Given
81%
while driving a
Honda Civic
(205/50 R15) on
a combination of roads
for 2,000
spirited miles
Was previously on Toyo T1R so it's a step up for me. had a chance to drive on potenza re002s, the old direzza z1, and the mich pilot sport 3.. havent had a chance to ride in the direct competitors re11a, direzza z2 or the bfg rivals.
car is a 4 door EG, about a tonne with carbon stuff, with coilovers,bars etc.. front camber 2.5 and rear 2.0, front toe is 0.03 out and rear toe is 0.02 in , since i din't like how the T1Rs were kicking out under trail braking when rears were on toe out...
anyway i have been driving on the AD08Rs for about 2000km now. i went up from 195/50 to 205/50 but still on 6.5" rims so steering response and straight line feel is SLIGHTLY compromised, it's just not as twitchy i guess.prob have to wait till i get 7" rims. if i could describe it the word would be 'damped', like there's a slight reduction simply because of the wider and slightly taller tire. rim width definitely matters. ultimate grip is great, there's a little mountain pass i drive where the T1Rs would start screaming and sliding ard 75-78kph but the yokohamas were confident up till 87kph (and my manhood was questioned after that).
dry grip is superb, when i went to redo my steering center alignment, during the test drive my mech was thoroughly stunned at the cornering grip, sure it's not an empirical test but given he services works and track cars it's not too shabby a compliment.
in the wet i still exercise caution; highway speeds up to 130kph still feel planted. haven't gone through any puddles over 80kph; no aquaplaning to report. if i did... man these are new tires!
i am happy with the tire; it is comfortable (if one can call an extremem tire so), and the noise level is acceptable on a daily basis. certainly not aspec-db quiet but only noisy over coarse sections of road.
with a 180 wear rating, i wouldnt expect A LOT of life out of these grippy babies...
ard 500km when wearing them in, the little nipples on the front thread had alr gone whilst the rears were still there. just have to probably exercise more prudence in rotation and camber wear monitoring.
the dry braking reported by the reviews available online is true; i was able to brake later into corners than my counterparts driving an sti wrx on R1Rs, and could keep up with another buddy in a civic on toyo R888 mediums in terms of grip through a corner.
as with most tires this side of daily duty versus track, tuning and feel come into play.
driving feel is lovely and the tire communicates sidewall bend and grip very well. i cant put 9 or 10 for feedback until i have the tires on rims of proper width. i am very happy with my purchase, and while these tires are by not cheap, i bought these at 30bucks less a piece compared to the direzza z2, which can be directed into alignment and suspension tuning; or at the very least, GAS :3
i drive with a smile on my face all the time now (: