Ariel.Club Forum

Not tried the A052s yet, but the kumhos are only £100 each.

I think if I was going to go for more grip, slicks would be the way to go.

I'm slightly concerned the K21s changed the grip balance. Could be a temp thing

Also noticed the factory 3.5R has k21s upfront but bigger rears, which I suspect makes the balance better.

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I also think the AO52s are great, people at the factory agree I know.
A

Have run R888s on track across a variety of front4 and rear wheel drive cars over the years and have generally liked them - however for the Atom, I have found AO52s to be a great combo of grip and wear.


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Had k21s (soft) on the front.

Dramatically changed the front end grip to point where I stopped trail braking to get the front to turn in and just threw it in.

Temps were low so may have effected the k62s on back.

Recommended with ariel atom cup 3.5.

Gonna try k21s on the rear as well.

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Ok after 2 sets of kumho mediums on the rears and 4 track days i can recommend these - they are just as grippy as the old R888 SGs, better than the old A048s and consistent right to the end - the R888 would dramatically lose grip once the tread had gone.

Yet to try the kumho K21s on the front but ordered in readiness.

I won't bother with softs on the Rear given I'm very happy with grip levels on the mediums.

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autobackup wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:50 pm
So I am completely uninterested in the wet performance of these tyres but want the best possible grip in the dry as I avoid driving in the wet like the plague.

That says it all really.

Every Atom Owner needs to pick the Tyre that suits how they use their Atom, which I have done, and will be doing again when I replace my R888s, so it sounds like you're doing exactly the same for yourself with your choice.

I've owned an Atom for quite a few years now and, to the best of my recollection, have only driven it about 5 or 6 times in the rain - and on most of those occasions it was because I was inadvertently caught out and about when (unforecasted) it started raining!

My 3.5R has so much power that, whatever tyres are fitted, it has to be driven very very gingerly in the wet otherwise it quickly starts a pirouette 'pas de deux'!

So I am completely uninterested in the wet performance of these tyres but want the best possible grip in the dry as I avoid driving in the wet like the plague.

Given the summer heat in Cyprus plus the road surface temperature - Yoko A048/A052 tyres, despite being the harder compound, quickly get very very 'sticky' and really 'clung on' driving the Troodos mountain road bends!

autobackup wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 11:53 am Alec

You say that you won't fit asymmetric tyres due to their 'appearance' or do you have some other additional reasons?

I've never liked the idea that the tyres will be trying to shift water in different directions on each side of the car, one side forwards & the other side backwards, so decided not to fit them.

As for looks, my Atom isn't always screaming along at full speed, but does stop at times, like when it's parked up waiting for people to book a ride during Sporting Bears events, so it's appearance is important to me.

As for Yokohama A048s, they were never as good as the Toyo R888s, which I fitted as soon as they were offered at a Track Day when a lot of AOC Members were there.

I praised their performance, but was shouted down by most owners who stuck to the A048s which were the norm up till then, but I think some of them changed their minds, when Ariel fitted the R888s to the Atom V8, as they obviously wanted the best tyres on it.

Any way, my tyres will be for mainly on the road driving, as I only do two Track Days each year at my local Aintree Circuit, although when I do, I am in the group with Open-Wheelers and Full Race Prepared cars.

Alec

You say that you won't fit asymmetric tyres due to their 'appearance' or do you have some other additional reasons?

This puzzles me as the only time anyone can actually see the tread on a tyre is when the vehicle is stationary and even then I'm not sure that most people actually cares what the tread looks like!

Surely the purpose of a tyre (particularly on an Atom) is to get the very best grip possible when driving (road or track) if that means fitting the latest iteration of tyres with asymmetric tread then so be it!

I currently have Yoko A052s fitted to my 3,5R and am generally happy with them but would have preferred the slightly harder A048s - as I had previously - but which, unfortunately, are no longer available.

I was going to experimentally fit Pirelli P Zero Troffeos (PZ4) but eventually chickened out - mostly due to the extremely high cost of them here in Cyprus and also the fact that nobody else, as far as I'm aware, has tried them on an Atom?

I contributed to a previous thread in this forum on the topic of Pirelli P Zero Troffeos (PZ4) :

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16524&p=281575&hili ... ro#p281575

NS2R is ok for novice track drivers to quickly find the limits of grip at lower speeds, or for drift days. They also last a very long time. However, when pushing for lap times, you most definitely want a different tyre. I only use them for some casual track laps and drifting.

Kumho V70 soft / medium is my preferred choice. 052 should almost be on par. I've heard good things about the MRF ZTR and will give them a try when my current set of Kumhos needs replacing as the Kumhos are hard to come by.

I've been very happy with my Toyo R888 Tyres for a very long time, but the ones I'm currently running on my two sets of Wheels, are all nearing the wear indicators, and they don't seem to be available any more.
The replacement Toyo R888R are out, as I will not fit Asymmetric Tyres, so I had a look in the Ariel Shop, and the Yokohama A052 are straight out also being Asymmetric, not that I was a fan of the older A048 ones when I had them.
Any way, as I drive all year round, doing only a couple of Track Days each year so mainly on the road driving, that also rules out the Avon ZZR.
Of the two left in the Ariel Shop, the Yokohama AD08RS and the Kumho V70A, are also out for me, as neither fit in with my expectations of how my Atom looks with the CF Wings.
That just leaves the Avon ZZS, which I might just try on one of my sets of wheels to see how they look and perform.
The only other tyres I've considered, was ones recommended by my local friendly Tyre Supplier, which are the Nankang NS-2R tyre.
He says that he's had good reports about them, and as I've known him for over 30 years, with him running two bikes in the British Superbike Championship, plus another two bikes in lower classes & the TT a few years ago, I trust his opinion on tyres implicitly, but once again, I don't think they fit in with my expectations of how my Atom looks, so it's back to the Avon ZZS for me I think.
The Nankang NS-2R tyres may, however, be a possibility for other Atom Owners to consider.

Thanks for the comparison between A048s and kumhos - very useful.

I'll probably try soft kumhos in the first instance - yes I know they wear out within 1 trackday, but so did the 888s soft - if I was on it all the time.

I may try the Avon slicks but that brings its own problems!

6000 on the rears was road use only. I'd be lucky to get 1500 out of medium AO48s!

6000 out of a set! Wow!!

In 4135 miles we have been through the originals plus 7 pairs of rears and 3 pairs of fronts.

The rears last about 3 trackdays.

Yes the A048s are sensitive to heat cycles and r888(r) medium are alot less grippy than A048 mediums.

Agree with the Kumho recommendation. Whilst I only used them on road, I found they were far better than AO48 in terms of warm up, grip and wear rate. Not too bad in light rain either. I more than doubled the mileage out of the rears and they appeared to take heat cycles better with no reduction in grip. The only downside was the high mileage did lead to the rear medium sidewalls cracking at c6000 but they were about done by then anyway. I put this down to the softer sidewalls flexing, mileage and heat cycles. Try them.