I'm having doubts on the Conti's as they're quite a couple of years old. The only Conti's in the 225/45/16 size are the 2's. The Advans even LOOK very soft on your photo's. I'm convinced they'll offer very good grip, even compared to the standard P-Zero's which I used to have until 2 years ago, but I'm interested in the thread wear as well. I don't want to be spending 600 quid every 6 months, rather give that on items that are more critical to the health of the car. Say a new MAF or so when the time is there.

Regarding wear with the AD08's, I've had mine on the car for give or take 1500 mile. I only really use my car for meets, blasts and days out so, you could say it's being a fairly hard 1500 mile. I've not yet swapped them front to back, the rears look still virtually brand new, the fronts look like there is a little bit less tread, just on the inside/outside of the tyre, the center tread looks the same.

I've taken them off now, as my car is coming off the road shortly, not sure if you can tell from these pics how worn they are?



This one was one of the fronts, still loads of meat..



They still look reasonably new in the flesh, I'd say they were due a swap (front to back) mind. I guess it all depends how you drive your car. I reckon if you bought a set, used them for 3 to 4 months of the year, swapping them regularly they could last a long time, thats what im doing anyway.

The grip they offer is staggering, I went up heartside last week(an amazing mountain accent in the lakes) I was the only FWD car there, along side 2 Scoobys, an evo and 2 GT4's and it was pi**ing down, and after not even a mile I had utmost confidence in them. yes you'll pay 500 odd quid, and that is a lot of money, but for the fun I've had out of these so far, makes it worth it for me.

Next time I'm at the lockup, I'll measure the tread and see what they have actually used in 1500 mile.

On a FWD car, the advice is to leave the best tyres on the rear http://www.klebertyres.co.uk/KleberUK/front/index.jsp?codeRubrique=8032005184616

"Fitting new or least-worn tyres at the rear

If you are only changing two tyres out of four, whether your vehicle has front- or rear-wheel drive, we recommend fitting the newest tyres on the rear axle. This will give you greater safety in the event of unexpected and difficult situations (emergency braking, tight bends, etc..) especially in the wet. The front tyres generally wear quicker than the rear, especially with front-wheel drive (which applies to the majority of vehicles nowadays). Numerous tests have demonstrated that it is easier to control the front axle than the rear.
This is why KLEBER advise you to fit the new or least worn tyres on the rear axle for :

better grip when cornering
greater safety."

I tend to wear down the front, swap the rears to the front and fit new ones to the rear. Proving they don't exceed 6 years from date of manufacture then it works out the same as rotating them.

This is definitely how you should do it. I've used a few different tyres on my coop and they all seem to take a few miles to start working properly. It's as if they have a 'skin' that needs wearing through? A stint on the rear axle warms them up nicely so that when you wear the fronts out and put the next new tyres on the rear, the fronts are in prime condition when they're swapped and the brand new rears have the best tread - which you want for resisting aquaplaning

Any ideas on the cheapest place for Yokohama AD08s?

I was, you want some new shocks and springs on that!