has anyone tried yokohama ad08r?

as above need a new set of tires was looking at these as they have incredible reviews but are a bit on the expensive side for me £480 for 4 so before i fork out on them i thought id see what the forum has to say.

Funny you mention these as I'm considering them as an upgrade from the ageing design of toyo T1-Rs. They appear to be suitable for track days and are classed as extreme performance, the highest category. I believe Yokohama say the huge dry grip comes at the expense of wet grip, so beware of this as we head into winter.

I have a set of AD08s for my Coupe, I bought them specifically to use for hillclimbing as they are the best tyre allowed in the class I compete in. In the dry the grip is fantastic, very reassuring and nice progressive breakaway if you pass the limits. In the wet they are better than I expected, decent levels of grip and not as far behind a more regular tyre as I thought they might be.

They do have a very stiff sidewall, however, and therefore make the car pretty harsh in general use. Partly because of that, and also because it is only possible to get them with the R suffix now which is not allowed in the class I have taken them off the car now the season has finished. Also doubt they would be any use on snow but I have some winter tyres for that!

The AD08 is included in the evo magazine tyre test this month, it comes 4th overall, rating top pretty easily in the dry tests and low in the wet ones. The conclusion is that is a good compromise as a track day tyre which can be used everyday.

Yesterday I bought these "fat boys" :

http://1drv.ms/1yPH0nj

http://1drv.ms/1yPH9XX

I hope they will grip better than my previous set of Federal 595-RSRs

Will be interested in the comparison between yoko's and federal 595 rsr's which I'm running

I'm using the AD08R and I swear by them. I have a friend who used the 595 RSR and he swears by them. Difference between us is that his tyres have worn out completely and mine still has life in them after a year. We both drive our coupes daily with the occasional b-road antics. Performance is pretty similar, but tread wear is not.

I think the new compound of the AD08R should grip better and as you said - they will last longer than 595 RSR.

May be with their old compound AD08 were similar to the Federals.

Also when driving RSRs in rain I am not comfortable with speeds over 60 mph while according to all reviews wet handling is superb with Yokohama AD08R.

Can't comment about the AD08R but the AD08 doesn't match a more conventional tyre in wet grip, as also demonstrated in the evo magazine test where they didn't score well in the wet tests but came out well overall.

AD08's are very grippy in the dry - a trackday tyre compound, and they do have some proper water channels. the sidewalls are stiff which wont help ride, but will improve feel (when I tried R888's there was a huge improvement in steering feel, with the car feeling a lot more 'pointy').

I've not used them but expect that they are a bit like R888's if the tread gets low in the wet....basically you'll be driving very slowly, but in an FWD coupe they'll be plenty safe enough unless you drive like a twonk.

Of course they'll wear faster than a conventional compound...

Managed to get rsr.'s for 60 a piece which is why I picked them (my tyre. Com)

Which of the best semi-trackday tyres come in 205/50/16 or 215/40/17 sizes? By best, I’m thinking of the following:
Yoko AD08R
Toyo R888
Hankook RS3

I bought a new set of AD07s a few years back. I don't drive it much so they are still on the car going strong. Best tyres I've ever had.

I've used Hankook RS2's - if the RS3's are similar then nowhere near as good as R888's for dry, hot grip, but much better if you use your car on the road in the wet.