E21 316: Serious new rubber - Yokohama Advan Neova AD08!

I've been having a bit of trouble finding a suitable set of tyres to fit my staggered fat wheels. I want a nice stretch to them of course, but nothing too crazy so I decided on 205/45/16 for the 8" wide fronts and 225/45/16 for the 9" at the back. Trouble is there doesn't seem to be one manufacturer making the same model tyre in both these sizes. I had my heart set on Toyo T1, but could only get a 195-wide front tyre to match my 225 rear. Falken will do a 205 front, but only a 215 for the rear in the same style. It is legal to run different tyre types, but unis on the the back and omnis on the front wouldn't make for the prettiest stance, so I've been stuck with naked BBS reps and unable to sell on my 15" Melbers.

I finally got a purchase order through work and was able to access the STS tyre-database and found a couple of budget makes in the right sizes surprisingly, but these aren't what I want to be stretching on so I guess you have to pay a little more to get what you want. I found some Yokohama semi-slick 'track-day' tyres that come in just about any size, but they ain't cheap - here they are on Demon Tweeks, where they'll set you back just under £500 for 2 of each width. Of course, I got my discount through work and they ended up running me pennies over £300, quite a saving, though it's still a bit more than I was planning to spend. Still, the tyre problem is sorted and they're on their way.

Yokohama Advan Neova AD08, to give them their full title, are a bit of a JDM-heads wet dream, but make a pretty cool looking tyre and have a lot of rubber on the road. Not that I'll benefit from all that grip in the E21, but they are designed for the track so they're made of good stuff and should stretch on nicely!