The N FERA SUR4G is Nexen’s competition-proven Extreme Performance Summer tire developed for serious sports car, sports coupe and performance sedan driving enthusiasts looking for race tire-like traction on the street or for use in drifting, autocross and track events. Tuned for maximum performance in warm dry and damp conditions, the N FERA SUR4G is not intended to be serviced, stored nor driven in near- and below-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.
Compared to its predecessor, the N FERA SUR4G utilizes a new, higher-grip compound designed to come up to temperature faster and deliver greater levels of dry and wet traction. This special compound is molded into a directional tread design with a continuous center rib flanked by massive shoulders featuring less void area to create a larger shoulder block and improve lateral grip and durability. The tread forms a highly rigid footprint that delivers near-motorsports levels of dry grip and handling. The computer simulation-designed tread profile evenly distributes pressure and contact with the road, maximizing available traction for acceleration, braking, cornering and improving tread life. Two wide, circumferential center grooves provide a direct path to channel water through the contact patch, while diagonal independent grooves help direct water to the sides of the footprint to enhance wet traction.
The 275/40R18 size N FERA SUR4G utilizes a unique compound optimized for use in drift competition. This compound is designed to work in a higher temperature range and tolerate heat more effectively than the standard compound used in all other sizes.
The N FERA SUR4G features a two-ply polyester casing to help resist lateral deflection and provide responsive handling and cornering stability. Two wide steel belts with a seamless, high-strength nylon cap ply (two-ply in 255 and wider section widths in 18- or 19-inch rim diameters) promote uniform ride quality and high-speed capability.
Note: Extreme Performance Summer tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.
Flexing of the specialized rubber compounds used in Extreme Performance Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking. While compound cracking is not a warrantable condition because it occurs as the result of improper use or storage, tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.
Founder at Tiresout. Used to be working as an engineer at Bridgestone Tires Akron Technical Center. The responsibilities included but were not limited to technical computing, indoor & outdoor testing of new tires.
After a few autox weekends on both concrete and asphalt, these tires are truly at home on asphalt and are just okay on concrete. They are extremely forgiving when you go over the limit, which makes driving at the limit much easier. They do get too hot if your runs are not spaced enough, and definitely will need a spray with a co-driver.
I daily drive my autocross car and keep the tires on the car rather than switching them prior to racing. The Nexen is truly the first alternative top-tier autocross tire that I’ve purchased since the dawning of the benchmark autocross tire (the Bridgestone RE-71R) a few years ago. I need symmetrical-tread tires that I can “flip” on the rim to even out the severe outer-edge wear on my relatively stock (street class) autocross car – therefore the BFG Rival isn’t an optional tire for me with this criteria.The Nexen is a very competitive autocross tire – without a doubt – as Nexen did their homework and specifically targeted the aforementioned benchmark tire in development.My most notable difference between this and the benchmark tire is that the main (center) rib on the Nexen didn’t wear down the outer edge after a handful of autocross runs – like the benchmark always does on my car. The center rib on the Nexen wears rather evenly instead – and at a much slower rate thankfully – which is great for longevity.On the wear downside: I measured the starting tread depth on the Nexen two main center grooves as advertised at 9/32″ depth; whereas the prominent shoulder grooves are only 6/32″ deep. This is likely done in order to have stiffer shoulders – a great idea for superior cornering. However, after wearing the tread down just 3/32″ (or more) one starts to have early hydroplaning issues should you be driving in rain. Due to this design, the outer shoulders will wear down to a slick well before the two center grooves disappear. Again, this is great for dry traction – just don’t get caught in a downpour at that point. If you’re in a habit of only mounting these tires to race – then you may not wear them down quite a fast as I do with all of my driving – hence getting more useable laps out of them obviously.If you race competitively @ SCCA national tours – Nexen pays well for podium positions and if you are truly competitive – this tire will not let you down… enjoy!
Very comfortable during highway cruising but a bit noisy. On the track, with cold pressure of 32 front and 34 rear, I felt good level of grip and control with these tires initially, less so once they got hot. I like that these tire will squeal when at their limit or friction.
After running two sets of RE71R’s I gave this tire a try at the advice of a friend I race with. I’m glad I did. I drive a Subaru… to get a Subaru around a course quickly some flicking may be required. This tire will continue to make time at higher slip angles than the RE71R. This definitely makes it more forgiving to drive aggressively. However they can be overheated. They need to be cooled between runs especially on a heavier car or a FWD car that really uses it’s front tires. I was at an elimination event that didn’t really allow enough time between runs to cool the tires properly. As a result the tires overheated and prematurely hardened. They still worked fine, but peak grip had diminished. I’m buying another set very soon and will take care not to repeat that circumstance.They do OK over the road. I use them for just autocross and special track events so their road miles are limited to driving to and from the track. They were in a couple light rains and drove fine. Road noise is about the same as an RE71R, which is to say tires in this category are not especially quiet over the road. They are tolerable, but would get old on a long trip.I should also say I race on asphalt. Not that I expect a big difference, but some tires in this category behave differently on different surfaces.
I thought I’d try this tire a for car that we are developing for track days. Last year’s close out price caught my eye. Overall, the tire performed well on track-5 track days, good wear, very predicable and forgiving at the limit. Not the fastest tire, but a solid performer. HOWEVER, during our last track day, I noticed the outer tread blocks separating from the tire casing on one of the tires. I found this very troubling and replaced the tire immediately. I’ve used many tire brands for track days and have never experience such a condition.
I love these tires. Ive had 2 sets of these for autox and daily driving. Both sets have always kept me smiling. Assuming the compound is a bit harder than the RE71s. I’ve been very competitive in SM with the other drivers running RE71s and RS4s keeping myself in the top 3 in most race days. Tires have worn down pretty well for me with combined spirited driving and daily driving. Runs very well in wet conditions but struggled in getting through puddles after the first 5k miles. Other than that, for the price to performance ratio, it is well beyond worth the money. I will continue to run these tires until theyre discontinued since they’re so cheap to buy. Never ceases to make me smile around the corners.
265/35/18 I used it on a 490WHP F80 M3 for city / high way / track driving condition. A good acceptable, best bang for your buck tire !!! These were designated tires for a South Korean race class ” BMW M Challenge “tires. Sidewall tends to be a bit soft but can be adjusted with tire pressure. Very linear on the limit of adhesion, progressive with good audible tire sound. Aceeptalbe tread milage with NVH for this amount of dry grip and steering feedback.I personally prefer SUR4G over HanKook RS4s.
These tires are amazing when warmed up. They took a good amount of abuse from multiple track days and also a few sliding events and still have a good amount of rubber on it. The down side is it is very icy when cold. They need at least one hard warmup lap or a few paced laps to get them to operating temperature. For the cost, usability, life, and performance, I would get these tires again. In comparing to Advan A052 265/40R18 to NFeras 275/40R18: Advan has better dry grip levels but wear out sooner. Advans get up to temp quicker and stay consistent till pushed to the limit. Nexens have a safer wet level grip and is a tire that should be driven close to the limit. Temps stay great but have to drive really hard to keep them at its sweet spot. Advans tend to feel greasy when slip angles occur. Nexens tend to let you control the slip angle. Advans would get you a better lap time but you can stay consistent with Nexens and improve from track time usable.
I bought these as sacrificial starter tires as I started building my car into a track dog, and learning to run track days and HPDE events. That was 2 years ago, and after 10 + events, these tires still have more than 50% of their tread, and grip like new. I find they have excellent grip, are predictable at the limit, and recover well from a slide. Loss of traction is noticeable at cold temperatures (<40F), but again grip is predictable and controllable. Give them half a lap to warm up, then go like he**! Now if they would just wear out, I could get something stickier! Great tires in the category.