Advan Neova AD08R 1000 mile review

[AMontgomery]

As promised in my last thread, here is my review of my recently purchased Advan Neova AD08R in 215/40 on the stock rims. I postponed my review until I had taken the car down one of my favorite roads with many low speed turns at the end of drastic changes in elevation that can really test a driver's equipment and skill.

After driving on them daily for the past month and 1000 miles I can actually recommend them as a replacement for the stock Potenzas.

Ride quality is pretty close to the stockers so far though I've heard they develop more road noise after they wear in. They are communicative of road conditions though not entirely harsh.

Grip is insane. Much better than stock. Both in straight line and lateral. Full launch control yields no wheelspin or chirp with 1st to 2nd shifts though I'm only stage 1 at the moment so I'll notice more as I increase power later on. In slow turns higher speeds are definitely doable though I don't notice as much oversteer as before, and no understeer, it just hooks and goes.

Communication is greatly improved. In hard acceleration from a turn you can feel the driver aids kicking in that the stockers didn't communicate. You can feel everything on the road all the way down to the painted stripes on the side of the road.

Can't speak on gas mileage one way or another.

Now for the bad things. They are heavy. But that extra side wall strength has to come from somewhere. Acceleration is a bit slower as a result, but the increased grip offsets it.

They aren't cheap either. At $175 ish per tire they are about $25/tire higher than the stockers and other top picks like Dunlop Direzzas. But so far they seem worth it.

 

[AMontgomery]

Here's the side view shot someone requested.

 

[The Holy Molar]

Looking good.

 

[WhiteFords]

How far off is the speedometer now?

 

[AMontgomery]

At 70 miles an hour indicated, I'm going 71 miles per hour, according to several online wheel and tire size calculators

 

[WhiteFords]

Good to know. There are also some cool GPS based apps that you can use to do this in real-time. I think I will go at least 215s when I need tires, as well as a watch to 17/8's.

 

[CanadianGuy]

How do they perform in the rain/wet?

 

[AMontgomery]

To be honest we've had a dry spell here recently, so my wet driving experience has been limited to one or two commutes in the rain and honestly, I don't usually push the car in the rain so I can't tell much of a difference. Feels planted in normal driving up to 85mph on the interstate in the wet. But then again, the Potenzas weren't bad, so I can't say they are much of an improvement in the wet. They aren't sketchy though, so they get a pass so far for my uses.

 

[CanadianGuy]

To be honest we've had a dry spell here recently, so my wet driving experience has been limited to one or two commutes in the rain and honestly, I don't usually push the car in the rain so I can't tell much of a difference. Feels planted in normal driving up to 85mph on the interstate in the wet. But then again, the Potenzas weren't bad, so I can't say they are much of an improvement in the wet. They aren't sketchy though, so they get a pass so far for my uses.

Thanks. In the rain I care for braking and crash avoidance. Not hooningan. The stocks a just a tad on the slippery side in that regards. I can make them break contact but they are livable once you know their limit.

 

[AMontgomery]

The 215/40s fit perfectly with the stock wheels and offset. Though the wider aftermarket wheels would likely drive better because of the effects on the side walls. Personally, I wish OZ made the Legendas in our offset.

 

[AMontgomery]

Thanks. In the rain I care for braking and crash avoidance. Not hooningan. The stocks a just a tad on the slippery side in that regards. I can make them break contact but they are livable once you know their limit.

I would echo your statement on getting to know the limits. The stock Potenzas could be learned, I guess I just did so subconsciously or was very lucky never having to slam on brakes. As far as road holding, I did have a chance to run them through some twisties after a rain and they seemed planted. I'll try some emergency stops in a parking lot once we get another good rain and report back.

 

[velryb]

Thank you for review. I plan to buy this tires for next season (from April), because for my slalom activities are Potenzas or Michelin (Pilot Sport 3 - there were REALLY horrible!) not suitable. For common driving ok, but for races not - not enough adhesion (and Pilot Sport - very incredibly weak side walls! So better to have higher weight than side walls full of holes!). With this AD08R I have experience on Mondeo ST220 and amazing grip! For so heavy car! For small fiesta must be much better! So I plan buy special set (racing wheels) only for races and Neova is my favorite one. But in diferente size (maybe 205/45/R16, I have to think about it), for slalom are smaller wheels advantage.

 

[AMontgomery]

The Neovas can certainly full the roll of race tires, but I think something like R888 or NT01 would be better suited if they will be used only for the track. Where AD08R shines is that it can be used on a daily or a race car equally well. At least that's my personal opinion

 

[velryb]

Yes, this is true, but for me it is not so easy. ;-) Because we have complicated rules for slalom races and I want to stay in categorie for serial cars. And not all tires are allowed. And to some tracks I want to go with race wheels on the car from home (near destination).

 

[AMontgomery]

That makes sense. In that case I would figure the AD08R is going to be one of the best for tire restricted races.

 

[AMontgomery]

Update:Wet traction and braking.

Finally rained enough to test the way they perform in emergency handling situations.

Emergency braking: varying levels of force were applied from normal to extreme. At no point did they slide, or skid or become unstable in any way. They are substantially better in this regard than the Potenzas.

Heavy Acceleration: Full acceleration with the stock Potenzas in the wet is sketchy in 2nd gear and below, and by sketchy I mean no traction at all. With these, full acceleration from 25 mph in 2nd gear yielded no wheelspin whatsoever.

I may have to set up a true test of these against the stock tires. I would like some actual numbers to compare. I need to holler at a friend who has a FiST with very little miles on the stock tires...

 

[CanadianGuy]

Update:Wet traction and braking.

Finally rained enough to test the way they perform in emergency handling situations.

Emergency braking: varying levels of force were applied from normal to extreme. At no point did they slide, or skid or become unstable in any way. They are substantially better in this regard than the Potenzas.

Heavy Acceleration: Full acceleration with the stock Potenzas in the wet is sketchy in 2nd gear and below, and by sketchy I mean no traction at all. With these, full acceleration from 25 mph in 2nd gear yielded no wheelspin whatsoever.

I may have to set up a true test of these against the stock tires. I would like some actual numbers to compare. I need to holler at a friend who has a FiST with very little miles on the stock tires...

Thanks for the update.

 

[velryb]

Perfect, thank you!