The Nankang Sportnex CR S is a summer trackday tyre with repeatedly praised track durability and, in some tests, strong pace over repeated laps. Steering communication and wet performance vary, with a sharp disagreement between its wet test results.
Independent tests repeatedly praise low track wear, making durability its clearest strength. It won the 2026 Tyre Reviews streetable track test and was Highly recommended, leading the dry long-run comparison despite being third on a single lap. Tire Rack also found it among the best for wear in 2025, with just 0.5 mm lost from the ribs and 1 mm from the outer shoulder. Road comfort and subjective noise led that comparison, though refinement over kerbs and bumps was less convincing in the Tyre Reviews test.
The unusually different wet results matter: Tire Rack recorded last place in both wet braking and handling, whereas Auto Bild put it third in wet braking and second in handling in 2026. Dry pace also varies, from second on the Tire Rack dry lap to last in the Auto Bild comparison. Lap consistency was excellent at Tyre Reviews, contrasting with fading pace at Tire Rack, and several assessments found steering communication or precision limited. It has a stronger case for track drivers prioritising wear than for those seeking consistently sharp steering or dependable comparative wet performance.
Strengths & weaknessesLow track wearStrong repeated-lap consistency in some testsVariable wet braking performanceVariable wet handling performanceSummarised from the independent tests
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tyre - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated July 2026.
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The Nankang CR-S was the consistency benchmark. It did not quite have the peak first-lap grip of the Vitour or the steering excitement of the Hoosier, but it stayed in its window for much longer and was easier to keep pushing. After a moderate outlap it was already working well, and its braking stability was very good. Over kerbs and bumps it was perhaps not as refined as the Vitour, and on corner exit there was slightly less front-axle feel, but across multiple laps it was the more complete tyre. On the rerun, once used and heat-cycled, it felt even more stable and consistent. As with other tests I've found the wear to also be excellent.
Strong: Dry Handling Long Run
Every independent test of the Nankang Sportnex CR S, newest first
Across the 2 wet-braking tests it has featured in, the Nankang Sportnex CR S stops 6.3% longer than premium rivals, 6.5% longer than mid-range rivals and 18.8% shorter than budget rivals. It has a Tyre Reviews wet score of 36/100, and owners rate it 3.7/10 in the wet from 4 reviews.
How good is the Nankang Sportnex CR S in the dry?
Across the 2 dry-braking tests it has featured in, the Nankang Sportnex CR S stops 1.7% longer than premium rivals, 1.3% shorter than mid-range rivals and 1.7% shorter than budget rivals. It has a Tyre Reviews dry score of 57/100, and owners rate it 9/10 in the dry from 4 reviews.
Questions and Answers for the Nankang Sportnex CR S
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Across 4 owner ratings the Nankang Sportnex CR S averages 69%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 9 out of 10 and Comfort lowest at 3.5. 1 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles.
Owner ratings averaged from 4 ratings
Owner score69%
Dry Grip90%
Handling88%
Road Feedback78%
Wear70%
Wet Grip37%
Comfort35%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 64%
“Tires lasted about 5 track days. I found heat management to be a problem. First lap is needed to warm the tires and laps 2 & 3 are fast. But starting at lap 4, the tires already become greasy. The problem seems to...”
“Been using them for about 17,000 miles, really stiff sidewall which makes even the tiniest of bumps noticeable, and this is coming from someone who doesn't care about NVH. They seem to be wearing fine, did one trackday...”
I've purchased these tires three times so far. Between these tires I have had Falken RT660+, RT615k+ and Kumho V730. None have been as consistent and performant all the way down to the end of the tire's life.
I use these for autocross at 275/35-18 on an 18x10" Apex VS5R wheel. The tire is extremely well supported on that size wheel. Nankang measures the tire on a 9.5" wheel but it's a bit pinched on that width so I'd recommend going larger.
I find that the compound comes on quickly and handles heat really well. I've never had to spray them down even during the Florida summers. I do make sure to get them to 32PSI hot and they'll hot lap no worries.
Tried the CRS in a 992.1 GT3 for 3 track days. This was the first time with this car on a track and I couldn't have made a better choice on tyres. They lasted a bit over 400 miles, even with me testing all kinds of things and subsequently abusing the tyres more than I should, trying to understand a new car. Somehow the wear was even on all 4 tyres on a track that will typically knockout the front left first.
- The first thing to notice is that this tyre is incredibly consistent until it is absolutely dead. I believe though that scrubbing in is necessary. Throughout the first few laps traction was all over the place. I have tried 3 similar tyres on the same car and the CRS was the one that really required the first heat cycle to start performing well. Obviously scrubbing in is a must for this kind of tyres, but the other 2 tyres would be good straight from the beginning. CRS was not. But after that initial heat cycle, they performed the same until the very end (the other tyres did not). So this is probably the perfect tyre to learn a new car. The CRS also did require significant time to warm up and while it is cold it underperforms compared to the other 2 tyres I tested. But once it gets to temperature it can hold its performance for consecutive laps.
- Performance wise, it is a well balanced tyre and works well with the GT3. Braking is good. Traction is relatively better. By all means it is a fast tyre, but not a one lap hero. Steering is probably its only true weakness. You feel it rather heavy in weight transfers and you have to wait a bit until it settles. Trail braking is not too much of an a issue, but accelerating after a direction change is. If you request it to do one thing, it does it well and is very progressive, but when you are pushing hard and start braking & cornering or (even worse) accelerating and cornering after consecutive corners then snap oversteering is around the corner. Need to wait for it a bit... Steering is dead around the center, and there is a bit of a steering delay but once you are there, it provides great steering feedback and you can feel the grip building underneath. Once you are at the limit, you will know. All these probably have to do with the stiff sidewall. To sum it up, steering is very good but only when the tyre is settled.
Considering its lower price point, its durability, its consistency and its performance, despite its weaknesses, this is so far the best track tyre for someone who wants to enjoy track days with a very good tyre and is not really interested in personal lap time records.
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Been using them for about 17,000 miles, really stiff sidewall which makes even the tiniest of bumps noticeable, and this is coming from someone who doesn't care about NVH.
They seem to be wearing fine, did one trackday on them and a lot of hard driving, not noisy at all too.
in terms of grip, fantastic in the dry but they NEED weight on them, I have them on an ND miata and if you're being lazy the front can easily wash out, but applying good driving techniques and warming them up first (and performing the break-in procedure) and it'll work great. Wet grip is abysmal.
overall fantastic tire but unfortunately I left the car parked for a week and now they're out of round, this won't be an issue if you only use them as a track tire and store them properly.
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Tires lasted about 5 track days. I found heat management to be a problem. First lap is needed to warm the tires and laps 2 & 3 are fast. But starting at lap 4, the tires already become greasy. The problem seems to becomes less obviously as the tires age, but I find the RE-71RS to be slightly faster, wear at at similar pace (maybe slightly slower), and manage heat better for longer. Because of that, I would choose the RE-71RS over the CR-S. The Track Attack Pro being more expensive and wearing a lot faster takes this competitor out of the equation for me for practice, but for a competitive time attack of time trial, I would absolutely consider it. I'm putting the new RE-71RZ to the test right now also. More to come on that...
