Jeremiah speaking in metric for the tire tread experiment really got my engine going! So refreshing to see the donut crew trying to entertain AND educate us all!
I kinda miss Nolan and James sitting down at the end of the episode and doing a breakdown on what they'd rather buy otherwise this season is Hi-Low is great.
I mean all things considered the off brand tires did ok, if you had a budget and you needed some basic tires to practice with on some HPDE days those would be fine. And then when you get comfortable then you start spending the big bucks on the good stuff
@@tbm275 yeah - unless you're a multimillionaire and you're working on a project car in between parties, escorts and avoiding paparazzi, there's no point in overspending before you know WHY you're spending. Especially true for the parts that are more on the racing end of the spectrum - stuff like big turbos, aggressive clutches, no-foot-effort big brake kits, chassis stiffening, extreme weight reduction super stiff suspension and no-ground-clearance aero *will* make the car faster on the track, but it'll be absolutely horrible to drive on the street, if it's even close to street legal by the time you're done. A $600 tire set is more than most people would want to spend on tires, anyway, and even low-end tire sets are fine while they're fresh. Project cars are near-infinite money pits anyway for us mortals, so only go ham when you really know you NEED the extra bit of performance or features you'd get by spending more than four times the price of the cheapest viable option. Yes, in the end you'll pay for some parts twice. This is how we learn.
I really like how they’ve integrated Jerry into Hi-Low now. It breaks it up a bit and keeps the video more interesting for a longer duration imo. And I think the stuff he talks about is super interesting
Throughout all the driving videos Nolan is a really good driver for not being a pro. He consistently turns the fastest times other than the pro driver and he usually isn’t too far off. Props to you Nolan.
There's also benefits to having that smaller contact patch, purposely increasing pressure over one area has an advantage on deformable surfaces, snow and gravel, WRC winter tires are comically thin
Unfortunately he was wrong! See the video *Why Big Brakes Won't Stop You Faster but Wider Tires Will - Friction and Surface Area Explained* on the *driving 4 answers* channel.
@Dan Phillips Jeremiah was demonstrating breakaway force under acceleration, not dynamic compression during deceleration. D4A dives into why wider tires improve braking because tires are made of a compressible material that squeezes into the tiny imperfections in surfaces. D4A is awesome, though, and I'm not trying to shut you down 🤘
Loving the new batch of hi vs. low, but feel like there’s room for more buyer advice, akin to money pit. Before and during the tests you could discuss things like “why we chose these two tires”, “this is what to look for in a track tire”, “here’s what you might sacrifice in a cheaper option, or gain in a more expensive option.” Great to see fun tests between two cars, but I also love watching Donut for genuine advice.
That's why I loved when Noland and James used to sit down at the end and talk about the results. It's not as far into it as something like Money Pit but it's way more than nothing
Dude... The cinematography throughout these episodes - this one in particular - has been absolutely incredible. The sunset shots, the drone transitions and overheads, and of course the most creative sponsor segment of all time. Love it.
The transition at 5:50 from going into the intro to the cornering test, to the test starting and the ad read has to be the smoothest transitions I have ever seen. I know they had to be proud of how well that went. It was seamless.
That was genuinely the best sponsor segment I have ever seen ever. I watched the whole thing, and it didn’t feel like an interruption. Sometimes RUclipsrs try to make a whole story with mediocre jokes that takes you out of the video to sell you something but this was just funny, fit right in, and felt honest. Good stuff
What I liked most about this series is that it felt like it was just some friends working on their cars. They would show the whole install start to finish and do the tests afterwards. Don't change what made HiLow so great!
Here me out, everyone on yt has a track build, wouldn't hi-lo be better if they did a pimp my ride style build on somthing like lifted trucks, think off all the endless opportunities they would have for mods
@@jackvv757 I think that Hi-Lo only works when the changes they do can be measured objectively. Pimp My Ride style wouldn't really work if the winner comes down to matter of taste.
The quality of your production is absolutely top shelf. The scrim, the easing on your scale animations, overlays, sound design, the really fun pieces to camera, the energy... love it. My favourite yt channel, hands down.
Yup, in a race, the extra thousand dollars for a second per lap is worth it. However, for the cost of the Yokos and one track weekend, you could buy a set of pizzas and get two or three track weekends. Until your lap times vary by less than 0.1 second per lap, save some money on tires and invest in the spacer that fits between the seat and the steering wheel.
However, I can run Michelin Pilot Sport 4s year round. Rain, dry, in between they are fantastic on the road too. They aren’t an R compound but they smoke both of these tires on track too. Expensive but totally worth
It's also mostly wrong. The samples weren't tested at operating temp (well above ambient temperature for a track tire) and the reason for a wider tire isn't less wear, it's the increase in adhesive forces (like a piece of tape) to grip the ground. You don't really get those adhesive forces below operating temp, but a sticky track tire at the right temp will literally pick up objects. Mike on Bikes did a very applicable video and is one of the few to bring up adhesive forces when talking tires. Simple friction simply does not apply to tire grip and the distribution of load is actually one of the smaller reasons for wider tires.
Its really quite a simple equation, static friction (for the sake of this example the tire operates under static friction conditions when not losing grip - that being said, kinetic friction is the same equation however it is instead an inequality) is equal to the coefficient of friction of the tire times the normal force. Normal force is mass times gravity, or the weight of the car on the tire. The area of the contact patch does NOT directly increase the friction force, as surface area is not a direct component of proportionality in the friction equation.
Guys, I highly recommend you install race-ready oilpans with anti-sloshing tech like windage trays, EJ motors are notorious for oil starving in high G turns, as the oil will pool in one side of the pan/ motor and starve the pickup. Also Air-oil seperators or catch cans will do you wonders for reliability, as there's a lot of crank crase pressure in Subaru's and the oil lowers the octane of the fuel and can causing knocking.
they already discussed this after the hi car engine blew and they did a diagnostic on it. I'm sure it's in their plans or they already did it and it's not a video worthy since it's not actually changing anything aside from reliability.
For someone that just run track days, I think the $600 tire is a perfectly viable option. Obviously though if you're actually looking for a competitive edge in a time attack series, you're going to want to pay the extra.
Especially if you're still a beginner at track racing. Before you spend money on expensive stuff that will automatically make you faster it will be better to actually learn how go fast with cheap stuff and just your skill, learn the limits of the tires, the brakes, the suspension, the chassis
I'm gonna be devil's advocate, it's starting to be closer to mid 2000's MTV and I don't enjoy it. I genuinely love the older stuff which was less processed.
I absolutely love Zestino's Gredge series tyres, never had any problems and they easily outperform to Bridgestone potenza's, switched over 3 years ago and used nothing else since - fantastic tyres, especially for the money
I think a discussion should've been had at the end to weigh everything up vs the cost of the tires. At almost 3 times the price, did the more expensive tyres offer almost 3 times the performance of the cheaper set? Not so sure about that. I know everything is diminishing returns at some point, but still. Two sets of the cheaper tyres for less than the cost of one expensive set is something to consider too.
My Grand Marquis isn't 20x or more slower than a track-prepped WRX, but the V8 still sounds cool and it costs way less. 😂 Street use values might be different than competition values. :)
The thing about about cheap tires is even if they are able to achieve the same peak lap times, they won’t do it as well, they generally don’t communicate as well with the driver, won’t be as responsive, all of which influence the ability to be driven consistently. Another big factor is they don’t handle heat as well, if they did multiple laps in one run, those tires would have probably been a couple seconds off by the third lap, along with extreme wear to the tire as its less advanced compound starts to break down At the end of the day it really does depend on your usage case, if you’re planning on doing a lot of track days, auto cross, whatever, you’ll probably be better off with the expensive tires, just because of how much longer they’ll last, but if you’re really only in need of a good tire for the occasional canyon run, the cheap boys would probably serve you just fine
just a drive on rain would give all the credit needed for the 3 time more expensive tyre, and the cheap one certainly heat up so quickly that after one lap it overheat
@@vidademikey9790 wasn't talking about the quality of camera or video itself, was talking about their techniques, drone shots, cuts/transitions....... Derrr
I agree this was the best ad placement yet, I watched it all. I think when you building a track car there are few things you can skimp on and others that really need quality. Tires are one of the things that really make a big difference. With that being said there is always the middle of the road options that offer value and quality and offer similar results beyond expensive and cheap.
This formula is amazing by the way, having the next segment ready to go as well as a kick ass ad read. Over the years the content has become incredibly high quality and the hard work shows guys keep it up this is my favorite automotive channel on RUclips ❤
6:32 I think it needs to be stated here that the average human reaction time with a stopwatch is about 0.2 seconds and can vary by a fair bit. At 0.08 seconds difference, the times are actually in that window where the difference could be accounted for purely in that variation in reaction time. The 11.61 time is likely outside that range, if barely, but it feels kind of interesting that for this test the result you get for $1000 more is only slightly outside the range of human error.
Yeah those tires are the exact same if not better especially when you can literally go through nearly 3 sets of those in the same price as 1 set so if you just rwd drift or burnouts that’s an insane amount of almost 6 pairs or rear wheels tires wow
I wasn't expecting the little experiment on the table, and it was great! I like these little pieces of science in video like this. Entertainment + some interesting science (or facts) makes the difference between those who just "review" things without any context or explanation. I love these donuts
But the tire pieces are dragged differently. The smaller piece had the treads sideways and the larger piece had the treads going the same direction. not the best demonstration imo
The experiment on the table was a little misleading though. On a smooth surface (or mostly smooth, like here) static friction or stiction is your main factor, but on rough asphalt like a race track, the compound deforms into the little voids between the harder rocks, creating a mechanical adhesion, which has much more grip. Doing the experiment in a way that represents that difference would have involved more weight to increase the deformation of the rubber and a significantly bigger force meter. I dunno if they didn't want to bust out for the more expensive equipment, or just didn't know the full picture, but this experiment is definitely missing something. The different wear characteristics and resulting compound changes is totally valid though. That's one of the benefits of wider tires for sure. If you wanna learn more about wider tires being more grippy, HP Academy has a pretty in-depth little interview with a.... michelin? pirelli? engineer that covers the topic of wider tires and compound choice for race days pretty well.
Right, forgot to clarify the takeaway you'd end up with from the more complete experiment: given a rougher surface (representing the asphalt in a race track) and more weight to cause the deformation needed to take advantage (representing the forces a car would put into the tire) a wider contact patch does in fact increase grip because it's not just friction you're dealing with.
@@smileyguyz would be cool if these test it elsewhere to account for temperature changes and water since we all dont live in dry areas. Would make good content as well
@@marioelburro1492 yeah for real, I’ve some Federal 595 RS-PRO cause they’re cheaper (and I think are good tires). I live in Italy near the Alps so temperature and wether change very frequently. My tires change a lot due to the temperature. If not worm enough you lose a bit of grip in normal conditions, in wet conditions with low temperature you better stay at home or use another car (absolutely zero grip). I’d love to see a video like you suggested in order to understand if there’s something better without having to buy and try all of them.
The laughter after James said “this is pretty easy” 😂 thank you all so much (hosts, editors, everyone!) for putting in so much work to make amazing content! You all are the best ❤
I think Hi/Lo is one of the best series Donut Media has right now, very entertaining. And James has found the best way to segue to sponsor without allowing viewers to skip over ;)
Having you both all down at the end of the video to have a good and thorough discussion about cost and performance is missed. Hope y'all get back to doing that. I feel like having a smaller budget and just starting out, the $600 tire choice would be best and work your way up to a more expensive tire afterwards.
@@NickVetter get that but kinda crazy that I can get 2 sets of those tires for a track weekend & be just as happy as the guy spending $400 more on one set. idk I just wish they did talk about these things
Both cars being slower might actually be true for some cars with better tires. Stickier tires have more rolling resistance which will add more friction to driving. Also, if your car is not spinning the wheels at launch sticker tires will not make you faster because that would be the only advantage. These are all wheel drive cars so it makes sense how the tires didnt help but hurt the acceleration!
4:50 - The same experiment can be done with a pencil, push the eraser end into your palm then try the pointed end into your palm. Same thing. Or substitute a pin for the pencil.
That lateral traction test _slash_ Ebay Motors crossover was brilliant. Thanks Ebay for helping Donut Media to invest millions of dollars in to R&D creating such a technically advanced and innovative test, circles are no joke. 😄
great video. i’m not sure if it would have a huge impact, but wouldn’t the weight + diameter of the aftermarket wheels also have an impact on the final times of the first test? i feel like the switch from a 15” or 16” stock wheel to a 17” or 18” aftermarket wheel, even with the new tires, could add a little more rotational mass and take a bit more effort to get up to speed. either way, love the series and appreciate greatly all the effort you guys put in!
Great video and concept, keep it up. One thing though from someone that has bought ultra cheep AND really expensive performance tires is that (as demonstrated) the difference isn't in the day to day performance, or at least that's not a huge difference. It comes when your pushing the tires lap after lap, at their limit, and also over longer periods of time. Cheaper performance tires literally decintigrate and fall apart when they get pushed hard. They become un-usable. Also the tread life tends to be much lower and they wear uneven. These same tires may look the same now, but give them a few track days and you'll see a HUGE difference, same with just hard street driving over a year.
I've used both expensive and cheap tires. I do delivery driving and have even done some autocross events and drag racing. The main difference seems to be longevity. A new set of cheap tires will perform well in the rain and keep your car stable, but a similar tire from a well known company will simply last longer. Also compound makes a HUGE difference. I had a set of Nitto tires that I burned through pretty quickly, but they were soft compound designed for better grip on dry pavement. If you don't drive much and don't drive aggressively, then you'll probably get a good couple years out of a cheap set of tires. If you put a lot of miles on your car, have a high performance vehicle, or you're concerned about shaving a couple seconds off your lap times, then don't pinch pennies and get the good stuff. Personally, I drive in rain and snow a lot, so I've developed a love for the Michelin cross climate in the winter. In the summer when the pavement is hot, I recommend a high mileage tire with hard compound and deep grooves to improve stability in the rain.
I would say almost inverse, economy tires are made for cheap people, so they are often rated for more miles. High performance grippy tires are simply designed to only last about 20k miles (I'm shocked I get that much even, though my dorito engine only does about 180 HP and LSD so each wheel is seeing less than any sportbike wheel does, but a lot of those are just highway miles). So pick the tire that supports that driving style, like winter tires if you live where its always cold instead of "all seasons", because those are optimal for no season.
@@jakegarrett8109 yep, he literally gives a great example of his sticky nittos wearing out fast. Bottom line, more grip means more transfer of rubber off the tires
@@jakegarrett8109 A good tyre will often last as long or longer, but the bug difference is at 50% wear the good tyre is near as good as new, and the cheaper tyre handles like junk
@@mycosys Your definition of "good" is imprecise. I said high performance for a reason, to me that is a tire that keeps me on the road no matter what, so replacing often is fine, its the price you pay for performance. One of my bicycle tires for example is rated for about 200 miles of use, on a bicycle... But that thing grips so much you might as well climb the walls on a skyscraper, now that's a GOOD tire. I like to run my car about 9,000+ rpm on the curves, and going too slow (like I made a left turn through the intersection out of work last business day too slow at 45 mph, and you need to hit it at least 55 mph to drift it safely, or slow to about 40 mph to not slip tires, so I could have easily dinged my car rims into the curb if I managed to make several more mistakes because I near skidded to a complete stop sideways in the intersection...), cheap tires to me would cost me my rims, my car, my butt (probably not at that very low speed, but if I'm actually going fast around curves losing grip means I could easily fly off the bend into a tree at triple digits!). Therefore I look at performance tires more than economy or just average performance, I'm not driving a Prius, haha!
Michelin = win. I got rid of those absolutely DISGRACEFUL pos stock bridgestones on my 370z at 5000 miles. They were seriously worse than pos prius tires. Went with the pilot SS, and later the ps4s's. Completely transformed the car, just added a front swaybar to fix some of the turn in feel = win. The new Z has the very same issue - but - it's WORSE because now it's running more power/more tq, same pos DISGRACEFUL bridgestones - so this is a major contributing factor to why almost all of the reviews talk about how it doesn't handle well - and to be fair - it doesn't help that Nissan chose to put a very grandmother like land yacht suspension on it - So sadly - I think with the new Z, buyers will be forced to actually buy into the rabbit hole of coilovers (which comes with all the second guessing/constant "maybe I should change ___ setting") nightmare. "...just my opinion maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan"
A good final comparison would have been to run two sessions of 20 laps each and look at the time degradation as the tires have more heat cycles and also then measure the tread depth. Longevity of the tire is also a significant factor when considering how much to spend on a tire. And were there any problems with the low tire as far as delamination or bubbling from the heat Cycles
I don't think either one of those EJ25's would last 20 laps.... he was already complaining about heat issues with one of the vehicles.... I think they'll inevitably end up in the need for a fully built EJ25 if they continue the series for the longterm - and really - the first thing both of these need is a simple cobb dyno tune to alleviate the inherent stock ecu lean fuel curve issues that plagued those years...
Usually the life of a tire is less about how expensive and more about how aggressive the compound is. Almost universally for tires of same production year (not 2002 compounds against 2022 compounds, rubber aging aside) a softer, grippier tire will also age more quickly and fall off long before the tread is worn down. This is why tire "mods" are usually a bad idea for a street car, especially one not being regularly used in competition. There's also the fact that track tires usually prefer more heat than they'll get from street driving, so they can actually be more slippery in everyday driving conditions, especially in colder climates. They left out a lot of important info about tires, they really need to get an actual track/race driver on staff as an adviser, way too much bro science in these.
Regarding wider tyres, they also account for better tyre cooling due to the distributed weight on bigger surface. Thus you can push them harder before they overheat if you can even make them overheat without doing donuts/burnouts and stuff. Overheating tyre loses grip very easily and it gets shredded on uneven surfaces very fast. Love the video!
I think two things you should have tested that are pretty important as well: 1) wet skid pad, to test wet traction (these are summer performance tires so far as I know), and 2) longevity, a combination of traction wear and aging to dry rot.
Great video however one of the key factors that I think they should recap on in a future episode is how each tire wears over time because that’s another huge factor in performance tire which justifies an expense difference
Most likely the more expensive tire will wear more quickly. It's not just about tread depth, either. More track-focused compounds are more sensitive to heat cycling, which means while they grip more initially, they also drop off much more quickly. After a few heat and cool cycles, a set of track tires could have less grip than a set of crappy Chinese off-brand all seasons. IMO pricey tires should only be used for competition or when your car makes so much power it's undrivable without them. Furthermore, lower grip tires are better for learning as people that throw on glue tires to start get overconfident and when they finally get brave enough to overdrive them, they are at dangerous speeds and they haven't trained recovery methods and are more likely to get in a serious crash. The real best thing is to put crappy tires and learn to balance your car at the limit at speeds that won't get you killed, then when you've mastered it you put on the stickies and go be a hero.
@@nunyabusiness896 the expensive Tyre looks like the AD09 whereas the cheap one is meant to be a budget 200TW competitor AFAIK. The AD09 is technically not on the same level. It's like a sporty road Tyre rather than a dedicated track day Tyre (that's what the AO52 is for) and should have better overall performance in dry and wet as well as better wear. It may also not need as much heat to work properly
@@christopherjohnston6343 Not sure where you were checking specs, but according to TireRack the Advan Neova AD09 is a 200 treadwear tire as well, putting them in the same class and is even sold under the "Extreme Performance Summer Tire" category. I can't tell for sure, but I think the Advans were also a wider tire size as well, which makes the comparison somewhat unfair. I also don't agree that the Zestinos don't have a tread pattern for wet conditions, it absolutely looks like a wet/dry pattern, they're not DOT slicks like the AO52. We also aren't really shown if they put effort into getting the tires into the proper heat profile as if they were just doing singular laps on cold tires then that's not in the proper temperature range. Medium-soft track day tires (soft being reserved for full slicks) can easily take two laps to get into full heat, depending on the track temp and frequency of corners. This grinds my gears a bit as I hate it when they do these "cheap vs expensive" shootouts and unfairly stack the deck in favor of the expensive product by doing things like making them a larger size or deliberately (or negligently) not paying attention to ideal tire temps. Not saying the Zestinos would win regardless, as after all it was damn close anyway to the point I'd say the Zestinos are a better buy knowing you'll be trashing these in 5-10k miles tops on the street.
@@nunyabusiness896 either way they aren't really like for like. I was going off vibes I got from AD09 marketing material when I wrote my comment. Its just a successor to the Ad08r - so its not meant to be a super extreme tyre. The Zestino actually did fairly well considering the price difference.
@@christopherjohnston6343 Facts don't care about your vibes, you're wrong and you should stop misinforming people. Never listen to any tire marketing department, they spew all kinds of nonsense, you have to go on pure data and testing.
Most high-performance tires in that price range have a very short life. I mean, if you compare it to say, an all-season tire. But, it also depends on your driving style.
This series is literal gold. It is so much better than almost any actual TV show about cars ive ever seen besides top gear honestly. I am so glad they have blown up in popularity and get the millions of views these videos deserve. Some of the best car content available right now easily.
Sticky tires take more energy to overcome inertia. the old saying there is no free lunch applies here. In order for those super stickys to work you have to be able to take advantage of that extra grip. = way way more hirspewers..
I just mounted a set of AD09's to my M2 Competition, they're excellent tires. Theyve even been coping with the Northern CA rain pretty damn well, far better than the old AD08R, and their dry grip is better than the stock Cup 2's by a pretty good margin. They're way more consistent than Cup 2's, without ever getting that "greasy" feeling that Michelin's get at-the-limit. I'd even use them over the A048 and A052 at the track, especially for a more consistent, endurance focused tire. They can't quite beat the A052's in terms of 1 or 2 really hot laps, but they're close. The 52's are essentially time-attack tires, anyways, and the 48's are more like a full-slick. The AD09 comes shockingly close to both, in terms of the *best* recorded lap, but over a longer session, the AD09 is far more consistent than either, which is what I think makes it a great option as a high performance street tire, that will easily handle the track and do surprisingly well in the wet (partially due to the new tread design, partially due to the silica in the compound, and other small improvements, I'm sure). They really crush the Cup2 in this category of tire, if I haven't gushed enough about them. Much more reasonable than Cup 2's, as well.
I miss when you talked afterwards and said which one you would actually buy if you had to pick, otherwise loving this series, the production quality is bonkers 🤯
At 4:41 the tire contact patch demo was flawed in execution because the wider tire slab had a totally impartial contact with the grip strip. You can see it both by the clear air gap in the middle as well as how the subtle rubber markings on the grip strip only show rubber residue only on the sides, and it isn't much more than the thinner rubber strip mark.
Tires is something I invest in when it comes to my car. It's always Continental for both winter and summer tires and it's always the proper Nordic winter tires (rather than the "winter tires" you get in the US which are sold as all weather tires over here). It's your contact with the road, without it, you're going off road no matter if you want to or not. "High performance tires" comes in two variants, the ones that provide less resistance on the road so the performance at higher speeds is better (also called econ tires) and the actual track tires. They are not the same.
I missed the sit down convo at the end where they discuss if the high is worth the highness. Tires are finicky item since vehicle use plays a huge role of what is a "good" tire. (Wet traction, thread life, puncture warranty, temp rating, etc...) For a semi daily, these things could matter. All that said, very impressed with the low tire. 👏
Guys just to add to the tests. Remove the ABS some ABS modules on the Subaru cars are making the braking longer by trying to not lock up, however they lock up consistently earlier than they should. I have a Subaru and I changed the ABS it made a huge difference. Great videos and content guys, have fun, stay safe and rock on!!!!
The tire demonstrate is way more complicated than that. This has been studied to the extreme and very little of what you said is correct. I'm not a tire engineer but am a tire sponsored race car driver. The main factor that allows a wider tire to have more grip is that the wider the tire gets the more flex and give it has throughout the tread pattern there for allowing more rubber to touch consistently. If a smaller tire has same amount of force than the wider then it should be equal but it's not because the rate of speed and rotation. Wider tire will equal more traction always in a circle at speed. Has nothing to do with failure of the compound. There is an element there that comes in but not in your demonstrate. Another major factor is wheel width vs tire width and how a stretch tire works better than a pinched tire because it also allows the tire to be more consistent. Very much to a point. A 315 30 18 Falken rt660 provides more lateral grip on a 12" rim than a 10.5 and has almost nothing to do with what your demonstrate showed. When you start explaining something you usually surprise me with knowledge cause so many things are dumbed way down to meet the narrative created by the internet in youtube video but as soon as you started this one I knew you had it wrong. Or maybe the reason you have surprised me in the past is because it's not always something that I spend most days thinking about or testing. Countless hours testing tires and width with lots of external help. Also a wider tire handles more heat. So sometime a smaller tire will provide more grip on say an autox course than a wider tire becomes optimal heat range is easier to reach quickly. Oh and .08 on a 12 second lap at a small victory. Also the the stock style tires handle less heat so a one run will be better for them where as the race style tire may need 120 to 140 degrees to be closer to peak grip
I read a while ago, possibly in consumer reports, that while new performance of cheap vs. expensive tires is roughly the same, but the real difference is performance through the life of the tire. Michelin specifically maintains similar performance throughout the entire life of the tire while cheap tires fall off a cliff. It would be interesting to redo this test at the end of the series to see how the tires do mid-life.
Your right but ditch Consumer Reports, they will absolutely fake their shit. Look at the old Suzuki Samurai rollover fakery crap. Even the actual test drivers for that shit show let out that CR wanted them to roll those vehicles, or they would find someone who WOULD. All just to protect Jeep. A company that manufactured vehicles that ALSO rolled over doing the same damn things at the time.
Probably the cars where underpowered for the amount of grip therefore actually accelerating slower. More grip is also more resistance. So in that sense more grip makes the car accelerate slower, if there was already not a lot of traction loss from the start. The stock tires were probably best for the hp of the stock car.
I noticed you guys also changed wheels when swapping tires. I think it would be interesting to see an episode on how unsprung weight can effect lap time or performance. Since the average viewer dosent have the resources to test/compare OEM wheels to something like Enkei RPF1's. The weight of the wheel choices you made while changing tires may have been a factor in this test.
There's also the problem of not even knowing if this was a true apples to apples comparison. We don't know exactly what tires they used, so if the Yokohamas had a lower treadwear rating, of course they'd be faster. You have to adjust alignment to get the most out of tires as well. A052's for example need stupid amounts of front camber to work properly versus something like an RS4. All-season vs summer, tire profile, longevity, heat tolerance, etc. There's so many variables in tires other than just cost that this wasn't really a great showing of "good vs bad" choices. The track surface could've been very different throughout the day as well. Not to mention, they changed wheels. Did the unsprung weight change? Did the offset/scrub radius change? Did the overall diameter change? .....if they're trying to build time attack, which is about obsessing over small improvements, they should at least cover some of the basics of where those improvements come from. It might seem like I'm nitpicking too much but these are all real things that time attack/time trails deal with all the time.
@@iamstd2 those are valid points. All those things can have huge impacts (good or bad) especially on lap times. Now I want to know more about the choices they made. At the very least they should have kept the same wheels that they had on the original test. To eliminate those variables. I'd like to see an in depth episode on it.
Worth considering, the rim size and tire size increased. With such low power, its entirely possible that the offset of the weight and inertia alone were enough to really hurt the 0-60 times. larger diameters of the rims create an additional need for more torque to set them into motion. Same reason big wheels often can lead to brake systems suffering, inertia and diameter are huge factors. The dinky little tires and tiny rims were surely easier to spin, albeit less grippy. Cornering is a guaranteed increase obviously though.
Great video. What you showed and I like the most is that a young guy with lesser means can take $600 tires and still get out there and race someone with more $$$ tires and be a real race. Even if the cheaper tires are all you can afford, get out there and do it. The practice will make you that much better when you can afford the big $$$ sticky’s. Great video.
I bet!! with a slower car where acceleration grip isn't a big issue this can be very noticeable. My cars always feel faster in a strait line when I put small wheels (with snow tires) on for winter.
@@j-ant it will still make for a positive impact once the horsepower improves. When you get to stuff like the downpipe and injectors, you can get a car that still does daily driving but with 400hp or so
We loved this episode. Some customers sat down to watch it with us here at the vape shop. Most of us are car people too so it was fun. Thanks for the video!
That cornering test while james did the ad is one of the most creative ad reads ive ever seen on RUclips.
Agree. Was extremely well done.
I usually skip them, but this one I actually watched it all 😂
@@pauloalexandre8164 same here.
Donut ads are the best on RUclips
They lined up the angle pretty damn good too!
Still very impressed with Nolans driving ability's dudes a sleeper...
Facts
He's the only one who's been tracking beyond a video
@@Patrick.Howie. 🤡
@@Patrick.Howie. the average salary of a clown per year is 50,000$. and you do it for free?
@@Patrick.Howie. I bet most of them are better than you considering this is their job
Jeremiah speaking in metric for the tire tread experiment really got my engine going! So refreshing to see the donut crew trying to entertain AND educate us all!
I kinda miss Nolan and James sitting down at the end of the episode and doing a breakdown on what they'd rather buy otherwise this season is Hi-Low is great.
Came to the comments literally to post this.
I mean all things considered the off brand tires did ok, if you had a budget and you needed some basic tires to practice with on some HPDE days those would be fine.
And then when you get comfortable then you start spending the big bucks on the good stuff
Agreed😊
@@tbm275 yeah - unless you're a multimillionaire and you're working on a project car in between parties, escorts and avoiding paparazzi, there's no point in overspending before you know WHY you're spending. Especially true for the parts that are more on the racing end of the spectrum - stuff like big turbos, aggressive clutches, no-foot-effort big brake kits, chassis stiffening, extreme weight reduction super stiff suspension and no-ground-clearance aero *will* make the car faster on the track, but it'll be absolutely horrible to drive on the street, if it's even close to street legal by the time you're done.
A $600 tire set is more than most people would want to spend on tires, anyway, and even low-end tire sets are fine while they're fresh. Project cars are near-infinite money pits anyway for us mortals, so only go ham when you really know you NEED the extra bit of performance or features you'd get by spending more than four times the price of the cheapest viable option.
Yes, in the end you'll pay for some parts twice. This is how we learn.
I think donut is starting to be very "corporate-y"
I really like how they’ve integrated Jerry into Hi-Low now. It breaks it up a bit and keeps the video more interesting for a longer duration imo. And I think the stuff he talks about is super interesting
Quite true, but I miss my boy Aaron
@@air-headedaviator1805 absolutely, love that guy
@@air-headedaviator1805 I feel Nolan was left alone in the Low team. Aaron left a big space.
@@air-headedaviator1805 what happened to aaron
also honestly Jerry is probably the most charismatic donut member
Throughout all the driving videos Nolan is a really good driver for not being a pro. He consistently turns the fastest times other than the pro driver and he usually isn’t too far off. Props to you Nolan.
And consistent
Jeremiah's explanation of tire width and it's relation to grip and wear was awesome!
There's also benefits to having that smaller contact patch, purposely increasing pressure over one area has an advantage on deformable surfaces, snow and gravel, WRC winter tires are comically thin
@@ericmullen14 reduced aquaplaning also
@@ericmullen14 exactly just sledding through lol
Unfortunately he was wrong! See the video *Why Big Brakes Won't Stop You Faster but Wider Tires Will - Friction and Surface Area Explained* on the *driving 4 answers* channel.
@Dan Phillips Jeremiah was demonstrating breakaway force under acceleration, not dynamic compression during deceleration. D4A dives into why wider tires improve braking because tires are made of a compressible material that squeezes into the tiny imperfections in surfaces. D4A is awesome, though, and I'm not trying to shut you down 🤘
Loving the new batch of hi vs. low, but feel like there’s room for more buyer advice, akin to money pit. Before and during the tests you could discuss things like “why we chose these two tires”, “this is what to look for in a track tire”, “here’s what you might sacrifice in a cheaper option, or gain in a more expensive option.” Great to see fun tests between two cars, but I also love watching Donut for genuine advice.
That's why I loved when Noland and James used to sit down at the end and talk about the results. It's not as far into it as something like Money Pit but it's way more than nothing
I'm pretty sure they skipped past it because they've already touched on it on other series, including the original Hi-Low season
TRUE
They arent really professionals in the mechanic/racing scene so they dont give their advice because they dont really know themselves
5:02 so according to that;
When buying shoes I should buy a size or two bigger and they'll last me years.
Ok got it, thank! 🙃
Dude... The cinematography throughout these episodes - this one in particular - has been absolutely incredible. The sunset shots, the drone transitions and overheads, and of course the most creative sponsor segment of all time. Love it.
Donut is kind of getting that vibe that the old Top Gear had
I realized a month or so that Donut has become Mythbusters for cars and I'm here for it
I like 🐢
was about to say the same thing. great VFX even the pacing of the episode all felt like a feature length network show.
Continuity though.... @4:25
Nolans driving has gotten so much better over the last few years its incredible
turns out the secret sauce for getting good at driving is seat time, who knew
Pretty funny that Hi Car is the one that gets all the expensive stuff but has to be repaired the most.
Mo expensive doesn’t always mean mo betta
Hi Maintenance
Sounds like my Forester XT bahahahha. 😂😂
That’s the reality when you dump money into an old car...
It’ was the same with the z too 😂
This show is so well put together. I love the educational segments.
The transition at 5:50 from going into the intro to the cornering test, to the test starting and the ad read has to be the smoothest transitions I have ever seen. I know they had to be proud of how well that went. It was seamless.
That was genuinely the best sponsor segment I have ever seen ever. I watched the whole thing, and it didn’t feel like an interruption. Sometimes RUclipsrs try to make a whole story with mediocre jokes that takes you out of the video to sell you something but this was just funny, fit right in, and felt honest. Good stuff
Ha 100%, the only channel where I watch the sponsor segments 😅
I actually hated it à lot, he was Litteraly blocking the way lmao, but i respect the effort it was very creative
100
@@N1ko0L blocked what a car going in circles?
They need to get rid of the imprezas and do a pimp my ride style hi-lo
donut is seriously perfecting this series format. this is excellent content with entertaining guys
What I liked most about this series is that it felt like it was just some friends working on their cars. They would show the whole install start to finish and do the tests afterwards. Don't change what made HiLow so great!
It's tires
Here me out, everyone on yt has a track build, wouldn't hi-lo be better if they did a pimp my ride style build on somthing like lifted trucks, think off all the endless opportunities they would have for mods
@@jackvv757 No. Absolutely not.
@@StreamwoodExplorer but we already know what's going to happen with the imprezas, it will just be roll cage, suspension, bucket seats ect...
@@jackvv757 I think that Hi-Lo only works when the changes they do can be measured objectively. Pimp My Ride style wouldn't really work if the winner comes down to matter of taste.
The quality of your production is absolutely top shelf. The scrim, the easing on your scale animations, overlays, sound design, the really fun pieces to camera, the energy... love it. My favourite yt channel, hands down.
If you guys are ever looking for another senior editor who can work from Australia, hit me up!
I agree it’s gone WAY up. I watched some of their old videos that are 2+ years old and they are way different. Super cool to see.
Yup, in a race, the extra thousand dollars for a second per lap is worth it. However, for the cost of the Yokos and one track weekend, you could buy a set of pizzas and get two or three track weekends. Until your lap times vary by less than 0.1 second per lap, save some money on tires and invest in the spacer that fits between the seat and the steering wheel.
Is thsy a joke for become a better driver?
yes
The seat to steering wheel interface is always the most important part in the car.
However, I can run Michelin Pilot Sport 4s year round. Rain, dry, in between they are fantastic on the road too. They aren’t an R compound but they smoke both of these tires on track too. Expensive but totally worth
@@cmdrdreddI love the pilot sport 4s but they are death traps in the snow. I run the 4s in summer and the snow ice x in the winter
That tire width explanation was really simple and easy to understand. I would have never thought of it that way
Would've been better without the suspicious jump cut with different amounts of weights, during the loaded test at- 4:45
It's also mostly wrong. The samples weren't tested at operating temp (well above ambient temperature for a track tire) and the reason for a wider tire isn't less wear, it's the increase in adhesive forces (like a piece of tape) to grip the ground. You don't really get those adhesive forces below operating temp, but a sticky track tire at the right temp will literally pick up objects. Mike on Bikes did a very applicable video and is one of the few to bring up adhesive forces when talking tires. Simple friction simply does not apply to tire grip and the distribution of load is actually one of the smaller reasons for wider tires.
It's also wrong, Nunya Business has the right Idea. Read Carroll Smith books
Its really quite a simple equation, static friction (for the sake of this example the tire operates under static friction conditions when not losing grip - that being said, kinetic friction is the same equation however it is instead an inequality) is equal to the coefficient of friction of the tire times the normal force. Normal force is mass times gravity, or the weight of the car on the tire. The area of the contact patch does NOT directly increase the friction force, as surface area is not a direct component of proportionality in the friction equation.
@@nunyabusiness896 Couldn't have said it better myself.
Guys, I highly recommend you install race-ready oilpans with anti-sloshing tech like windage trays, EJ motors are notorious for oil starving in high G turns, as the oil will pool in one side of the pan/ motor and starve the pickup. Also Air-oil seperators or catch cans will do you wonders for reliability, as there's a lot of crank crase pressure in Subaru's and the oil lowers the octane of the fuel and can causing knocking.
Whoa
they already discussed this after the hi car engine blew and they did a diagnostic on it. I'm sure it's in their plans or they already did it and it's not a video worthy since it's not actually changing anything aside from reliability.
Always loved the HiLow videos but I have to say, the quality has been improving so much throughout the series
For someone that just run track days, I think the $600 tire is a perfectly viable option. Obviously though if you're actually looking for a competitive edge in a time attack series, you're going to want to pay the extra.
I agree, for someone being more casual, and just having fun with it, the Totino's are a perfectly good option.
yea definitely especially since u are paying $1000 more for roughly a second faster
Especially if you're still a beginner at track racing. Before you spend money on expensive stuff that will automatically make you faster it will be better to actually learn how go fast with cheap stuff and just your skill, learn the limits of the tires, the brakes, the suspension, the chassis
Agree, outside if breaking (like panic stops), 1600$ isn't worth the expense for daily street...that said, rain traction hasn't been tested.
Wel in belgium i got a set of r888r for like 650€ i i think r888r are decent ore am i wrong its for my m140i 18 inch so its not the biggest size
"We're spending your hard earned money on them" 🤣 love it
😆
Literally every owner 9 months into their first project car: “Maybe we’re just not good mechanics”
Chrisfix me trust
Can we all agree how AWESOME it is to see Nolan being so comfortable in front of the camera now? Especially compared to his first videos!!!
I really love the way that this show is constantly evolving even if its already successful. the filmography and all is awesome.
I was pretty blown away by this one
I'm gonna be devil's advocate, it's starting to be closer to mid 2000's MTV and I don't enjoy it. I genuinely love the older stuff which was less processed.
I absolutely love Zestino's Gredge series tyres, never had any problems and they easily outperform to Bridgestone potenza's, switched over 3 years ago and used nothing else since - fantastic tyres, especially for the money
I just realized that Adam is a great driver, a neutral party in your competition, and speaks very little (on the show).
Adam is the Stig of Donut!
Shop Daddy Stig
Stignut
Some say he finds old dinosaur bones and replaces his joints with them...all we know is he's called the Shop Stig
now he needs a yellow race helmet
Don't you do Ben like that.
Best ad of all time was James running in a circle while doing the test absolutely genius
I think a discussion should've been had at the end to weigh everything up vs the cost of the tires. At almost 3 times the price, did the more expensive tyres offer almost 3 times the performance of the cheaper set? Not so sure about that. I know everything is diminishing returns at some point, but still. Two sets of the cheaper tyres for less than the cost of one expensive set is something to consider too.
My Grand Marquis isn't 20x or more slower than a track-prepped WRX, but the V8 still sounds cool and it costs way less. 😂
Street use values might be different than competition values. :)
The thing about about cheap tires is even if they are able to achieve the same peak lap times, they won’t do it as well, they generally don’t communicate as well with the driver, won’t be as responsive, all of which influence the ability to be driven consistently.
Another big factor is they don’t handle heat as well, if they did multiple laps in one run, those tires would have probably been a couple seconds off by the third lap, along with extreme wear to the tire as its less advanced compound starts to break down
At the end of the day it really does depend on your usage case, if you’re planning on doing a lot of track days, auto cross, whatever, you’ll probably be better off with the expensive tires, just because of how much longer they’ll last, but if you’re really only in need of a good tire for the occasional canyon run, the cheap boys would probably serve you just fine
Well when you crash it is often 1 inch of difference…
just a drive on rain would give all the credit needed for the 3 time more expensive tyre, and the cheap one certainly heat up so quickly that after one lap it overheat
Why are we not talking about the wheel change and the relative unsprung weight change of each?
Their cinematography has gotten so much better over the years it's incredible!
I mean technology in cameras advance every year soooo....
@@vidademikey9790 yeah but someone has to actually man the camera haha
@@vidademikey9790 technology can only get you so far. It's the skills that really make a noticeable difference.
@@vidademikey9790 wasn't talking about the quality of camera or video itself, was talking about their techniques, drone shots, cuts/transitions....... Derrr
I agree this was the best ad placement yet, I watched it all.
I think when you building a track car there are few things you can skimp on and others that really need quality. Tires are one of the things that really make a big difference. With that being said there is always the middle of the road options that offer value and quality and offer similar results beyond expensive and cheap.
Props to the camera and editing teams for that last segment, Zach and Adam's laps looked phenomenal.
Thanks donut team for bringing back hi lo again. Love it
one if the bests car shows, ever...
This formula is amazing by the way, having the next segment ready to go as well as a kick ass ad read. Over the years the content has become incredibly high quality and the hard work shows guys keep it up this is my favorite automotive channel on RUclips ❤
6:32 I think it needs to be stated here that the average human reaction time with a stopwatch is about 0.2 seconds and can vary by a fair bit. At 0.08 seconds difference, the times are actually in that window where the difference could be accounted for purely in that variation in reaction time. The 11.61 time is likely outside that range, if barely, but it feels kind of interesting that for this test the result you get for $1000 more is only slightly outside the range of human error.
Yeah those tires are the exact same if not better especially when you can literally go through nearly 3 sets of those in the same price as 1 set so if you just rwd drift or burnouts that’s an insane amount of almost 6 pairs or rear wheels tires wow
I wasn't expecting the little experiment on the table, and it was great!
I like these little pieces of science in video like this. Entertainment + some interesting science (or facts) makes the difference between those who just "review" things without any context or explanation.
I love these donuts
I share your opinion
Look into tire load sensitivity for a better understanding though
But the tire pieces are dragged differently. The smaller piece had the treads sideways and the larger piece had the treads going the same direction. not the best demonstration imo
The experiment on the table was a little misleading though. On a smooth surface (or mostly smooth, like here) static friction or stiction is your main factor, but on rough asphalt like a race track, the compound deforms into the little voids between the harder rocks, creating a mechanical adhesion, which has much more grip. Doing the experiment in a way that represents that difference would have involved more weight to increase the deformation of the rubber and a significantly bigger force meter. I dunno if they didn't want to bust out for the more expensive equipment, or just didn't know the full picture, but this experiment is definitely missing something.
The different wear characteristics and resulting compound changes is totally valid though. That's one of the benefits of wider tires for sure.
If you wanna learn more about wider tires being more grippy, HP Academy has a pretty in-depth little interview with a.... michelin? pirelli? engineer that covers the topic of wider tires and compound choice for race days pretty well.
Right, forgot to clarify the takeaway you'd end up with from the more complete experiment: given a rougher surface (representing the asphalt in a race track) and more weight to cause the deformation needed to take advantage (representing the forces a car would put into the tire) a wider contact patch does in fact increase grip because it's not just friction you're dealing with.
Would have loved to also see a wet performance comparison. That's one of the reasons I choose summer tires over all seasons
They're in socal, water doesn't exist.
@@smileyguyz would be cool if these test it elsewhere to account for temperature changes and water since we all dont live in dry areas. Would make good content as well
@@marioelburro1492 yeah for real, I’ve some Federal 595 RS-PRO cause they’re cheaper (and I think are good tires). I live in Italy near the Alps so temperature and wether change very frequently. My tires change a lot due to the temperature. If not worm enough you lose a bit of grip in normal conditions, in wet conditions with low temperature you better stay at home or use another car (absolutely zero grip). I’d love to see a video like you suggested in order to understand if there’s something better without having to buy and try all of them.
The laughter after James said “this is pretty easy” 😂 thank you all so much (hosts, editors, everyone!) for putting in so much work to make amazing content! You all are the best ❤
I think Hi/Lo is one of the best series Donut Media has right now, very entertaining. And James has found the best way to segue to sponsor without allowing viewers to skip over ;)
Having you both all down at the end of the video to have a good and thorough discussion about cost and performance is missed. Hope y'all get back to doing that. I feel like having a smaller budget and just starting out, the $600 tire choice would be best and work your way up to a more expensive tire afterwards.
right? like the hi car tires are better but $1000 better? no way ...
@@adamgeigerjr6995 you would have to use both long term because maybe one wear worse.
@@NickVetter get that but kinda crazy that I can get 2 sets of those tires for a track weekend & be just as happy as the guy spending $400 more on one set. idk I just wish they did talk about these things
@@adamgeigerjr6995 I also wish they explained their thoughts at the end. Racing is expensive and you have to pay for that increase in performance.
Both cars being slower might actually be true for some cars with better tires. Stickier tires have more rolling resistance which will add more friction to driving. Also, if your car is not spinning the wheels at launch sticker tires will not make you faster because that would be the only advantage. These are all wheel drive cars so it makes sense how the tires didnt help but hurt the acceleration!
It probably has more to do with the new unsprung weight and the driver's wussy launch lol
These Hi-Low episodes are amazing guys! Thank you all so much!
(Especially you James!)
Donut and tires makes me unreasonably happy ❤️
4:50 - The same experiment can be done with a pencil, push the eraser end into your palm then try the pointed end into your palm. Same thing. Or substitute a pin for the pencil.
The authenticity of all you guys is what makes this show for me, pure content and real feels 🤘🏻😂 love y’all’s videos
Can’t beat these videos - really helps people understand the best path to go down when modifying their cars
You see how Nolan smiled when James called him “honey”. Real friends
That lateral traction test _slash_ Ebay Motors crossover was brilliant. Thanks Ebay for helping Donut Media to invest millions of dollars in to R&D creating such a technically advanced and innovative test, circles are no joke. 😄
I love the explanation of the tires with the sandpaper test! So informative and at the same time making an entertaining video, killin it guys!
$600 dollar tires for the win! Not worth the extra money for 1 second, clearly. Love it guys, great episode.
great video. i’m not sure if it would have a huge impact, but wouldn’t the weight + diameter of the aftermarket wheels also have an impact on the final times of the first test? i feel like the switch from a 15” or 16” stock wheel to a 17” or 18” aftermarket wheel, even with the new tires, could add a little more rotational mass and take a bit more effort to get up to speed. either way, love the series and appreciate greatly all the effort you guys put in!
Massive shout out to Nowlan! That man is becoming a really good driver. Massive improvements since he joined the channel. Hats off to you sir.
I coudn´t agree more, I bet he could beat most of the guys at my local track day
Great video and concept, keep it up. One thing though from someone that has bought ultra cheep AND really expensive performance tires is that (as demonstrated) the difference isn't in the day to day performance, or at least that's not a huge difference. It comes when your pushing the tires lap after lap, at their limit, and also over longer periods of time. Cheaper performance tires literally decintigrate and fall apart when they get pushed hard. They become un-usable. Also the tread life tends to be much lower and they wear uneven. These same tires may look the same now, but give them a few track days and you'll see a HUGE difference, same with just hard street driving over a year.
I've used both expensive and cheap tires. I do delivery driving and have even done some autocross events and drag racing. The main difference seems to be longevity. A new set of cheap tires will perform well in the rain and keep your car stable, but a similar tire from a well known company will simply last longer. Also compound makes a HUGE difference. I had a set of Nitto tires that I burned through pretty quickly, but they were soft compound designed for better grip on dry pavement. If you don't drive much and don't drive aggressively, then you'll probably get a good couple years out of a cheap set of tires. If you put a lot of miles on your car, have a high performance vehicle, or you're concerned about shaving a couple seconds off your lap times, then don't pinch pennies and get the good stuff. Personally, I drive in rain and snow a lot, so I've developed a love for the Michelin cross climate in the winter. In the summer when the pavement is hot, I recommend a high mileage tire with hard compound and deep grooves to improve stability in the rain.
I would say almost inverse, economy tires are made for cheap people, so they are often rated for more miles.
High performance grippy tires are simply designed to only last about 20k miles (I'm shocked I get that much even, though my dorito engine only does about 180 HP and LSD so each wheel is seeing less than any sportbike wheel does, but a lot of those are just highway miles). So pick the tire that supports that driving style, like winter tires if you live where its always cold instead of "all seasons", because those are optimal for no season.
@@jakegarrett8109 yep, he literally gives a great example of his sticky nittos wearing out fast.
Bottom line, more grip means more transfer of rubber off the tires
@@jakegarrett8109 A good tyre will often last as long or longer, but the bug difference is at 50% wear the good tyre is near as good as new, and the cheaper tyre handles like junk
@@mycosys Your definition of "good" is imprecise. I said high performance for a reason, to me that is a tire that keeps me on the road no matter what, so replacing often is fine, its the price you pay for performance. One of my bicycle tires for example is rated for about 200 miles of use, on a bicycle... But that thing grips so much you might as well climb the walls on a skyscraper, now that's a GOOD tire.
I like to run my car about 9,000+ rpm on the curves, and going too slow (like I made a left turn through the intersection out of work last business day too slow at 45 mph, and you need to hit it at least 55 mph to drift it safely, or slow to about 40 mph to not slip tires, so I could have easily dinged my car rims into the curb if I managed to make several more mistakes because I near skidded to a complete stop sideways in the intersection...), cheap tires to me would cost me my rims, my car, my butt (probably not at that very low speed, but if I'm actually going fast around curves losing grip means I could easily fly off the bend into a tree at triple digits!). Therefore I look at performance tires more than economy or just average performance, I'm not driving a Prius, haha!
Michelin = win. I got rid of those absolutely DISGRACEFUL pos stock bridgestones on my 370z at 5000 miles. They were seriously worse than pos prius tires. Went with the pilot SS, and later the ps4s's. Completely transformed the car, just added a front swaybar to fix some of the turn in feel = win. The new Z has the very same issue - but - it's WORSE because now it's running more power/more tq, same pos DISGRACEFUL bridgestones - so this is a major contributing factor to why almost all of the reviews talk about how it doesn't handle well - and to be fair - it doesn't help that Nissan chose to put a very grandmother like land yacht suspension on it - So sadly - I think with the new Z, buyers will be forced to actually buy into the rabbit hole of coilovers (which comes with all the second guessing/constant "maybe I should change ___ setting") nightmare. "...just my opinion maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan"
Literally the only channel where I don't skip the ad integrations, because they are fun to watch.
3:20 One of the reasons I LOVE this channel is the random nostalgic sound effects. READING RAINBOW!
Thoroughly impressed how you guys are STILL stepping up the production and entertainment value each week!
A good final comparison would have been to run two sessions of 20 laps each and look at the time degradation as the tires have more heat cycles and also then measure the tread depth. Longevity of the tire is also a significant factor when considering how much to spend on a tire. And were there any problems with the low tire as far as delamination or bubbling from the heat Cycles
I don't think either one of those EJ25's would last 20 laps.... he was already complaining about heat issues with one of the vehicles.... I think they'll inevitably end up in the need for a fully built EJ25 if they continue the series for the longterm - and really - the first thing both of these need is a simple cobb dyno tune to alleviate the inherent stock ecu lean fuel curve issues that plagued those years...
Usually the life of a tire is less about how expensive and more about how aggressive the compound is. Almost universally for tires of same production year (not 2002 compounds against 2022 compounds, rubber aging aside) a softer, grippier tire will also age more quickly and fall off long before the tread is worn down. This is why tire "mods" are usually a bad idea for a street car, especially one not being regularly used in competition. There's also the fact that track tires usually prefer more heat than they'll get from street driving, so they can actually be more slippery in everyday driving conditions, especially in colder climates. They left out a lot of important info about tires, they really need to get an actual track/race driver on staff as an adviser, way too much bro science in these.
Doubt the brakes would hold or the cars engines without dry sump
Regarding wider tyres, they also account for better tyre cooling due to the distributed weight on bigger surface. Thus you can push them harder before they overheat if you can even make them overheat without doing donuts/burnouts and stuff. Overheating tyre loses grip very easily and it gets shredded on uneven surfaces very fast.
Love the video!
I think two things you should have tested that are pretty important as well: 1) wet skid pad, to test wet traction (these are summer performance tires so far as I know), and 2) longevity, a combination of traction wear and aging to dry rot.
When James was like "Do we look cool in this light?..........Sick!" 15:15 . Hilarious, his facial expression was priceless. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂
Im eager to see the longevity of the tires by the time both cars are finished, cause honestly the wally world tires seem clutch
Great video however one of the key factors that I think they should recap on in a future episode is how each tire wears over time because that’s another huge factor in performance tire which justifies an expense difference
Most likely the more expensive tire will wear more quickly. It's not just about tread depth, either. More track-focused compounds are more sensitive to heat cycling, which means while they grip more initially, they also drop off much more quickly. After a few heat and cool cycles, a set of track tires could have less grip than a set of crappy Chinese off-brand all seasons. IMO pricey tires should only be used for competition or when your car makes so much power it's undrivable without them. Furthermore, lower grip tires are better for learning as people that throw on glue tires to start get overconfident and when they finally get brave enough to overdrive them, they are at dangerous speeds and they haven't trained recovery methods and are more likely to get in a serious crash. The real best thing is to put crappy tires and learn to balance your car at the limit at speeds that won't get you killed, then when you've mastered it you put on the stickies and go be a hero.
@@nunyabusiness896 the expensive Tyre looks like the AD09 whereas the cheap one is meant to be a budget 200TW competitor AFAIK.
The AD09 is technically not on the same level. It's like a sporty road Tyre rather than a dedicated track day Tyre (that's what the AO52 is for) and should have better overall performance in dry and wet as well as better wear.
It may also not need as much heat to work properly
@@christopherjohnston6343 Not sure where you were checking specs, but according to TireRack the Advan Neova AD09 is a 200 treadwear tire as well, putting them in the same class and is even sold under the "Extreme Performance Summer Tire" category. I can't tell for sure, but I think the Advans were also a wider tire size as well, which makes the comparison somewhat unfair. I also don't agree that the Zestinos don't have a tread pattern for wet conditions, it absolutely looks like a wet/dry pattern, they're not DOT slicks like the AO52.
We also aren't really shown if they put effort into getting the tires into the proper heat profile as if they were just doing singular laps on cold tires then that's not in the proper temperature range. Medium-soft track day tires (soft being reserved for full slicks) can easily take two laps to get into full heat, depending on the track temp and frequency of corners.
This grinds my gears a bit as I hate it when they do these "cheap vs expensive" shootouts and unfairly stack the deck in favor of the expensive product by doing things like making them a larger size or deliberately (or negligently) not paying attention to ideal tire temps. Not saying the Zestinos would win regardless, as after all it was damn close anyway to the point I'd say the Zestinos are a better buy knowing you'll be trashing these in 5-10k miles tops on the street.
@@nunyabusiness896 either way they aren't really like for like. I was going off vibes I got from AD09 marketing material when I wrote my comment. Its just a successor to the Ad08r - so its not meant to be a super extreme tyre.
The Zestino actually did fairly well considering the price difference.
@@christopherjohnston6343 Facts don't care about your vibes, you're wrong and you should stop misinforming people. Never listen to any tire marketing department, they spew all kinds of nonsense, you have to go on pure data and testing.
A great follow up idea would be which tire lasted longer. I'm curious if the Yokohamas would be more durable and if so by how much
That's what the UTQG Rating is for
Guess that would really depend on ones driving Habits
Most high-performance tires in that price range have a very short life. I mean, if you compare it to say, an all-season tire. But, it also depends on your driving style.
This series is literal gold. It is so much better than almost any actual TV show about cars ive ever seen besides top gear honestly.
I am so glad they have blown up in popularity and get the millions of views these videos deserve. Some of the best car content available right now easily.
Nolan is like that anime character with the highest potential. Never talks much but is a good mechanic and driver AND HOST.
Truly the takumi of donut
It would’ve been interesting if Hi-Car’s brakes worked. I would’ve loved to see the combination of the Tein suspension with the yokahomas
When I first got my 02 wrx I had the problem lol. New brake pads mostly helped, still need a full new break system though.
Sticky tires take more energy to overcome inertia. the old saying there is no free lunch applies here. In order for those super stickys to work you have to be able to take advantage of that extra grip. = way way more hirspewers..
I would LOVE to see aero being done ( I think it would be funny seeing low team trying to diy underbody aero)
Happy for the crew at Donut for how far you guys come came. Thanks for the entertainment.
"If you need less track to slow down
You got more track for going fast"
Put that on a shirt 7:50
I'm always hyped when they post another video cause the videos are really good
I like to breathe because it keeps me alive
I like to walk because it gets me places
I like to eat because it keeps me from starving
Hrspr
I like to drive because it gets me to places
I def like how you ended up testing both tires on the same car with the same drivers, at the end. Way more accurate results!
I just mounted a set of AD09's to my M2 Competition, they're excellent tires. Theyve even been coping with the Northern CA rain pretty damn well, far better than the old AD08R, and their dry grip is better than the stock Cup 2's by a pretty good margin. They're way more consistent than Cup 2's, without ever getting that "greasy" feeling that Michelin's get at-the-limit.
I'd even use them over the A048 and A052 at the track, especially for a more consistent, endurance focused tire. They can't quite beat the A052's in terms of 1 or 2 really hot laps, but they're close. The 52's are essentially time-attack tires, anyways, and the 48's are more like a full-slick. The AD09 comes shockingly close to both, in terms of the *best* recorded lap, but over a longer session, the AD09 is far more consistent than either, which is what I think makes it a great option as a high performance street tire, that will easily handle the track and do surprisingly well in the wet (partially due to the new tread design, partially due to the silica in the compound, and other small improvements, I'm sure).
They really crush the Cup2 in this category of tire, if I haven't gushed enough about them.
Much more reasonable than Cup 2's, as well.
I miss when you talked afterwards and said which one you would actually buy if you had to pick, otherwise loving this series, the production quality is bonkers 🤯
You added a lot more rotational weight with bigger wheels and tires, that's why they were slower in accelerating.
I was always wondering why it was like that sometimes
Thanks for explaining
that actually makes a lot of sense, its the same mechanics of starting on a higher gear when you think about it
Inertia
At 4:41 the tire contact patch demo was flawed in execution because the wider tire slab had a totally impartial contact with the grip strip. You can see it both by the clear air gap in the middle as well as how the subtle rubber markings on the grip strip only show rubber residue only on the sides, and it isn't much more than the thinner rubber strip mark.
The production quality keeps getting better and better. Nice job Donut!
right? i even liked the little promo of ebay in this one (i usually skip ads lol)
@@SHIZURAKU Absolutely! The ad was hilarious and was shot as part of the skid pad test.
This channel is really starting to resemble classic top gear vibes, loving the content from you guys lately. Keep it up!
Yeeppp
Tires is something I invest in when it comes to my car. It's always Continental for both winter and summer tires and it's always the proper Nordic winter tires (rather than the "winter tires" you get in the US which are sold as all weather tires over here).
It's your contact with the road, without it, you're going off road no matter if you want to or not.
"High performance tires" comes in two variants, the ones that provide less resistance on the road so the performance at higher speeds is better (also called econ tires) and the actual track tires. They are not the same.
I think you need to do a follow-up at the end and check wear after more miles on the tires. That is an important value measurement.
I missed the sit down convo at the end where they discuss if the high is worth the highness.
Tires are finicky item since vehicle use plays a huge role of what is a "good" tire. (Wet traction, thread life, puncture warranty, temp rating, etc...) For a semi daily, these things could matter.
All that said, very impressed with the low tire. 👏
I like the way you did the sponsor shout out. Took absolutely nothing away from the video
There's genuinely nothing better than hi lo on the donut channel
Wider tires sink more heat too so they generally run more consistent as you race longer
Guys just to add to the tests. Remove the ABS some ABS modules on the Subaru cars are making the braking longer by trying to not lock up, however they lock up consistently earlier than they should. I have a Subaru and I changed the ABS it made a huge difference.
Great videos and content guys, have fun, stay safe and rock on!!!!
clever way to implement sponsors into the video and keep the audience engaged at the same time
The tire demonstrate is way more complicated than that. This has been studied to the extreme and very little of what you said is correct. I'm not a tire engineer but am a tire sponsored race car driver. The main factor that allows a wider tire to have more grip is that the wider the tire gets the more flex and give it has throughout the tread pattern there for allowing more rubber to touch consistently. If a smaller tire has same amount of force than the wider then it should be equal but it's not because the rate of speed and rotation. Wider tire will equal more traction always in a circle at speed. Has nothing to do with failure of the compound. There is an element there that comes in but not in your demonstrate. Another major factor is wheel width vs tire width and how a stretch tire works better than a pinched tire because it also allows the tire to be more consistent. Very much to a point. A 315 30 18 Falken rt660 provides more lateral grip on a 12" rim than a 10.5 and has almost nothing to do with what your demonstrate showed. When you start explaining something you usually surprise me with knowledge cause so many things are dumbed way down to meet the narrative created by the internet in youtube video but as soon as you started this one I knew you had it wrong. Or maybe the reason you have surprised me in the past is because it's not always something that I spend most days thinking about or testing. Countless hours testing tires and width with lots of external help. Also a wider tire handles more heat. So sometime a smaller tire will provide more grip on say an autox course than a wider tire becomes optimal heat range is easier to reach quickly. Oh and .08 on a 12 second lap at a small victory. Also the the stock style tires handle less heat so a one run will be better for them where as the race style tire may need 120 to 140 degrees to be closer to peak grip
I read a while ago, possibly in consumer reports, that while new performance of cheap vs. expensive tires is roughly the same, but the real difference is performance through the life of the tire. Michelin specifically maintains similar performance throughout the entire life of the tire while cheap tires fall off a cliff. It would be interesting to redo this test at the end of the series to see how the tires do mid-life.
Your right but ditch Consumer Reports, they will absolutely fake their shit. Look at the old Suzuki Samurai rollover fakery crap. Even the actual test drivers for that shit show let out that CR wanted them to roll those vehicles, or they would find someone who WOULD. All just to protect Jeep. A company that manufactured vehicles that ALSO rolled over doing the same damn things at the time.
I love the new ad format, well integrated, funny, and James gets a workout.
I like the new direction Top Gear is taking. Finally, 3 solid new hosts...
Probably the cars where underpowered for the amount of grip therefore actually accelerating slower. More grip is also more resistance. So in that sense more grip makes the car accelerate slower, if there was already not a lot of traction loss from the start. The stock tires were probably best for the hp of the stock car.
I noticed you guys also changed wheels when swapping tires. I think it would be interesting to see an episode on how unsprung weight can effect lap time or performance. Since the average viewer dosent have the resources to test/compare OEM wheels to something like Enkei RPF1's.
The weight of the wheel choices you made while changing tires may have been a factor in this test.
Came here to say this- the wheels are almost certainly a bigger factor than the tires. Cheap wheels are never light
There's also the problem of not even knowing if this was a true apples to apples comparison. We don't know exactly what tires they used, so if the Yokohamas had a lower treadwear rating, of course they'd be faster. You have to adjust alignment to get the most out of tires as well. A052's for example need stupid amounts of front camber to work properly versus something like an RS4. All-season vs summer, tire profile, longevity, heat tolerance, etc. There's so many variables in tires other than just cost that this wasn't really a great showing of "good vs bad" choices. The track surface could've been very different throughout the day as well. Not to mention, they changed wheels. Did the unsprung weight change? Did the offset/scrub radius change? Did the overall diameter change?
.....if they're trying to build time attack, which is about obsessing over small improvements, they should at least cover some of the basics of where those improvements come from. It might seem like I'm nitpicking too much but these are all real things that time attack/time trails deal with all the time.
@@iamstd2 those are valid points. All those things can have huge impacts (good or bad) especially on lap times. Now I want to know more about the choices they made. At the very least they should have kept the same wheels that they had on the original test. To eliminate those variables. I'd like to see an in depth episode on it.
Worth considering, the rim size and tire size increased. With such low power, its entirely possible that the offset of the weight and inertia alone were enough to really hurt the 0-60 times. larger diameters of the rims create an additional need for more torque to set them into motion. Same reason big wheels often can lead to brake systems suffering, inertia and diameter are huge factors. The dinky little tires and tiny rims were surely easier to spin, albeit less grippy. Cornering is a guaranteed increase obviously though.
Great video. What you showed and I like the most is that a young guy with lesser means can take $600 tires and still get out there and race someone with more $$$ tires and be a real race. Even if the cheaper tires are all you can afford, get out there and do it. The practice will make you that much better when you can afford the big $$$ sticky’s. Great video.
Do the wheels weigh more? It would explain the acceleration
Absolutely, was looking for this comment
I bet!! with a slower car where acceleration grip isn't a big issue this can be very noticeable. My cars always feel faster in a strait line when I put small wheels (with snow tires) on for winter.
@@j-ant it will still make for a positive impact once the horsepower improves. When you get to stuff like the downpipe and injectors, you can get a car that still does daily driving but with 400hp or so
Got to love how Nolan is faster in everything than a profesional driver hahahaha.
We loved this episode. Some customers sat down to watch it with us here at the vape shop. Most of us are car people too so it was fun. Thanks for the video!
0:19 say that to Pirelli.