some intropoison pictures:
And finally, some extreme performance overkill as f*** tires on my slow stock ride XD http://www.twitpic.com/d6jsgl

Products used for this shot: Meguiar endurance tire gel, Meguiar ultimate quick detailer http://www.twitpic.com/d6kxm1

Early words/intro on the review:
I'm a car enthusiast that just gotten interested in cars in the past 4-5 ish years, and only started taking car tires seriously around 1-2 years ago, in which early 2012 i just gotten my first set of sport rims, and with it Yokohama C drive 2 that i will be replacing them as soon as i gotten the cash as they've worn down to maybe between 30-40% ish htreads and they are getting a bit dangerous for my regular aggressive driving especially in the wet, and hey they even started to wheel spin when i launch my cars time to time just for the heck of it. Anyways this is about the advan Neova ad08r, so we can talk about the c drive 2 either in person or next time.

With my rims/c drive 2 that i've gotten from nestum , from there begins my exploration of tires/suspension/braking and me/Kent (nestum) have gone through a lot of information exchanges in which i am grateful for. Also big shout out to him for all the info he's provided, great service/pricing, and most importantly, making the ad08r bulk possible and for myself to be equipping them at very reasonable prices

What makes me choose this set of tire despite the insane premium price (especially the previous/older AD08) and even more (as surprising as it may sound) negative feedback from the local motor sport enthusiasts (mainly price vs performance, how much the ad08 cost that other much cheaper UHP/EHP/semi slicks can perform on par, if not better), is that overseas responses/feedback are VERY positive and it is after all Yokohama's Advan lineup, in which even in our local ahbeng/rempitmotorsport scene has people having decals/vinyl/windscreen stickers sticking Advan all over their vehicle despite not running on Advan tires anyways.

So, this tire, must mean something despite the negativity behind it, right?
then of course there's this that pushes me to that buying edge even more:

noise? who gives a shit about NVH when it comes to motor sports eh?
and laser sharp steering response, race tire-like handling... now that's a tire i absolutely MUST experience!

source: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...reMake=Yokohama
new test video and results out for the R http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=172


last thing to note before we finally begin the quick review is that as the tires haven't even reach American market, it is not officially UTQG rated and as such we'll be using AD08 previous rating with source from http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...AN+Neova+AD08+R as well which is 180 tread wear, AA traction A temperature.
To my knowledge ALL of Advan tires are Made in Japan

Also as the only "serious" tires i've own would be the Yokohama C Drive 2, and Achilles 123 Semi-slick tires, a LOT of comparison will be made against these 2 tires.

Dry Grip:
For normal cornering between 120-140km/h, grip is very firm, and so far i am unable to produce tire screams even at those speeds. While the compound is damn soft to the point you can dig your finger nails in, the overall build is very stiff, even more so than the 123's i've owned. Shoulder block/sidewalls also seemed much firmer/thicker than the 123, despite having the same 195/50 tire at 6.5"j 15" rims, the ad08r looks considerable much wider than the c drive 2 (and of course slightly wider than the 123) that makes the entire tires jutting out of the wheel house and yes, REALLY HARD cornering will cause fender rubbing while the c drive 2 on 195/55 i've never experienced it; Harder to compare with the 123 as i was on different suspension setup and that setup bottoms out way to easily

So far i've barely even pushed the tires anywhere near to their limits, this is after all fitted on cars WAAAAY more powerful than my stock car. If anything, the high speed twists on mahameru - duta road would do a decent test for this, especially if you're on the furthest right lane where there will be badly paved manholes/covers where your tires will leave the ground for a very short while and it'll have to have damn good grip to regain traction else you'll face a brief slide (or if you're too fast, you're gonna crash the divider ) and yes i've slided plentiful with the c drive 2. for the 123, no such case however it didn't inspire me the confidence that the ad08r did for some reason. i'm going to take a good guess that it could be the harder 123 compound against the way softer ad08r, the temporary shift was barely noticed in the ad08r which made the cornering rather effortless and barely any correction was required after passing the cover.

Dry traction:
As mentioned above on some of the high speed cornering, traction is plentiful even when grip is temporarily lost due to bad road conditions. a better testament to this is the increased acceleration i am experiencing - at 3rd gear, my speed seems to climb faster than my rpm at 3rd (and last gear of my 3 speed auto) until around 80km/h x ~3.5k rpm where the rpm starts to catch up a bit.
Never happened before on my c drive 2 or even the achilles123 (hard to compare cuz back then i was on steel rims)

That said, the rolling resistance (that the likes of Michelin XM2/Yokohama C drive 2 like to market/boast about) is definitely in the shitter (maybe due to much better traction/grip?) as my speedo drops faster upon release of the accelerator almost scarily about the speed of my rpm meter as opposed to previously it's able to cruise very easily at over 80km/h with my C drive 2.
Needless to say FC may very likely take a hit running on these performance tires.

Wet grip:
no comment as it haven't rained significantly since i installed the tires

Wet traction:
same as above, no comment so far.

Handling/Road feedback/Progressiveness:
Just. phenomenal. I've never experience something to be so responsive and it certainly lived up its expectations of "laser sharp steering response". Hell if i were to add my own exaggeration, i'd say it turned my car controls into something akin of a video game/arcade simulation, what you input is what you get - every minor steering input is reflected in my car and it just BEGS for more. I've never ever thought my year 1999 Proton Iswara with pretty standard/old hydraulic power steering can handle as it does now thanks to the new tires.

Road feedback is quite good, as you can almost literally feel the road condition at the tip of your fingers from your steering wheel. That said, comfort is going to take a huge nose dive because of this no thanks to our Malaysian road condition - you ARE going to feel every yellow line/pot hole etc right up your back/head very harshly.

Can't comment too much on progression as i barely pushed the tires at all; Best to just leave this for the track experience to tell

Tire/tread wear:
no comment as these are new tires. if anything, i have to say that some minor fender rubbing does leave a rather noticeable mark despite it being a brand new tire. thankfully no new added grooves unlike my c drive 2

Comfort/NVH (Noise vibration harshness):
Comfort wise, yes as mentioned earlier on the road feedback, this is going to be a very uncomfortable tire especially coming from comfort tire usage (eg: c drive 2). If you're however used to standard UHP/semi slicks, then i suppose this would not be an issue to you, more so if you're reading up on the NVH review below.

To be honest, why would one even bother with NVH on these kinda tire is one would normally think. I have however came across this comment from bro xpress_lw https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=61958030
i'm like, "what the better than cc5?" lol
sure enough i was skeptical, until i got these rubbers fitted and drove around, damn they are a LOT quieter than i expected.

Granted they are new, and if you're going over 80-100km/h, it is still a LOT noisier than my c drive 2.
One thing to note though, as these tires are rather sticky, they DO pickup road debris much easier and as such if you're going over rocky/sandy roads, you're going to be hearing a lot of harsh stone/rock like sounds going through your vehicle cabin




Phew! Didn't think i'd be writing this long. This basically concludes the review for now.
Thanks for taking the time to read guys, will further do a follow up review after speedfest track day on the 18th August

This post has been edited by Quazacolt: Aug 8 2013, 08:29 PM

Tested on 160kmj...super duper grip yo!

continuation on previous review: https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=62289305

8th August 2013:

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

touge trip genting sempah > gohtong jaya > Genting > karak downhill

Weather was raining in the morning between 9am-10am ish. good chance to do some test/update on the review. That said, we weren't driving at really fast speeds, it's supposed to be a leisure drive after all.


speeds were not exceeding 80-100km/h during wet conditions so i wonder if it's much of a real test or not, so take it with a pinch of salt ya

Wet grip:
This has to come off as a surprise especially after the latest tirerack review video. Considering the tread pattern, these tires do NOT look like something that would excel on wet conditions. I mean, simple concept of water channeling has to be there to be resistant of aquaplaning. However comparatively with the Achilles123 that seems to have more tread pattern/water channeling grooves, the 123 did VERY POORLY in wet conditions compared to the AD08R. During the run, there were some water puddle that are estimate as deep as 1/4 wheel, considering the splash wave did came up as high as the car window; There was just no signs of losing grip or whatsoever and road feedback on when i hit the water puddle/leaving the water puddle was just as excellent.

To people that are used to semi slick tires in wet conditions or even as daily ride - you guys would know very well during water puddles, your car will be temporarily out of control/slide/skid and the moment the tires leave the water puddle they would just regain whatever was lost almost immediately. These tires were similar to that, minus out the losing grip part. however again, so far so good although the speed wasn't all that fast and despite the efforts to go through as many water puddles as i can find.


Wet traction:
Pretty amazing as well as i am still able to accelerate/brake within the water puddles/wet surface almost effortlessly. Cornering was very stable, no drama/slide/skid whatsoever. Which is rather a surprising considering i had pretty good experience on the C drive 2, and that had WAY MORE water channeling grooves/tread pattern, even though it isn't exactly a performance based tire nor it is directional tread pattern which typically excels on wet conditions more so than asymmetric; And yeah, this definitely out performs the c drive 2 in wet traction in any way possible.

Given the chance i'd like to push it further in wet conditions, especially track day + rain. On regular roads, there's still a lot of reserve/cautions as the risk is just too high and obviously i wouldn't want to endanger other motorists/pedestrians (There's a lot of cyclists at sempah )


Handling/Road feedback/Progressiveness:
Hair pins, S corners, quick/rapid left right back to back, anything. Whatever you throw at it, the steering > car > tire obeys and and executes. Like i said previously, it's very arcade/computer game like, what you input is what you get. The feeling is just phenomenal!

Road feedback is as awesome as always - every bit of road surface condition you can almost feel it as if your ass/hands are touching on the ground. the rough parts of Genting before first guard house/gohtong jaya was easily felt and every minor "slips" that you may encounter due to pot holes/uneven road surface you will immediately get feedback and you can immediately apply any corrections as needed. Even the leaf/twigs/broken branches at Genting sempah roads were well felt while going over them and considering the road conditions were wet, everything is being fed towards me and if needed, i can apply the necessary correction (which considering my speed, there was no correction needed at all.)

Progression wise, now this is where today's karak highway down hill gave valueble feedback/experience on -
As we sped down the highway (2 of our crazy members were chasing a forte at around/excess of 200km/h ) i was going around 170+km/h, at around 6.5k rpm, really pushing the hell out of my car already. People who are familiar with Karak highway downhills (genting going towards KL direction) will know of their cambered high speed cornering. And this is where the warning signs/intuition comes in - just like any hobby/upgrades, as you upgrade a certain component/part, you WILL reveal yet another weakest link in your setup. Prior the AD08R is obviously my comfort/low nvh C drive 2 tires, and post upgrade the link is clearly the chassis/rear torsion beam or even myself as a driver.

See, as I tackle the downhill cornering at speeds between 140-170+km/h, the tires were not showing any traction lost, or any signs of losing grip. However there is this gut feeling or intuition that my rears are giving out i kept feeling as it is going to slide/at it's threshold/limit. The awesome thing about installing the rear anti roll bar previously is that it allows me to gauge the rear's limits much better than before and i am able to control it somewhat. With the tires' very linear progressiveness in grip/feedback i tend to get a lot of "warning signs" on my rear however the tires are not having any symptom of losing grip/squealing whatsoever, so the obvious conclusion is either i'm just a little paranoid, or the weak link has to be my chassis/torsion beam.

Considering Iswara's infamous reputation of fishtailing/losing its rear and my own experiences as an iswara driver for many long years, the final conclusion is still the torsion beam.


Tire/tread wear:
Tire surface start to show rough/ugly marks - you know, the kind you ALWAYS see on semi slick tires. however the tread pattern is still very deep, and the "tire hairs" (compound/rubber injection points left overs/nips basically) are still clearly visible, so not much of a concern i suppose.




Thanks for reading guys, will most likely do another update after speed-fest track day on the 18th August

This post has been edited by Quazacolt: Aug 8 2013, 08:29 PM

Queueing up to get in the shop:



Tires waiting:



Kent showing his staff how it's done:



Attending to my car personally:



Fitted:

-


-


I'm not big on writing full-on reviews, but I echo most of Quazacolt's comments. These tyres have been great. Took it up Ulu Yam and came back down on the highway with some spirited driving. I find myself taking corners faster and barely heard a squeal. Steering response is very much improved. Felt more confident sweeping down Karak. It just felt planted.

Previous tires I've used on the coupe include Toyo T1R, Nexen N8000 (don't ask), Goodyear F1 Assy 2 and Falken FK452. They are nothing compared to the AD08R. Of course they're in completely different leagues to compare. A good comparison would probably be with the likes of Federal 595RSR or Toyo R1R.

Thanks again Quazacolt for organizing the group buy, and nestum for providing great service.

glad you enjoyed them bro

i'm barely even pushing the tires at all, it's more of the tires trying to compensate whatever flaws my car/myself as a driver has

however thanks to davidke20 pointers i've got a lot of things figured out and hopefully can get it sorted out before this weekend's track day to give the tires a proper setup it very much deserve

Don't mention it. Ayam small time nia

just found this, around a g of cornering force and the tires didn't really screech that much.
gets louder as he exceeds 1/1.2 or so haha

This will be my next set of tires after I use up my Hankook RS3s!

btw my friend quite interested in the hankook, what size you got and how much you got it for per piece?

My RS3s are 245/40/18. Paid RM840 each at Teoh Brothers in Klang.

They're good tires and last forever. Already done 4 track days and still plenty of tread left!

ah ok thanks for the info

Just got these sweet tyres from HupShun Sunway today! Running on 215/45/17. I got to say, as Quazacolt mentioned, sharp and pinpoint steering response. Albeit ABIT noisy but i dont mind as the exhaust is overcoming the sound from the tyres.

Just had some "test" at Kerinchi Link.. AWESOME!

This post has been edited by SoulReaver: Aug 13 2013, 11:12 PM

eh review on speedfest experience put on hold a bit, work etc, lacking time to write lol.

anyways yesterday was on the turn in towards duta flyover from jln kucing (it'll pass by solaris dutamas with all the government buildings/quarters etc)

as i was speeding around 100-110km/h approaching the sharp'ish corner (most stock standard car can easily go through that corner at that speeds while still maintaining on a single lane) the vehicle in front was a little slow so i had to hard brake a bit (unable to overtake too as both lanes are occupied pretty much, and it'll be left lane overtaking which is wrong anyways) and somewhat expected, warning signs/instincts popped up that my rear's about to slide.

funnily enough, instead of cadence braking and counter steering back to slow down + straighten the car, i instead had the gut feeling to check my side/rear mirrors, confirmed that the whole 2 lanes are clear. at this point, it's as if the tires are telling me: "this is nothing, keep going!" and so, i listened - gradually increased the throttle, the rear swings out further, and i'm basically going side ways with my car occupying 2 lanes and i'm looking ahead at my passenger side's a-pillar.

this only lasted a short mere 3-5 seconds or less, at around 90km/h or so, but DAMN the adrenaline rush!
as i slided further on the left lane (again, that fly over only have 2 lanes), the car on that lane is faster than the car on the right where i was initially at when i started to slide and was pulling away leaving a gap between himself and car on the right lane.
in the end i basically slide out to the left lane, and counter steered myself to straighten the car as i cut in to the right lane finally exiting the fly over into duta highway.

that was just... fun. REALLY FUN!
even until the next day (today as i am writing this) i couldn't believe what i have done and it was a pity i did not have it all recorded down. even unbelievable was that the confidence that was instilled within me, it would have never happen EVER on other tires even on the Achilles 123 semi slicks i used to had.

thinking further it could be actually scary, as it's probably a matter of time before i got too over confident and got myself burned for it
well, let's hope that is not the case then

This post has been edited by Quazacolt: Aug 20 2013, 09:27 PM

About the noise, is it very loud and is it extremely bumpy?

surprisingly, not very loud at all. it is however louder than the c drive 2 especially over 100km/h.

bumpiness, not much, however again, bumpier than the c drive 2 especially when you're doing high speeds

wow first time i read such a comprehensive review on any tyres! you must be very very pleased and excited with your new tyres.

just paying the respect it deserved for being Yokohama's flagship tire
and yes, these tires are very confidence inspiring and it makes driving even on a simple Malaysian road ever so exciting.

All this even on a measly Proton 1.5L 3speeder auto iswara

Long time overdue, however here goes probably my last writeup for these tires
18th August 2013 - Speedfest @ Elite speedway USJ track day

To be honest, i was actually pretty nervous how they would perform, especially with the autocross obstacles (360 turn, slalom, and figure of 8) which would definitely mean eating grass considering my car's turn radius. A bit worried if the tires would get unnecessary wear or even damage from the non tarred terrains.

"I guess no point worrying about them for now eh?" Is what finally calmed me down a bit since I'm more of a do first think later guy

Results picture for reference: http://twitpic.com/d8xvi2
Not bad eh? I'm the first in the list being the only Iswara, and considering i'm the ONLY automatic car (do correct me if i'm wrong btw) out there among all the 4G1x veterans
Suggest to pay attention/remember to the lap times while going through the write up.

First run, going slow on the throttle just to get familiar with the course - passing the first corner, not bad, no tire squeals unlike the C drive 2 rofl! Everything is going accordingly until the first obstacle which is the cone to perform the 360. So yeah, slow down, gave a go with left foot braking (since i've read that it's effective way for FF automatic cars to handle tight corners) and... no good. Even with sub 20km/h, steering on full lock turning, i still had to dine on grass.
And since it's pretty much my first serious attempt at left foot braking, let's just say it didn't turn out very well. Pretty similar experiences throughout the slalom/figure 8 with less grass i guess.

After the last obstacle is done, that's where the real fun starts. On most of the corners, the grip surprisingly (especially the rear) doesn't seem to be top notch, at least when compared to the previous Achilles 123 I've had. It still tends to give a mild slide whether i want to or not. Ironically, left foot braking was supposed to slide my car so i can apply more throttle when it straightens out/exiting corner. That was actually the opposite and i actually had more grip this way and the balance was thrown off somewhat as the car's rear skipped/bounced (sort of a want to slide, but cannot slide scenario).

On second lap, i was still determined to give left foot braking another go. First 360, probably botched it and the car almost came to a full stop. Actually confused/panicked a bit while i was pondering how the hell i work with left foot braking and in the midst of it i actually went a 2nd 360 - bummer lol.
After the obstacles however, i eased on the throttle/brakes, let the car slide on it's rear. Surprisingly, it worked out for the better! Almost as if the car/tires are telling me THAT's how it should be driven, and with the feedback/progressiveness from the tires, it's as if it is telling me when i should apply/increase my throttle as i exit the corner. Surreal.

3rd lap (and if you've checked out the earlier picture, that is my best lap for the day.) in, pretty much gave up left foot braking, course familiarized. If there is any better time to set a good time, this is it.
Many fun slides were had, the tires barely made much noise until the going further into the slide/the moment throttle was applied/increased/corner exit. It's as if the tires, and no doubt me - the driver was having a damn fun ride of our lives!

4th lap, using my experience from previous track/speedfest, and of course many advises from the veterans to monitor the tire's air pressure and release as needed - They were about 40psi front AND rear, from 32psi all 4 prior to the 3 laps and yes, i reduced them to 32. As the air was released, it was really REALLY hot and was very unpleasant throughout the whole process. First corner in, the grip is vastly improved, almost on par if not even better than the Achilles 123, however the feedback was just not as prominent/sharp as it was before! If there was a way to describe it, it was as if the tires was throwing a fit/mad at me and stopped talking! After the obstacles and into the series of hairpins/S corners, the rear was wanting to slide, however due to the increased grip it just couldn't and was stuck in a fit of "trying to slide it's rear out but just f***ing couldn't".

Wow bummer, who would've knew that releasing the air pressure would backfired on me!
But yeah after the track run i've done my own logics/conclusion with inputs/discussions from the veterans, it basically was:
- Every tire has their optimal air pressure and heat range - The AD08R was definitely a tire enjoying heat and higher pressure
- The higher air pressure would meant the middle grooves being utilized more, and come to think of it, the tread in tread and fiery patterns are ALL focused on the middle. Hence the reduction of feedback when the tire's hot air pressure was released.
- Higher air pressure also reduces rolling resistance, and with the new Orange oil compound in the AD08R that also EMPHASIZED on rolling resistance, this is probably one of the major factor that helps reduce lap times.
- While sliding in a track is probably not a good way to make good lap times, the rear suspension and handling characteristics of the Iswara probably requires such utilization of slides in combination of a good throttle steer/corner exit. Sounds ridiculous, and definitely unorthodox, however that's how the veteran iswara drivers does it, and i have no doubts on their experience over mine which definitely tallies anyways.

Well, realizing a bit too late, and i don't suppose just the air pressure is enough even if i were to go to the nearby Caltex station to refill air pressure since the heat probably plays a role too as the tires heat up VERY FAST (experience from touge runs/downhills, and of course the prior 4 lap experiences).

So yeah, 5th lap's results is well within expectations, nothing special about it.


======


After the track run, i noticed some very interesting wear pattern, should definitely do re mount flipping rotations as well; Notice the tread in tread! http://twitpic.com/d94paa

it's like f***ing magic weih, how they still maintain the tread in tread patterns after the damn thing is worn down ROFL
(a quick guess is some kind of layering cast technology?)

The tread in tread patterns isn't as prominent now however it IS still there even after a long while after the track day and driven on the road ever since (the NVH wasn't that bad at all, and humans are very adaptable creatures after all) since i haven't got around to wash my old rims/tires, and respray some chipped/cosmetic defected spots.


=====


Overall, these are really great tires that just boosts one confidence sky high. And i'm not sure if it's just me, but there's always a constant strong urge to find a corner and tackle it. even a slow turn in junction under 20km/h, the tires kept beckoning me tackle, f*** the brakes and just throttle!

I don't think i've ever experienced (much less own) a tires that communicates so well with me and in a way, teaches me how to drive car. Very strange indeed right?

Hope you guys enjoy the reviews/write up so far, and perhaps it may convince you guys to give these tires a shot despite the very expensive pricing compared to other makers.
That's it folks.

Q, What other tyres have you owned before?

listing more notable ones:
personally own = conti cc1 (listing them because included these in my NVH review)/yokohama c drive 2/achilles 123/yokohama ad08r
(omitting those entry ones such as yoko a drive/silverstone m5/sime/dunlop etc)

driven/sat in cars having = michelin xm2(seriously overpriced, might as well ps3)/michelin ps3/Goodyear GSD3/conti cc5 (oh boy these tires... well daily ride's ok i guess)

planning on next change would be Nitto's neogen for my daily ride
haven't overlapped any tire models/selection before, goal would be to try out as many good tires as possible