Ok. Post-trackday update.
The tyres are absolutely mindblowing.
I know I said that before, but then let's just say these tyres are good enough to blow your mind more than once.
My super soft NHC Vtec with a dead steering set a very quick laptime of 2 min 21 sec on the MMST. This was also my first day on track and by the end of the day, I had improved from 2:31 to 2:21.
I see some people giving me credit! I laugh at them and tell them it's the tyres. I just go really fast into a corner and the tyres hold the line BEAUTIFULLY!
I didnt know the lines of the track or anything. I just learnt them on the go. I still havent got most of them right. I just turn into a corner and then turn the steering wheel. The tyres did the rest. The best part is, they didnt just take the corner, but they STUCK to a single lane while taking the turn! It was unbelievable!
I could brake later than most people, carry much more speed into a corner than most people and lap the entire track faster than most people.
All this is down the tyres. A friend of mine, Rahul, has his Palio 1.6. He was running ES100s and was doing 2:27 on those tyres. I really wish he c ould have set a laptime with the AD07s.
These tyres seriously deserve a better car than the NHC Vtec. But the Advans dont get discouraged if you put them on a car like this. They just keep pushing and make the car look like a hero.
And life?
Let the pics speak for themselves.
21,000 kms and 150 kms on the track and there is enough life left for at least 2 more trackdays or 5,000 kms.
Sure, the sidewall of one tyre (the front left) is scrubbed pretty badly, but that's nothing.
These tyres held up extremely well to the track day. Hardly any sign of uneven wear. There are some scrub marks on the sides of all 4 tyres, but nothing too bad.
Do check out the amount of tread I still have left. I'm absolutely delighted with the way these tyres have held up.
If you see the ES100s of Rahul's Palio, it has done around the same kms as my car and 1 trackday but the front tyres are completely gone.
Also, my tyres held up not only to 150 kms of ridiculous driving but at least 8 spins on the track at more than 100 kmph. It's simply staggering to see the way these tyres have coped.
Another marvellous thing about these tyres is their response to the heat on a Sunday afternoon on a Madras track.
I could see Rahul's Palio slowing down considerably due to the tyres overheating. I could feel my tyres giving me more and more grip the hotter they got. They simply DO NOT overheat! I rarely stayed put in the pitlane but the tyres NEVER once gave me a problem. I absolutely abused them. Locked up the brakes, didnt slow down for corners, didnt let them cool, but they just gripped like glue!
Honestly, I will run out of words describing how good these tyres are and you will run out of patience reading my descriptions.
Everyone knows the Advan Neovas are the fastest street legal tyre in the world. But you simply cannot comprehend how fast they are until you try them on track.
There has been a considerable change in the tyre's properties though. They are now VERY VERY noisy. They were quite silent earlier. People say they are noisy, but to be honest, I never felt it. However, after the trackday, they have become very noisy. They hum like crazy and now even I'm getting a little annoyed if I cruide at speeds above 60kmph.
These tyres are also very difficult to flatspot.
We were on our way to MMST and on the highway, a truck driver decided to change lanes all of a sudden and swerve in front of me. I was at a very high speed (let's not get into figures) and just slammed on the brakes. The front left wheel must have locked up for 25 feet at the very least.
Brraj, Siddharth, raj.barcode and Krish who were in 3 cars behind me could see a loooong line of rubber on the road and being a curve, couldnt see my car. They though I had crashed. They could smell the burning Advan Neova rubber. However, I didnt crash. I didnt even lose control of the car. Even though the front left wheel had locked, I could steer and continued to steer the car.
I was extremely worried that the tyre had been flatspotted and that it would ruin my track experience.
When we stopped at Muscat bakery, I immediately got down to check the tyre and it was PERFECTLY fine. I couldnt even see which part of the tyre had locked! There was ABSOLUTELY no indication of my previous antics.
On the track, after 10 laps or so of high speed thrashing, the tyre surface became really sticky. I mean this literally. Me and a friend (bottle) touched the surface of the tyre and it felt really sticky to touch. It was acting EXACTLY like a racing slick. It was picking up small particles of mud and stone from the pit lane. On the track, the tyres would be clean but once I slowed down and entered the relatively dirty pit lane, all mud particles would start sticking to the surface of the tyre.
Now, this tyre costs about 5400/- new.
I feel that ANY enthusiast can get fantastic value out of these tyres irrespective of the price. In 15", this costs above 7,000 per tyre. However, if you love driving fast and plan to take oyur car to track (even if it's only once), I think the amount of fun you can have will make it a worthwhile investment.
As for me, having paid much lesser, I am absolutely satisfied with these tyres. Even if I need to change them now after *only* 21,000 kms, I am very happy.
When I ordered these tyres from Yokohama, the Yoko representative warned me not to expect more than 20,000 kms. I've got 21,000 kms + 1 trackday + at least another 5,000 kms to go.
The key is good maintainence.
I know this sounds like an advertisement for Yokohama, but I cant help it! This tyre is simply, unbelievably fantastic! If you doubt my words, please come to the next trackday and I will happily prove my point
The only drawbacks after all this I can think of are:
1). Cost. they are substantially more expensive than the competition, but in my opinion, they are totally worth it.
2). Noise: I never heard this noise earlier, but after the thrashing on track, they are very very bad. the Michelin PP2s (which I experienced on ROC's Cedia before he changed to AD07s) didnt make this much noise after a trackday.
3). Stiff sidewall which gives a firm ride. Not something that is too prominent, but if you pay attention, you wil notice this.
Note to Yokohama:
Please please please bring in the Ad08s! If the AD07s are this good, I cant even imagine how awesome the AD08s would be! The AD08s are supposed to be 0.5 secs on average faster than the Ad07s. Some reviewers are claiming that it is almost a second faster than the AD08s.