What We Learned on the Road

Our 5.6-mile loop of expressway, state highway & county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city & highway speeds, smooth & coarse concrete, as well as new & patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality & everyday h&ling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.

H&ling is a desirable trait of Extreme Performance Summer tires & all of these tires rewarded our drivers with their responsiveness. The Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 scored highest with our team with the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R close behind. The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD & Kumho Ecsta MX were a little further behind.

While Extreme Performance Summer tires normally trade off ride quality for steering response & h&ling, the Potenza RE-01R not only delivered the best ride of the four tires, it delivered surprising civilized ride characteristics that could have easily been mistaken for those of a tire delivering far less performance. The ADVAN Neova AD07 was somewhat firmer over nearly all road surfaces, most notably when driving over larger irregularities. The ride quality of the Kumho Ecsta MX felt less yielding, while the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD felt the harshest of the group.

Among the Extreme Performance Summer tires in this test, the Potenza RE-01R was quieter than expected & generated the least amount of tread noise of the group. The Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 was acceptable but it was scored a distant second behind the Potenza RE-01R. Our team detected several distinct pitches from the Ecsta MX on the smooth concrete & asphalt portions of our road route & the g-Force T/A KD was noticeably louder than the others, generating a distinctive growl from even relatively low speeds, & all the way up through the speed range.

What We Learned on the Test Track

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

The Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 led the dry track test, feeling hooked up with very little slip, slide or brake lock-up. The Potenza RE-01R was very close behind in lap time & delivered the highest cornering forces of the group. For the first time in our test history, the Potenza RE-01R allowed a driver to exceed 1g (1.003g) on both of his laps on the dry skidpad with our stock BMW 325i The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD & Kumho Ecsta MX battled for the remaining positions.

While wet traction is not the primary focus of this group, all of the Extreme Performance Summer tires in this test performed well with water on our test track. Again the ADVAN Neova AD07 lapped our course the quickest, proving to be balanced & easy to control at its limit. It was very closely followed by the Potenza RE-01R, which again developed the greatest cornering power. The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD was next, but almost one second behind the ADVAN Neova AD07 & Potenza RE-01R. The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD was easy to drive but did not have quite as much grip. The Ecsta MX felt a little edgy when approaching the limit, building grip & then breaking away a bit abruptly.

Product Details

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD (Extreme Performance Summer): The g-Force T/A KD is the Extreme Performance Summer tire member of BFGoodrich's family of g-Force T/A tires. The g-Force T/A KD is designed to deliver BFGoodrich's Traction/Advantage in order to increase the performance capabilities of sports cars, sports coupes & performance sedans by providing extreme dry road performance (hence the "D" in KD) while providing satisfactory wet traction. The g-Force T/A KD is not intended to be driven in snow.

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R (Extreme Performance Summer): The Potenza RE-01R (with the "R" signifying Revolutionary) is the Extreme Performance Summer tire member of Bridgestone's global family of Potenza performance tires developed for enthusiastic sports car, sports coupe & performance sedan drivers. The Potenza RE-01R is designed to provide high levels of traction, responsive h&ling & driving control in dry & wet road conditions. The Potenza RE-01R is not intended to be driven in snow.

Kumho Ecsta MX (Extreme Performance Summer): Kumho's family of Ecsta (x' ta) performance tires is designed to enhance every vehicle's capabilities. The Ecsta MX member of the family elevates Kumho right into our Extreme Performance tire category which is reserved for the technologically advanced tires that combine highly developed materials with state-of-the-art design & advanced manufacturing methods to provide superior performance.

Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 (Extreme Performance Summer): The ADVAN Neova AD07 is the Extreme Performance Summer tire member of Yokohama's global family of ADVAN performance tires developed for sports car, sports coupe & performance sedan enthusiasts who love sport driving. Used as Original Equipment (O.E.) on the Lotus Elise, the ADVAN Neova AD07 is designed to provide high levels of traction, responsive h&ling & driving control in dry & wet road conditions. The ADVAN Neova is not intended to be driven in cold temperatures or in snow.

Unlike less highly tuned tires, Yokohama's care instructions specify that due to its compound characteristics, ADVAN Neova AD07 must be used & stored at temperatures above -10° Celsius (14° Fahrenheit) to maintain its performance & avoid tire damage.