[greg schroeder]

Originally Posted by SPF1061

That would be me.
I have my second set of Avons in the garage ready to mount as soon as the weather turns (probably late March). I have right at 6000 miles on the first set and they are pretty much ready to be put out to pasture. I competed at Run-n-Gun on these tires (took first place in big block street - Road Course, second place - Autocross, second place - drag race). I also participated in four days worth of open track events at VIR and have 2 dozen or more 1/4 mile passes on them. My street driving style could be described as "spirited".
I put around 30,000 mile worth of street and track wear on Yoko Avids before switching to the Avons. There is absolutely no comparison between these two tires. The Avids are a great value highway cruising tire. That's about all I can say good about the Avids when comparing them to the Avons.
I expect that one could get around 10k miles out of a set of Avons if they drove only on the street, but I'm not sure that they would be worth the extra $$ if the car isn't pushed towards it's limits occassionally. On the street the car handles like a true performance vehicle instead of like a 60s muscle car.
At the track the Avons come within a hair of keeping up with full on racing slicks. They are not cheap, but in terms of grins, they are worth every penny. I'd say the performance difference is similar to giving your engine a nice extra 50/75 hp jolt. There's my .02.
Be safe and have fun.
-steve

Do you recall the 60ft time for the drag race and your starting technique? Trap speed? Just currious to get an idea of power vs ability to hook on hard acceleration.