Advan A050 - is it really that good?

[manga_blue]

I'll leave it to him to chip in.

This is just a theory but it came from a very good source.

I bought a set of R888s at the same time as guran. This was about my fourth set of them: same size, same compound as usual. I'd always been very happy with R888s but this set was absolute crap. I spent the next year driving the car like it was speedway. Guran's came from the official distributor, mine came from a parallel importer but they were both genuines from the same factory.

I fell into a social discussion with one of the country's leading multi-brand motorsport tyre distributors. We are both of an age where we can have an extended technical discussion of whether nurses uniforms of the 60s and 70s (you remember: pinafores, starched caps, watch upside down, starched flat fronted skirt, court shoes, etc) actually made them better at their jobs or if they just looked hot in them. I interrupted this to ask him a question about tyres, specifically why guran and I both had such bad experiences.

He said he too had had a number of regular R888 customers who got a bad set at about that time. He put it down to a change in EU tyre regs when they brought in the new Eco-tyre rules. He said the key part of this, as far as competition tyres were concrned, was banning certain carcinogenic oils from the compounds. Some manufacturers (and he named Yokohama and maybe Bridgestone) got it right and immediately released a better performing motorsport tyre while others, especially Toyo, produced dog motorsport tyres for a few months until they got it sorted.

I did some googling after that to get the background on what he said and it all checked out. In 2010 highly aromatic hydrocarbon oils had to be replaced with mineral oils. Worldwide this meant an improvement in tyre life and rolling resistance at the expense of grip. So it was not a problem for 99.9% of the users but a real issue for motorsport.

[ausbuoy]

Back on Topic-in my experience (July-Dec '13), they are 'really that good'!

[mazmad]

Lol love the digression.

Thanks Dr Phil explains why some of our experiences with the 888s are so different

[Tim_cyc03]

Tested the AO50's, 215/50/15 on a 6.5" rim today at lakeside. Comparing to a 195/50/15 Federal RS-R on the same rim.

Times, 0.2 seconds slower, however the feel was completely different. Very quickly learning that saying tyres should be 2 seconds faster, and actually being able to drive that 2 seconds is a differet story.

Overall very happy with tyres. (though no experience with anything in the same class to compare them too)

[sailaholic]

215 is way too wide for a 6.5 rim to make the most of it.


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[Tim_cyc03]

8 inches are in the post.

[bm49]

I have been interested in the discussion of members varied experience with the Toyo R888's as I ran them for many years on 3-series BMW track cars and was very happy with both dry and wet grip combined with low wear rates and low purchase price compared to other brands I had tried,particularly Dunlop and Yokohama R-tyres. After joining the MX5 clan in mid 2013 in an NC equipped with the usual modiications, I used the popular Kumho V70 and was generally pleased with all aspects of its performance in dry conditions but they scared the hell out of me in the damp and very wet conditions that occurred during the first MSC event in June 2013. I rationalised that part of the problem was that I was learning to drive the MX5 but I had fond memories of the wet weather confidence that the water clearing capacity of the large grooves of the 888 gave me, particularly when I ran in damp and wet conditions at Mt Panorama on the last day of the 2010 FOSC meeting and did not hesitate to pass cars in corners such as over Skyline. After giving much thought as to whether I should acquire a second set of tyres/wheels to be used on the odd day that is wet, I remembered that I had a set of usable Toyo 888's at home so decided to try them as my everyday track tyres. So far I have used them for 2 meetings and have found a small reduction in lap times but that may be more from the use of new 8" rims (giving a wider track) and wider tyres than a reflection of the 888 having a better grip level than the v70's. I have been setting the pressures at around 25psi cold resulting in hot pressures of around 33 by the time I can check them after the cool-down lap. This was within the range recommended by Toyo for cars in the 1000-1400kg weight category but I recently did a bit more research and found the following reply by respected MX5 guru Brian Goodwin of Good-Win Racing to a 2010 request for R888 tyre pressure advice for an NC in track use mode:
"That R888 is an odd one for pressures. I usually ran the old RA1 at 30psi cold. The R888 likes MUCH more pressure. The problem is, so many were accustomed to running the old RA1 down around 30 psi that the new R888 got a bad rap from those who simply used the same old settings and got odd wear, slower times, etc. However, when we jack the pressures to 40 PSI cold and the R888 really comes alive on our NC...and produces lap times out of the box that are faster than a fresh RA1. That means hot temps will likely be in the 44 to 46 range....which seems high but it works. No substitute for data and I encourage all to test, test, test.....but my suggested start is 40psi cold for R888 and go up or down from there as the data dictates." I look forward to trying out this radical advice at the coming Wakefield 300 meeting and hope that this information may be useful to any members running R888's.

[frog_a_lot]

I really am liking the A050s.. Seem to get warm nice and quick and don't seem to overheat or anything too quickly. They are comparable to the DZ03s for sure.
Not sure on an exact comparison because when i had DZ03s on the car was new to me so I would have been a bit slower, baring that in mind i am about 1s quicker on the A050s but that could be a mixture between driver improvement and newer tyres.

I think i paid $1350ish for 205/50/15 which is more exxy than R888s etc but similar to DZ03s.

[Guran]

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.

CORRECTION!

I've enquired about this with the Eligibility Officer who confirmed that Nitto NT01 are permitted in Type 1 and Type 2 at CAMS Supersprints. Road tyres are required in these Types and their definition is NOT restricted to those listed in Schedule E:

Road Tyres means tyres of the treaded type which, when fitted to the vehicle, will permit it to be registered for normal road use in New South Wales. To be considered as a treaded type, except at tread wear indicators, a tyre fitted to the vehicle must have a moulded tread pattern at least 1.5 millimetres deep in a band that runs continuously across the tyre width that normally comes into contact with the road, and around the whole circumference of the tyre. Excluded specifically from this definition of Road Tyres, are Race Tyres.

So provided they are street legal in Australia, you can use them.

[madjak]

What pressures are people running the Advan A050 at? I was running them very low at my last track day and they have scrubbed the edges of the treads quite badly. I was running 24psi. I did lift them up a bit but my run at a higher pressure was slower.

[deviant]

So provided they are street legal in Australia, you can use them.

Hoosier A6 anyone

[Dweezle]

Yeah.. I wonder how to verify a imported Tyre is legal here??

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[mazmad]

What pressures are people running the Advan A050 at? I was running them very low at my last track day and they have scrubbed the edges of the treads quite badly. I was running 24psi. I did lift them up a bit but my run at a higher pressure was slower.

You talking hot or cold?

[zossy1]

I don't think the A6 would meet the rules concerning the tread covering the entire width of the tyre when new.

So provided they are street legal in Australia, you can use them.

Hoosier A6 anyone

[oztrackdays]

All the twin groove stuff IS NOT STREET LEGAL ask your local tyre guy.