Tyres, Yokohama A052 or Avon ZZS or alternative

[K20A2]

As I would need new tyres sooner or later and because the Yokohama A048 and AD08R are not available anymore my research resulted in to switch to either A052 or ZZS.

Has perhaps anybody experienced both tyres and could share the impressions?

Alternatives would also be welcome.

They would mainly be used for road plus 3 days on track, but I am a beginner there and probably not very fast.

Many thanks

[wasp]

ZZS are great on the road and I'm using them for wet track days.
A052'S have brilliant dry grip but wear much, much faster.
Unless you're really pushing on, the zzs's will be fine for a few track days too.
Cheers,
Stu

[K20A2]

Hi Stu,
thanks for your feedback.

Do you perhaps also have experiences with the A048 and AD08?

Would it be right to expect the ZZS to be more like the AD08, but with a bit more grip in the dry and wearing faster.
And would the A052 be like the A048, probably even better when wet?

[wasp]

The A052's are lots better than the A048's but I've never used the AD08's.

Having now driven on track in biblical rain, I can confirm that the ZZS's are very good at dispersing water!

The ZZS's seem to wear very gently and the A052's are by most owners accounts, the current best tyre for the Atom.

For what you said your use is, I'd go zzs for now then maybe go A052's when you've built up a bit more seat time.

Cheers,
Stu

[K20A2]

Many Thanks Stu,
I will follow your recommendation then and try the ZZS

[Peter255]

I had the optional Avon ZZR fitted to my 4.

Seemed great on the road in the dry. Also pretty good on track in the dry.

In the wet they aren't great IMO. But driving an Atom in the wet isn't fun for most sane individuals!

[Winmoz]

I moved from 48s to 52s this time around. I wimped out of the biblical rain that Stu mentions but ignoring that, I can say that the 52s are a huge step on from the 48s.

I had a couple of moments on track where I had made a mistake (generally trying to get back on line after having overtaken someone- a novel experience for me) and have unsettled the car under braking. The back broke loose and rather than the spins that would have been my reward on 48s, my corrective lock caught it and all was well.

Not driven the Avons but did witness some slides that Pete had in the rain on his, on the road, whilst my 52s (and the benefit of being forwarded) seemed to give a surer ride in the wet.


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[K20A2]

So the ZZS are fitted now

Is the recommended tyre pressure the same as for the A048 which would be 16/19 psi front/rear for road use as per the handbook?

[wasp]

Yes, that is spot on.
Cheers,
Stu

[geeforce]

Guys - help appreciated. Where do you guys recommend buying tyres from (UK)? I'd like to fit Avon ZZS to an Atom 3.5R, but can't find any stock on Blackcircles etc.

Will the ZZS fit my car? My current Kuhmo's are:
- Front 195/50 R15 82V
- Rear 245/45/R16 94W

Assume like for like size above? Thanks

[IanG]

Avon direct
https://www.avontyres.com/en-gb/caterha ... pYQAvD_BwE

[Anon]

Old thread I know. I have the Avon ZZR tyre, they are a hard compound and work in high temperatures. I find them rubbish on the road though, I would almost say dangerous if you like to push it. The car will wash out when pushing moderately, then when really pushing you will feel the front and rear lose and gain grip mid corner making the car feel unstable, it certainly doesn't inspire confidence. The semi slick tyre is designed for the track. I will know what this tyre is like on the track next week for the first track outing but I totally don't recommend ZZR for the road. The things I have read is they are great on the track with good wear rates. I have heard good things about the ZZS for wet and road driving.

In terms of where to go next, I will likely burn these out then get AO52's for dry track and road, then some Dunlop wets for wet track driving on another set of wheels of course.

[PaulF]

I've tried Avon ZZR, Kumho V70 and Nankang NS2R on track (95%) and road (5%) on my Atom 3 245. Haven't tried the 052 but might give them a go once I've burned through my Kumhos.

From least grip/confidence to most: ZZR (cold) / NS2R (hot or cold) / Kumho (cold) / ZZR (hot) / Kumho (hot).

ZZR: I've done about 10 track days on the ZZR and the rears are now gone, but the fronts still have some thread left. If not up to temperature, I confirm what Simon says: they slide very easily. Especially the front has trouble getting up to temperature, and even when hot I find myself having to make lots of mid corner corrections on track (very noticeable when looking back at gopro footage). They do bite well when completely up to temperature (meaning after 2 or 3 laps on short tracks), and they don't seem to overheat on longer stints. Lap times when hot are close to the Kumho, but it takes much more work (and sometimes just blind faith) to get there. I feel like the front compound is a bit too hard to inspire perfect confidence on the Atom 3. I probably won't buy them again as long as I can find Kumhos.

NS2R: Dirt cheap. Grip is much much lower, but very progressive and constant over the entire temperature range. A very good and easy tyre to discover the limits of the car, and the tread lasts for ages. Very good for powersliding, but quite loud (squealy when breaking traction). Still, I put this tyre on for most of the track day as they are so cheap and very fun to drive. For the final sessions of the day I then switch to my Kumhos to clock in a decent lap time. As a comparison, on Clastres (track of 2.3 km) I clock 1.22 on the NS2R and 1.17 on the Kumho. Huge difference.

Kumho: Awesome tyre. Nearly endless grip and confidence from cold. Especially braking is miles better than on the ZZR. Very hard to break traction as they are so grippy, making it a much more neutral drive. I wouldn't go as far as to call them boring, but they certainly don't require as much mid corner corrections. They do wear quite a bit faster, I'd say I get 5 full hard driven track days out of them. I have softs in the front and mediums in the rear (tried soft in the rear as well, but they wear out in 3 days). A bit harder to find them in stock though.

[YannickFr]

Nankang AR-1 are very good tyres too, but don't exist in 245/45/16 (only 225).
They are more progressive than khumo V70's.
But i don't understand how can you run 5 days with the rear. 3 Days are my best, which ever brand i use.
I try Toyo R888-R (very good, need low pressure), Khumo V70's (HArd/medium), more good grip but less progressive on slide, Nankang AR-1 (cheaper, but very competitive on dry).
I need to try A052, but i run mainly on slick A005T from Yoko (semi slick mainly for rain).
I thing the difference of lifetime is the outdoor temperature (near 30°C in south of France).