Used as a track-only tyre (forced by the regs of the time attack series in which I participate) on clubsport-spec MX-5 NC (200hp/1150kg with driver and fuel). Soft-ish compound - below 15 degrees Celsius requires very little warm-up, above - none needed. Good performance to price ratio, although it's noticeably slower on hot days. Subjective handling is ok - it isn't super edgy at the limit (for a track tyre), but also isn't dull and understeery. Very stiff sidewall. On my car it survives ca. 600 track miles, with small but noticeable performance drop-off at ca. 400 miles. The tread might not hint at it, but it's quite ok in wet (for a semislick, of course) - I guess the relative softness of the compound helps. Can be run with absurdly low tire pressures, even below Nankang's recommendations (the lowest I've ran was 1,4 bar cold - first hot lap was sketchy but the following ones were good). The road manners are obviously terrible, but this isn't unexpected with this type of tyre.

Tires which replaced the excellent Yoko A052. I was disappointed because they were worn out in less than 1500km of dynamic roads and passes. They are worse in all areas than the Yokohama. They are certainly cheaper but last 3x less long. They are also unstable at temperature and are not suitable for even very dynamic road use.
The positive point is the feeling and feedback which is very good, very progressive, which allows you to slide easily and without being surprised.
I will have tried..

Running these tires in autocross events in Swift Sport, they need an effort to be driven to the limit, glues to the track, runs happy with modified suspension and negative camber, tire presssure plays vital role on how they perform, day and night difference in performance at different psi’s

Have YOU got experience with the Nankang AR 1? Help millions of other tyre buyers

Review your Nankang AR 1 >

R34 RWD G35 turbo 700WHP rolls/straights.
Slight spin on boost 1st gear compared to Mickey ET Street(no spin, rolls- not launches). Better than R888R(spins 1st + 2nd + slight 3rd since day1. Won't get r888r ever again. AR1 definitely grips very well. finally back in control after 2 years of horrid r888r. Just bought last week. Turning feels great but I'm no circuit expert. Used to have slight oversteer before now it's perfect.

I initially opted to fit the AR1 semi-slicks at the rear of my vehicle while waiting for the a050 to become available again. To my surprise, the AR1s provided a lifespan of over 7000 km on the rear, which is impressive for a front-wheel drive car. Upon first use, the tyres performed as expected for semi-slicks, offering a satisfactory driving experience. However, towards the end of their lifespan, I experienced an unpleasant increase in tyre noise, drone and vibration, which was unusual compared to my experiences with other brands of semi-slicks.

When it comes to wet performance, the AR1s were the worst semi-slicks I have used. They lacked progression when breaking traction, and I consider myself lucky to have avoided any incidents on wet roads. I ultimately decided to swap back to the a050 tyres once they became available again, as they provide a better driving experience in both wet and dry conditions.

Has anyone else experienced explosive detonation like some one hit you and popped the car into the air with these AR1tires from Nankang? I experienced this just after turning in at a high speed corner of the nordschliefe at Nürburg. Needless to say at 100 mph entering this turn in a 992 GT3 it was quite frightening. Luckily escaped without damage to car or injury but a 100 mph off in this corner can be deadly so watch out if using these for multiple hot laps. No mechanical damage or failure was found and the car is brand new practically.

These replaced outgoing R888R’s. Initially feel is they warm up very quickly which is great, very responsive on the turn in but felt a bit more understeer than I got with the Toyo’s. Feedback through steering wheel is great and can feel where the car is at all time. Outright grip I’d say initially Toyo seems better BUT I’ve only put about 500 miles on them and a travkday at abingdon which is very poor tarmac/concrete surface so not a fair test. Would I buy again? I’ll have to do another 2 or 3 trackdays on them as the Toyo’s gave me around 5000 road miles and 3 trackdays (averaging around 200 miles driving each trackday). But initially I’d say yes.

prefer them to the Toyo R888R's I had before. Less tramlining and similar to more grip and more confidence in it's abilities.

these are trackday tyres and i use them only on track or transfers from home to track. the grip is great, even better than Toyo R888R i have used before, consistent performance lap after lap. cornering speed is great! on wet surface it is better to stay at home or cruise at low speed. street usability is fine as long as you use them for short distances, you can feel every pothole, even the smallest my car is a 2016 Mazda MX-5 with no mods other than Tein dampers

Would be really nice to get a comparison of Semi Slicks. Drove the AR1 two times now on the GR Yaris and the Cup2 previously on the M2. Was not so impressed with the Cup2s overall. Going from stock PS4S 225/40 18 to AR1 in 255/35 18 (-3 camber in the front) is a different world. But wear is pretty high. Would be nice to see how they stack up versus other Semi slicks, like 888R, Federals or Yokohams or even slicks. There really is no up to date semi slicks track test. Tire sizes could differ from the spec sheet... what matters more is the real width in MM... i.e. Cup2s 255s are much wider then AR-1 255s etc. What matters more for track is what's available and what fits. Thanks for all the great work. Enjoying the channel :)

We run a proffesional motorsport team in terms of how it operated and amatuer in terms of the FIA motorsport coffee drinking, price increasing stamp duty dudes. Our car is Renault Twingo R2 EVO homalated fromt RS133 Apart from the shell of cup there is not much cariierd over from the cup rs133. The dry weight is 650 kg but ballasted to 1250 for FIA event @ 205 HP @ 2WD Front. We have spent alot of time on tyres and suspension and we very inpressed with these tyres and that of the Toyo R888R. The Nankings A1 do have the edge on the track where as Toyo R888R have the edge on the country roads We run a full coil over Ohlins kit weighted and balanced. The A1 are perfect for track days and offer a super glue grip but they need a bit of suspension set up and fixed suspension systems will not release the full potential of the the tyre. A perfect track for testing a car setup is Cadwell Park. In regards to price they are well priced for what they offer We do pre heat them to what we feel is best on the day and tyre pressure is critical for these tyres. In regards to comment of they cheap tyres, well when your using 2 or 3 sets a weekend it can be costly tyre. If your really chasing points and seconds then these would be ok but you would be better of with the Perrelli RK5 tyre compound. As I tell my kids who drive the R2- As driver we can set it up the best we can but you have to learn to drive it into its limits. Feed back from the tyres are good unlike the scary R888R that seem to stick like glue but then let go in rapido mode.

Ecxcellent grip on dry weather

Been tracking a 944 and a Boxster for years. Both cars highly modified for track work. I just want to have fun and buy whatever r-comps or similar that are on sale. Had sets of re71r’s, Toyota r888r’s, nitto nt01’s. Then saw nangang ar1s on sale. Wow!, as much or more grip as all the above and unlike a review above, I Did not find the tires going any greasier earlier than the others. If you overdrive your car, a specially if it’s heavy, ALL tires will get greasy. And I got more track sessions out of AR1 than any of the above, except Maby the nitto’s. Super tire

I bought this tires set for my E36 328i and mainly used this tires on track, sometimes daily commute to work if I feel lucky ;) So far, this tires is simple excellent on the track. Great feedback, turn in sharp. It will tell you once it is at its limit. Even if you slightly oversteer, it will grip back as long as you have are sensitive on gas pedal. I managed to cut down 3 seconds from 47s to 44s on one of the local track and around 5s from 1.31s to 1.26s on another local track (worth to mention that also my previous tires is just summer performance tires RE003 - but it is still a really good one). Once it is at the right temperature, it grips like shit on toilet. One more thing I really like from this tires is that it only take 1 2 turns to warm up, so you can go pretty much all in right from the beginning. My car is 1300kg so normally I start at 28 psi cold and usually ends up at around 34-35 psi.

Daily drive, it is super noisy. But it is semi-slick so you can't complain much about it. Tires make the whole car feels heavy - yes this tires is super heavy.

Also, I like the tread pattern design.

Like others said in other reviews
I ve used 3sets of Nankang AR1 brefore i write this review on F80 M3 with 490RWHP set up.
My sizes were 265 35 18 front and 295 30 18 rear.
The only problem with AR1 is that it starts to get heat soaked pretty quick for a semi slick tire. You will have to cool down after a consecutive attack, if not it has tendency to become very greasy.

It doesnt last that long obviously but It does provide more grip than most of Extreme summer tires.

If you are limited on tire expense,i would go with something that lasts a little longer.
However if you are not limited, AR1 will provide more DRY grip for a limited time.

Break away characteristic is adequate. I would say it is on the liniar progressive side.