Federal 595RS-R Tyres?

[sanzomat]

I've been checking out tyre choices. I know most of you go for 888's but they don't come in the size I need to use my current rims. Ideally to match how GTM set it up I need 205/45/16's. The nearest 888's are 195/50/16 but these would still work out a slightly bigger diameter. The best price I can currently find for the 195/50/16 888's is £125 each  . I was thinking about getting a set of used MGF rims (as they fit my hubs and come in 15") so I could go for the slightly cheaper 195/55/15 888's but these are still £95 each plus the cost of getting some rims. I'd ideally like to keep the existing rims.

A few sites, including Demon Tweaks, sell Federal 595RS-R in their road legal track tyres category and the reviews seem pretty good. They're also available in 205/45/16 and the best bit is Oponeo currently have them at £67 each.

Has anyone tried these? Any opinions, good or bad, would be useful to hear.

[Moleman]

Sorry mate I don't know much about them. You will find 16's will be hard to find & cost more. Can you go to 15's?

[Lucky Ed]

Compared to Toyos, they sit somewhere between T1r's and 888's, so would have thought they would make a good all round tyre.

Krazy Ken used to have them on his Marlin, so he might be able to tell you more about them.

[Moleman]

If they are not as good the only thing I would say is if you spend all that money making your car go well get it set up & running nice only to save money by not investing on the one thing that keeps it on the road then it could be false economy for what you want it to do. Just my thought on it mate. 

[Lucky Ed]

Good point Colin, but some people aren't happy with the wear rate of 888's, if they use them on the road a lot.

[Krazyken]

888's used to be excellent value for money at around £55/tyre when the only other option was Yokohama 032 or 048.  People quickly caught onto this so Toyo did what all gig companies do an put the prices up.  Federal came in to fill the gap 888's left behind with 595RS-R.

They do not have the same amount of grip as 888's I would say about 80% but if you are going to use them on track 20% is a lot to lose.  Also from a personal perspective my big crash was caused either by a wheel or tyre failure at 120mph and I was running the Federals at the time which were practically new.

As with everything in life you pay your money and take your choice.

[sanzomat]

Thanks Krazyken, I've also seen a few reports of cracking across the tread width on the 595rs-r's and one delamination so the reviews aren't all good. I think your story may be enough to put me off them.

I'd still ideally like to stick with my 16" rims and I'm not sure I have room to store a second set of wheels/tyres. I'd also prefer not to spend a fortune.

Does anyone have any experience or views on Nankang NS-2R? These are available in 205/45/16 and just a couple of quid more than the Federals. I've found quite a few positive reviews and no negatives so far. They come in medium and soft. One poster (with a 500bhp Z4) had said they weren't quite as good as 888's then found he'd been miss sold the medium version, when he had them changed for the softs he says they are as good. It seems they are run as a control tyre in MX5 racing too and no issues with the MX5 boys.

In reality my car is probably too much of a hair dresser's car to be the ultimate track weapon and too much grip might show up weaknesses in the suspension. Also my talent is likely to run out well before the grip of even a halfway decent tyre.

The nearest 888s (195/50/16) are going to set me back £560 for four whereas I could get 4 NS-2R's in the right size for £260 - less than half the money.

['The Gaffer']

Did a ton of really fast and very grippy passenger laps in Dave H's M3 at Bedford Autodrome on Federal 595rs-r's and they gripped like sh*t to a blanket. They also come with tons more tread as standard than the 888's. Everyone will have an opinion I guess but I was impressed enough to be buying some as soon as my soft compound 888's wears away. Maybe the Nankang NS-2R are good but I have never heard of or yet researched them.

My personal preference between the 888's and the Yoko' A048 was the Yokohama, just felt better to me and had a nicer flatter profile too. Possibly the Federals are suited more to heavier cars??

Best bet is to call Steve at Brunel for a quote and mention you are with the BKCC. They do not do Federal however.

[sanzomat]

I've taken the plunge and ordered some Nankang NS-2R's. I went for the medium compound as a few reviews suggested the softs can overheat, plus there was a great price on the mediums on Camskill today - under £60 each.

As these will be my only tyres the B rated wet grip will also be an advantage. Many reviews have raved about the wet grip and some have suggested the dry grip isn't much different from 888's plus they wear better.

I guess I'll never know as I've never used 888s but I'm hoping to see a big difference from the 12 year old Goodyear F1's!

[sanzomat]

As Camskill had to cancel my order for the Nankangs as they apparently sold the last ones to someone else as I was online placing my order and as the Nankangs seem to be out of stock everywhere I had another think about the Fed's but as my only tyres the wet grip would be an issue and with some of the cracking issues and as they've now gone up to over £70 I kept looking. I went for Yokohama AD08R's and talking to Brunel confirmed they would be a good choice for my car and my usage. Ordered from Camskill as Brunel advised they couldn't even buy them for what Camskill were selling them for!
They came yesterday and I got them fitted today. I've just got back from going out for a pleasant evening drive. It was supposed to be an opportunity to give the tyres a bit of a test but SWMBO was up for a drive out too so the calls of "slow down" meant I didn't give them a proper testing... They do have a much better feel than the old ones, sharper turn in, and I certainly wasn't able to induce any loss of adhesion in the limited testing this evening. It was possible to stick my thumb nail satisfyingly deep into the slightly warm tread when I got back so hopefully the compound will prove sticky enough for my needs. 17th Aug will be a good test!