I bought a set. @jalquiza is also trailblazing these tires. I'll be getting a fresh alignment before putting them to the test over two days at Laguna Seca in a few weeks. Hoping they're decent on the street, consistent on track, and have a stiffer sidewall than other street tires.

 

Looking forward to hearing feedback. I had the old AD08Rs on my Focus RS and they were incredible, even in the rain.

 

The AD08Rs were fantastic tires for the Gen 1 NSX as well. I hope they keep making these as I just switched my summer tires to Yokohama Advan Flevas.

 

Hoping this works out, and that they have 19+20in sizes for the Evora GT as well. It will be a few weeks before I can put new tires on the GT and these sound very promising. Otherwise it's going to get ECS 02's.

 

Loaded up and going to the track this weekend. I think Sunday is supposed to see some sprinkles, so I should get a good range of testing.

 

Has anyone tried these yet? It looks like another option for the limited choices in the 400 size wheels.

Funny you should post this, as I was looking at these tires and had this question (but for Elises) last night! Interested to hear people's thoughts...

 

I'm interested for our Elise since they're the latest descendant of the AD07. But I don't see our 175 front tire size being offered.

 

But I don't see our 175 front tire size being offered

Oh, I meant for the Elise Sport package wheels that are 195 up front. Thankfully, these tires are available for that wider wheel.

 

Initial street test was positive. Steering feels sharper than Cup 2 and it has tons of cold grip.

I’ll still give an update after the first track day on them, but I feel like I will happily use this as my street tire at a minimum.

 

I'll be very interested to hear a wet weather report, if you get some rain and don't mind taking the car out.

 

let's see if the heatcycling qualities improve on newer Yokos. That was always their weakness

 

Oh, I meant for the Elise Sport package wheels that are 195 up front. Thankfully, these tires are available for that wider wheel.

@Catsailr27 has suggested that 195's will fit on the narrower stock wheel, so that might be an option for me. I don't know what the tradeoffs are when moving to the wider tire (other than the obviously heavier steering).

 

It will handle better no trade off. Many threads of tire sizing for all oem wheels and what members are running. Your choices will be same as S2.

 

other than the obviously heavier steering

I cannot really comment on the driving and feel of an Elise with 175 width front tires as I have the wider fronts, but I'll say the steering of my car is only heavy at parking speeds. That totally disappears once on the move, as my car feels like it is dancing since the steering feels light and the car is so agile. I assume you just have better grip and turn-in with the wider contact patch.

 

Maybe the answer is "Just drive faster so the tire diameter expands and its width narrows". {grin}

I have read somewhere that Elises with wider wheels from the factory had different suspension components. I wonder if there's a connection.

 

I've been reading all of those threads and while they're informative, it all boils down to each person's feelings and tastes.

I do like that the 195's seem to be a common and popular change. Also opens up more tire options.

 

I just did another search for 195/50R16's (50 aspect ratio keeps the sidewall height the same) and the only thing that comes up is the AD07. Specifically not the AD09 nor the ECS 02. I was hoping the move to 195 would open up some more front tire options but so far, nada.

I thought the AD07 was out of production. Does that mean that any AD07's still in stock are old date codes?

Edit: It appears the original ECS (non-02) is available in 195/50R16. Conti's website implies it's still in production.

 

Sat in the Gingerman tech inspection line catching up on f1, then went out for a morning warm up session. My group was running unusually slow which was the opposite of what I expected to experience after a night of terrible sleep, so I was going ~10s slower than I would for a wake up run. Did knock one semi clean faster lap @ 1:44.

Still very positive feel, but I want to see how they hold heat with repeated fast laps. More driving to come!

 

Continued: wearing nicely after ~70 track miles. They come on much quicker than Cup 2 and are a lot more progressive at the limit, but also don’t overheat nearly as quickly as I thought they would. Also I can easily run these with lower starting pressure and don’t need as much finesse with the stiffer sidewalls.

One session out this morning slightly damp, incredibly good performance. Local noise ordinance where the track shuts down for 2H now.

 

Very promising!

 

Posted one more update in another thread thinking that I was here:

Tires

Hello, it’s time to replace my OEM cup 2’s on my 21 GT. Any suggestions on what tires I should go with? leading contenders are Michelin pilot 4s, Pilot Super sport, cup 2 (out of stock at tire rack), cup 2 connect as well as the Goodyear eagle f1 supercar3 & the new Yokohama AD 009. any...

www.lotustalk.com

 

The 175 front tire was one of the dumbest things Lotus ever did. It was designed to make car understeer for the average lousy American driver...and boy did it esp with the lousy stock alignment numbers.!!! a 195 up front on the narrow wheels was a bit of a game changer esp seen as those wheels were available so cheap everywhere.

 

I love that but wish there were more suitable tire options in 195's. So far the suitable list appears to be:

* Yoko AD07's, out of production but old date codes may be available in some places

* Yoko A052's, in production, lower TW rating, emphasize track

* Conti ECS Sport (original, not 02's), in production, higher TW, emphasize street

There are other offerings but these seem to be the leading "performance" options. I wish the AD09's and the ECS 02's were available in 195's for the Elige platform.

 

Mclaren and Ferrari along with Lotus tend to under-tire the front IMO. Cars like the 488 and even the 765lt have only a 245 front. You can perfectly get away with it, but people act confused why Vettes and ZL1s with 285/315+ front/rear tires slapped on net similar lap times.

I’m fully onboard with the lightweight and steering feel ethos, but it shouldn’t become a foot gun. I would love to run a 265/315 setup on the Evora.

 

With the BWR front control arms and additional camber, my under steer is basically gone. Well, at least until I buy and install the rears this winter 😏

 

look what i found

 

Also this one was very favorable to the ad09:

I'm going to go out there and say that the TireRack test is bunk, which is unfortunate because so many people use them as their benchmark.

 

I prefer to think of it as WE are not undertired, those other cars are overtired and the resultant numb handling and loss of that tactile pleasure are the result. It IS something race series need to do a better job of limiting in the future. Maybe if the manufacterures are limited on the ridiculous girth of tire allowed, they may stop making everything an overweight pig with ever more huge HP.......

 

That is true, the typical 3600lb+ cars these days with 295 up front are not exactly the pinnacle of driving feel. I like to get away with as little tire as possible, really. Ideally I'd actually do a 255/305 but none of the ideal compounds come in the right sizes.

 

They are a little wider in tread than the cup 2 240s but also 2 lbs heavier per tire. Also just noticed the speed rating is a tad lower but still 168 mph.

 

Tires are mounted. Should get ~3hrs of track time on these this weekend.