Advan A050 - is it really that good?

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:49 pm

evil_weevil wrote:Aren't the Nitto's similar to r888's?

Similar but better. Cheaper and quicker than R888s, slower than A050s, V70As, though much cheaper.

People chose R888s over the A050s,V70As because they were 99% of the speed for 75% of the price, lasted much longer and were consistent through out life of tyre.
Same reasons apply to NT01 except they are 99.5% of speed for 50% of price, so win-win for those who chose the R888 path.

Those who must have the quickest tyre around and happy to pay the premium would still be choosing A050s over NT01s, as they are quicker.
Many who aren't fighting for state championships are happy to trade off the tenths of a sec to gain much better value for their R spec $.

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:15 pm

In my experience R888s were fractionally slower than Star Specs. They were also more painful to work with as R888s had a very narrow window of grip, whereas the Star Specs just work all the time and don't need to be coaxed up to temperature. Add in that Star Specs are cheaper than R888s (in my experience).

I wanted to get some A050s for my current set, but they were out of stock. Ended up with Bridgestone RE11S and they've proven to be very quick tyres - similar to the old RE55S but I actually prefer the wear pattern on those old tyres.

Charlie Brown · Postby **Charlie Brown** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:21 pm

Are A050’s that much quicker?
For the NC’s using them in Club sprints - Yes.

Over the last few seasons, along with Ralph, Russ and a few others, I have been using V70a’s.

Ralph circulated around Wakefield in about the same time as myself (1:10s). Russ was about 1.5 seconds slower.

In the last year both Ralph & Russ switched to A050's and their times have dropped a second a lap. There is a noticeable increase in grip and drive from the corners with the NC’s on A050’s.

I get around 700 racing kilometres or six to seven meetings from a set of V70a's for a cost of around $1,000 (225x45x16). Ralph said he gets 12 meetings at a cost of almost $2,000 for the A050's, so the cost per meeting is about the same, just you need to outlay big $$ first up.

evil_weevil · Postby **evil_weevil** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:53 pm

Hmmm...tough choice!

Hellmun · Postby **Hellmun** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:55 pm

From memory I got about 9 trackdays out of my A050's which is pretty much what I got from V70A's (both in 225/50/15 $250ea for V70's and $374 for A050)... I'm surprised at the tyre life difference between you and Ralph. What size tyres is Ralph using because that's epic tyre life at 12 full trackdays. I personally never found the A050's worth it for the price... just noticed they were much better at full tread depth. I'm sure I've got data logs of both tyres doing sub 1:10 laps and the lateral G's were both around 1.5 peak. I plan to try NT01's after the current V70A's are dead and see how they compare.

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 7:47 am

Nitto NT01 are not on the CAMS Schedule E production car tyre list:
http://docs.cams.com.au/Manual/GeneralR ... 2014-1.pdf
If they're not on that list they cannot be used in CAMS Supersprints.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:32 am

Sorry to hijack but as AD08 are not listed on the Cams list I am confused.
Is this just because that list is of true R specs?
Or are Ad08s an issue??

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sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:48 am

Ado8 are at end of life cycle now. New model is AD08R which is for revolution not race. Supposed to be a bit better tire life.

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deviant · Postby **deviant** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:52 am

Guran wrote:In my experience R888s were fractionally slower than Star Specs. They were also more painful to work with as R888s had a very narrow window of grip, whereas the Star Specs just work all the time and don't need to be coaxed up to temperature. Add in that Star Specs are cheaper than R888s (in my experience).

I wanted to get some A050s for my current set, but they were out of stock. Ended up with Bridgestone RE11S and they've proven to be very quick tyres - similar to the old RE55S but I actually prefer the wear pattern on those old tyres.

I am interested in your experience with Star Specs. Looking at the specifications alone and assuming the construction of the Star Spec is biased to road use with softer sidewalls the R888 (on paper) should be far superior for circuit use.

Is it possible that your standard car does not work the R888 as well as a more circuit biased car?

I agree with your observation regarding their operating range. Personally I was not really a fan of the R888, I found that they came on quickly and would have a few laps of epic grip and then they would fall off. Once they went off that peak they would not get any worse and could be run for lap after lap but I did not like the way they felt. Turn in always felt a bit soggy with R888's.

Charlie Brown · Postby **Charlie Brown** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:49 am

Hellmun wrote:............ What size tyres is Ralph using because that's epic tyre life at 12 full trackdays............

Mark, we're both running the same size 225 x 45 x 16, same rims also.

Maybe with his weight reduction he's halved the car weight or I'm pushing the V70a's past their limit and overdriving them?

The only way I could get 9 meetings out of the V70a’s would be to run them past the metal cords.

Hellmun · Postby **Hellmun** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 9:33 pm

Charlie Brown wrote:
Hellmun wrote:............ What size tyres is Ralph using because that's epic tyre life at 12 full trackdays............

Mark, we're both running the same size 225 x 45 x 16, same rims also.

Maybe with his weight reduction he's halved the car weight or I'm pushing the V70a's past their limit and overdriving them?

The only way I could get 9 meetings out of the V70a’s would be to run them past the metal cords.

Well 9 trackdays is me cording them... so we're both doing something wrong :mrgreen:

IMG_0525.JPG

I'll be stoked if I get more than 6 days now....

evil_weevil · Postby **evil_weevil** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 8:30 am

Anyone used hankooks?

Postby **Boyracer** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 9:11 am

I did Wakefield 300 and Winton 300 on the same set of Kumhos and they still have some life left in them, I'd still use the yokos for sprint races.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 2:08 pm

Hellmun wrote:
Charlie Brown wrote:
Hellmun wrote:............ What size tyres is Ralph using because that's epic tyre life at 12 full trackdays............

Mark, we're both running the same size 225 x 45 x 16, same rims also.

Maybe with his weight reduction he's halved the car weight or I'm pushing the V70a's past their limit and overdriving them?

The only way I could get 9 meetings out of the V70a’s would be to run them past the metal cords.

Well 9 trackdays is me cording them... so we're both doing something wrong

I think you're driving too fast on them. Try doing slower laptimes and they might last longer.

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 6:48 pm

deviant wrote:I am interested in your experience with Star Specs. Looking at the specifications alone and assuming the construction of the Star Spec is biased to road use with softer sidewalls the R888 (on paper) should be far superior for circuit use.

Is it possible that your standard car does not work the R888 as well as a more circuit biased car?

Quite possibly. Although manga_blue had similar experience with R888s from a similar period. He recently uncovered a bit of information that might explain why they were so poor. I'll leave it to him to chip in.