Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review - 3000GT/Stealth International Message Center

bluemax_1 · 06-19-2006, 12:35 PM

Ran these on the roadcourse at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven.

Tire size was 265/35/18 all-round mounted on 18x9.5 Volk TE37's. Car is running the KSport suspension with Stoptech's 355mm front BBK, stock Mitsu rear calipers with KVR rotors and Carbotech's Panther Plus pads in front and Bobcats in the rear, Stoptech stainless lines all-round and ATE SuperBlue fluid.

First off, after deciding to go with separate winter and summer tires (I'm in MI so we do get our fair share of cold weather and snow, especially lake effect in southwest MI), I decided to look for the best of each. I've already done a review of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi tires I got for the winter.

In looking for the best summer street tires I considered R-compounds but decided to go with a true street tire since the VR4 is now my daily driver and R-compounds have a heat cycle life. After 'X' amount of heat cycles, even if there is sufficient tread remaining, R-compounds tend to harden and you lose the extreme grip that they provided when new. They might be good for a weekend track/fun car or someone who drives like a nut 90% of the time (so they'ld wear the tires out before the heat cycle life is up) AND has the funds to replace them every 5000 miles of hard driving, but I wanted a true street tire that could also be taken to the track so my choice was the AD07.

The AD07's handled admirably at the track. Incredible grip for a street tire under braking and hard cornering and they held up to the heat well (a problem which turned me away from the Falken RT-615's). Even though the track was fairly hot and I pushed the car progressively harder and harder, the tires did not start to feel 'greasy' or lose traction.

After the first session, I inspected the tires to see how they were holding up and was at first concerned at the melted rubber on the edges of the tires. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the melted rubber was what had been left behind by other folks' tires that mine had picked up.

I will also concur that these tires, when pushed past their grip limits, retain amazing traction at high slip angles. I guess there's a good reason (other than simply from sponsorship) why this tire seems to be used by well over 60% of the drivers in D1 Drift events. Nobuteru Taniguchi when interviewed by Yokohama at the AD07 testing mentioned that his first grip laps proved that the tire had great traction but he was amazed at how much traction they had when drifting at high slip angles. Some tires have very high static grip but when they start to slide, they have poor dynamic grip and once they break free, they're difficult to control. The AD07's could be progressively pushed harder and harder, and when I found the static grip limits and exceeded them, the car was still very controllable and breakaway was progressive and easily corrected.

I did try to drift through one of the turns on the back half of the course and promptly received a stern frown from one of the track marshalls/flaggers coupled with a warning waggle of their yellow flag, so I avoided any further playing in that regard.

The tires also wear quite well and aren't too easily prone to flatspotting. On my very first lap out, I forgot part of the course (been a few years since I drove at Gingerman) and came into turn 3 a little too hot. There's a rise just before the turn and I thought there was enough room to brake after the rise and realized my mistake when I topped the rise. Hit the brakes but the car was light and I locked up the brakes and came screeching into the turn. Avoided an off-track excursion by less than a foot. I thought I might have flatspotted a tire there (since they are a relatively soft compound), but the tires are fine.

After I regained familiarity with the track I started pushing harder and harder It was fun running down the folks ahead of me on track, but I ran in the beginner/intermediate sessions so there were a fair number of novices (3 of whom slid off track right in front of me). Yes John, next time I'll sign up in the Advanced/Experienced group

.

The deceleration provided by the grip of these tires and the 355m Stoptechs is amazing for a street-tired car with (somewhat) streetable pads (the Panther Plus squeal like a stuck pig when cold).

Attempting to even approach the cornering grip limits of these tires on public streets would definitely subject the driver to a ticket if observed by any LEO nearby.

I'll update when I have some wear info after running these several thousand miles. as yet, I haven't driven them in the rain, so no comments on that yet, although they have reviewed/tested quite well in the wet on TireRack and in car mags.

For now though, if asked if I would buy these tires again, I would have to say YES, absolutely. If you're in the market for a set of summer tires and your criteria preclude R-compounds but you still want fantastic grip, give these a look.

Max

PS. I need to get one of those GTech Pro RR's because I'm really curious to know what kind of lateral G's and braking G's these tires are producing.

pyun · 06-19-2006, 12:57 PM

Awesome write up Max. When my RT-615s go, I'm going to look into getting a set of these puppies

Wow, they're pricey! lol.

bluemax_1 · 07-03-2006, 11:19 PM

A rain update to the review. Man, these tires rock in the wet too. Very good wet grip in braking and cornering and progressive breakaway at the limit. No real comments on the hydroplaning resistance, since I didn't hit much standing water deeper than an inch, but they're good on wet roads in the rain. These things accelerate better in the wet than Kumho supra 712's do in the dry. I could spin all 4 Kumho's in the dry with a 5k rpm launch (RPS twin C/C clutch). With the Neova's in the wet from 5k, I barely got a chirp. I got them to break loose by launching at 5k with the wheel turned.

Word of warning though, these aren't the most 'vocal' tires around (a plus in my book. Hate tires that scream and screech at every turn when you push it even a little). If you're one of the folks who uses your ears to tell you where the limit is as opposed to your ass and hands (listening for the screeching as you approach the limit as opposed to feeling where the edge of traction is), you might get caught out. They will sound off a little but not much compared to a lot of other tires, and this holds true in both dry and wet. On the hot and dry track at NG06, taking these to the edge and over was not a problem, especially with the AWD, progressive and easy to control and reign in.

Max

jandoaudio · 04-21-2007, 10:29 PM

I'm in for tires soon and this sounds like it nicely fits the bill, how are they holding up? I was looking at going with a 265/35/18 on a 9" wheel, do you forsee any issues with going to a 9 vs 9.5 wheel?

Curious if your first impressions are still accurate or if your opinion has changed as they wear. Any expectations for life expectancy on a street/weekend track car?

Thanks,
Clayton

bluemax_1 · 04-22-2007, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jandoaudio

I'm in for tires soon and this sounds like it nicely fits the bill, how are they holding up? I was looking at going with a 265/35/18 on a 9" wheel, do you forsee any issues with going to a 9 vs 9.5 wheel?

Curious if your first impressions are still accurate or if your opinion has changed as they wear. Any expectations for life expectancy on a street/weekend track car?

Thanks,
Clayton

265 on a 9" wide wheel is fine. The ride won't be as harsh as it is with the 9.5" wheel.

My impressions haven't really changed since the review. I like the Neovas a lot for a street tire. Very grippy, progressive breakaway when it does happen and still very good traction even when the tires are sliding (drifting).

As far as life expectancy goes, it all depends on how you drive. From the wear resulting from trackdays, they do actually hold up pretty well for track days. I'd estimate I could probably get several weekends on track before these wear down to the cords/belts.

Max

bluemax_1 · 03-31-2008, 09:26 PM

Bumping the thread for a little new info I've found about Yokohama's Advan Neova AD07 tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=100

As you can see, if you don't rate comfort as an important feature, the Neovas beat the RE-01R based solely on performance in dry and wet. The test that a Japanese tuner mag did on the Neovas vs. RE-01R on a roadcourse is also in favor of the Neova as far as being resistant to overheating (RE-01R's overheating after ~10 laps, while the Neovas were still fine after 20 laps, same size tires run on identical Evos).

Another interesting test I recently ran across that increases my respect for the Neovas even more. They used a 350Z driven by Taniguchi and ran it on Tsukuba with Yokohama's Neova and then with M compound A048's (R-compound DOT legal tire) and on Tsukuba, the Neovas were about 1 second slower (1:04.994 Neova vs. 1:03.974 A048).

***note, A048's come in M and MH (Medium Hard) compounds, the M compound being slightly softer and stickier, the MH being less sticky but less prone to overheating with a heavier car. The M compound is not available on the largest tire sizes (eg. 265/35/18 is only available in the MH compound).

Max

clumzy · 04-04-2008, 06:55 PM

Your reviews are great Max and well respected on the board. If it weren't for the Neova's being twice the price of the RT-615s I would definitely purchase them. Personally I can't justify that considering my level of skill. Perhaps by the time I thrash the RT-615s I'll be able to appreciate the AD07s

Thanks again.

VR-4ever · 04-04-2008, 08:33 PM

Great writeup Max! Thank you.

Flatspotting a tire abruptly ended a fun weekend for me at the VIR roadcourse last year. Those brakes work though.

bluemax_1 · 04-05-2008, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clumzy

Your reviews are great Max and well respected on the board. If it weren't for the Neova's being twice the price of the RT-615s I would definitely purchase them. Personally I can't justify that considering my level of skill. Perhaps by the time I thrash the RT-615s I'll be able to appreciate the AD07s

Thanks again.

Yeah, they were never exactly cheap, but these days they're unbelievably expensive. Oddly enough, at one point, the Bridgestone RE-01R was only about $30 cheaper than the Neova in 265/35/18. I think it was shortly after I found the Japanese comparo between the RE-01R and Neova which mentioned the overheating on the roadcourse that I checked the prices again and found that the Neova's price went up ~$20-$30 and the RE-01R's price went down about $10-$20.

RE-01R used to be around $265 and the Neova used to be ~$295 ($278 was the cheapest I found but that shop no longer carries Yokohama). Now the RE-01R is ~$240-$250 and the Neova is ~$320.

Oh, and the RE-01R used to have a treadwear rating of 140, now they're rated 180 same as the Neova.

R-compound tires are now cheaper than the Neova. Time to give 'em a shot.

Max

06-19-2006, 12:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
bluemax_1 July 2003 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: MI Drives: '94 VR-4 Trader Rating: (16)	Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review Ran these on the roadcourse at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven. Tire size was 265/35/18 all-round mounted on 18x9.5 Volk TE37's. Car is running the KSport suspension with Stoptech's 355mm front BBK, stock Mitsu rear calipers with KVR rotors and Carbotech's Panther Plus pads in front and Bobcats in the rear, Stoptech stainless lines all-round and ATE SuperBlue fluid. First off, after deciding to go with separate winter and summer tires (I'm in MI so we do get our fair share of cold weather and snow, especially lake effect in southwest MI), I decided to look for the best of each. I've already done a review of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi tires I got for the winter. In looking for the best summer street tires I considered R-compounds but decided to go with a true street tire since the VR4 is now my daily driver and R-compounds have a heat cycle life. After 'X' amount of heat cycles, even if there is sufficient tread remaining, R-compounds tend to harden and you lose the extreme grip that they provided when new. They might be good for a weekend track/fun car or someone who drives like a nut 90% of the time (so they'ld wear the tires out before the heat cycle life is up) AND has the funds to replace them every 5000 miles of hard driving, but I wanted a true street tire that could also be taken to the track so my choice was the AD07. The AD07's handled admirably at the track. Incredible grip for a street tire under braking and hard cornering and they held up to the heat well (a problem which turned me away from the Falken RT-615's). Even though the track was fairly hot and I pushed the car progressively harder and harder, the tires did not start to feel 'greasy' or lose traction. After the first session, I inspected the tires to see how they were holding up and was at first concerned at the melted rubber on the edges of the tires. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the melted rubber was what had been left behind by other folks' tires that mine had picked up. I will also concur that these tires, when pushed past their grip limits, retain amazing traction at high slip angles. I guess there's a good reason (other than simply from sponsorship) why this tire seems to be used by well over 60% of the drivers in D1 Drift events. Nobuteru Taniguchi when interviewed by Yokohama at the AD07 testing mentioned that his first grip laps proved that the tire had great traction but he was amazed at how much traction they had when drifting at high slip angles. Some tires have very high static grip but when they start to slide, they have poor dynamic grip and once they break free, they're difficult to control. The AD07's could be progressively pushed harder and harder, and when I found the static grip limits and exceeded them, the car was still very controllable and breakaway was progressive and easily corrected. I did try to drift through one of the turns on the back half of the course and promptly received a stern frown from one of the track marshalls/flaggers coupled with a warning waggle of their yellow flag, so I avoided any further playing in that regard. The tires also wear quite well and aren't too easily prone to flatspotting. On my very first lap out, I forgot part of the course (been a few years since I drove at Gingerman) and came into turn 3 a little too hot. There's a rise just before the turn and I thought there was enough room to brake after the rise and realized my mistake when I topped the rise. Hit the brakes but the car was light and I locked up the brakes and came screeching into the turn. Avoided an off-track excursion by less than a foot. I thought I might have flatspotted a tire there (since they are a relatively soft compound), but the tires are fine. After I regained familiarity with the track I started pushing harder and harder It was fun running down the folks ahead of me on track, but I ran in the beginner/intermediate sessions so there were a fair number of novices (3 of whom slid off track right in front of me). Yes John, next time I'll sign up in the Advanced/Experienced group . The deceleration provided by the grip of these tires and the 355m Stoptechs is amazing for a street-tired car with (somewhat) streetable pads (the Panther Plus squeal like a stuck pig when cold). Attempting to even approach the cornering grip limits of these tires on public streets would definitely subject the driver to a ticket if observed by any LEO nearby. I'll update when I have some wear info after running these several thousand miles. as yet, I haven't driven them in the rain, so no comments on that yet, although they have reviewed/tested quite well in the wet on TireRack and in car mags. For now though, if asked if I would buy these tires again, I would have to say YES, absolutely. If you're in the market for a set of summer tires and your criteria preclude R-compounds but you still want fantastic grip, give these a look. Max PS. I need to get one of those GTech Pro RR's because I'm really curious to know what kind of lateral G's and braking G's these tires are producing. __________________ 1994 3000GT VR-4. Hobbies... what are hobbies? Oh, those things people do when they're NOT working on their cars?

06-19-2006, 12:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
pyun "The Fisherman" Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Bergen County/Philly Drives: around scaring birds Trader Rating: (75)	Re: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review Awesome write up Max. When my RT-615s go, I'm going to look into getting a set of these puppies Wow, they're pricey! lol. __________________ Last edited by pyun : 06-19-2006 at 01:14 PM.

07-03-2006, 11:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
bluemax_1 July 2003 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: MI Drives: '94 VR-4 Trader Rating: (16)	Re: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review A rain update to the review. Man, these tires rock in the wet too. Very good wet grip in braking and cornering and progressive breakaway at the limit. No real comments on the hydroplaning resistance, since I didn't hit much standing water deeper than an inch, but they're good on wet roads in the rain. These things accelerate better in the wet than Kumho supra 712's do in the dry. I could spin all 4 Kumho's in the dry with a 5k rpm launch (RPS twin C/C clutch). With the Neova's in the wet from 5k, I barely got a chirp. I got them to break loose by launching at 5k with the wheel turned. Word of warning though, these aren't the most 'vocal' tires around (a plus in my book. Hate tires that scream and screech at every turn when you push it even a little). If you're one of the folks who uses your ears to tell you where the limit is as opposed to your ass and hands (listening for the screeching as you approach the limit as opposed to feeling where the edge of traction is), you might get caught out. They will sound off a little but not much compared to a lot of other tires, and this holds true in both dry and wet. On the hot and dry track at NG06, taking these to the edge and over was not a problem, especially with the AWD, progressive and easy to control and reign in. Max

04-21-2007, 10:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
jandoaudio Staying in the Family Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Bozeman, Montana Drives: 95 RT/TT Trader Rating: (13)	Re: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review I'm in for tires soon and this sounds like it nicely fits the bill, how are they holding up? I was looking at going with a 265/35/18 on a 9" wheel, do you forsee any issues with going to a 9 vs 9.5 wheel? Curious if your first impressions are still accurate or if your opinion has changed as they wear. Any expectations for life expectancy on a street/weekend track car? Thanks, Clayton __________________ 95 RT/TT Stock 92 VR4 Blacked out with a 98 conversion dr900's Stage 3 Heads 98 Jeep TJ 35's Locked with all the toys Cheap, Fast, Reliable.... You can only have two

03-31-2008, 09:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
bluemax_1 July 2003 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: MI Drives: '94 VR-4 Trader Rating: (16)	Re: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review Bumping the thread for a little new info I've found about Yokohama's Advan Neova AD07 tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=100 As you can see, if you don't rate comfort as an important feature, the Neovas beat the RE-01R based solely on performance in dry and wet. The test that a Japanese tuner mag did on the Neovas vs. RE-01R on a roadcourse is also in favor of the Neova as far as being resistant to overheating (RE-01R's overheating after ~10 laps, while the Neovas were still fine after 20 laps, same size tires run on identical Evos). Another interesting test I recently ran across that increases my respect for the Neovas even more. They used a 350Z driven by Taniguchi and ran it on Tsukuba with Yokohama's Neova and then with M compound A048's (R-compound DOT legal tire) and on Tsukuba, the Neovas were about 1 second slower (1:04.994 Neova vs. 1:03.974 A048). ***note, A048's come in M and MH (Medium Hard) compounds, the M compound being slightly softer and stickier, the MH being less sticky but less prone to overheating with a heavier car. The M compound is not available on the largest tire sizes (eg. 265/35/18 is only available in the MH compound). Max

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04-04-2008, 06:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
clumzy Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto Canada Drives: 1993 VR4 Trader Rating: (5)	Re: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review Your reviews are great Max and well respected on the board. If it weren't for the Neova's being twice the price of the RT-615s I would definitely purchase them. Personally I can't justify that considering my level of skill. Perhaps by the time I thrash the RT-615s I'll be able to appreciate the AD07s Thanks again. __________________ Jerry Track Vids - Jun08 GoPro1 Jun08 GoPro2 - Oct07 1 Oct07 2 - July07 Gas Mileage - 00 Honda Civic Si - 93 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4

04-04-2008, 08:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
VR-4ever work eat college sleep... Join Date: May 2002 Location: va beach. Trader Rating: (12)	Re: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 review Great writeup Max! Thank you. Flatspotting a tire abruptly ended a fun weekend for me at the VIR roadcourse last year. Those brakes work though. __________________ '94 3000GT - Moser 9" rear end and other stuff. '94 Ford Explorer - truck.