So, I'm thinking, after my current set of A032Rs are done, I'll switch to Toyo RA-1s. But then, in last month's issue of Racer, I see in a little insert that the Advan A048Rs are coming to the US. I first saw these on a AJ-R track day, on a couple of cars from Canada. Really liked the thread pattern. If they are the next evolution of the A032R, which are a great R-compound tire, then I'm wondering if I should pick these new Advans, instead of the RA-1s.

I don't expect anyone in the US to have used these yet, so if anyone from Canada/Japan/Europe has any feedback, please share.

Of course, it could be that they'll be more expensive than even the A032Rs, and then it'll be a no brainer to go with RA-1s for the time being. Looking at Tirerack, I see that they're not yet available in 15in sizes, but I'm sure they will be eventually.

Here's a pic: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...kwall

 

I may be mistaken but isnt that tire already here in the us.

I saw a brand new ELISE with temp tags on it the other day and the tires that were on that car look almost identical to those.

They might be something similar but just thought I would share.

 

Looks like a nice tire. Too bad they don't make them in more sizes.

Only decent size is a 195/50WR16 everything else is a 17+.

 

So I'm a little confused, is there a new tire A048R not A048 right. Or is this the tire you are speaking of. Anyway these tires are great, I enjoyed them very much

 

I had the A048R last season. The tire is great for track, but not very street friendly. Lasted only 6000km on the street with 3 trackdays included.

For those who read Norwegian:
http://www.kvien.no/integra/ht...x.htm

 

I also have a set of these in 195/55/15in medium compound. It is a great track tire but not recommended for street use. And you are correct, they are a generation after the A032's so should be a better tire, I'm gonna try to get hold of them in 215/50 /15 which should be a very good size for the ITR on 7-8" wide wheels.


Here's a link for you, it's japanese but still : http://www.advan.com/product/y...=A048

As you can see they are made in a lot of interesting sizes.

 

The new Elise has these tires as standard with the Sport Pack.

I have these tires on my Exige and have done two seasons on them.

They are a great R compound tire - although not as sticky as a Hoosier, etc. They do last longer than these tires, however. So, there is a trade-off as usual.

These tires don't like the cold or standing water - so, I wouldn't use them on the street.

Overall, I think it's a good trackday tire that won't give you best times (compared to a Hoosier), but will give you better performance than most tires out there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by meat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The new Elise has these tires as standard with the Sport Pack.

I have these tires on my Exige and have done two seasons on them.

They are a great R compound tire - although not as sticky as a Hoosier, etc. They do last longer than these tires, however. So, there is a trade-off as usual.

These tires don't like the cold or standing water - so, I wouldn't use them on the street.

Overall, I think it's a good trackday tire that won't give you best times (compared to a Hoosier), but will give you better performance than most tires out there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

What I heard:
"blah, blah, blah Exige blah, blah, blah, blah...."

Let's see some pictures of the Exige!!

 

Here's one:

Turn 6 at Road America



At a car show

 

A048's will be my next tire

The Hoosier RS04's are just a little too "hardcore" for me. Going from an R-compound to a slick will happen sometime in the future

 

just been seeing elises recently, forgot how badass the exige is

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmjunky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just been seeing elises recently, forgot how badass the exige is </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not if you read EVO on a regular basis

Exige &gt; Elise

 

did someone say A048???





excellent tire

they are actually two generations ahead of A032... remember there is A038 in between

for you Norwegian guys, what compound were you using? There are a lot of compounds available for A048. I have the M / MH compound and it has lasted me quite well... around 8 track days, although I do rotate my tires every event.

I also find they are excellent in the rain! They are the rain tire for the JGTC series too

the sidewall for the A048 is extremely stiff... much stiffer than A032... i'd say around 3x stiffer... definitely not a very streetable tire in that sense... the ride quality would be extremely bumpy. but on track it's great, the turn in response and composure in mid-corner is excellent. They do not require much time to warm up and have excellent grip at high temp... grip remains very consistent and predictable, even at high tire temperatures. They do not become greasy like some other r-compounds such as Kumho. When the tires do start over-heating, the grip loss is very predictable so you don't have to worry about sliding into the bushes.

also, tire noise is quieter than A032 and A038

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spikey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
for you Norwegian guys, what compound were you using? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I was running medium compound.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pompiuses &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I was running medium compound.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Me too.

 

Do I see some chunking along the inside edge of the tire tread, just under the exhaust?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spikey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did someone say A048???

</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spikey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did someone say A048???

excellent tire

they are actually two generations ahead of A032... remember there is A038 in between

also, tire noise is quieter than A032 and A038</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I'm starting to like this tire more and more. As soon as the right size becomes available, I think I'm getting these.

 

Looks like it, mine does the same, on the same place. There is no wear on the inside of the rear tires so I have concluded that more negative camber might be a good thing. Fronts do not look like this, it's only the rear, but I can clearly see that the outside of the fronts are worn more than the inside so more negative camber might be useful up front as well, this is after two trackdays btw. I think i will get another 5-6 days out of them. This has been on stock suspension btw.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do I see some chunking along the inside edge of the tire tread, just under the exhaust?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

actually, no... it's just rubber chunks/marbles that got picked up by the tire on the track and in the paddock. i haven't really had any chunking problems yet, hence the reason why i think the compound holds up really well at high temperatures. it could also be the type of track... my home track is Pacific Raceways... the pavement there isn't super smooth, but it's not super rough either, and most of the track layout is sweeping corners so the tires don't really get chewed up too bad compared to say a tight cornering, heavy braking track.

maybe that's also why it seems i'm getting more mileage out of my M compounds than the Norwegian guys? could be lots of factors... type of track, surface quality, driving style, etc.

did you guys heat cycle the tires before using them on track?

 

My first trackday was at ACR, and the surface there is really smooth and very grippy so tirewear was more of an issue than at Vaaler, which is more of a brake killer track. Guess i would get 5-6 days out of them if run only at ACR, and 2-3 days more if run only at Vaaler. Tires where heatcycled before use. So I expect them to last me through this season with the number of trackdays i will be running.

 

I run the "LTS" compound which is really soft. The Exige only weighs 1700lbs so it needs soft tires to get them to temp. I've had one set of 48's on for about 15 track days and there is still life (also a function of the low weight).

Someone mentioned the sidewall - they are very stiff - you can attack curbs and it won't unsettle the car.

 

this is a very interesting discussion! nice to be able to discuss these tires with someone as almost no one uses them in North America.

i thought you guys might be wearing out tires faster due to what Pompiuses said, but it seems like you and I have similar tire wear rates.

how are your tire pressures on track?
what tire pressure do you normally start at cold and what is your preferred tire pressure when the tire is hot?

one thing i omitted from my impression was that was that in addition to the tires being very consistent and predictable at high temperature, the tire pressures are also very consistent. it doesn't take too long to warm up the tires and reach operating temperature/pressure... and once you get there, the rate of increase for the tire pressure seems to slow down. I usually set to 34psi and after a 30 minute session the pressure is usually around 38psi or so

 

I run at 28 hot... :D

 

28psi hot? wow

i've thought about going lower on tire pressure since the A048 sidewalls are so stiff. do you notice any difference in tire temperatures with a lower tire pressure?

 

If you can get these tires they are well worth the $$$. I paid a lot (and waited about 4mo) for them but they are well worth it. The sidewall is about 7-8x stiffer than the BS SO-3's that I currently use and about 5x stiffer than the falken azeni's that I have used. If you drive then on the street you wont get more than 4.5k out of them