Paging Damon@TireRack or any Neova drivers that have had PS2s!

After much searching it appears that the PS2 has been the gold standard for high performance summer street tires on the 996TT. The only common complaint I've found is uneven wear causing noise, and this appears to be related to alignment (more negative camber than stock).

There is a lot of favorable information on the Yokohama Advan Neova in other forums. Price is similar to the PS2. The Neovas appear to be able to be swapped L/R which may alleviate the wear problems due to agressive alignment settings.

Tire Rack compared the Neovas to BFG KD and others, and they outperformed the competition:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ova_ad07_c.jsp

But there are no head to head tests against the PS2. How do they compare and differ? Specifically: weight, longevity, road noise, ride comfort, wet handling, and of course dry handling.

 

DISCLAIMER: my experience of Neovas versus other tires comes from trying them on my other cars on the track, not the 996TT

Having said that, Neovas are the best street / track tires i've ever tried. This is compared to:

- Bridgestone S02/S03
- Dunlop F901
- Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's
- Goodyear GSD-3's
- Falken Azenis

AFAIK, the Neovas occupy a somewhat odd "in-between" position, between super high performance street tires (like the PS2's) and intermediate tires such as the Dunlop D01-J's, Bridgestone RE55's, or Yokohama's own A032/38/48's.

The Neovas use a pretty soft compound I think, hence their relatively high wear rating. But on the track they're fantastic. Make a lot of noise in the turns, but breakaway characteristics are gradual, and the tire squeal/howl also gives good indications of how close you are to the edge.

Among the above street tires mentioned, the Neovas are ahead in terms of grip, if lap times are any indication.

Again, before anybody flames me, I have NOT tried the Neovas on my Porsche. But after my PS2's currently on the car are gone, I'll probably go for the Neovas.

As a last caveat, i'm not aware what the sidewall ratings on the Neovas are. There's been tons of debate on here about whether the PS2's in 225's are suitable for the 996TT in the front. So whether the sidewall rating issue will apply to the Neovas, i don't know.

Hope this helps, FWIW.

 

The test above is the only formal test we have done on the Advan, and as you can see it's definitely a player. I wish we would have tested it against the PS2. We have informally tested the Advan against the PS2 and results as well have been better, too. The two tires are both very good, but the Yokos would be my choice as they can be flipped for better wear. More sizes will be available on soon as well. Stay tuned as more becomes available.

 

Are they available in the typically used 19 inch sizes (235 and 315)?

 

Damon - I'm glad to see that Yomama's production has caught up with their advertising. At one point, the ads featured a 996tt when the biggest size available (at least on your site) was 255 or so.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....VAN+Neova+AD07

 

Damon...is it true that the neova we get here in the US is already replaced by a newer version like those advertised in japanese car magazines?