Trackday tyres - Alternatives to AD08R?

[osdecar]

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been discussed many times, I've tried to search and couldn't find much.

I am looking for an alternative to the old AD08R. After my old set was worn I fitted the newer AD08RS and they are quite below the expectations. I think they perform worse in every aspect: less overall grip, more abrupt grip fall on the limit, and they overheat in less laps.

I was over the moon with the old version, and I would like to find something similar. But every option I can find at the moment, seems to have an important drawback. Let's see if you guys can help me. I'm looking for the following:

-Similar dry and dry grip than the AD08R (I drive the car from home to the track, and I don't want to have a spare set)
-Controllable on the limit
-Don't overheat after several laps in a row (my car is getting more and more reliable on long runs, and I don't want to stop because of the tyres)
-Less than £500 a set of 4. (I need to convince my mates with similar cars to buy the same tyres)


What I've found so far:

-TOYO R888r: On the expensive side. Not as good on the wet?
-Toyo R1-R: Not sure about this, looks like might be more road oriented than track?
-Federal FZ-201: Same as the Toyo. Not available anymore?
-Federal 595-RSR: Too Pricey?
-Nankang NS2R: Seems like the perfect match, but I can also see some people complaining about it.
-Premium brands (Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli, Bridgestone): Too pricey, I assume?


These would go on a BMW E46 330i. Only for trackdays, but as I said I drive it from home to the track, so it needs to behave well on the wet, and be road legal. Size would be 225/45 R17. Or maybe 235/40 r17

What do you guys recommend?

[osdecar]

Thank you guys for all your answers.

motorhole said:

I see a lot of folk touting Accelera 651 as the closest thing to the old AD08R but I have zero experience with them. Would also be keen re. any real life feedback.

I didn't know about the accelera, I will definitely investigate more.

PJ_Parsons said:

Ultra High Performance road tyres have come on quite a bit recently. I've been using the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport. They work well in wet and dry conditions on my 200bhp car. They work great on the road, fit and forget; not as quick in the dry as a good semi slick but fantastic all rounders. Problem is they are not available in 17. However check out the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport. Another road tyre aimed at drivers who track their car. I've never tried these but they review well. Oh, you can get them in 17 for sub £400 from Camskill.

Edited by PJ_Parsons on Friday 14th May 19:18

jon- said:

PJ_Parsons said:

If I was the original poster, I would try the Potenza and not the semi slicks. If nothing else, they would be a good road tyre and you would run rings round most cars in the wet.

Trust me when I say the Goodyear you are already using is the much better tyre to be using on track (reference my previous comment.) I can't release too much information right now, but check the review from May 13 here: https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre/Bridgestone/Poten...

Appreciate your advice but one of my main requirements from thr tyre is to be able to cope with long stints without overheating. Also despite how good they can be, this is a ccar used only on trackdays. Fully stripped, rollcage, 6 pot caliper... A road tyre is always going to be a compromise.

charltjr said:

OP, I used both the NS2-R and the AD08R and there’s not much between them IMO. AD08R gives a bit more grip when hot but overheats more easily. NS2-R is very consistent, deals with standing water a bit better but is noisier and harder riding.

Thank you, this is what i was looking for. OOpinions from someone who had used both.

[osdecar]

I'm happy you all guys have had good experiences with the RS version. But it's rather different than my own experience, which is based in track time too. When I bought them I didn't know about any bad internet reviews, so I wasn't influenced by internet comments.

Couple of months ago I had a puncture in the rear right, and I changed both rears for the RS version while keeping the worn R at the front. It completely transformed the car from slightly understeer to massive oversteer, which caught me completely off guard during my first trackday with them.

After a couple of warm-up laps, when I started pushing the car, I lost the rear under braking. (sorry for the awful quality) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smWTMUkBY_E

Probably it's a massive lack of talent, but it had never happened to me before.


Based on the comments on this thread, I will give the Nankangs a go.

Edited by osdecar on Thursday 27th May 09:43

[osdecar]

Elatino1 said:

You think you are the only one here that plays on tracks? I was at Donington on the Yokos in my Impreza yesterday and all of the other tyres I mentioned earlier were mainly obliterated on various tracks.

Pretty sure all comments here are from people relaying their track experience. What everyone heard on the internet was how bad they are.

I don't doubt for a moment that all people posting good experiences with the RS version are legit and based on track experience too.

My mention of internet comments is on reference to nickfrog previous post:

nickfrog said:

I agree, very little difference between the R and RS IME. I wondered if it all started when someone posted a very early review of the RS immediately after launch and everyone has repeated it.

I understand that my initial words can be misinterpreted, so I have edited the text to be more clear and sound less arrogant.

Edited by osdecar on Thursday 27th May 09:45

Edited by osdecar on Thursday 27th May 09:45