Tyre prices and recommendations? (Oct 2019 Facelift spec)

[BahnStormer]

I'm definitely going to need a new set of tyres if I want to do trackdays as I don't fancy shredding the Continental Premium Contact 2's on mine - especially now that I've seen the prices (£380 for a set) as I'm sure they won't like being thumped around a track!

Onto trackday tyres, I thought about replacing my AD08R's, but the first pricing I got from a local company was £485 for a set of Yoko AD08Rs (inc fitting).

Blackcircles are quoting AD08R's at £410, so pretty sure I can get the local guys  down to that...

Any other recommendations?

I was considering the Yoko V701's (better in the wet, econmomy and price), but they don't seem to do FL rear's... which is a shame as I think they're the right sort of in-between trackday and road tyre that I'm after.

@Carolyn swears by something else - I thought it was "NS2's", but the closest I can find are the Nakang NS20's?

I can't seem to find the Toyo equivalents to AD08R's - do they do still do those in FL sizes?

[Gaz2405]

It's Nankang ns2r.

I've got them on face-lift wheels.

Brilliant in the dry and OK in the wet.

I've gone for slightly larger than the stock set up though.

[Carolyn]

I'm definitely going to need a new set of tyres if I want to do trackdays as I don't fancy shredding the Continental Premium Contact 2's on mine - especially now that I've seen the prices (£380 for a set) as I'm sure they won't like being thumped around a track!

Onto trackday tyres, I thought about replacing my AD08R's, but the first pricing I got from a local company was £485 for a set of Yoko AD08Rs (inc fitting).

Blackcircles are quoting AD08R's at £410, so pretty sure I can get the local guys  down to that...

Any other recommendations?

I was considering the Yoko V701's (better in the wet, econmomy and price), but they don't seem to do FL rear's... which is a shame as I think they're the right sort of in-between trackday and road tyre that I'm after.

@Carolyn swears by something else - I thought it was "NS2's", but the closest I can find are the Nakang NS20's?

I can't seem to find the Toyo equivalents to AD08R's - do they do still do those in FL sizes?

You got it.  Nankang NS20.  Not NS2R, which are much more 'racey' and much less 'all-weather'.  Helen (herecomesthewife) has them too. You do have to settle for 195 at the front though.  I run 215 rear, 195 front.

[Gaz2405]

I'm definitely going to need a new set of tyres if I want to do trackdays as I don't fancy shredding the Continental Premium Contact 2's on mine - especially now that I've seen the prices (£380 for a set) as I'm sure they won't like being thumped around a track!

Onto trackday tyres, I thought about replacing my AD08R's, but the first pricing I got from a local company was £485 for a set of Yoko AD08Rs (inc fitting).

Blackcircles are quoting AD08R's at £410, so pretty sure I can get the local guys  down to that...

Any other recommendations?

I was considering the Yoko V701's (better in the wet, econmomy and price), but they don't seem to do FL rear's... which is a shame as I think they're the right sort of in-between trackday and road tyre that I'm after.

@Carolyn swears by something else - I thought it was "NS2's", but the closest I can find are the Nakang NS20's?

I can't seem to find the Toyo equivalents to AD08R's - do they do still do those in FL sizes?

You got it.  Nankang NS20.  Not NS2R, which are much more 'racey' and much less 'all-weather'.  Helen (herecomesthewife) has them too. You do have to settle for 195 at the front though.  I run 215 rear, 195 front.

My bad, not ns2r's then. They are questionable if best in the wet.

[james_ly]

You'll be fine with road tyres on track IMO - obviously you'll have less grip but that's no bad thing with a standard 1zz. The car is light enough that you won't be trashing them that fast.
Other options are the Nankang NS2Rs, which are equivalent to AD08R (which are phasing out, AD08RS the new one!).

[BahnStormer]

Thanks for the quick feedback guys - saves me going nuts looking for 185 wide NS20's, etc....

Thanks for the feedback James - I might give these Conti's a last hoorah with a trackday, but there's a lot of grip left on them yet

Fleva V701's keep grabbing my eye due to the price + wet rating... and they look more viable as a long-term road + trackday tyre... which the ~£400 set of Continentals are not - more on replacement price than actual viability in terms of grip....

215/45R16 (4968814944186)
185/55R15 (4968814944117)

I just can't seem to find anybody that stocks the rears...

[Carolyn]

If you want to use your car in the clod and wet, I would recommend a proper all-weather tyre.  That's what the NS20's are.

I find them, still, quite sporty and sticky.  The downside is I go through a set of rears annually.  But, the, I'm a bit of a B road hooligan,

Specific sizes:  Rear 215 45 16    Front 195 50 15  Around £50 per corner.

[BahnStormer]

I'd seen the AD08RS... the price is just as eye-watering as before (£410+ fitting from https://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk).

I'll probably end up with something like those, but I'm just trying to explore a few other options first. Keen to know if people have found the Fleva V701's somewhere in the right sizes (i.e. 215/45/R16)...

[BahnStormer]

If you want to use your car in the [cold] and wet...

I have a set of the Conti TS860S for proper winter as AD08R's below 10C are the wrong kind of fun on ANY surface... as far as Winter tyres go - I'm comfortable that those are one of the best combo winter / wet / all season performers: it's used by evo and John Benson's tyretest (Youtube channel) as the benchmark for a good quality winter tyre that still holds its own against the best all-season tyres when there isn't snow and ice on the ground.

I'm just looking for something slightly more road friendly and pocket friendly than the AD08R's and hunting around for options - not in any rush - just wanting to start a chat and see what this summer's favourites are, so I'm ready for next season... I'll stick with the Conti Premium Contact2's until the winter wheels go on in a month or so...

[Nvy]

What about Nankangs in
195/55 R15
205/55 R15

The tire diameter is less than 24 inch in the rear so I think it wont rub with TTE springs? Reason Im asking is because I have 5.5 kg forged wheels that are 15".

[Ardent]

I was happy with falkens that come in the correct sizes.

[The Other Stu]

Interesting that this has turned into a PFL thread

I'm looking at replacing my T1-Rs with Rainsport 3s as they appear to come in Facelift sizes.
I think the best quote I found was around £300 fully fitted, so somewhere in between Carolyn's Nankangs and the AD08RS's. Probably not much cop on track, although they aren't apparently the worst in the dry.

[1979scotte]

I'm always interested to read that people find the AD08R to be dangerous in the winter.

I know @BahnStormer uses his to commute so is up early on cold wet roads but I've never really had an issue unless it was raining cats and dogs.

Obviously we both live down south I wouldn't recommend them year round to those in more northern areas.

[thetyrant]

Federal 595RSR get my vote as they are great wet and dry for road and track,  also cheap considering the amount of grip they have!, wet weather are very good when new until about half worn the wet weather performance drops off, still better than AD08 though in wet i found but not tried the AD08R which is meant to be better in wet despite same tread pattern.

[Ozzy]

Mine's a PFL but the new Toyo Proxes TR1's are really amazing wet/dry. There's also loads of good reviews including for track use and they're fairly priced. Think I got mine online for £170 or something so not bad. Might be ideal if you plan to drive the car back from the track as well.

I've tried quite a few but this is my new favourite tyre and I hated the previous crappy T1R's with a passion lol.

[thetyrant]

Mine's a PFL but the new Toyo Proxes TR1's are really amazing wet/dry. There's also loads of good reviews including for track use and they're fairly priced. Think I got mine online for £170 or something so not bad. Might be ideal if you plan to drive the car back from the track as well.

I've tried quite a few but this is my new favourite tyre and I hated the previous crappy T1R's with a passion lol.

Thats interesting to know as i also despised the old Toyo T1-R it was a terrible mushy tyre when i had them years ago, previous to fitting them i had the T1-S which was brillant tyre before they screwed it up with the R!.  Might try some of the TR1's next

[Ardent]

I'm with @1979scotte

Never found the ad08r to be any bother in the wet.

[ManInDandism]

As regards a tyres performance in the wet, the only rating is in respect of braking performance.  RAC website says this:

Tyre labelling for wet grip ranges from A to G. A black arrow and white letter points to the rating for that tyre. The rating depicts stopping distances in rainy weather.

The difference between each letter is around 2.5 metres when braking from 50mph – that's well over half a car-length. An 'A' rated tyre will come to a stop 18 metres before an 'F' rated tyre in the wet.

AD08R is a 'B' rating, so as guys are alluding to, is comparatively quite good.

[BahnStormer]

Mine's a PFL but the new Toyo Proxes TR1's are really amazing wet/dry. There's also loads of good reviews including for track use and they're fairly priced. Think I got mine online for £170 or something so not bad. Might be ideal if you plan to drive the car back from the track as well.

I've tried quite a few but this is my new favourite tyre and I hated the previous crappy T1R's with a passion lol.

Thats interesting to know as i also despised the old Toyo T1-R it was a terrible mushy tyre when i had them years ago, previous to fitting them i had the T1-S which was brillant tyre before they screwed it up with the R!.  Might try some of the TR1's next

agreed - T1S's were awesome... then they put that extra stripe on the shoulder and made them all squidgy....

[Ardent]

As regards a tyres performance in the wet, the only rating is in respect of braking performance.  RAC website says this:

Tyre labelling for wet grip ranges from A to G. A black arrow and white letter points to the rating for that tyre. The rating depicts stopping distances in rainy weather.

The difference between each letter is around 2.5 metres when braking from 50mph – that's well over half a car-length. An 'A' rated tyre will come to a stop 18 metres before an 'F' rated tyre in the wet.

AD08R is a 'B' rating, so as guys are alluding to, is comparatively quite good.

Alluding. Like that word.

[GavS]

Hi, I'm a Newbie who has recently bought a set of FL alloys. I got some advice after my post on running 205/40 r17 all round, which the car came with. So I need to buy tyres over the winter. I am finding this tricky- so many opinions!
My use is perhaps 1500 mostly dry B road miles per year. I found the Toyo  TR1's on demon tweeks. Available sizes seem to be front 195/55 15 85v and rear 225/45 16 93w xl. Opinions welcome please on this choice and sizes.
Should I be concerned with the difference in load rating?

[JB21]

Michelin PS3 are pretty much the best dry/wet tyre in FL sizes. Falken do some great tyres but not sure in 15/16"

[Ardent]

Falken do (or at least did when I had mine) in the correct sizes. 15 16.

[The Other Stu]

My concern isn't so much braking as I find my car brakes well in all weathers, even with T1Rs, it's the propensity to switch ends in the wet and twitch a little too much that scares the life out of me.

I clearly don't have much talent, so I need some help.

Best tyres I've ever had were the OEM spec Bridgestone. Shame they no longer make them,

[Ardent]

it's the propensity to switch ends in the wet and twitch a little too much that scares the life out of me.

Lack of talent or otherwise. A 2 should not be doing what you are alluding to.
this suggests A, a tyre issue, B, a geo issue, C driving like a Tw@.

I'm ruling C out as you are a great chap.
I'm on stock suspension, I've been on worn Bridgestones, a set of  Falkens and now the so called "notoriously death trap in the wet AD08Rs?" and not once has it wanted to swap ends.

When that happens what are the circumstances?