job and to moonlight delivering packages/food in the evenings and on the weekends. Since the latter work pays more during bad weather, I’ve had a lot of experience driving with these in ice, snow, and slush. These tires just keep going in the snow. I’ve driven on side streets that have not been plowed for weeks and it just doesn’t matter. My car keeps going and even when I do slide a quick counter steer puts me pointed back in the right direction. One night I was out delivering during an ice/snow storm. While everyone else was having trouble maintaining control and stopping, I just went around them even going up and down hills. You do sacrifice some traction and comfort with these tires on dry/wet pavement when compared to performance all-seasons. This is especially true when it’s warm so it’s advisable to take it easy on corners and curves in those conditions. But if you live in a place with long, cold winters and need to drive in the snow or ice, these are worth it, especially at their price point.

These Yokohamas turned my GTI into a winter mountain goat!They ride well, partly because I went down 2 inches to 16 inch wheels and up to a 50 series. They’re surprisingly quiet, and handle reasonably well on dry pavement. And when the snow came, I had no trouble getting where I needed to go, easily outperforming AWD cars with semi-worn all-season tires, from what I can see.

I have used Blizzak WS snow tires for many years on a multitude of different vehicles with great results and safety. But I bought the Yoko Ice Guards back in 2017 due to a much lower price from Tire Rack at the time, and got what I paid for, these tires were near useless. They did not perform at all in ice and snow and were actually dangerous. In wet conditions they would easily break loose, and traction was not even that great on dry surfaces during average driving with a hybrid car. I ran them through to about 10K miles and then was glad to finally get rid of them. I am now back to Blizzaks for winter tires.

Performance and handling was great in a New England environment

A very poor alternative to my experience with Bridgestone Blizzaks (which were unavailable in my size). In a low powered car with an LSD, the rear tires have little grip in the dry and over the past 3 months, have NEVER gripped when pulling out from a stop in the rain. Traction in light snow is OK but any all season tire would be an improvement over these tires in the wet. Summary Review: Do Not Buy!

This is the only winter tire that will fit my vehicle’s wheels. I am disappointed in the wet traction, and dry traction when the outside temperatures are cold. The tire’s adhesion can easily be overcome during acceleration and braking. During cornering the tread blocks are easily distorted and result in very sloppy handling. While my complaints certainly reflect that this is a winter tire, I have previously purchased Blizzaks and did not experience the severe comprises that these tires represent. The only positive is that the tire does work well in light snow.

I was told by a friend to purchase the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80, but they were not offered in the staggered sizes, so I bought the Yokohamas, which were the only ones offered. I was a little worried with the initial driving impressions, but once I put a few hundred miles on them, I fell in love with them. I recently made a 4500 plus mile trip from Colorado to Delaware, up and down the East Coast, and back to Colorado via the Northern Tier States. I encountered snow, rain, and 70 degree temperatures, but these tires just kept on surprising me. I cruised between 65-85 along the flat interstates and thru the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina without any issues. I am convinced that the Yokohama IceGuard IG52C are the perfect winter tires for me. If you enjoy driving your M car year around and do not want to but more wheels, do not hesitate to invest in these tires to handle what Old man Winter throws at you.

Purchased for Cruze HB with a manual. Made two Michigan “up north” trips for skiing and tire was terrific on snow covered roads, slush, etc. Tire is also very quiet and handles well for a snow tire. With front-wheel-drive and the manual transmission, I’m not afraid to tackle any weather or road conditions with these tires (barring snow depth too high for the vehicle). Would definitely recommend and purchase again (this tire was recommended by my Tire Rack sales consultant).

I have always run Dunlop or Bridgestone winter tires (for 15+ years now), so I thought I give the very reputable Yokohama snow tires a shot. Unfortunately, I have been very disappointed; the Yokohama tires aren’t playing in the same league, and I will not buy their snow tires again. In light-snow (<1"), these felt comparable to an all-season tire; they did slightly better in deep snow, but still did not live up to the expectations I've developed from driving the competitors snow tires for many years/miles. Wet traction was sub-par as well. Noise was not bad, and handling was acceptable.

This set of tires replaced a set of Blizzak’s. The Blizzak’s replaced a set of Toyo’s. In my 20 years of driving the same car and covering 500,000 miles in total (summer and winter) I would say that these tires are the best value for the money of any tire I’ve owned. I have about 25,000 miles on this set over 3 winters and they are great for the driving I do. I went to an ice driving event with them this winter and they were perfectly adequate for that day of driving as well. I don’t expect this tire to be a 10 on every scale because no tire can be if it has to compromise between surfaces and temperatures. These are a better tire than the Firestone Winterforce’s that are on the girlfriends car in the winter.

So I have read a lot of reviews over the last few years. You can not trust any of them, unless it was tested on your car. For my 2008 Volvo C30, these tires do not drift, solid handling, and great traction. Winter is just around the corner, so I’m excited to see how well they perform. Each review you have to take with a grain of salt, unless that review is your car. I will update once winter snow comes into play, as of right now, these tires perform well

I purchased these tires to improve traction in wet and snowy conditions. We haven’t had a deep snow in a couple of years to judge them by. The wet traction is considerably worse than the previous two sets of summer performance tires we’ve had. I was also hoping for improved fuel mileage with the lower rolling resistance. I’m not sure if they tires could have helped but, they didn’t. They are quiet and corner as well as previous tires.

Having tried a least 4 other brands of snow tires on other vehicles, Id had to say these are best one yet. I Know blizzak is the popular big name but I like to shoot for the underdog. Totally exceeds my expectations in all respects. No worrys in winter driving under any condition, with just fwd and these tires.Traction control and the other electronics are barely needed. There is of course a light hum, but its quite livable and to beexpected with a snow tire, quieter than most others ive tried. When I swapped these on this my now 3rd season with them, season mid November took a long drive temps in the 30s and noticed immediately improved ride ,confidence, and even handling vs my summer tires. I realize most folks dont evenbelieve in the idea of a snow tire, but they actually provide an improvement in ride and handling in just low temps and the dry pavement.

First time buying snow tires for my AWD car. I live in MN where we get a lot of snow and I enjoy drifting my car when i can. These tires make it a bit more difficult to drift cause they grip the road so well; they cut through the snow and grip! On light snow, it can be a little slick, but in deeper snow is where these tires pay off. Fresh snow is no problem and will grip on hard acceleration; expect some spinning on packed snow under harder acceleration. Drifting is harder to initiate but feels more controlled. At highway speeds, these tires make noise and can be annoying. Overall, I’m impressed with the handling in snow and have no problem tackling hills in any type of snow.

First the good aspects: in snow, these tires provide adequate grip. They perform much better than all season radials, and the price is very attractive. The rubber compound seems to be very hard; so, I expect excellent lifetime from these tires. That said, snow and ice performance is well below the tires I have previously used. Blizzaks are far and away the best, with Michelin Alpins being the runner-up for my car. On dry pavement, the grip from these Yokohamas is surprisingly poor. Under normal cornering conditions, the slip angles are much larger than any other tire I have tried (meaning the driver must turn the steering wheel more for the same turning radius), and the car understeers surprisingly often. Most astonishingly, at 80 mph on the highway, in 6th gear, a firm application of the throttle will produce wheel spin. This should never happen, and indicates the truly poor dry surface grip of these tires. Anyone purchasing these tires can expect more lateral car movement and longer stopping distances. With these tires on dry pavement, the car simply slips while turning and moves side-to-side, not dangerously so, but enough to catch one’s attention. These tires will not inspire driver confidence.For a driver with a moderate budget and low expectations for dry weather performance, these tires will prove an adequate, perhaps even preferred choice. If a driver expects excellent grip in the snow and ice, as well as predictably stable performance in the dry, this tire is to be avoided.

I was late to the party when ordering my winter tires in November of 2014. The Blizzak’s were out of stock, as were other winter tires. Tire Rack had these Yokohama iceGuard iC52c winter tires at a great price so I took the plunge. My previous winter tires were always Blizzaks. I have to say that these tires have been a revelation. Take in mind that my previous Blizzaks were from 2010, so I’m sure that technology changed. The iceGuard iC52c really stop on ice and snow. I laugh when I see AWD vehicles with their all-season tires having to back down a hill. Zip, zip, zip…my SAAB 9-5 goes up the hill like a mountain goat. Tire Rack said that these weren’t as good as two others on dry pavement. Perhaps that’s true, but I understand that these are winter tires, on the car for a specific job.I live in Manhattan and one of the challenges is getting out of a plowed-in parking space. These iceGuard iC52c’s really get that job done. I’ve begged friend and relatives to get winter tires for years, and they always say, “I have AWD and all-season tires…I don’t need to spend the money on winter tires.” I tell them that the don’t cost any more money because you’re driving your summer or all-season tires less, meaning less wear. Blank stare.

This is a great winter tire. Plenty of traction in snow. Turn off traction control and I can plow through a foot of snow with these tires. The front air dam pushes the snow out of the way. As with any winter tire the traction in the dry and wet is not as good as a summer tire but these offer a good compromise in those conditions. On unplowed roads or roads with packed snow traction, turning and braking is excellent. Highly recommended.

I set my tires as 245/45/18 although its actually 225/45/18 front and 245/45/18 rears. I came in with the expectation that the videos of summer tires vs winter tires were just a hoax. A couple weeks ago we had maybe a few inches of snow come down while I was on my summer tires and I was unable to drive to work because I couldn’t even get up to 10 mph. At those speeds it would have taken me 3 hours to get to work and so I ended up calling in. Got home, ordered these tires and the next week had them put on after they arrived. No snow on the forecast at the time. Then middle of the week they changed the forecast to blizzard conditions on a Sunday. Got to work that morning and about 3 hours into the day they started closing the store and sending people home because of the blizzard that had hit. I had to drive home in 6in of snow at the time that I left. I was able to go 45 mph comfortably through the whole thing and was passing several Trucks and SUV’s in the ditches beside me. The next day, roads still weren’t plowed and drove back to work completely fine. I must say winter tires made a huge difference, much more so than I was expecting. The noise is significantly louder in dry conditions, but with my music turned up a little more unnoticeable. Also, the ride becomes a fair bit less responsive and feels more squishy, but I didn’t mind too much because I was used to feeling every bump in the road. In the rain the tires worked perfectly fine, still get some wheel spin when making fast turns in wet conditions, but other than that they are way better than any summer tire or all season will ever be in the snow/ice.

Fantastic tire for my little FWD car. Never had any issues or been close to getting stuck. Have handled a rough Toronto winter very well so far. I have gone to open parking lots in deep snow with traction control off and really pushed the tires. Even with manual transmission in low gear your slide is rather controlled.

First off, I would definitely not purchase these tires again. They have the worst wet traction of any tire I have ever tried. Its laughable, and quite dangerous how terrible they can be on even a lightly damp road. Additionally they are obnoxiously loud and lowered my gas mileage about 5 mpg over all seasons. The only good thing I can say is that they are good in icy and snowy conditions, but so are all the other winter tires out there. Look elsewhere for a set of winters.

What is “spirited” driving anyway? A horse or a dog is “spirited.” How about aggressive driving. Aggressive between man, machine and road, not towards other drivers. Anyway, I had these put on. Two days later I was in 4-6-8 inch variable depth snow on the interstate and side roads. I was singularly impressed by the traction I got out of these tires. Changing lanes on the I-state, going through the windrows of snow, the tires cut right to the pavement. There was no feeling of float, where the tire was riding on the snow. I left the I -state early because of a backup which put me on unplowed city streets. From a stop, making a 90 degree turn and again the tire cut down to the pavement. At first I thought no way these don’t slip in these conditions but they didn’t. I was impressed. (To be fair, the last snow tires I had on a car were studded late 70’s, so I can’t compare these to other snow tires out there) I found the ride, steering and braking action on wet pavement to be fine. However after reading the reviews, I did not (and will not) drive “spiritly” on wet roads with these tires. They are noiser than the all seasons I had on, not bad just noticeable at all speeds. I also found they like to “hunt” on the road. I seem to make more steering inputs than I do with the all seasons. Overall I am extraordinarily happy to have put these on my “baby” to keep her and me safe.

I purchased these for my stock wheels to drive my car year round in Kansas City. On a stock Mustang GT, these did surprisingly well. They inspire confidence when driving, more so than my wife’s AWD Taurus with all-seasons on it. I’ve since modified my Mustang, and it’s got significantly more power than stock with a much grabbier clutch. It makes take-off a little more difficult, but the car still drives amazing in winter conditions. I have no driven two seasons with these tires, and would not hesitate to purchase another set when these are worn out.

So the issue with these tires is in cornering and directional change. They seem to induce understeer on my Carrera and changing direction, such as going from a left sweep to a right sweep has a definite moment of uncertainty in the middle of the transition. These tires cause me to drive more conservatively.

I’ve used the famous “blizz” tires on my last 5 cars over a 24 year period. I’ve had such good success with Yokohama touring tires that I decided to give the iceGUARDs a try, as they were more affordable. Last night I drove home (60 miles) in a helacious snowstorm, a foot of snow, plus sleet and ice. I drove on plowed and unplowed sections of highway and city roads, in some cases through 6 inches of snow. I couldn’t be more impressed and pleased with these tires! I literally had no problem. I passed countless accidents and spun out cars. Most probably had “all season” tires (a failed concept if there ever was one!) To get home, I had all kinds of unexpected conditions, detours, even going down an unplowed highway shoulder. No doubt in my mind – I never would’ve made it home without these tires. I can’t recommend them enough folks.

These are an excellent tire in a broad sense of the word, but when you factor the sub-$100 price they’re an excellent tire. Dry performance is lacking, but you’re using this in the winter, right? Anything involving moisture, whether it be snow, ice, rain, sleet, dirt, these are excellent. I even did mild off-roading when taking a wrong turn in rural Kentucky down a long, long dirt road and they have promise as a light-duty mudding tire. In a Prius. Overall, would completely purchase again and I don’t think more expensive tires are worth it on such a dynamically compromised car as the Prius. Perfect for small vehicles with narrow tires, only in larger vehicles with better driving characteristics would I recommend more expensive and higher performing winter tires.

Good traction during the winter months. Very predictable drifting off your out looking for some snow during the winter months. Standing water was the only area I felt this tire should of done better. Granted any tire at a certain speed will hydroplane this tire did to a similar level of an all season in standing water. Everywhere else in snow it does exceptionally well for the price.

I purchased these tires for one winter (2015-2016) in the Denver metro area. Prior to this all my winter driving was in the California Sierras using all-season M+S tires. I was *very* happy we put on these winter tires for our time in Colorado because with them I had no worries about the road conditions and felt free to head to the mountains in anything but the worst of storms. We drove on these tires to Kansas for Thanksgiving and while the roads were dry and warm for the drive out, we came back in freezing rain. Even when we had to divert off I-70 because of an accident, we still had traction (very slow traction) on the off ramp that was coated in ice. In January we drove to Las Vegas and over more than one snowy pass with snow coming down, and no problem. Excellent tires.These tires were quiet and had no perceptible effect on MPG. I ordered from Tire Rack and picked them up at the distribution center in Denver, saving on shipping. Great experience all around.

I picked up a set of these to install on my 2013 Mustang GT so I could drive it year round, in the Kansas City area. Let me tell you, these are GREAT tires. I’ve been through three winter seasons, coming up on a 4th, and I do spirited driving. I swap these out on the stock wheels with my summer tires, around Oct/Nov and then back again around Mar/Apr, just depending on the weather.I will probably have to replace one tire, due to low tread depth, but again, considering how I drive my car, I can’t complain at all. I much prefer driving my Mustang in the snow and ice than my wife’s AWD Taurus SHO. Will not hesitate to get another set of these tires!

Some of the worst tires I ever owned. My 06 G35 is no snow vehicle which is why I always run snow tires on it. After replacing a set of conti Wsi tires I figured I would try these because of availability and the great price. I saw some of the negative reviews and bought anyway, turns out they were right. These tires are absolutely trash. Metro NY gets snow but we also get a lot of sloppy rain and slush which these tires are terrible in. Its white knuckle driving in the rain, the car feels like its driving on ice anytime its wet out. I can spin the tires from a 60-70mph roll with light throttle. Thankfully my VDC was able to keep the car in check but is working double duty with this set of rubber. If you are buying winter tires look elsewhere they were not even great in the snow and wore terribly. A really bad design and out of date tire compared to what is out there. Putting the VikingContact7 on this year. Take my advice do not purchase these tires, if you do you better have a good stability control system and if not hang on for your life. There is a reason why this tire never sells out on here.

Shortly after purchasing these tires, I reviewed them and said there were excellent and had very little “roll” when cornering compared to my last set of winter tires. A year later I still agree. They respond very well and have great traction. I would definitely recommend these tires, especially if you are a “spirited” driver, like me.

Terrible lateral traction even at moderate speed through unremarkable curves, on treated (salt) surface, after light precipitation. Ended up four-wheel drifting while going through a gentle sweeper. Make the car feel very nervous, requiring a great deal of care with weight transfer (braking / turning). By far the worst type of winter tire I’ve had, would definitely not buy them again. I run them at the recommended factory pressure levels, I’ll try taking off one or two pounds to see if they improve, but I’ve never had to try that with other tires.