Are Nankang tyres any good?

[Chestrockwell]

Few questions if I may.

Question 1 -

My Civic Type R is currently on Continental sport contact 6’s and they’re on about 4mm and with the poor weather, traction is becoming an issue!

I had a look on black circles to look at replacements and I found some Nankang Sportnex AS-2+ Tyre’s on there for less than half the price of the conti’s and PS4’s, £112 each fitted.

Are these tyres any good? They’re not branded as ‘budgets’ yet they’re quite a bit cheaper. I’ve heard of the brand as well so they’re not completely unknown.

Question 2 -

The car is currently on 245 30 20’s all round and the ride isn’t actually that bad considering but I’m just sick and tired of catching the wheel or damaging the sidewall over the smallest imperfections on the road or even going into my drive way!

Would it alter the car’s ride/performance negatively to get some wider tyres, perhaps 255’s all round along with upping the profile to 35? They almost look like they’re stretched, even with the rim protector

[RT7500]

[quote=Chestrockwell]Few questions if I may.

Question 1 -

My Civic Type R is currently on Continental sport contact 6’s and they’re on about 4mm and with the poor weather, traction is becoming an issue!

I had a look on black circles to look at replacements and I found some Nankang Sportnex AS-2+ Tyre’s on there for less than half the price of the conti’s and PS4’s, £112 each fitted.

Are these tyres any good? They’re not branded as ‘budgets’ yet they’re quite a bit cheaper. I’ve heard of the brand as well so they’re not completely unknown.

Question 2 -

The car is currently on 245 30 20’s all round and the ride isn’t actually that bad considering but I’m just sick and tired of catching the wheel or damaging the sidewall over the smallest imperfections on the road or even going into my drive way!

Would it alter the car’s ride/performance negatively to get some wider tyres, perhaps 255’s all round along with upping the profile to 35? They almost look like they’re stretched, even with the rim protector


I can't answer all of your questions but have found Nankang to be half decent compared to other budget tyres. However, I haven't experienced a better all round tyre than Michelin Pilot Sport 4. As your car is a high performance model, I wouldn't want to recommend anything other than the Michelin despite the cost.

I run Nankangs (albeit NS2-R) all year round on my Clio sport and have found them grippy enough in the wet but still noticeably worse than Michelins/Continental etc.

I'd also be against changing the tyre profiles as this could have a negative affect on your car's handling/steering and would also give you more speedo error.

[anonymous-user]

They're one step up from proper deadly Chinese ditchfinders. Not something I'd put on my 300bhp car (or any car I owned tbh).

[FussyFez]

No experience of nankangs although I can reccomend hankook at a similar budget. Specifically the ventus v12 evo 2 k120.

You can use https://www.willtheyfit.com/ and a ruler to see how the various tyre size options will compare to your existing setup.

I have previously dropped a profile from 50 to 45 with no adverse effect on handling (205/50/15 to 205/45/15)

I have also gone from a 215/50/17 to a 225/45/17 with the desired effect of quicker turn in and extra mid corner grip.

I'm no expert, though there is alot of information on what tyres will safely fit which wheels through a quick Google.

Edited by FussyFez on Tuesday 15th October 15:48

[nickfrog]

It would be a crying shame to put cheapo road tyres on such a nice car.
The exception being the NS2Rs which are very decent semis although not sure they do such a track use unfriendly size and perhaps are not ideal based on the OP's past experience in the wet.

Perhaps consider Yokis 105 as a decent alternative.

[Mexman]

Had some Nankangs put on the rear of my E46 330D, and they have performed very well, perfectly acceptable in the dry, and OK in the wet.
Yes, i can break traction if i try hard enough, but i have found them to wear very quickly.
Mine have been on the rear now for around 10 months and are easily half worn by now.
Soft rubber?

[832ark]

RT7500]hestrockwell said:

Few questions if I may.

Question 1 -

My Civic Type R is currently on Continental sport contact 6’s and they’re on about 4mm and with the poor weather, traction is becoming an issue!

I had a look on black circles to look at replacements and I found some Nankang Sportnex AS-2+ Tyre’s on there for less than half the price of the conti’s and PS4’s, £112 each fitted.

Are these tyres any good? They’re not branded as ‘budgets’ yet they’re quite a bit cheaper. I’ve heard of the brand as well so they’re not completely unknown.

Question 2 -

The car is currently on 245 30 20’s all round and the ride isn’t actually that bad considering but I’m just sick and tired of catching the wheel or damaging the sidewall over the smallest imperfections on the road or even going into my drive way!

Would it alter the car’s ride/performance negatively to get some wider tyres, perhaps 255’s all round along with upping the profile to 35? They almost look like they’re stretched, even with the rim protector


I can't answer all of your questions but have found Nankang to be half decent compared to other budget tyres. However, I haven't experienced a better all round tyre than Michelin Pilot Sport 4. As your car is a high performance model, I wouldn't want to recommend anything other than the Michelin despite the cost.

I run Nankangs (albeit NS2-R) all year round on my Clio sport and have found them grippy enough in the wet but still noticeably worse than Michelins/Continental etc.

I'd also be against changing the tyre profiles as this could have a negative affect on your car's handling/steering and would also give you more speedo error.

The OP would want PS4Ss though not the PS4 surely?

[LordGrover]

I had nankang winters fitted to my CR-Z several years ago. They were okay but it was a run-of-the-mill car with average performance so impossible to say how they'd perform on a car like yours.
A few hundred quid over perhaps two years, the life of your tyres, I'd probably suck it up and go for a premium tyre.

Having said that, I recently declined P-Zeros in favour of GY Eagle F1 Asy 2 for a net saving north of £500 for four. There's premium, and there's Premium premium.

[Court_S]

stickleback123 said:

They're one step up from proper deadly Chinese ditchfinders. Not something I'd put on my 300bhp car (or any car I owned tbh).

This.

Not sure I’d be cheaping out on tyres especially with the weather getting worse.

Anyway, if you do you’ll never keep that ring record

[cerb4.5lee]

stickleback123 said:

They're one step up from proper deadly Chinese ditchfinders. Not something I'd put on my 300bhp car (or any car I owned tbh).

Granted it is around 20 years ago but I agree completely. I put a set of Nankangs on a Mk 5 Escort RS 2000 and they completely ruined the handling(I got rid of them pretty much straight away), and I've never scimped on tyres since. They were beyond terrible and I've called them ditchfinders ever since.

[Davey S2]

FussyFez said:

No experience of nankangs although I can reccomend hankook at a similar budget. Specifically the ventus v12 evo 2 k120.

Edited by FussyFez on Tuesday 15th October 15:48

I've had these on my C250 estate for a several years and find them very good in both wet and dry (noting that mine is a family wagon and not a hot hatch). Better and a lot cheaper than the Continentals the car came on.

[anonymous-user]

LordGrover said:

I had nankang winters fitted to my CR-Z several years ago. They were okay but it was a run-of-the-mill car with average performance so impossible to say how they'd perform on a car like yours.
A few hundred quid over perhaps two years, the life of your tyres, I'd probably suck it up and go for a premium tyre.

Having said that, I recently declined P-Zeros in favour of GY Eagle F1 Asy 2 for a net saving north of £500 for four. There's premium, and there's Premium premium.

Were they Asy 2? That's a very old tyre now, the 3 has just been replaced by the 5.

The Eagles will be every bit as good as the very inconsistent and overpriced P-Zeros, in all likelihood, although Pirelli have about 12 different tyres all branded as P-Zeros of some sort.

[RT7500]

832ark said:

The OP would want PS4Ss though not the PS4 surely?

Yes the PS4S. I didn't check which Michelins were available for his car but it looks like just the PS4S or Pilot Sport Cup 2. I wouldn't look any further than the PS4S

[LordGrover]

stickleback123 said:

Were they Asy 2? That's a very old tyre now, the 3 has just been replaced by the 5.

The Eagles will be every bit as good as the very inconsistent and overpriced P-Zeros, in all likelihood, although Pirelli have about 12 different tyres all branded as P-Zeros of some sort.

Asymmetric 2 dated this year, from black circles, Porsche N0.
I'm happy with them so far, certainly better than the <3mm P-Zeros they replaced. Happily the low-speed scrubbing on full lock has disappeared too, though I gather that may return when it gets colder.

[Dave Hedgehog]

no way i would be putting cheapo crappy tyres on a beast like the CTR

MPS4S all the way, the car has huge abilities and it deserves a tyre that can match that IMO, it will also be more forgiving when you run out of talent

[anonymous-user]

LordGrover said:

Asymmetric 2 dated this year, from black circles, Porsche N0.
I'm happy with them so far, certainly better than the <3mm P-Zeros they replaced. Happily the low-speed scrubbing on full lock has disappeared too, though I gather that may return when it gets colder.

I wonder if they're still making them for the Porsche N0 fit. I like fitting the OEM tyres to my car, although not with the 50% more expensive than the 2nd most expensive option P-Zero Assimetrico that Jaguar shipped my XJ with.

[andye30m3]

I've got nankangs (NS2's I think) on the back of my Megane R26 and they seem fine to me for everyday road use,

Also had them on my old E30 318is without any issues.

Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 15th October 16:05

[Drew106]

I haven't tried them personally, but the NS2-R has been recommend to me by a few people now. It is meant to be a very good semi-slick tyre.

I had NS2's on my MX5 for while, they were shocking. But then they were also quite stretched, so was a style over function decision.

I have Parada Spec 2's on my MX5 now, which I would recommend. Also running AD08r's on my Impreza, which are excellent. So liking the Yokohama's at the moment.

[Chestrockwell]

Thank you everyone!

I never considered budget tyres as obviously the car is a high performance model but the nankangs were recommended so thought I’d ask, I’ll probably go for the Michelin’s, cheers

As for the width/profile, would it be better to go for wider tyres or higher profile? Both obviously not being an option

[kambites]

As others have said, NS2-Rs are pretty good - not quite as good as AD08Rs but not far behind. I have no idea about the other tyres but I certainly wouldn't discount them purely on the basis of their origin.