AD08RS Anyone used it?
Discussion
Currently I've been running AD08R in 16" sizes on my Turbo MR2 but I've got a nice set of 17" that I'm probably going to use as track wheels instead which does open up some more options.
I would like to stick to AD08R's, they work well and are ok in the damp. But I've noticed that they've been superceded by the AD08RS which I can't find any information on apart from a couple of people saying they aren't as good as the AD08R
17 inch Sizes that I can use would be 215/40/17 205/40/17 for fronts and 245/40/17 255/40/17 rear. I can get Nankang NS-2R's in those sizes but are they any good? Are there any other options that aren't too extreme? It would be nice to have some options from Michelin, but it appears all their sticky tyres are geared towards the 20" Inch porsche crowd.
It does look like I can get R888R's also, but I feel like they would be a bit much for a road registered track car that I do sometimes like to use on the road. Plus I can't really lug another set of wheels/tyres with me if the weather is damp.
I would like to stick to AD08R's, they work well and are ok in the damp. But I've noticed that they've been superceded by the AD08RS which I can't find any information on apart from a couple of people saying they aren't as good as the AD08R
17 inch Sizes that I can use would be 215/40/17 205/40/17 for fronts and 245/40/17 255/40/17 rear. I can get Nankang NS-2R's in those sizes but are they any good? Are there any other options that aren't too extreme? It would be nice to have some options from Michelin, but it appears all their sticky tyres are geared towards the 20" Inch porsche crowd.
It does look like I can get R888R's also, but I feel like they would be a bit much for a road registered track car that I do sometimes like to use on the road. Plus I can't really lug another set of wheels/tyres with me if the weather is damp.
Yes I have the Yoki RS on the 280 Megane. I had the AD08R on the Megane 275 as well as NS2R in 180 grade.
The three have similar grip levels. There is perhaps a small drop in friction since the RS compound was launched to replace the R which they had to do for environmental compliance reasons I believe. Difficult to tell as on different cars, particularly as the 280 is inherently grippier than the 275, but probably not much in it. Too early to say on durability though as only one wet Snet under my belt but hopefully a forthcoming dry Silverstone should help answer that one.
I really liked the Nankangs as they are far cheaper but very stable for 6/7 laps once at optimum temp. Their downside is noise and worse comfort.
I would say that it depends how many road miles you do, but the Yokis remain the best hybrid road/track tyre while the Nankangs are a very worthy budget alternative providing you don't do many road miles or not too bothered about NVH.
The three have similar grip levels. There is perhaps a small drop in friction since the RS compound was launched to replace the R which they had to do for environmental compliance reasons I believe. Difficult to tell as on different cars, particularly as the 280 is inherently grippier than the 275, but probably not much in it. Too early to say on durability though as only one wet Snet under my belt but hopefully a forthcoming dry Silverstone should help answer that one.
I really liked the Nankangs as they are far cheaper but very stable for 6/7 laps once at optimum temp. Their downside is noise and worse comfort.
I would say that it depends how many road miles you do, but the Yokis remain the best hybrid road/track tyre while the Nankangs are a very worthy budget alternative providing you don't do many road miles or not too bothered about NVH.
Edited by nickfrog on Sunday 19th January 16:25
Are the nankangs really that much worse nvh wise than the yokos?
Because going from a normal summer tyre to the AD08R was definitely noticeable.
I may just go for the AD08RS then for the track wheels, I think a slight loss of grip is probably fine and they seem to be priced cheaper than the older compound too.
I did rack up a bit of mileage on the road with the AD08R, but I was thinking of doing a euro road trip so I may just use a second set of wheels with some nice summer tyres on them instead of using the track wheels.
Because going from a normal summer tyre to the AD08R was definitely noticeable.
I may just go for the AD08RS then for the track wheels, I think a slight loss of grip is probably fine and they seem to be priced cheaper than the older compound too.
I did rack up a bit of mileage on the road with the AD08R, but I was thinking of doing a euro road trip so I may just use a second set of wheels with some nice summer tyres on them instead of using the track wheels.
IdiotRace said:
Are the nankangs really that much worse nvh wise than the yokos?
Because going from a normal summer tyre to the AD08R was definitely noticeable.
On the same car (Meg 275) this is how if felt subjectivity for NVH:Because going from a normal summer tyre to the AD08R was definitely noticeable.
Typical premium road tyre (I had the PS3 and P Zero) 8/10
AD08r 6/10
NS2R in 180 4.5/10
NS2R, although an ‘R’ tyre has always felt like more of a road tyre to me.
If you want a track focussed tyre from Nankang, the AR-1 is the only one worth considering. It’s just a shame it’s regularly leaped in price since first release - it was a bargain at first but has slowly put itself on a par with something like a 888R in terms of cost.
If you want a track focussed tyre from Nankang, the AR-1 is the only one worth considering. It’s just a shame it’s regularly leaped in price since first release - it was a bargain at first but has slowly put itself on a par with something like a 888R in terms of cost.
I think maybe I'll just go with the AD08RS then, even if they aren't as grippy as the AD08R. I'd love to be able to use something like the AR-1 or the R888R, but I'd like to be able to run even just a little if its wet or damp and it's impossible to fit a full set of wheels in an MR2.
Maybe I'll stick with the 16's as dedicated track wheels and then stick something like PS4's on the 17's so if it's definitely gonna rain I can use those.
Maybe I'll stick with the 16's as dedicated track wheels and then stick something like PS4's on the 17's so if it's definitely gonna rain I can use those.
Shame Toyo have discontinued the R1R because I've really enjoyed using that as a combined road/track tyre.
Few times I've driven it on dry tracks because the forecast getting there and back has been bad. Considering it's a properly treaded road tyre, it's pace in comparison to R888r on the same car, same track isn't bad at all. Just can't quite lean on them as hard as a proper trackday tyre. Wear/consistency are very good too, albeit on a fairly lightweight car. Done 4 full mostly dry/changable days and a full wet day on them and still plenty tread left.
Based on reviews of others and various sizes I'll probably end up replacing those with Michelin PS4s.
Few times I've driven it on dry tracks because the forecast getting there and back has been bad. Considering it's a properly treaded road tyre, it's pace in comparison to R888r on the same car, same track isn't bad at all. Just can't quite lean on them as hard as a proper trackday tyre. Wear/consistency are very good too, albeit on a fairly lightweight car. Done 4 full mostly dry/changable days and a full wet day on them and still plenty tread left.
Based on reviews of others and various sizes I'll probably end up replacing those with Michelin PS4s.
I have the Yoko RS on my Scoob at the moment and I’m pretty disappointed with them. I was expecting a bit of a step up from just using normal road Michelins but these Yokos just seem to have no grip. Makes driving the car a bit of a misery as it just understeers everywhere now.
With no other changes to the car it’s 2sec a lap slower at Combe, God knows how much slower I was at Cadwell.
Friends running the Nankangs were making me look daft.
On a positive note they take the punishment better than the Michelins, possibly because they are made of granite. Unfortunately this means i’m going to be stuck with them a while longer unless you fancy a set of 215/45/17 part worns to make your own mind up with, other people have said good things about them on smaller cars like Clios so you might be alright
With no other changes to the car it’s 2sec a lap slower at Combe, God knows how much slower I was at Cadwell.
Friends running the Nankangs were making me look daft.
On a positive note they take the punishment better than the Michelins, possibly because they are made of granite. Unfortunately this means i’m going to be stuck with them a while longer unless you fancy a set of 215/45/17 part worns to make your own mind up with, other people have said good things about them on smaller cars like Clios so you might be alright
Sorry to hear that Will. That's quite surprising. I assume they were scrubbed in when you put the first heat cycles through them on track? I know mine took a long time to scrub in on the road, perhaps 200 miles, which surprised me a bit.
I wouldn't expext them to give that much more grip than say a PS4 or a SS but to offer much more thermal stability over say 5/6 laps where the Michelin would be cooked after a couple, like any road tyre.
I wouldn't expext them to give that much more grip than say a PS4 or a SS but to offer much more thermal stability over say 5/6 laps where the Michelin would be cooked after a couple, like any road tyre.
Edited by nickfrog on Tuesday 21st January 23:28
Yeah did a fair few road miles on them before and between trackdays. Then went fairly steady with them the first couple sessions building heat up and setting the pressures.
I get a lot of squeal off them and I’m having to do large lifts in places I’m normally foot to the floor.
Got a couple of friends who come on days with me and I’m usually just as quick if not quicker through corners than them, when I was running on the Michelin SS.
I switched to the Yokos and they went Nankang and the next 2 track days I had no answer to them.
The section of Cadwell from the downhill before the mountain to the long straight after it was just embarrassing. I took them out as passengers and they couldn’t believe how slow I was having to go to stay on the track and when I went out with them I was just shocked how late they could brake and how hard they could turn in.
I’ll definitely be replacing these Yokos with AR1s. Friends were on AR1 on one car and NS2 on another but both were way up on me.
I get a lot of squeal off them and I’m having to do large lifts in places I’m normally foot to the floor.
Got a couple of friends who come on days with me and I’m usually just as quick if not quicker through corners than them, when I was running on the Michelin SS.
I switched to the Yokos and they went Nankang and the next 2 track days I had no answer to them.
The section of Cadwell from the downhill before the mountain to the long straight after it was just embarrassing. I took them out as passengers and they couldn’t believe how slow I was having to go to stay on the track and when I went out with them I was just shocked how late they could brake and how hard they could turn in.
I’ll definitely be replacing these Yokos with AR1s. Friends were on AR1 on one car and NS2 on another but both were way up on me.
That's worrying. I only even ran the RS version on a wet/dry Snet last month. Grip in the rare dry bits felt similar to the R but always difficult to guess. The car is very neutral on turn in so it's actually difficult to tell if the tyres are s
t or if the track is green. Silverstone GP next week and hopefully dry so that should help answer the question...

Thats a shame, I think I'm definitely going to have to use my 17's for Road/Wet and then just get a set of R888R/AR-1 for my 16's as dedicated track wheels as I've noticed that they now make AR-1's in sizes I can use.
That was my plan anyway, but the AD08R worked well enough for the small amount of road driving I did with the car that I never bothered.
How well do the PS4's work on track anyway? I thought they wouldn't be that great compared to supersports and whatever other halo tyres Michelin do.
That was my plan anyway, but the AD08R worked well enough for the small amount of road driving I did with the car that I never bothered.
How well do the PS4's work on track anyway? I thought they wouldn't be that great compared to supersports and whatever other halo tyres Michelin do.
IdiotRace said:
How well do the PS4's work on track anyway? I thought they wouldn't be that great compared to supersports and whatever other halo tyres Michelin do.
I have PS4 on my M135 and do a lot of trackdays.No complaints, the balance is good and they do last well as long as you don't scrub them.
I got around 13k from the rears including around 6 full track days and I do like a drift :-)
xjay1337 said:
I have PS4 on my M135 and do a lot of trackdays.
They must have massively beefed up the sidewalls compared to the Supersports as the front outer edge would not survive track use in my M135i. Or perhaps you're running 2deg of neg camber. Either way, I wouldnt recommend a road tyre for track days if you want more than 2 hot laps at a time.
Jimmy Recard said:
RB Will said:
Combe was a warm sunny summer day so probably about 25c and Cadwell was roasting. Think it was over 30c. It was that hot they let us out in shorts and T-shirt’s
Was that the August bank holiday? I was there too, it was properly hot!Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff