Yokohama AD08 vs Federal 595RS-R

[gez 172]

These two 'Track day' tyres are quite close in price.
225/45-17 Yoko AD08 is £117
225/45-17 Federal RSR is £92.50 (on discount at the moment)

the question is, which is better?

i know the Federal has 5MM tread from new, the Yoko has the full 8MM

i have heard of a few issues about the Federals, but then, I've heard more good than bad.

Feel free to give your reviews.

Thanks,

Gez

 

[Scottie203]

i can't fault my AD08's,awesome in the wet and the dry and they look quality!!! heard the federals are good too but as you said i've also heard a few horror storys,mainly of chunks flying off them

 

[danh90]

My rsr were spot on very good on track

 

[aldo_87]

I got my RSR's for £81 a corner. Done around 5k and they are holding up well. One of the tyres has showed signs of this common cracking issue but doesn't effect performance. For the money I can't fault them.

 

[172Ben]

Ad08's on the JDM, awesome tyres even in the wet!

 

[danh90]

My rsr were s**t in the wet at Oulton btw or maybe I just couldn't drive in it

 

[MarkCup]

My AD08s only had 7.5mm tread when new.

I've done a very hot day at Bedford GT followed by a monsoon day at Llandow on them. At Bedford they survived the temperatures without issue and are nice and progressive once they start moving. In the wet at Llandow I was very apprehensive as there's rivers running across the track in several places, but they managed to disperse (almost) all of the water and still find a ridiculous amount of grip. Huge fun.

When I put them on originally I thought they'd be dead we'll before the winter. But I've covered almost 9,500 miles on them already (including the two trackdays) and there's a couple of months life at a minimum still remaining.

Once I do kill this set off I'll be going for the exact same tyre again...road tyre mileage, almost road tyre water dispersal, track tyre levels of grip. Perfect.

 

[gez 172]

That's a pretty good write up Mark. Good review. What width are you running? 215 or a 225?

Im swaying towards the Ad08 a bit more come next summer, as I use the car on road too. Unless I put the semi slicks on my spare set of wheels, but then again, they're a good all round tyre that I'd feel comfortable using in all weather.

The Kumho medium compound have had good reviews too. But they're almost £35 more a tyre, so I'd pick the Ad08 over them.

 

[2Damnsly Andy]

I got my RSR's in March, I have done 6 trackdays on them, LLandow twice (both extremely wet) Donington three times and Cadwell Park. I have done some very hot days on them and they don't degrade too badly and some very very wet days and they grip extremly well. I have done probably 3000 miles on them and no issues at al. I have swapped back to my winter tyres for now whilst I potter about as the shoulders on the n/s tryes were a bit worn but I have had the tyres swapped side to side. I don't use the car daily but it does get driven on the road and still gives fantastic grip both wet and dry. Mine are 15's and cost about £75 a corner.

 

[MarkCup]

That's a pretty good write up Mark. Good review. What width are you running? 215 or a 225?

Standard size, 215.

225 would give too much grip for me, 215 is just right.

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Will be looking into these in next few months but leaning towards the rsr's at the moment.

 

[Bendunn]

What are the sidewalls like compared to PE2's I'm in the market for new tyres but don't want to loose my steering feel, currently swayed by the ad08s

 

[v16daf]

Will be looking into these in next few months but leaning towards the rsr's at the moment.

I'm the same TBH

 

[stephen chadwick]

sidewalls wear quite fast on my rsr's but grip wise verry good imo, never used ado8 so couldn't compare

 

[gez 172]

Standard size, 215.

225 would give too much grip for me, 215 is just right.

Could you expand more on this please Mark?
I thought more grip was better, and the 225 width is cheaper lol.
I'm genuinely intrigued, looking into trackdays next year, and wanting advice. This seems like something I could learn from too.

Thanks

 

[Adam G]

Sometimes it's more fun to not have the ultimate grip available. I prefer it like that, you can learn more about car control and gives big smiles. Maybe Mark has another reason but that's why I just use good road tyres, rather than track ones.

 

[MarkCup]

Sometimes it's more fun to not have the ultimate grip available. I prefer it like that, you can learn more about car control and gives big smiles. Maybe Mark has another reason but that's why I just use good road tyres, rather than track ones.

No other reason than this. I do trackdays for fun, lap times are pointless, the less grip the better for learning the car. AD08s with their higher grip seem at odds with this, but both Continental Sportcontacts and Michelin PE2s pretty much evaporated/shed tread blocks when I ran them on track.

That's the main reason I run the Yokos, they can handle heat and a decent slip angle without tearing themselves apart. What I hadn't expected was their wet weather ability or the fact that they last as long as normal road tyres.

 

[gez 172]

Brilliant, thanks for that

i can see what your saying.

 

[Adam G]

So, what I was on about but not using road tyres. Never had a problem with my road tyres though Mark. Only Conti I used was a worn one though.

 

[Christopher.]

Im thinking of getting some RSR's after my AD08's have worn out, what are the issues with them ?

 

[Stefan.]

so both of these tyres are track tyres? and cant really be used on road as a good road tyre? or am i getting lost somewhere?

 

[TimR26]

Im thinking of getting some RSR's after my AD08's have worn out, what are the issues with them ?

I know a couple of people on Meganesport have had issues with chunks of rubber coming away from the tread block.

Links to people who've had issues with them falling apart.
http://www.meganesport.net/communit...deral-RSR-s-falling-apart!!&highlight=federal
http://openpitlane.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=176044&postcount=4

 

[MarkCup]

So, what I was on about but not using road tyres. Never had a problem with my road tyres though Mark. Only Conti I used was a worn one though.

I never had a problem either on my 172 Cup, would/could happily run all day long on a variety of road rubber.

In the 200 though, the extra 300kgs seem to ask a bit too much of the rubber.

 

[MarkCup]

so both of these tyres are track tyres? and cant really be used on road as a good road tyre? or am i getting lost somewhere?

They're more road tyre than the likes of Toyo R888 or Yoko A048...have much more 'tread' for water dispersal, but are still a track tyre type of compound.

best way to explain it is to say go and google image them, you'll see what I mean about the tread.

can they be used on the road? I'm running mine without issue over an assortment of mostly flooded country roads right now, takes a bit of tip-toeing but no more that you'd do on a normal tyre.