UKSaabs

So, lots of you are still wondering about these tyres. The reviews on here so far have been honest and favourable. I think in a nut shell the response we have had has been along the lines of:

“In the dry they are comparable to major brand tyres. Excellent cornering, fantastic longevity and of course value for money. In the wet they are good, as good as the major brands. In the cold the tyres need a little time to warm up, but this is the compromise from longevity. However, once warmed up they are as good as major brands.”

I think the above pretty much covers what we have said from the start, that these are an excellent tyre and incredibly well priced for the market. Many on here have tried the NT5000’s now and have nothing but praise for them.

However, there is more to this tyre than meets the eye. Neuton / Neo Brothers have been sponsoring a couple of motorsport teams in the UK this year using these tyres. We looked at the market and chose the most aggressive and nasty environment to test the Neuton Tyres against the competition. What sport I hear you cry? Drifting!

Yes, I know, you will not probably consider drifting a proper sport. It is like Skateboarding, Snowboarding, BMX / Motorcross Freestyle, it is an extreme sport for young foolish people with more money than sense. 6mths ago I would have believed you. However, having been involved in this now I can say with 100% certainty that you would be wrong. The top runners in this field are spending over £100,000 on their cars. They are developing reliably 550-700BHP for the professionals, and 400-550 for the semi-pro’s. They drive to the absolute limit at every event, with points being awarded for speed, angle, aggression and of course tyre smoke. This is fast turning into big business, and all the major brands are represented.

In terms of tyre testing, well, it could not be more aggressive! How many other motorsports will go through 10 sets of tyres in a day, and I mean wear them down to the cord?

Yes, again, I can hear your thoughts now, they use cheap ditch finders and buy in bulk because it is all about skidding, not grip. Again, you would be wrong. Very wrong. My first exposure to drifting was a passenger ride in a professional’s car. He wanted to show me the difference in tyres, and how this relates to performance on the track. Let me tell you, entering a bend at over 100mph backward going through your own tyre smoke is not for the faint hearted. But, this really is a test of the tyres. We did a couple of runs on various tyres, and what was incredibly noticeable was the differing angles and speeds that were attainable on different tyres. For example, the cheap ditch finders offer no grip, either to put the power down or to resist lateral forces. The result, you have to compromise angle and speed just to get around corner. The construction of these cheaper tyres is such that they literally de-laminate, i.e. the structure of the tyre breaks down and rips the tread off them in blocks. And this is not just cheap tyres either. Bridgestones have to be run in the reverse direction to their normal rotation to stop this happening. Dunlops overheat and literally melt, shedding blocks.

So, why am I telling you all this? Well, I am happy to report that for the British Drifting Championship Neuton have won. Outright. With an event in hand the Neuton Tyres Drift Team has secured this championship. Also, on the professional level (BDC is semi pro) we are running 3rd in the championship. This is as a result of mechanical failure, otherwise we would be 1st in this championship as well. And the competition? Well, Toyo R888’s, Federal 495SS (dedicated drift tyres), Maxxis (dedicated drift tyres), Yokohama A048’s, all are in these championships, and we have consistently beaten them all.

Such is the take up on these, that in the last month alone we have totally sold out of the drifting size of tyres (235/40R18 being one of the most common sizes used). We are being approached by individuals and teams alike, all wanting the tyres. And these guys buy by the palette!

Self promotion? Yes. But, this time in a real environment with real results. Hard evidence that the Neuton NT5000 is really up there with the rest of them. Taking on R888’s and Yoko A048’s and winning, on the track where it really matters what tyre you are running.

Here are a couple of shots for you to look at, and a nice Neuton Tyre Video to look at as well. Yes, smoke and noise, but there is real skill in what they do, and trust me, from a passenger ride perspective, it is less than comfortable. Cars should not be able to do this!

Enjoy:



Ian Phillips' (Semi Pro) Winning Run at BDC this weekend:



Neuton 1 and 2 on the Podium



Mitto Steele (Team Leader) - Pro Drifter







Jon Calvert - Pro Drifter





Martin fFrench - Pro Drifter




You Tube Link

Don't forget to visit the website for the latest prices:

http://www.neuton-tyres.co.uk

BR

Neo Brothers.

Shhh! Dont tell everyone. And do us a favour, Dont put the price up

you need to try and get some northern small independant tyre fitters to stock/fit them

most people who just drive a car and know nothing about how it works etc. walk in and take the advice from these local guys - they will then promote and fit them for you also.

I would happily buy these but when you add carriage and local fitting - its cheaper to buy the mid brands that the local guys buy in bulk and so offer cheaper fitted/balanced prices- eg Kumho, falkens etc.

I will keep an eye out down at my local tyre fitter

David

i can recommend these tyres,,,i know a few people who are trialling them in the pro-drift circuit (which i used to race in ) and all the feedback has been good,,,apart from the odd over-enthusiastic berk who insisted on spinning them till they popped and then moaned they didnt last long

well worth a look if your not in the market for the likes of proxies or p-zero's etc

Ssshhh!!
These tyres are a great deal...did I say that?....keep it quiet or at least in the family!! or everyone will want them..

Two of the best videos Ive seen on youtube, ever I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6QD_6F7 ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ9-Cvmk ... re=related

Im not sure if this is Dan Joyce from Dirty Sanchez, I know he's into drifting.
Whoever the director is he's got skills

I'd like to get to some of the drifting comps over summer, where do I look for dates?

And yes Neuton tyres are a great buy, will use again when I need some.

Some nice sponsership coverage @ 2.27ish in the first vid

Hi Kev,

Most of the dates are on www.driftworks.com.

JDM Allstars have 2 events left, Wembley on the 28-29th Aug, and Trax at Silverstone on the 4th Sept.

Both of these will see international elements coming over from Europe, and promise to be the pinnacle of the drifting year in the UK. Needless to say we have 3 cars at each event!

HTH

-=F=-

trax it is then,,,look forward to that

Make sure you come over and say "Hi" Tasha. Always nice to put a face to a name.

David.

of course i will,,,you guys rock,,,youve got me out of the mess a couple of times with parts i couldnt find elsewhere

I have a query about the rotation direction on the Neutons. I got close up to a set last weekend and thought that they had been fitted the wrong way around, but the direction arrow on the sidewall showed that they were on correctly.

The reason I thought this was that the central grooves in most directional tyres form a rough arrowhead, with the point of the "arrow" pointing down at the front, running around to point backwards under the car. I always assumed that this was to encourage any rainwater to be "squidged" outwards towards the tyre edge.

Here's a Goodyear GSD-F1 viewed from what would be the back of the car: My Vredestein winters are similar as are some other directional tyres I seen:



And these are the Neutons, also as they would be viewed from the rear of a car:

Directionally they do look a little strange, but they are similar to the tread pattern of the very popular Bridegstone RE050's:-



It is the 4 water channels that aid in the dispensing of the water, so even though they look like they are rotating counter to what you would expect, they are not. The edge grooves are cut in the traditional way to remove the water from the outter 2 water channels.

This does work very effectively. Neuton have put a lot of time and effort into the development of this tyre to ensure it performs well in all conditions. Its ability to displace water is very good.

David.

Thanks for that!

Just received the 4 225/40/18 I ordered and they look like very high quality tyres just waiting for my alloys to be delivered now the only comment I would make is because I live in north Scotland the £47 delivery is quite high and after factoring in fitting to there as cheap as they look however prob still cheaper than the cheapest budget tyre I can get up here