Performance Street Tyres

[HSV Senator]

I am looking for a new set of tyres for my 2004 Monaro. I have previously run a mix of Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE001 and TOYO Proxes RA-1.

The RA-1 were a great tyre, didn't last that long (as expected) but were very sticky which suited the car (near 300 RWKW M6). The fronts were the Holden standard size of 235/40 R18 and the TOYO's on the rear were 245/40 R18. The car is lowered using Bilstein Shocks and Eibach springs so clearance is an issue.

I would like to get "grippy" tyres again as the car is currently running the RE001 all round and they have 90% tread but are not up to it. The trick is I would like to keep the noise and ride quality half decent since my car is only used on the street. However I am finding my choice limited by the tyre size requirements.

I think Michelin Pilot Super Sport would be perfect but these are not available in 235/40 R18, only 245/40 R18. So I could run them on the rear but I think they may fowl on the front struts (I have received different opinions on this). If possible I would prefer decent tyres front and rear but I am mindful of sticky tyres flicking up road debris onto the paint.

I can get the following tyres in the required 235/40 R18 size:

Nitto NT05

Yokohama ADVAN NEOVA AD08R

Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec

Other than the Nitto which gets mixed reviews and are apparently not good off the line with decent power (the main reason I want this kind of tyre) all these tyres are considered really good "Extreme" Performance street tyres but unlike the "Max" Performance Michelin are not gifted with low noise and good ride quality, they are true hardcore performance tyres so really may be a step too far for this car.

Does anyone have any experience with the above tyres and would like to offer their opinion on their performance and street manors? Right now I am relying on Internet opinions only.

Thanks

[BLO 767]

Potenza RE003.

[Gussy]

Have a look on here. Very useful site with aggregated reviews rather than one or two reviews.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/

I normally recommend RE003, Michelin Sport 3 (or even the 4 now) or Goodyear Eagle F1. Went for the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asy 3 myself a few weeks ago. Very happy with them, but have a look on that site and decide for yourself.

[biteme]

Not sure on the sizing but I have pilot sport 4 on my 135i, which I gather are a slight improvement to the old PSS, the new pilot 4s is the true successor but not available yet. They seem even more grippy than my old PSS and I'm running more power now. No slip at even with the single spinner open diff which is impressive.

B

[itsnotagsr]

Have RE003s on the nopics MCS. Not too bad, especially if you can get them 4 for 3 on special.

Just bought some Neovas for my Evo. Too soon to report.

[burn is weird]

here you go.

http://www.evo.co.uk/features/18309/...-evo-tyre-test

[Jack Nicholson]

Had Nitto NT05's on the Jag (255/35R20) when new they were fantastic. Like shit to a blanket. Super sticky launches at the drags after a nice smokey burnout.

After 12-18 months (the car doesn't get driven much) they went off, went hard, or basically just went shit, like driving on a permanently wet road.

If you tear through tyres every 3-6 months they'd be OK, but they don't seem to go well long term.

What not to buy are Mickey Thompson Street Comp / Cooper Zeon RS-3, rock hard pieces of shit. I beat the shit out of a set of them at Wakefield Park and dozens of burnouts at the drags, did not wear a millimeter. And did not grip for shit either!

[Babalouie]

I've been buying AD08s for years. They are pricey but are a good low-compromise tyre. I seem to get about 20-25k out of a set with a couple of trackdays, and they're great on track; but also quiet (not rumbly) and have good wet grip, and they don't seem to go off with a few miles. So fewer of the usual downsides with sticky tyres.

[2DIE]

Hankook RS-3 are very sticky, 200/240 treadwear rating. I'm actually going to look at something less sticky next time round.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[BGTV8]

Have had Direzza, AD08 AND Hankook RS-3 - all good.

Nitto NT05 as JackN says go hard with heat cycles and are a PITA ..... I took mine off as they turned into Bakelite.

Currently have Falken FK453 which are OK. I have separate wheels with R-Spec's for trackdays.

[seedyrom]

I had some supposedly super sticky yokohamas on the back of my car (similar to yours with a little more power), in 245/40 R18.
They seemed good to start with, but very quickly fell off the edge, and wore out a lot quicker than I thought.

I'd previously had Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's last for friggen ages, but went for a more economical option with Goodyear F1 Asymetric 2, in a 235/40 R18 all around.


It is a really good tyre. Certainly is lasting a lot longer than I've been used to. Holds well in the wet and dry, with the back not kicking out when rolling on the power.

I often hear people singing the praises of cheaper tyres, and have tried them myself, but certainly haven't had the performance that others claim.

Edit: I re-read your original post. I don't think my response was any help, as you seem to be wanting to do a maximum launch at each set of lights. I'm putting out about 70 RWKWs more with an M6, and certainly am jealous that you seem to have a use case for stickier tyres. If you can't get the power down with an ultra performance tyre, maybe there is something wrong with your suspension setup

[R31t]

My taxi is making similar power. The best i have tried have been Sport Maxx RT. I haven't tried the RE003, but I've had a set of RE002 and they were average. I kept 2 near bald Dunlops that I used at the drags because they still grip better than the new RE002 or ATR sport 2's. The difference is noticeable in the dry, enormous in the wet.

[tipper]

I had some supposedly super sticky yokohamas on the back of my car (similar to yours with a little more power), in 245/40 R18.
They seemed good to start with, but very quickly fell off the edge, and wore out a lot quicker than I thought.

I'd previously had Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's last for friggen ages, but went for a more economical option with Goodyear F1 Asymetric 2, in a 235/40 R18 all around.


It is a really good tyre. Certainly is lasting a lot longer than I've been used to. Holds well in the wet and dry, with the back not kicking out when rolling on the power.

I often hear people singing the praises of cheaper tyres, and have tried them myself, but certainly haven't had the performance that others claim.

Edit: I re-read your original post. I don't think my response was any help, as you seem to be wanting to do a maximum launch at each set of lights. I'm putting out about 70 RWKWs more with an M6, and certainly am jealous that you seem to have a use case for stickier tyres. If you can't get the power down with an ultra performance tyre, maybe there is something wrong with your suspension setup

I have these on my Golf R, nearly 3 years old now and still going well - although at 20 left on them they aren't what they used to be in the wet (understandable). Ran 2 or three set of them on my old R32 also.

[Reedy]

I swapped to Hankook RS-3 after using AD08's for 5 years and i'm impressed so far. Lap times at the track are pretty much the same, they are quieter on the street and arguably grip better when they're not up to temperature (ie: On the street). They are also quite a lot cheaper so after a few track days we will see whether or not their durability makes them better value.

For the street I have a set of Michelin PS3's. They are super comfortable, quiet and grip just as well when being driven at street speeds as the ones above. I'd recommend a set of these if you aren't doing track days, then probably the Hankooks next since they're quieter than the Yokohamas.

[HSV Senator]

Thanks for all the replies guys, some fantastic information here.

I had read most of the buyer reviews and comparison articles on the web regarding tyres in the "Extreme" Street tyre Performance catagory (so AD08R, Direzza, RS-3 etc). I made a list of all the tyres that rated well and checked availability in the 235/40/18 and 245/40/18 size and the ones I listed were all that were available.

I was going down this path as I was trying to emulate the RA-1 tyres I already used which I believe sat in this "Extreme" Performance catagory. If they still made these in the required size I would buy again but they don't so I was looking for similar tyres. Based on what posters like Babalouie and BGTV8 are saying it sounds like the AD09R may be better again than these tyres.

I hadn't been looking that much in the "Max Performance" street tyre range as it seemed that the Michelin Pilot Super Sport had this category all sewn up but I had been recommended the Bridgestone RE003 but I think I may move away from Bridgestone as I always seem to be disappointed in their tyres. Having said that I think part of the issue is that since I don't drive my Monaro that much the current Bridgestone tyres may have gone off (although I don't recall them ever being any good). Due to the lack of use I don't really care about longevity as any tyres I choose will probably go off well before I get close to wearing them down. The experience of Jack Nicholson with the NT05 is certainly helpful here as these seem really well priced in the required size but with this in mind would not suit me at all based on what occurred with his set.

I wasn't concentrating on being a street racer, I just found that with the Bridgestones (the originals on the car and the replacement RE001) that with a decent street launch you can get the car all over the place, straight change to RA-1 tyres (same suspension set up) and the car just chirps and off she goes. To me, that combo in a M6 Monaro was spot on for the street, I have a smaller cam, heads and 3.9s which makes the car feel real punchy low down. Also despite my crappy drag skills the RA-1 also provided me a sub 2.0 time at the creek compared to a 2.2, 2.3 with the original Bridgestone tyres but I don't think I will be dragging or track racing the car so its probably not relevant any longer.

Based on some of the comments here and the available tyre size for my car, I think that the Yokohama Advan AD08R would be good if going for an extreme tyre or Michelin Pilot Sport 4 ST for a street only orientated tyre.