Advan A050 - is it really that good?

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:00 pm

Hi guys,

After watching a car shod with A050s go stupidly fast at MSC (albeit a VERY well dríven car), I decided to price a set out in prep for the Wakefield 300.

But... $335 a tyre!?! You can buy good slicks cheaper than that!

Are they really worth TWICE the price of Nitto NT01s? Would appreciate some real world opinions on this tyre. Finances are stretched in prep for the 300 so it will be Nittos for me regardless, but for future reference I'd love to hear what others have to say about this tyre.

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:39 pm

hmm, not sure what size you are referring to, but where are you getting Nittos for ~$170 tyre??

Edit: Doh, looked for more than 1 sec and found StGeorge have them for $165 ea..

TTT · Postby **TTT** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:59 pm

st george tyres in sydney are selling a pair of nitto nt01s in 205/50/15 for $330

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-New-205- ... 746&_uhb=1

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:14 pm

Zossy,

I don't have personal experience with A050s but do have with DZ03G which I believe are very similar in speed/durability.

Compared to NT01s they were consistently 0.5secs a lap quicker back to back at Phillip Island, however I only got 7meets out of them whereas I got 12 & 13meets respectively out of the last two sets of NT01s. And 11 meets out of the R888s before that..

At twice the price and double the wear rate, that's four times the expense to run 0.5secs a lap quicker.

If lap time is the most important item, then you'll need to pay the money and get the A050s.
If like me you don't have a money tree in the backyard, then I'd rather sacrifice the 1/2 sec and be able to get four sets for the same money.

Only you can answer whether the price vs performance stacks up for you..

mazmad · Postby **mazmad** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:44 pm

Time attack guys use them. Also a control tyre for Improved Production, have spoken to several of those guys who rate them.
I now have them and have sustained higher corner speeds, but jury still out for me as getting used to other changes.

bm49 · Postby **bm49** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:52 pm

Some general advice about buying any R-tyre; check the age of the stock, particularly with prices that seem too good to be true. There is a 4-digit code on the tyre sidewall that represents the week and year of manufacture i.e. 2312 means the 23rd week of 2012. I once recall finding two different retailers offering Toyo 888 tyres with manufacturing dates some 3 years apart. Needless to say the older stock was much cheaper.
:NC:

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:07 pm

Bought 6 NT01s today in 205/50/15, stock ranged between 17/13 and 36/13... $165 each fitted/balanced.

Thankfully, balls out speed is not necessary at the 300, only consistency across race distance. We'll see how the Nittos do I guess...

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:11 pm

Hi Zossy,

Was that from St George?

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:22 pm

Yep but fair warning, they did tell me that the $165 tyres are "old stock ". However, I had already paid and run off to McDonalds before they called and told me they had sold the last of them on Saturday and gave me new stock for the same price...

The new ones are $25 more each so make sure you're getting the new ones

though I imagine they shouldn't have any old ones left now?

BTW St George Tyres on ebay is a different location to the shop front in Arncliffe, and they sell different stuff...

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:38 pm

Thanks for the heads up....

Tony · Postby **Tony** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:45 pm

OT, but for what it's worth I bought NT01s from Tyre Sales Australia on eBay with free delivery. All super fresh stock and no issues. They were $165 when I bought them; now $175 I believe.

Postby **Boyracer** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:10 am

Yes the 050 are that good but not for long races, I use the Kumho for the 300s, i might wait for your feedback on the Nittos, Lightyear has done some amazing times on them so probably for the money they must be worth a try.

deviant · Postby **deviant** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:33 am

I love Nitto NT01. I believe they are a similar compound to R888 but are a different construction (or the other way around, can't remember). I do tarmac rallysprints in my car and I find that they are 'on' from about the 2nd or 3rd corner which is ideal for that type of event. On track they don't really seem to go off very quickly either so they offer a good compromise.

My last set had 40 heat cycles through them and still have some tread pattern left. They still gripped up but were maybe a second off the original pace at the end. I have read reports that they will work until canvas sticks out.

Tim_cyc03 · Postby **Tim_cyc03** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:20 pm

I just bought some A050 today, should be running them on Sunday if all goes well. However I only had Federal RS-R's before, so not really a fair comparrison.