Neova AD08 vs Federal 595RSR

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
18,306
Anyone here owned both these tyres?
Recently put some Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 on the car and they have ruined it, like driving on a sponge and there is no tangible improvement on cold/wet grip than I used to have with AD08.
I'm doing a trackday on Friday and want a new set of high grip tyres by then. I could save a good few pennies by going for the Federals. I have little concern about grip levels unless of course it is significantly less than the AD08. The feel of them is extremely important to me though, I want something with a very solid construction that will give me pinpoint steering precision, immediate response and certainly none of the flexing and folding that I'm experiencing right now.
Any opinions welcomed.
 
I'd expect the Federals to be better than the Yokos as they are a proper track tyre, not a halfway tyre, but I've not used either.

I used R888 and was happy. Then changed wheels over for the road.

Do you have balloon sidewalls causing a lot of flex, not heard the F1 AS2 being criticised for being soft.
 
Last edited:
Ad08 is more road biased, where as the rsr is closer to the r888 - stickier but with less tread. For track use I'd go for rsrs but the ad08 is likely better if its wet, the rsr being better in the dry. I'd expect both to be more feelsome than F1A2s.
 
There is quite some discussion about this on TRO.
The main consensus is that everybody is interested but only one or two people have actually made the plunge and got the federal tyre.

Essentially, the saving to be had is £50 a corner in sizes suitable for EP3 & DC5. I haven't seen any review on sidewall stiffness or warm up times, and there seems to be even less info on grip

Imho, they are very much unproven but as said seem more like an R888 than an AD08

Still making my mind up here.

Here's the thread I was talking about
type-r-owners.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?70244-New-Trackday-tyre-Federal-RSR
 
Last edited:
Clarkey

I know people who have run the 595RS-R, AD08 and R888.

In short:-

R888 - Has best dry/track grip of all three, however the sidewalls are the weakest out of all three and as such better suited to lighter sub 1400kg vehicles.
595RSR - Nearly as sticky as the R888 in the dry with better wear characteristics and stronger sidewalls, also much cheaper. Hopeless in the wet though, more so than the R888.
AD08 - Best wet performance by far compared to the above two, much better lasting having a full tread depth and again very strong sidewalls. The AD08 is the best road/track tyre and offers approx 85-90% of the dry performance on track of the above two.

If your driving on the road a lot and chances the trackdays will be wet, the AD08 is the easy choice.
 
But is a wet AD08 better than a full rain orientated road tyre?

With PE2s fitted I could drive on the road as fast as I would drive in the dry they were that good.

If you have recently had new tyres then leave the Goodyears on for the road and buy an all out track tyre, why would you want only 85% of the performance of a track tyre.
 
Having only ever used the RSRs I echo what Gibbo said. They are (from what I hear from other Clio owners) almost as good in the dry as R888's, and a fair bit more durable too. They are a good track tyre with solid side walls and predictable grip. However they are appalling on standing water. I have used them in the damp and they are fine, but as soon as there are puddles about the large tread blocks just fail miserably.

My car is just a track car though, so I am not worried about wet road driving. If you are going for just a track tyre that you can drive to the track on then the RSRs are a bargain. If however you want a single tyre for regular road driving and the odd track day then I'd go for something else.
 
Last edited:
Very interesting read, i'm in need of some new track tyres on my scooby.

I've been running Bridgestone RE070's and they work well but the price of the RSR's is hard to ignore and a friend of mine runs them on his classic scooby and swears by them. As i've got a set of road tyres (RE050's) the RSR's could be perfect.
 
Interesting reading for sure. Everything I've heard previously about the RSR says they are awesome in the wet, and not quite up there with the ad08 in the dry.
I do have the option of going for seperate road and track tyres, but I do not wish to keep these Goodyears at all, I want the car to feel it's best all the time.
 
I want something with a very solid construction that will give me pinpoint steering precision, immediate response and certainly none of the flexing and folding that I'm experiencing right now.
Any opinions welcomed.

Maybe you need a different car if you want that

I found the F1AS2 to be slightly softer but not that bad, surprisingly they helf up very well on the track with no beading. What tyre pressures out of interest
 
AD08s arn't great when the roads are slippery and they get worse with low temperatures and snow.

I manage on the DC2, but even with 1lb/ft of torque I lose traction very easily and can get wheelspin on a greasy road entering VTEC into 3rd gear.

Still, a great tyre for the 5 days of the year we get good weather up here :D:p
 
Never had a problem myself, perfectly manageable in cold and wet conditions, no less so than these eagles which are meant to be gods gift to wet grip.
 
Never had a problem myself, perfectly manageable in cold and wet conditions, no less so than these eagles which are meant to be gods gift to wet grip.

I believe they are good, have to remember soft tire walls they have will help with wet grip, just like softening your suspension and ARBs also helps with wet grip. :)
 
If for driving regularly on roads, to and from the track as well as on it (in various conditions), hard to argue against the AD08's as a good all rounder.

If it's principally for track driving then there's only three road legal track tyres I'd consider and that's the Toyo 888's, Yoko A048's and Dunlop D03G's in a compound to suit. The Dunlops are the best IMO , but also the most expensive, followed by the A048's again IMO. All perform surprisingly well in damp conditions but start to fall over when there's standing water.
 
But is a wet AD08 better than a full rain orientated road tyre?

With PE2s fitted I could drive on the road as fast as I would drive in the dry they were that good.

If you have recently had new tyres then leave the Goodyears on for the road and buy an all out track tyre, why would you want only 85% of the performance of a track tyre.

I assume we are talking about the same cars as usual and this is very very true.
I hope when i get the ad08's they dont disappoint too much in the wet, But i expect to be not quite as good as the PE2's where.
Which were nothing short of phenominal
 
Back
Top Bottom