GR Yaris Nankang NS-2R

Michael Knight

Michael Knight

Totally Hooked
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
3,847
Reaction score
5,876
Location
Finland
Specific tire thread for Nankang NS-2R.
Did my first spirited drive yesterday with the tire and it performed well to my liking. Wasn't able to break lateral traction as on public roads but felt the grip is good even with cold tires.
Running the 255/40/17 size on ProTrack One's. (9J, ET45). Ran with 2.2bar pressure all around.

Tire is 50% Road / 50 % track spec from the manufacturer. Not the fastest on the track but likely sufficient for stock suspension.

General feel
Steering feel is ok - not maybe as good as with Michelin PS4S but you get quite connected feel to the road as tire is stiffer. Feels like Suspension would be little firmer.

Cornering Balance
Car felt well planted on corners. As said was not able to break traction in corners but would say car felt little understeery. Not maybe a bad thing, but it is to be evaluated better on track with warmed up tires.

Comfort
Definitely louder than PS4S. The sound is tolerable but maybe annoying on longer drives.

Wet performance
to be tested


Manufacturer info

Pressure & Camber recommendations
Optimum camber settings between -1.0 to -3.0 degrees

HOT Pressure settings
1,000-1,400kg 27.5 - 37psi / 1.9 - 2.55bar

COLD Pressure settings
As above but use the highest stated figures by weight for your cold pressures. For example <1400kg use 37 psi and work your way down after warm up laps.

Road Pressure settings
Use the car manufacturers guidelines.



DD1A7429-88BB-47CE-9FDE-329332AED957_1_105_c.jpeg

256422A0-6F3B-4B4B-BC7B-C52E87118E72_1_105_c.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Have you messured the weight? I was reading somewhere else that they are pretty heavy.
 
Tire has been overall great for road use - plenty of grip. Of course its loud so not that comfortable for daily use.
Went yesterday out for first time on track with this tyre. Have mixed feelings

Positives
+ Tire was ready to be pushed from the pits.
+ did not fall off as soon as MSP4S, was able to do 2-3 hot laps

Negatives
- it is quite heavy tire, and car felt little slow on track. it was also hot day so not best for Turbo car
- steering feel when sliding was somewhat vague - I didn't get as precise feeling on the car as I get with PS4S. So overall did not feel that secure to push near limit.

It could be that I ran it with too high pressures( targetted 2.0-2.2 hot) and didn't get enough heat in the tyre. So need to test again with one click lower tire pressures (maybe 1.8-2.0 hot).
Was 2s slower than PB with PS4S. It was first outing so likely also some rust between steering wheel and seat but didn't feel as fast tyre on one single lap as PS4S. If you don't consider times, it was fun to drive fast around track, especially faster corners were fun.

Best in that session was spot on theoretical best (best sectors from the day) so driving should not be that much off. of course did not take too much risk either.
Went only off in one corner where "it is safe" to go bit over limit.
750D1115-41CE-4F21-AACB-B626704C8AC0.webp


Here's some pics after 4 stints.

Right front
F5211A92-409E-41E6-83E8-6495846BF82B_1_105_c.jpeg


RR
548F8650-0476-4ADB-ACEB-B9C545BB503C_1_105_c.jpeg


LR
F3A7C362-1120-4DDC-AFBA-76F57D997F1D_1_105_c.jpeg


LF
78DB20A0-2E7E-4A35-90F7-2DADE6C7A4CB_1_105_c.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Yaris San said:
honestly would you buy again ??
Click to expand...
Depends what you do.
I need to revisit with less pressure on track. Its okeyish tire for track but maybe not for absolute speed.
On road it feels its working "better", but not pushing it to its limit there.

So maybe, maybe not, depending what the priorities are.

For track next option could be using narrower tire with more grip, such as AR1 on stock wheels etc.
Likely enough grip for stock suspension. Need to check what would be the best combo..
 
I think thats what i will try. 225's Brigdestone Potenza Race. Have seen quite a few videos now where they praised these tires. In trackdayforum some guys tested them and gave them a nice rating too. They seem to have grip instantly even if they are cold and a pretty experienced Nordschleife driver rated them at the same dry grip level as the Trofeo R and Yokohama A052. A positive thing also is, that Bridgestone recommend to not release pressures when hot. So you can just drive your stint without the need for a break just because of tire pressures.
 
We had a slalom event a few weeks ago. My brother on NS2R's and my car on PS4S. Similiar Setup Power / Suspension wise. I was about 1 second faster with my car on a 52 second lap. I also drove his car there.

If the PS4S is a 8.5-9/10 then I would put the Ns2R at around 7.5/10. It doesn't give up as quickly as the PS4S when pushing. I can sign that with the feedback. The Ps4S is definitely better
A decent fast road/occasional track tire for the price that still works when wet. When it's wet, you can go a lot more sideways....you wont get them to work unless you're on track.

The rolling noise is quite a bit louder, especially compared to the PS4S. After the PS4S I will possibly go for Sport Contact 7 as it has had great ratings so far.
 
Max said:
We had a slalom event a few weeks ago. My brother on NS2R's and my car on PS4S. Similiar Setup Power / Suspension wise. I was about 1 second faster with my car on a 52 second lap. I also drove his car there.

If the PS4S is a 8.5-9/10 then I would put the Ns2R at around 7.5/10. It doesn't give up as quickly as the PS4S when pushing. I can sign that with the feedback. The Ps4S is definitely better
A decent fast road/occasional track tire for the price that still works when wet. When it's wet, you can go a lot more sideways....you wont get them to work unless you're on track.

The rolling noise is quite a bit louder, especially compared to the PS4S. After the PS4S I will possibly go for Sport Contact 7 as it has had great ratings so far.
Click to expand...
Same analysis here. The track I did yesterday is 90s track so would be closer to 2s slower as you indicated.
Nankang maybe ok tire to practice track driving as it lasts quite well but not the fastest.
 
try Goodyear F1 super sport, best all rounder or even Continental Contact 7 both better than ns2r
think I mentioned elsewhere the ns2r starts off ok but after 500 hard miles just becomes a different tyre
 
Yep not much experience on semi slicks - toyo R888 was dead straight forward to feel the limit, no so with nankang. But lets see if it gets more rubbed down
 
Michael Knight said:
Specific tire thread for Nankang NS-2R.
Did my first spirited drive yesterday with the tire and it performed well to my liking. Wasn't able to break lateral traction as on public roads but felt the grip is good even with cold tires.
Running the 255/40/17 size on ProTrack One's. (9J, ET45). Ran with 2.2bar pressure all around.

Tire is 50% Road / 50 % track spec from the manufacturer. Not the fastest on the track but likely sufficient for stock suspension.

General feel
Steering feel is ok - not maybe as good as with Michelin PS4S but you get quite connected feel to the road as tire is stiffer. Feels like Suspension would be little firmer.

Cornering Balance
Car felt well planted on corners. As said was not able to break traction in corners but would say car felt little understeery. Not maybe a bad thing, but it is to be evaluated better on track with warmed up tires.

Comfort
Definitely louder than PS4S. The sound is tolerable but maybe annoying on longer drives.

Wet performance
to be tested


Manufacturer info

Pressure & Camber recommendations
Optimum camber settings between -1.0 to -3.0 degrees

HOT Pressure settings
1,000-1,400kg 27.5 - 37psi / 1.9 - 2.55bar

COLD Pressure settings
As above but use the highest stated figures by weight for your cold pressures. For example <1400kg use 37 psi and work your way down after warm up laps.

Road Pressure settings
Use the car manufacturers guidelines.



View attachment 15445
View attachment 15446
Click to expand...
Looking at the pictures... Porkkalantie is one of my favorite driving roads in Europe!
 
Had NS2R on my GT86 for street and track driving, both 120/180TW. While an ok tyre it doesn’t have as much grip as a similarly priced Federal 595RS RR. NS2-R is better in rain, quieter, with a couple mm more thread, doesn’t wear as fast-a better endurance tyre, deals with heat better than a PS4. There wasn’t much difference between 120/180TW, maybe a bit more grip on the soft compound but don’t have any data to back that up. On a ~1:47 lap Federal was 1.8s faster.
 
Elke said:
Looking at the pictures... Porkkalantie is one of my favorite driving roads in Europe!
Click to expand...
It is fun but lots of deer around! Theres couple of other cool spots towards Perniö aswell
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top