Yes, it's either hit the brake and stop or keep going.
I got my 225/40R18 Yokohama AD08R installed today. They look brutal with the square shoulder and the thread is as advertised a lot wider than a normal 225 tire. Now I am actually happy that my 18x8 OZ Ultraleggera are the weird Toyota-Europe special ET43 offset instead of the common ET35. It looks great and very racecar-like.
They made a mess with when mounting them with that lubrication they use, probably because I told them please to be careful with the rims (the ET43 has been discontinued and are near impossible to dig up as singles). So I took the car for a thorough 3 hour washing...
...and then a 2 hour drive. Even with only a few miles, they feel like they have the double grip of the Pirelli Zero Nero GT and 10x more than the Michelin Primacy. I can only assume they don't need much breaking in?
I launched from 4000 rpm and the rears made like a half a second "squek" and that was it. Reaching the limit of grip going around corners is near impossible to do in a responsible and safe way. In longer curves the speed required is too high for me to feel comfortable. I did get the rear to step out slightly once in a tight curve, but with a hands-width of counter steer it ended by itself as the wheels gripped again - kind of like driving with ESP sport, only it was indeed with 5 seconds OFF.
The rims and the lower half of the car is ready to be washed again, as it is noticeably covered in brake dust front to back, so as you can imagine it's not because I was holding back.
So the last bit of "fun" is now definitely and complete killed.
Well at least the typical GT86 kind of fun. But seriously, my initial thought is that I wouldn't recommend these tires (or similar category) for a car that is only driven on the street. The level of the Pirelli was absolutely sufficient. I am curious how they will feel in the wet and look forward to track them.
I didn't dispose of the Pirelli, so when the Yokohama are done I think I will have them reinstalled and invest in dedicated track wheels.
Or maybe I will change my opinion after driving them for a while.
