Dry grip is the clear owner strength of the Nankang AR 1, praised by 22 of 31 owners, with steering feel and dry handling also more often positive. Twenty of 32 reviews are positive overall, averaging 69.8%. Wet grip attracts complaints from about one in six owners, though three praise it, so experiences are not unanimous. Heat resistance is evenly split, while tread life draws more praise than criticism but varies substantially with use. One owner remained positive in a mid-life update, but that single experience cannot establish a shared ageing pattern; the broader feedback favours dry track use more clearly than consistent wet or sustained hot-lap performance.
What owners mention most counted across 31 reviews
I run a somewhat modified AMG C63 in a Sprint/Hillclimb series in Western Australia. I have previously used Yokohama A050's (at $2300 per set), and Hankook TD Z221's (at $1800 per set). Whilst looking into options to reduce the financial blow when buying tyres, a fellow competitor came across these Nankang AR-1's. We started asking around to find more information but there was virtually nobody in competition circles that knew anything about them. What we did find out that they are CHEAP for an R spec tyre. So we dove in and bought a set each. Mine were 2 x 235/40 R18 and 2 x 265/35 R18. Purchase price you ask? Just $950 FOR ALL 4! I had my doubts about performance because, as they say, you get what you pay for.
Well, I can report that after many competition rounds that these tyres are simply incredible. I don't mean incredible based on the price either. These tyres are superb. They heat up quickly, grip comes in within just a few corners, very stable, provide excellent feedback and are proving to have excellent life despite competition level abuse and dozens of heat cycles. Many of my fellow competitors have asked about them and as a result of my always positive feedback, many have switched and are equally as impressed. Several new users have reported PB's at circuits they know well (as have I). I'm now on my second set and I continue to be just as impressed. These tyres come with a very high recommendation.
The best tire I ever had.
Excellent grip on both dry and wet roads. Excellent comfort.
Slow erosion.
Even on a day-to-day trip, he is not disappointed.
And the only one .. Fuel consumption is increased by 20 percent more than other premium tires such as Michelin Pilot Sport 3 or Toyo T1 Sport ..
In conclusion: Excellent tire for those who also travel daily with the vehicle and also on track days ..
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Used to run Avon ZZR's on my car but fancied these to help give my wallet a break! Plus I'd heard good reviews, which seemed to be backed up online, so I had high expectations.
I had my Puma at a track day at Oulton Park and I was immediately impressed by the cold grip levels. As I got a few more laps under my belt it became obvious that the grip levels were increasing markedly and I could feel my lap times started tumbling (not that I was recording them). I noticed I could carry much more speed into the faster corners and had so much more traction out of the slower corners - the car's attitude through the chicane was transformed. I could keep the throttle in harder through the whole section instead of waiting for the grip before flooring it. After a day's hard lapping I didn't notice a drop-off in performance, either (although my brakes were screaming for mercy towards the end!), so these seem like a very durable tyre.
I'll definitely be buying these again when the time comes to renew. Might have to look at my pad compound and some better brake fluid before the next track day, though!
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E46-M3 SUZUKA INTERNATIONAL RACING COURSE
JULY 7, 2017 Test report
The weather on the day is sunny.
Road surface temperature 43degrees C to 46degrees C.
This time we changed the setting of the suspension based on the previous test.
Although I was able to increase the mechanical grip more than the previous time, I could not update the best time due to the rise in the temperature and the deterioration of the road condition.
The best time of the day is 2'24 "8.
There was no big grip drop for the total 20 laps.
been running A050s, AD08Rs, RSRR, RS3 and Ive got to say these tyres arent that far behind the mighty AO50s. Braking and initial turn is fantastic. Tremedous grip for Value, I doubt Ill buy any other tyre for my Trackdays
Ran these tyres at the Nurburgring last year instead of the NS2-R, they took some time to heat up but once they did they are fantastic, wet weather use is a bit sketchy but other than that I cannot fault these tyres.
I got a set of four 265/35/18 tyres for track use and first got a chance to test them last week at Bedford on the GT Circuit. It was my first time on track tyres and since my last track day, I'd also got HSD Monopro coilovers, with professional geometry, corner weighting, and a full alignment.
To say that the new setup made a difference would be the understatement of the century. I'm glad I have bucket seats, as otherwise I'd have fallen off my seat round every corner. The tyres felt predictable, gave good feedback, and were quite progressive on the limit. While learning the circuit and getting the feel for the limit, I went sideways quite a lot, and it was FUN! However, I didn't but these to go sideways, obviously, I wanted to be fast. During the whole track day, the only car to pass me was another e46 M3, which was fully track prepped, stripped to the shell with a cage, Nitron coilvers, BBK, and Toyo R888R tyres. He was 3 seconds a lap quicker than my 2min : 52sec best.
I'll definitely buy these again when the time comes.
