Tire Test Results

July 25, 2022

Vehicles Used

2022 Subaru BRZ Limited

The latest crop of Extreme Performance Summer tires are an excellent example of how the category has evolved beyond the simple formula of providing a 200 treadwear tire with a minimalist tread pattern and dry grip promoted above all else. While those attributes are still a part of their DNA, we’re starting to see a segmentation of full-circuit tires focused on durability for multiple track days and endurance racing. The Continental ExtremeContact Force is one such endurance-focused big-track performer. After performing well in previous tests, it has established itself as a case study for how a tire should handle, on track and off, so naturally, along with being seriously quick, it has earned its place in the test. The Kumho Ecsta V730 has also proved in past tests it’s a force to be reckoned with, delivering its brutally consistent grip around our track. The Kumho demonstrated that it is an easy-to-drive contender with the speed and consistency required for endurance competition and fits this special breed of tire. Nexen’s N FERA Sport R is yet another release in what seems like a windfall of Extreme Performance Summer tires for 2022. After delivering impressive scores against some of the toughest competitors in the category, the N FERA Sport R certainly has the raw performance needed to compete. While it’s not specifically called out as an endurance-focused option, its similar level of consistency and easy-to-drive nature should make it a good speed benchmark for the others.

The fourth, and previously untested addition to this powerhouse trio, is the Yokohama ADVAN NEOVA AD09. Its absolute-speed-obsessed sibling, the ADVAN A052, has become the de facto lap time target in our testing and many other racing classes that spec 200 treadwear tires. While not attempting to overthrow the ADVAN A052’s reign, the ADVAN NEOVA AD09 hopes to improve upon its endurance and find the elusive sweet spot between speed and durability on the track, like others in this test.

Eager to see if the ADVAN NEOVA AD09 and others have the outright performance to balance their advertised durability, our team fitted new, full tread depth 225/45R17 tires mounted on 17x8.0 wheels to our 2022 Subaru BRZ limited test vehicles to find out.

What We Learned on the Test Track

Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a five-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.

With dry track performance being the group’s first and foremost design priority, it was no surprise our test team’s dry testing afternoon was packed with smiles and high praise for each tire. With several of these tires explicitly mentioning a design focus on larger road course endurance, many will still likely be put head-to-head on smaller autocross circuits as well. With our handling course falling somewhere between those two, our team could discern differences and characteristics that should mostly translate to larger tracks as well.

Fast tires don’t always feel good, and tires that feel good aren’t always fast, but in the Nexen N FERA Sport R’s case, it was both. With impressive dry braking distances and the quickest dry laps of the test, the Nexen gapped its competition by a seemingly small but significant margin when hundredths count. Not only was the slight traction advantage felt by our team, but they found it easy to capitalize on, thanks to its progressive and gentle understeer that would develop at the limit. The tire’s broad plateau of grip gave our drivers absolute confidence to charge into the slalom and sweeping turns while knowing the test-leading braking would slow them down at the next corner. Our team would have liked slightly sharper front-end urgency to really round out the package, but frankly, that was after trying to find some criticism with its performance. While objectively about 4 feet longer in average braking distance from fifty miles per hour, the Kumho tied the subjective braking evaluation of the Nexen but took the coveted, highest measured lateral traction of the test. Where the Nexen could have used some more steering urgency, the Ecsta V730 had the immediate steering response that gets the driver’s attention right away. Not only was turn-in seemingly instantaneous, but the reassuring ramp-up in resistance and control through the corner gave it that last little bit of precision drivers appreciate on track. While the Kumho’s front end authority hit like a hammer, the ExtremeContact Force was the scalpel of the group. With the highest steering evaluation from our team, the Continental had a similarly quick steering response with a natural buildup of effort and linear response. Its high-precision approach helped the tire achieve the quickest times through the slalom and competitive laps times, even if it seemed like it was missing some absolute dry grip compared to the fastest tires in the test. The ADVAN NEOVA AD09 appeared to take a similar, balanced dry handling approach. However, after a nice initial response, the front end became a little vague, making it easy to overwhelm the tires, and speed-scrubbing understeer was the result. The Yokohama’s objective metrics were certainly in line with the group but trailed in subjective scores on track with no glaring missteps, but nothing that "wowed" our drivers either. Some additional power-on oversteer was mostly manageable, but it combined with the sometimes-elusive front end, for laps just a hair off the pack.

Wet track work might take a backseat to dry, but when race weekends take place, rain or shine, taking advantage of the great equalizer that is a wet track can be the stuff of legends. From this group, the driver in the Ecsta V730 won’t be upset when the track shifts to the wet line. While its massive outboard elements and little-to-no-void inboard pattern will most likely not be conducive to hydroplaning resistance, it was clearly the most capable on our relatively low water depth wet surface. The Kumho swept the subjective evaluation and was the quickest on track by a nice margin. Its strong front end authority was in full effect, which again was appreciated, but our drivers noted it did free up the rear end under power now that it had a little less traction to work with. While competitive, the Kumho was only second best in measured braking and lateral traction, which shows its whole package is more than the sum of its parts on track. The N FERA Sport R had the highest lateral traction of the group and solid lap times to match. Our team found it slightly difficult to fully exploit the Nexen’s traction advantage, mostly due to some vagueness and non-linearity at the front end. The lack of communication could tempt the driver to push beyond the limit of traction, particularly at corner entry, resulting in quick bouts of understeer. The ADVAN NEOVA AD09 managed the shortest average braking distance in the test’s five-foot spread and displayed nicely balanced steering with a reduction in grip. Weight transfer felt controlled and what understeer did creep in was easily corrected without much penalty. The ExtremeContact Force rounded out the group in the wet with competitive objective scores but laps that trailed the tight competition. Our team still found its steering very satisfying, but a lack of dynamic wet traction would overpower the rear end abruptly if the driver tried to rush it out of a corner. Regardless, the Continental achieved very competitive lap times, even if it required a delicate foot around the course.