Hi

What's the major performance differences, wet handling characteristics and TW between these two great tires?

 

I've been running nothing but the Neova Advans since it was the AD07 back in 2007, progressing into the AD08 then the AD08R, both on track and as a daily driver for many years. I did try the Potenza RE01R after the first time I had the AD07, but they just could not stack up in handling and performance. The 08R is the improved version of the 08, if memory is correct the R has better performance from a grip/stickiness standpoint by a certain claimed percentage from Yoko. Treadwear is about the same. I get about 10-12k on rears from daily use and 24k for the fronts. However, during a very long road trip I did squeeze almost 20 k from one set of rears as there was a lot of straight line driving.

But the 08 has been discontinued for many years as the 08R replaced it. According to my tire spread sheet, 2015 is when the 08R came out.

Wet handling is very good for this type of tire, and since my S is a daily driver, I've spent considerable time in the rain with these tires. I don't recall how noticeable of an improvement it was, but I never had a problem with any of them over the years. This also is assuming you live in a non snow state and precipitation is not as frequent. Meaning that for the times it does rain, I'm still in the left lane on the highway with traffic. The do inspire confidence, but within reason, and if you are down to the wear bars I would consider easing up. I did get to run them for one lap session on the big track at Willow Springs during a torrential down pour (before they shut the track down), 100 mph through huge pools of water on the straights and she was solid (whereas typically I could get to 122 mph) . The only two times I had to slow down considerably in 12 years that I recall was getting stuck in a surprise snow storm on top of the Colorado Rockies after Memorial Weekend, and then coming back down the rain storm that followed heading into Colorado Springs.

Monday I install a fresh set of rears, these are my 7th pair of rears of the Neova series, (4 sets of fronts same time frame).

 

Thank you for the informative review! I will confirm with the seller if they're 08 or 08R. Problem is they don't seem to have a 245 or 255 17" in stock... TBH my Toyo Proxes T1 Sport max performance summer tires are so great and new that I don't need to change them but I am always open to running a different set for the rear on my spare Advan rims for when I go to the track again. Hence the reason why I'm looking at the AD's or the R888's. I am also eager to try Toyo R888's/R. Have you compared the AD08's to any max or UHP summer tires?
(snow isn't a problem for me and she's not my daily either so mileage/wear isn't a big concern).

 

A few comments. TireRack has the 245 and 255 rears in stock of the 08R. Also I wouldn't run the 08 if this seller has them, these are discontinued tires that will be minimum 5 years old, so just on age alone with this type of tire the rubber degradation would start to be a factor I would assume.

Also I wouldn't run mismatched tire types rear and fronts (that's just my humble opinion-can get strange handling characteristics). The only other tires I've run are the Potenza RE-050 that were stock on the car and the RE01R, but both those were meant more for the street and you definitely start melting large chunks off on the track (not autocross, but real track). Since I've been so pleased with them I haven't considered trying some other tires, but that's just my two cents. On the flip side, it also depends on what your tolerance is for treadware, cost and road noise. These are expensive and depending on driving style might only get 10k from the rears. I've heard of people complain of 'road noise' from them but I never understood what that means in our bare bones roadsters as that's kinda the purpose (if I want quiet I'll get a Cadillac SUV lol). I'm find sacrificing treadware, cost and noise if it gives me as much performance as I can get from the tires... and this is my daily driver as well.

 

I'm outside the range of Tirerack unfortunately bud (overseas). Yeah I'd definitely not want tires that are expired already. That's just bad news.

I hear you about the mismatched tire types but in an occasional track setting I think I'd be OK with Proxes max performance T1S up front and AD08R's at the rear. If anything it can help mitigate dramatic oversteer I may not be ready to handle properly yet. Yes ultimately I'd like to have the full set and swap all four over for each event but I guess it wouldn't hurt to have just two unless I really start tracking quite often. In this scenario TW and noise isn't a concern at all. I don't daily my S2000. I also know full well that road noise is a given so you won't find me complaining like other people who should be driving Cadillac SUV's do

 

4-5 year old tires is not a problem as long as they have been unused and stored properly.
They should be (and often are) priced a lot lower though.

 

But typically they expire in 5 years time so that's not good for the compound.

 

Sure they might loose a few percent after 5 years, don't think most people would notice though

 

I'm not pretending to be a know it all, and so this is for discussion.. but how do you know mismatched tires will be both ok and provide you with better performance from dramatic oversteer? Do you have any technical data that can back your claim such as TS1 performing better at handling then a Neova? Because usually it's the opposite, mismatched tires, especially on the race track will give you worse handling amongst other things (like safety). If a Neova is more grippy then a TS1, why would you put a less grippy tire in the front, unless you are saying that TS1 is more grippy tire in the front, then why would you buy a Neova for the rears? One of those tires is worse performing then the other, so why mix them? You will not get optimal results this way.

Also do you have a setup that is giving you this big oversteer you mention? Perhaps fix the oversteer setup you have as well?

Just a lot of questions / food for thought, I'm super anal about my tires and the concepts behind them. It's the single most important thing on your car, as only a few inches per tire are actually touching the road while driving, and that's all that's keeping you on it. Tires, tire pressure, alignments... I never short change those in any manner.

 

No with my suspension setup I don't have an excessive or sudden oversteer prone car. The questions you asked are fair enough. the T1S "should" not provide more grip than the Neova AD08R, that's pretty much to be expected. TBH I'm just looking at convenience and cost assuming I even get a set of rears solely for track use. So I could just leave the T1S' on the front and swap the rears out with either the AD08/R or Proxes R888/R just for track use then switch back to the T1S for street driving thereby preserving them for longer because they really are great, grippy tires in the wet or dry and I can also preserve the race tires by not using them on the street.

As for car behaviour yes, I am taking a bit of a chance mismatching the tires so I agree that I should rather get a full set of whichever one I choose. I agree, the tires are super important to safety. another option is to try Federal 595 RSR's which I can get in the sizes I'm looking for.