Nankang AR-1 R Spec tyre review

[Sprinkles]

Where are we all buying these Nankangs?

This was a bit of a battle, the number on the Australian web site never gets picked up. I got mine from a Tyrepower dealer who isn't even listed on this web site, but you might get lucky:

http://nankangtyres.com.au/find-a-retail-dealer/

[lightyear]

Tyres are sold pending payment. I bought them form Pakenham tyres. Brendan is a distributor for Nankang's and can ship them to you possibly if it's too far away.

[trdee]

some serious tugging going on in this thread

[Komdotkom]

If you are in Melbourne it would be worth trying Craig @ Trackside 03 9761 5557

[nelsonian101]

St George Tyres in Sydney has them at good prices

[MR-PUNANNY]

I love the swift dude, is there a build thread for it? Thanks for the review, so these would be more like AD08r and RS3?

[THE CHIEF]

Bought a set of these the other day $205 each fitted in a 265/35/18 from associated tyres in moorabin. Should be able to give them a run in the next 3-4 weeks. As said above, they are heavy bastards. 2.7kg each heavier than the worn out A050 that came off. That makes them over 13kg per tyre.

[Sprinkles]

I love the swift dude, is there a build thread for it? Thanks for the review, so these would be more like AD08r and RS3?

Cheers mate, I appreciate it. There was a build thread on the MCM forum, but they lost all their data in January and the thread is gone. Do you think I should start a build thread here?

The AR-1 is not like either the AD08R or the RS3. Either of those would be a good street and track dual purpose tyre. I would not consider using the AR-1 on the street, it would be too soft and too noisy. And probably not too good in heavy rain, although I can't say for sure as we have only run them in the dry.

[MR-PUNANNY]

Definitely dude!! I did find that build thread on MCM, but yeah only started to get through it and then the forum died! Thought it was the same one. Cracking times for something thats basically stock power wise?

[THE CHIEF]

Gave these a run today at Sandown. I am very impressed and was actually able to go faster than i did on A050 g2/s softs which was unexpected. The A050 where 255/40/18, these are 265/35/18. The car setup has remained exactly the same (R33 rwd Skyboat 310rwkw, same suspension, sway bar, wheel alignment settings). In the interest of full disclosure, the yokos where not fresh (3 year old, 2013 production when i bought them). Not 100% sure if age was the problem with the yokos or if my car was a bit like turbosurfer and didn't like them.

Best times:

AD08R (fresh) - 1.25.9

A050 ( non fresh) - 1.24.3

AR1 (fresh) - 123.5

First session with 26psi start pressure, did a 25.1, pressure climbed to 34 Front 36 rear and thats where i left it. 2nd session 24.1, 3rd session 23.9, 4th session 23.5, 5th and 6th session, no improvement and sad brakes.

All in all, very happy with them. Agree with most of the comments the blokes above have said. For me the front grip was less than the yokos and felt a bit sketchy, lateral grip was also a little less but ok, rear grip was excellent and probably better than the yokos, there was no issue putting the power down unless being stupid. I reckon some fresh A050 mediums would be a fair bit quicker but i haven't got 2k to spend on tyres to find out, especially since this car has been consuming brake pads like beer lately, ate a brand new set of pads today. BBK required.

In conclusion, tyres are like pussy, best when fresh, doesn't matter if its Japanese or Taiwanese, eat fresh cunts, it helps.

[kyle46]

Thanks for the report
Yeah those A050 are old but they would still be ok, I've raced on a tyre that old on the rear and took 3 laps before it was back to same grip as rest.
These nankang sound ok for a 4 lap sprints don't know if I'd like to do 20 laps on them.
The 2.7kg weight increase is a concern ,as is the lack of decent wet tread design

[hrd]

Surprised you went faster on Nankangs than A050 Softs!
But even more surprised that after going 0.8s faster you say the Nankangs felt sketchy compared to the Yokos with less front grip and lateral grip. Seems like very strange feedback. It's hard to go faster with less grip.

[THE CHIEF]

I was very surprised myself. The front grip was still good, just a hint of manageable understeer where as the A050 where like glue. The rear grip was where the gains came from, i was able to get back on the power a fraction earlier without wheelspin.

The extra weight of the tyres didn't really seem to effect the performance at all, top speed was up by 1km/h, maybe thats where the extra rear grip came from, engine struggled to break traction with the extra mass.

As far as the A050 G2/S, I just dont think i got the best out of those tyres at all and probably didn't make the most out of them in the first few days i used them when they where in their prime. In the last 2 days used they had dropped off to 1.25.0 and 1.25.5.

[hrd]

Jeez, a full 2sec faster than last time! Most people would be gushing about that kind of extra grip.
"the front grip was less than the yokos and felt a bit sketchy, lateral grip was also a little less but ok, rear grip was excellent and probably better than the yokos"

edit: I think your but dyno needs calibrating Would have been good to see some GPS lap timer data.

[THE CHIEF]

It is what it is mate. The numbers dont lie and thats what it felt like but was faster. That was my experience. Im not responding any further. Tootaloo...