Opinions on Yoko 08's as Street tires please

[90blue]

Looking for street tires for the refinished Panasports 15/7". I must have tires with sharp turnin characteristics and good wear. Not looking for R compound tires. I currently have 888s but am tiring of the noise, otherwise a great tire.
Thinking Yoko 08 or Bridgestone 71 R ? in 205 or the 195 size.
I value your experience, opinions and recommendations. Thanks in advance.

[HarryB]

I have a friend that uses the 08 exclusively on the street, and swears by them. No 1st hand experiences though.

[90blue]

Good to hear. Thanks.

[kung fu jesus]

No experience with either, but this American retailer does a nice job of putting up nice data and reviews:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=202&to_desktop=true

In the US we know them by slightly different names. The Yokohama is the Advan Neova 08.

[90blue]

Tire rack is OK, but I have seen raving reviews on S Drives. Too inconsistent for me to trust in and buy from on just that.
That is why I am asking for info from the group.

[Pyr0monk3y]

Since you mentioned S Drives, I had a set last year and liked them. I only got 10k out of mine, but that's with shot control arm bushings and a track alignment. They are pretty responsive, and grip enough for the street. They are not a track worthy tire, nor are they a 200 tread wear summer tire. Never do a dry track day on them, it will be no fun, they will overheat and chunk quickly, but for the street they are fine. They served me very well on the daily commute and a trip to the tail of the dragon. They are predictable, quiet, and responsive.

If you're trying to run a 200 tread wear tire on a track car on the street, I think it's a good idea to choose a non directional tire. More than likely a track car will have an aggressive alignment, and the non directional tread pattern will give you some more freedom to move tires around and combat the alignment wear. Falken Azenis 615k are my favorites.

[90blue]

Hey thanks !
I did not like the S drives when they came out,not as precise as I was used to. I had Pilots before them. I value the stiff sidewall and the sharp turn in they bring. My reference point now is an R tire the 888.
I looked for the Azenis review and could not find one, had a set of the first edition. They were OK ! Is the turnin better than the S drive ?

[jdmfc3s90]

Your interests in the tires are kind of an oxymoron. Good turning characteristics, good wear and less noise aren't things you're going to find in a max summer performance tire which the AD08R is. That being said, compared to the 888's you've been using, i guess you'll find better wear and less noise.

Personally for me when I'm picking a max performance tire, you might as well not even care about wear. You will also notice less grip period. Coming from a RR to a Street tire, you can't really compare.

I can give you some feed back on the Azenis. Ive owned multiple sets of 615k's and they are a good options for max street performance. Sticky, feed back is easily felt, won't get really greasy on the street compared to track. Rain... YOU need to be smart and careful and id say whats more sketchy is the half wet and half dry conditions.
As for life of the tire, i pushed them to the max and got about 12k miles out of them. This was with a good alinement and performance height (not anywhere close to low, 12'' hub to fender) and aggressive driving style.

You have a lot of options in the 15'' market.
-Dunlop Direzza ZII's (which many say is superior to the Falken 615k)
-Bridgestone re71r (Great reviews and a ton of racers and enthusiast love this tire)
-Advan ad08r (this will have the lowest tread wear rating @ 180, great grip and I've heard these are little better in the rain then the others)
-Toyo's r1r which many enjoy as well (coming from the 888, this would be a good area to research)
-Falken 615k, (older design then the others but still a good tire, probably the cheapest in the bunch)
* all these tires are available in 205/50 size. **Not all are available in 195/50 size

These are the most popular choices for a MAX SUMMER PERFORMANCE tire. Now if you want less grip, more life, less noise, a performance all season tire is what you should start looking for.

[90blue]

Not sure I would agree on the impossibility aspect. I had Pilots which were excellent on turn in ang street grip and were quiet as well. Not currently available in the 205 size.

Any feedback discussion on the noise from the R 71s ?

[Pyr0monk3y]

Your interests in the tires are kind of an oxymoron. Good turning characteristics, good wear and less noise aren't things you're going to find in a max summer performance tire which the AD08R is. That being said, compared to the 888's you've been using, i guess you'll find better wear and less noise.

Personally for me when I'm picking a max performance tire, you might as well not even care about wear. You will also notice less grip period. Coming from a RR to a Street tire, you can't really compare.

I can give you some feed back on the Azenis. Ive owned multiple sets of 615k's and they are a good options for max street performance. Sticky, feed back is easily felt, won't get really greasy on the street compared to track. Rain... YOU need to be smart and careful and id say whats more sketchy is the half wet and half dry conditions.
As for life of the tire, i pushed them to the max and got about 12k miles out of them. This was with a good alinement and performance height (not anywhere close to low, 12'' hub to fender) and aggressive driving style.

You have a lot of options in the 15'' market.
-Dunlop Direzza ZII's (which many say is superior to the Falken 615k)
-Bridgestone re71r (Great reviews and a ton of racers and enthusiast love this tire)
-Advan ad08r (this will have the lowest tread wear rating @ 180, great grip and I've heard these are little better in the rain then the others)
-Toyo's r1r which many enjoy as well (coming from the 888, this would be a good area to research)
-Falken 615k, (older design then the others but still a good tire, probably the cheapest in the bunch)
* all these tires are available in 205/50 size. **Not all are available in 195/50 size

These are the most popular choices for a MAX SUMMER PERFORMANCE tire. Now if you want less grip, more life, less noise, a performance all season tire is what you should start looking for.

I'd like to address the greasy reputation of the Falkens. After running through 6 sets of these things on the chump car, I feel like I know the tire pretty well. Yes, they do get "greasy," on the first heat cycle. After you have given them a full heat cycle, something happens and they harden up. After that, they drive just like any other 200 tread wear tire, but with slightly less grip and a profound resistance to being over driven.

In this heatcycled state however, they last a lot longer. While other teams went through 2 or 3 sets of Rivals, Star Specs, or R1Rs over a 24 hour race, we ran the entire 24 hour race on one set of Azenis.

[90blue]

Interesting.
Thanks

[wannafbody]

Yoke AD08 is an fantastic tire. IMO it's more forgiving that a Star Spec. Probably has a slightly larger slip angle. Wet traction is good. One thing I noticed is the hum. From the rear it sounds like a bad wheel bearing. No doubt they will be quieter than a R888.

[90blue]

Right. Thanks.
Maybe I can live with them.

Anybody try the RE 71 s and the 08s ?