Yokohama Advan A052 review

[nikitopo]

Anyone used this tire on our cars? I would prefer a review on stock size. They are supposed to be in similar (price) category with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.




https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...del=ADVAN+A052

[nikitopo]

I managed to find a review video. The tires were compared on a WRX STI car, but it is as much closer to what we have. Unfortunately the video is in Russsian:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdR9DU9KG50"]Те�т шин Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, Yokohama A052 и Yokohama AD08R на Subaru WRX STI - YouTube[/ame]


Quick race track results:

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
1:45,345
Yokohama Advan A052
1:46,366
Yokohama Advan AD08R
1:46,470

Overall, the reviewers say that the A052 tires are more of a pseudo semi-slick tire and they are not a direct replacement of the older A048 tire. They say that they are more road friendly and had to comply with the new stricter European regulations for road tires.


A comment should be made also about the result of the older AD08R tire. Their most weakest point seemed to be the brake performance. Nevertheless, given that the cost price of AD08R is the half comparing to the other two, it looks that they are still the best compromise between price and performance.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Quick race track results:

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
1:45,345
Yokohama Advan A052
1:46,366
Yokohama Advan AD08R
1:46,470

Overall, the reviewers say that the A052 tires are more of a pseudo semi-slick tire and they are not a direct replacement of the older A048 tire. They say that they are more road friendly and had to comply with the new stricter European regulations for road tires.


A comment should be made also about the result of the older AD08R tire. Their most weakest point seemed to be the brake performance. Nevertheless, given that the cost price of AD08R is the half comparing to the other two, it looks that they are still the best compromise between price and performance.

I'm on 225-17 AD08R Yokohamas and yes awesome for the price or any price really. Braking on track is really good in my opinion. I haven't used the other tires listed so can't compare though. Much better tire than the Pirelli's I had on my 911 turbo

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by TommyW

I'm on 225-17 AD08R Yokohamas and yes awesome for the price or any price really. Braking on track is really good in my opinion.

In fact, I have already the AD08R's and I was looking for a replacement. I can recall only a couple of times that my brakes were not optimal. Not a real issue and I cannot justify the double cost just for this. It looks that tire regulations are now much more strict and we'll wait a long time to see again a real semi-slick road legal tire. The A052's had to comply with the ECE R117-02 regulation on tire noise, wet grip adhesion and rolling resistance.

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Anyone used this tire on our cars? I would prefer a review on stock size. They are supposed to be in similar (price) category with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.




https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...del=ADVAN+A052

So I translated the video for you...cause I speak Russia lol

*************

So when you reach the part with the guy with the Yokohama jacket, he talks about how the A052 are street legal unlike the AD08R which are only track legal in Russia.

Then he talks about how they made the A052 quieter.
Than he mentions that you won't have to worry about driving them in the rain on the street.

Than he says the tread wear on the A052 is 200

~

When the guy starts to drive, he first tests the Michelin. *I won't get into detail since everybody knows these tires by now lol*

Than the second tire is the A052's, he says that right away they are more comfortable and more feedback is given to the steering wheel.

However, he says the Michelin had a faster lap time on 2nd lap compared to the A052's which were fast on the first lap only. Afterwards when hey started to heat up on the 2nd lap, times started to fall.
However, in the sector times it's faster than the Michelin. The Michelin makes up for time in braking though and that is where it excels compared to the A052's

Overall, he says the tires are good, they are also easier to correct the car if you make a mistake compared to Michelin. However the Michelin lets you achieve better times.

~

Than, he talks about AD08r's, he compares them closer to the Michelin but slower in regards to lap times.

~

The race car driver guy at the end talks about how when he tested all 3 they didn't tell him what tires he was on.

He says the A052's was a very friendly and easy tire to drive on in the track and street.

The girl, who is a starter in racing, she says AD08R are 1st, A052 2nd and 3rd Michelin.

[nikitopo]

That was a great help. Thanks!

[Surok]

AD08R not street legal in russia?
going from the dash cam videos.. a 45 year old lada with an AK47 hanging out the side is street legal but an AD08R is not? what an upside down country.

[churchx]

Did the tire guy in jacket compared vs AD08R? IIRC he mostly put it against A048.
As for threadwear 200 .. why do i keep thinking of seeing yet another cheater tire like eg. RE71R?

[Iceman]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Anyone used this tire on our cars? I would prefer a review on stock size. They are supposed to be in similar (price) category with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.




https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...del=ADVAN+A052

AD052 are WAY more expensive than Cup 2's on stock size(14X euros for the Cups against 2XX the A052). I was considering those for the future but after watching that review video, i would not consider the Yokohamas at all, i expected better performance.

I'm on my way to my 4th set of Cup 2's(always on stock size) and i can't think of a better tire for the money. Period. I use them all year and everywhere, and it rains a lot in my area.

PS: AD08R's always get great reviews but i can't see what all the fuzz is about, had those on my 205 and i wasn't impressed. At all. Pretty decent on dry tarmac, and that's about it.

PS2: If you can afford them and want the very best, take a look at the Pzero Trofeo R. Available in 205 or 225 but well worth it. Better than the Cup 2 all around, but at the expense of a shorter life i suspect(i have these on another car but they're still "new").

PS3: yeah, i'm kind of a tire geek

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by Iceman

I was considering those for the future but after watching that review video, i would not consider the Yokohamas at all, i expected better performance.

I think that it is clear from the video and the results that the A052 are not very track oriented tires. BUT, it is interesting that they have much better road manners, they are easier to correct the car and they had a better lap time from competition on the 1st try. This means that they grip much better in cold condition, which is not the same with competition that needs more time to heat. Maybe it is also related with the confidence they provide to the driver. I believe they are an interesting choice for someone that looks a high performance tire which will use mainly on the street. At least in Germany we have high speed limits (or no limits at all) and it is desirable to have such tires.
Maybe also a good choice on track for non-experienced race drivers.

[churchx]

I have naive guess, that many dual-use tires will be trumped by PS4S, once it will be offered at more common tire sizing then current.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by churchx

I have naive guess, that many dual-use tires will be trumped by PS4S, once it will be offered at more common tire sizing then current.

The issue is that currently the PS4S is targeted only to higher end cars (with 19'' wheels or larger) and it looks that they left the rest with the PS4 tire. The latter is inferior even to the AD08R tire. They are saying to have around a 90% of the dry grip.

[churchx]

nikitopo: yes, PS4S very probably will be more competitive/better .. but is PS4 that bad of choice? IIRC at least by Michelin data it's capabilities were reported as being on PSS level, with slight loss at just one of dry track tests, but slightly better everywhere else, especially wet. So you get almost same as PSS, but at even wider sizing choice and better wear (also important thing, even on track, as can reduce spendings on wearables). If PSS are still considered as competitive choice, why not non-S MPS4? Even more so for dual-use tire choice. MPS4S most probably will be better, but until they are available at R17 size, i'm still considering getting non S-es for next season in spring.

[Icecreamtruk]

Originally Posted by churchx

nikitopo: yes, PS4S very probably will be more competitive/better .. but is PS4 that bad of choice? IIRC at least by Michelin data it's capabilities were reported as being on PSS level, with slight loss at just one of dry track tests, but slightly better everywhere else, especially wet. So you get almost same as PSS, but at even wider sizing choice and better wear (also important thing, even on track, as can reduce spendings on wearables). If PSS are still considered as competitive choice, why not non-S MPS4? Even more so for dual-use tire choice. MPS4S most probably will be better, but until they are available at R17 size, i'm still considering getting non S-es for next season in spring.

You said it yourself, slightly less than PSS dry grip. PSS dry grip is already shit compared to real performance tires. If you think PSS have grip, you havent driven on a performance 200TW tire or even "cheater" tires (RE71R and friends). PSS is an exellent tire for the rain and daily drive, nothing more, it cannot handle the heat at all and the sidewalls are made of cardboard.