When did this ridiculous Manufacturer Approved tyres thing become a thing anyway? It used to by only Porsche that did this - now everyone seems at it, artificially restricting tyre choices to ancient rubbish for fear of voiding warranties 


I'm not one to argue over the phone, so left it at that, but yes those are pretty much the exact same responses I had as well.
At one point the guy even said my insurer can refuse any claim purely because they're not an authorised tyre for the car!
It is classic fobbing off and nothing more

Emailed Yokohama about size availability of the V105 earlier and was pointed towards the V701 which is due for launch late 2016/early 2017 but from the information available I can't seem to place where in the product line it falls.
Can anyone else work out if it's the successor to the V105 or sits a tier below?

Got a reply back from Yokohama.
V701 falls between the AD08R and V105
Similar performance to the V105, but better feel and steering response
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More sporty but less premium. What the hell is 'premium'?
It’s the successor of the S.drive (AS01) pattern.
You are correct Vs AD08R it will not have the same level of dry performance however noise levels will be lower and overall wet performance better.
Vs V105 performance levels will be similar but will have a more responsive/sporty feel closer to the AD08R.
Directly from the Yokohama rep that replied to my initial email after I asked him to clarify where in the product range they fall
Fair enough, has my interest. AD08 have got mega expensive recently and I go through them like nothing so was looking at V105 as a cheaper option anyway, they are half the price and meant to have a tight feel to them which is most important to me really.
With a bit of heat they are good in wet though and considered among the best for wet trackdays.Considered a set of winter tyres since its getting to that season?
yea but not sure if they gonna be a .lot worse in non snow and ice conditions?
Winter tyres are designed to work better in cold temperatures than normal tyres, not just snow and ice. For example the Nokian WR D4 tyre is what I have and is A rated for wet grip so even if it's just wet out it'll have excellent grip and braking ability. It's something like when the temperatures get below 7 degrees normal tyre rubber gets harder so is less effective at gripping the road. Where as the winter tyres stay soft at the low temperatures. I keep a spare set of Nokian tyres for my 2 cars that I change over in winter time. Because you only use them in winter they don't tend to get as much mileage so usually last 2 or 3 winters. Nokian are known as the inventors of winter tyres and they are reasonably priced.