Will install Yokohama AD08s *now mounted

[ga41]

After several weeks of trying to find a good tire in stock M sizes to upgrade to i've just ordered a set of Yokohama AD08's. They're about 100-130 euro cheaper than a set of admittedly wider Michelin Pilot SuperSports when you include shipping and installing. Not a big difference but the Yoko are available right now and for my stock sizes which are 225/45/18 and 255/40/18.

My last tires (2 front sets and 3 rear) have been Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas. I've been extremely happy with them and maintain that for their money they cant be beat. I did want to try something more extreme though hence the AD08's. From what i gather from online reviews they should perform on par, probably a bit worse, than the recently released Michelin SuperSports which would be my default choice if i could get them in the aforementioned sizes.

I'll be getting them installed in a couple of days and will give you all my review once i've had some time with them.

http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/advan_neova_ad08

 

[playalistic]

Interesting, be good to hear back once you have them scrubbed in

 

[ga41]

Will let you all know, i dont think i've read of anyone else on the forum with this tire, really looking forward to it. They say it's got very sharp turn-in! And apparently they also run wider, about 1 size wider than the equivalent ones from other brands. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9467949&postcount=8

 

[playalistic]

Yowzers, you're right...

 

[mmm-five]

I thought these were a track-orientated tyre like the Pilot Sport Cup, rather than the Pilot Super Sport.

As such they have a wear rating of about half that of the PSS (180 vs 300), and start off with a smaller amount of tread depth (7mm vs 8mm).

You may save 30% on original buying price, but you may end up paying for two lots of tyre in the same period/

 

[playalistic]

So they're R compounds?

 

[ga41]

They're something between extreme performance summer tires and R-Comps. They're not as good as Cups for example. Front AD08's are 7mm and rears are 8mm deep as per here http://www.yokohamatire.com/assets/docs/yokohamatire_advan_neova_ad08.pdf for my sizes.

As for the wear, well i'm not too bothered really. :lol:

 

[imp75]

tread pattern looks cool. although comments above are obviously more useful lol

 

[sars]

Have thought about fitting the new RFT by Yokohama, if they had a similar tread pattern it would almost be a definate as they look stunning......gosh that sounds really sad, almost anorak-esk

 

[inkey$]

Good grips

 

[Kenty]

I had the AD07 on my Elise and the AD08 seemed to be the way people were going. The tread pattern is lovely, almost as nice as the AD48 which was the the semi slick you found on the Exige and cars like the Atom.
Not sure I'd like to put thinner tyres on the front though! Would be good to hear how you get on with them.

 

[ga41]

I had the AD07 on my Elise and the AD08 seemed to be the way people were going. The tread pattern is lovely, almost as nice as the AD48 which was the the semi slick you found on the Exige and cars like the Atom.
Not sure I'd like to put thinner tyres on the front though! Would be good to hear how you get on with them.

That's the stock sizes matey, 225 front and 255 rear

 

[Kenty]

I had the AD07 on my Elise and the AD08 seemed to be the way people were going. The tread pattern is lovely, almost as nice as the AD48 which was the the semi slick you found on the Exige and cars like the Atom.
Not sure I'd like to put thinner tyres on the front though! Would be good to hear how you get on with them.

That's the stock sizes matey, 225 front and 255 rear

Oh! Didn't look at actual sizes just thought you said they were thinner. Even more interested now I know that!

 

[ga41]

Well i had them installed this afternoon, no impressions as of yet as i only drove them 60-70miles on a highway. The ride seems the same but maybe too early to tell since i've had them pumped at the stock pressures and they may need higher to perform better, dont know yet.

They certainly look cool though! Maybe pictures tomorrow if you want them

 

[WLH]

ga41, yes, pictures would be great....

 

[ga41]

Here you go then. Not the best of pictures but hey.

 

[ga41]

Small update. Been to a couple of track days with them so far and a few mountain blasts. The difference to my previous tires (Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's) is staggering, as you'd expect, these do cost twice as much afterall.

Much more grip in the dry, much less squeal as you're nearing the limit, slightly stiffer ride but no biggie and apparently more tire noise although i can't hear it anyway because of my loud exhausts. They certainly offer more confidence than the Vreds and i feel more comfortable nearing the limit, a bit more predictable on the limit as well. Tire wear seems OK although they do wear faster than the Vreds obviously.

A few weeks ago i noticed that my rear left was with much lower pressure after a track day. It was at 1bar almost whereas the rest 2.3-2.4. It has a slow leak probably, perhaps the valve is faulty or something. I check my pressures almost weekly and for daily driving it's OK, just after a good spirited run that it drops that low. I'll have it checked at a tire place in the next couple of days.

Now for their wet performance, honestly, it's not bad at all. They still grip OK, not as well as the Vreds but not bad. They do have a scary tendency to aquaplane though, as i found out 2 nights ago when returning home from an afternoon at the track. Even though i was only doing about 55-60mph you could feel the car squirming a bit over streams of water on the pavement. You have to take it easy on the motorway when it's wet.


Overall i'm extremely pleased and if you live in a warm, dry country they're a viable all around tire.

 

[ga41]

Oh wanted to add that i did get a lot of understeer on the track and tire roll but that's more due to my tire pressures and geometry, needs more camber and i need to properly sort out my track tire pressure. Practice, practice, practice!

 

[ga41]

It was a screw/nail puncture after all. Fixed in about 5 minutes.