There's one guy on the ST forum who spends most of his life on the Nurburgring and seriously rates these Nankang tyres over the Federal offering. He's running around 420BHP from his RS engine so it's no slouch either. I thought exactly the same regarding the brand, but they seem to be getting rave reviews. Not sure I'd ever consider them for road use though!
Nankang NS-2R
- Thread starter Skeeter
- Start date
Parada Spec 2's are probably the worst tyre I've used on a car.This is what I find hilarious, I had Parada Spec-2's for ages and nobody said a word, the 2nd I had Nankang NS2's even though it was only temporary everybody commented on how bad they must be. Regardless of the fact the NS2's were so much better in the wet I can't put into words, the Yoko's felt like slicks in the wet compared to the Nankangs.
But hey, I guess that's brand snobbery for you
Which is why I wouldn't buy them again, they are great in the right conditions but this a rare occasion. The sidewalls were just too stiff on a low profile so they were skittish on rough roads and in the wet they were the very definition of lethal.
This is my point, nobody comments on the Yokohama's because they are a reputable brand regardless of how **** that particular tyre, but when a nobody company produces something semi-decent they get mocked because they don't have the rep to back it up.
This is the problem I have with most reviews of these middle ground tyres. Of course the much more expensive, much more track focused R888s and Cups, etc are better. It would be pretty worrying if they weren't! So saying they aren't as good as something a league above doesn't really help.
I have 1 set of wheels so need something that covers all bases. Obviously there are compromises, like the Federals being borderline dangerous on standing water and useless in the cold, but on the flip side they have done 5 track days and still have life in them. I had some PE2s which were brilliant on the road, but gave up after 2 laps on track.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
No, nobody comments on them because hardly anyone bothers with them and hardly anyone asks about them. It's not some sort of brandist conspiracy.
Thanks for this. It does sound like they are on a par with each other. Do you know if the Max5 series is using the 180 or 120 compound?
Associate
Actually mate unlike the R888's that are based on a road carcass, the Nankang NS-2R's are an entirely new design. Im not saying that makes them better but it certainly speaks for how serious this tyre is. Get them bought! If you are using them as a daily go for the medium compound rather than the soft.
They are starting to get popular on the Megane side of things as one of the tuners is offering them at decent prices. Take a look:
http://www.rsmegane.com/showthread.php?1580-Nankang-NS-2R-s-now-available
I'll be getting a set for the 250 once the current PS2's are up. Almost a £50 per corner saving for me!
Give them a try, the fact those who have tried both say the NS-2R warms up faster is something that will make them far better for road use.
Lets face it, they wont be worse than the Federals and for the same money you can only win, give them a go.
Can you not get AD08-R's for a similar price or are the NS-2R really a lot cheaper as the AD08-R really is a great all rounder for both road and track.
I think it has more to do with the fact that the large majority of posters on any forum will change their tyres once a year maximum.
The majority of people on the road use budget tyres. whenever I have had tyres fitted I always get comments from the fitters that they don't see many of these or whatever. so these companies get their 'chance' in that market sector.
where they struggle to make ground, realistically, if an enthusiast needed to kit a vehicle out in a new set of tyres then they would obviously be more likely to opt for a premium brand.
the infrequency of a full tyre change and the possibility of being stuck for a period with poor tyres is something that nobody wants to happen. hence why people stick to what they know and opt to spend more money on the reputable brands. I know that if I spent £400 on lesser regarded brands instead of £500 on a 'reputable' brand of tyres for my car and they were poor then my saving of £100 would be fairly insignificant when faced with the prospect of fixing my mistake through either:
1. removing the poorer tyres and attempting to resell them at a loss.
2. having to then spend the money again buying the tyres that should have been purchased in the first place.
call my snobby, but I happily sit in the 'a good tyre is never cheap, a cheap tyre is never good' camp. I enjoy driving my car so spending a reasonable amount of money on a critical component for it isn't unreasonable to me.
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Soldato
[TW]Fox;26160216 said:
There are loads of companies out there making reasonable "compound" tyres. By compound I mean tyres that get hot and sticky for the track rather than operate at road temperatures so it would not be as unlikely as you think.
Many of the companies produce a cheap compound tyre used for one make race series and club racing and they are surprisingly good and certainly outperform even the top UHP tyres in a track environment.
If I was doing track days I wouldn't be looking for outright tenths of a second per lap so would almost certainly choose tyres like these for just that type of driving.
EDIT: I see this tyre is used in the MX5 one make series, so rest my case.
Give them a try, the fact those who have tried both say the NS-2R warms up faster is something that will make them far better for road use.
Lets face it, they wont be worse than the Federals and for the same money you can only win, give them a go.
Can you not get AD08-R's for a similar price or are the NS-2R really a lot cheaper as the AD08-R really is a great all rounder for both road and track.
Actually having looked the Yokos are no more than 15 quid a corner more, which surprises me. I had initially dismissed them as being too expensive.
So now its NS2Rs vs AD08Rs. Hmm...
AD08-R it should match the NS-2R for dry track grip or be very close if not. But road dry grip will be superior and in wet conditions it will be night and day better, £15 per tyre extra well spent.
Had AD08's and they were superior to Federals on road and wet usage by some margin.
The answer is quite simple.
The Federal *MIGHT* offer just a marginal improvement on dry track time on a track day, 1s at most, then that is where it ends.
On the road and in wet conditions the Yokohama AD08-R will be vastly superior and I'd not be surprised if the AD08-R gave better feedback as well and I think it will be pretty much as good as the Federal on a dry track to be honest.
In short the Yoko will offer 90% of the dry track performance of the Federal worse case, but it will be 90% better on the road and in wet conditions.
Buy the Yoko, the advantages far outweigh the dis-advantages.
Soldato
I have just put some 225/40/18 NS-2R 180s on the S4 and I'm loving them so far. Hard to compare to the winters I had on before, but grip is fantastic. I've only had them on since Monday so need to really get a feel for them, but really impressed so far.
Price wise I got these for 115EUR a tyre where as Advans I was looking at 150GBP, so bigger difference.
Price wise I got these for 115EUR a tyre where as Advans I was looking at 150GBP, so bigger difference.
Sounds not bad, obviously far easier to get heat into compared to Federals, making them much better for road.
If I try them I will go with 120 version for track use.
Soldato
I bought a Saab 93 Aero with a set of "Linglongs" on... the most dangerous tyre I've ever had, got shut after about 1,500 miles in them... just couldn't trust them especially in the wet... went Toyo's and I didn't rate them really either. Michelin Eagle's seem to be mine or Coopers on the Type R!
Soldato
Most dangerous tyre I have ever used was a Kormoran which my other half got stitched up with by a garage when she had a puncture.
Thankfully they wore out in about 2k but they were terrible. Michelin should be ashamed of themselves to be affiliated with a company that makes these things.
I have not used the NS-2R but have got a set of Nankangs on the front of her SUV. To me they have no less grip than the Bridgestones or Falkens on it previously. They do wear faster than the Bridgestones, but imo beat the Falkens in wear and wet grip.