Nankang NS2

When I bought my MK1 Octavia vRS it had just been fitted with NS2s on the front and so they had less than a thousand miles on them. I've now owned it for nearly two years, and they're still perfectly legal although wearing a bit on the shoulders, so there's no issue with longevity. They even look good on the car, with a performance oriented tread pattern that resembles Toyo Proxes.

In the dry they grip astonishingly well, with a feel and progressiveness similar to the Potenzas on a friend's Civic Type-R but without the harshness. In this respect they'd make a perfect trackday tyre as you'd get a fair few sessions and still have a decent amount of rubber left. They're also relatively quiet around town although they do patter over rough surfaces, but tend to be quite loud at motorway speeds.

Here's the real issue though - wet grip. Put simply, there isn't any. Id go as far as to say they're extremely dangerous on wet or damp roads, and absolutely lethal in snow or ice. They'll quite happily break away with no warning whilst doing 20 on a roundabout, and I've managed to spin up both wheels at 60mph whilst accelerating through third because I went over a slightly uneven section of road. Even pulling away from roundabouts in the rain becomes a game of chance, frequently cutting in the traction control and leaving you dead in the water because they struggle with slippery road markings. In last years snow I got a mile down the road and gave up - even rolling one wheel over a submerged manhole cover would pitch the car a foot to the side, and they'd just aquaplane over slush. The treads simply cannot clear standing liquid.

In short, if it never rains where you live and you like the occasional blast then they're extremely good value. If you live anywhere else, you should either buy something better or spend the few quid you save on health insurance.

Havnt had the tyre long, and the shop I was at didn't balance them, at least I don't think, because the tyres vibrating all around at high speeds. They have decent to good road handling, better than what I remember of my eagle rs-a's, and just about the same quietness, even tho theyre wider than the eagles. So far not too bad, still would reccomend a sunny sn3800 over these for a performance tyre. Based on reviews I'm scared to drive these in the snow and rain, which we get a decent amount of snow here. I def. Know that I'll be the first driving the car in the rain before I let my wife drive it.

I had a set of these on my fiesta 1.25 with no dramas whatsoever so when it came to upgrading my Pume, I expected the same. Boy was I disapointed. These are plain lethal in the wet and average in the dry. The ride was filling shakeing and jarring. At one stage at 30mph on a bend, I hit a small rut and the tyre came off the rim and dam nearly killed me.
Changed to Toyo Proxes and they were fantastic

AVOID

Dry grip is average, in the wet they are just dangerous. They've let go a few times on roundabouts and it feels like your on ice for a second, you can recover the slide very easy but that's mainly because you don't have to be going fast for this to happen.
I can't wait for them to wear so I can buy some different tyres although I have been contemplating just binning them now as they are horrendous.

These tyres came fitted on the car when I bought it so am not able to comment on wear as I have no idea how many miles they have done but the do look to have plenty of life in them still. I have had no issues with grip in the dry but then again am only putting 125 bhp through them and so these tyres are more than capable of coping. I must say however that they did struggle a little in the snow and ice of the winter just gone and thank god for my ABS which did have to rescue me on a number of occasions. Seem ok in the wet and have had no major dramas but that could be due to FWD and low bhp. Would def buy again as I can not justify paying for the P7000s or the RE050s as my car would get the use out of them and these NS2s are more than capable and if other reviews are to be believed give you plenty of miles for your pound compared to the more expensive tyres, and they look much better than the eco range of tyres.

The tyres came with the car - remapped to 340bhp and can't cope to the extent that they are dangerous! In the dry I can slide around like I'm on gravel if I'm only slightly adventerous with my right foot! In the wet there is absolutely no grip. I have no idea if they are any good in the snow as I couldn't get on to a road with them!

Terrible, dangerous, but unfortunately hard wearing!

Previously used continental spost contact which I have on a Scorpio Cossie but as the Rover diesel was more of a plodder and at the time decided that a budget might be a good idea. Now done over 14000 miles and there is still over half the tread left. In the recent snow they held there own as well if not better than the continentals, yes if you did something stupid they lost grip but what sort of idiot would do such things in those conditions.

They have been acceptable in the wet and with the abs can hold there own compared with some of the more premium brands and are showing an even wear pattern. On a long run driven is a sensible manor keeping to under 80 on the motorway and aproaching conders on country roads with a sensible level of anticipation I managed to do 440 miles on less than 7 gallons of fuel.

The only time I have noticed a significant drop in grip was near to a fuel distribution depot island and have put down to diesel on the carriageway as it has occasionally happened on dry days.

Would certainly suggest that they are a afr better buy for the budget conscious rather than a set of part worns with an uncertain past

I needed budget tyres, and have tried the likes of federals that were detroyed by my car (they went oval and cracked on the inside where the sidewall joins the tread!) but money was tight so I went for these. Thankfully I haven't been dissapointed, they have held up well, for budget tyres I'd reccomend them. In the dry they are as good as most mid-range tyres (though they'll never match the likes of an F1 or yoko on a hot dry day) but they have a stiff sidewall and nice turn in. In the wet they don't like greasy surfaces so you have to take it easy, they cut standing water fine though, wear is better than average. I would buy these again if skint.

I ordered the Nankang NS2 because it was the only tyre available in 185/45/15. I wanted to keep my rolling radius as small as possible on a 15" wheel. This size is hard to get in UK, so i ordered on the euro based Mytyres.co.uk

The quality of these tyres for the price is unbeatable. The sidewalls look nice and the internal structure appears well made.

The treadwear rating is 340, So quite a hard wearing compound.
On the road they are surefooted and planeted on dry conditions.
In the damp they do have a tendency to break traction if pushed, but this is fairly typical of tyres with similar compounds.
In properly wet conditions they cope well with standing water.

These tyres suit me perfectly and i would certainly buy the NS2 again.
OK so its not the greatest tyre in the world, but for the price you really cant go wrong. And if you only use your car in the summertime in dry conditions the grip levels are up there with the best brands.

I'd heard some positive comments on these around the web forums and thought I'd give them a go as I needed a cut-price set of boots for my car. At least it wasn't a costly mistake ! They've served a purpose, but are the worst tyres I've ever driven. The ride is harsh and noisy, dry grip is poor with the diesel torque (remap to 312 lb/ft (420Nm)) easily breaking traction as high as fourth gear. In the wet I just slide them around bends gravel rally style. They look to be wearing quickly on the front, so hopefully my hooligan driving will see me rid of them before much longer. Hateful !!!