Well my old Toyo RA-1s were getting a little long in tooth - the inside edges of the left ones were really worn and the outside edge of the right ones were done too - I attribute this to using them on predominantly counterclockwise tracks and not rotating them enough.
They were really great tires - but they were starting to get a little sloppy at the track.....too many heat cycles I think (i.e. in excess of 40). There was also a noticeable slant to the tread surface that seemed to be getting worse the more I drove on them. So I loaded them in my truck



and got these:





Thanks to Justin at A&J Racing for getting them for me (from Japan).

They are "soft" compound - which means softer than the RA-1s. They are so soft that you can make a permanent indent in them with your fingernail (see above picture)

I'm going to try them at Pacific Raceways but in the meantime I have to get my car corner weighted.

I also got some new Cobalt Friction pads (Spec Bs) that I am interested in trying.

Here's my secure place for my R.



I'll post a review of the shoes once I've had a chance to try them at the track. They're definitely not going on the street - that's for sure

 

Looking good, let us know how they compare to the RA1s

 

looking sweet

 

Tires look nice

Private garage in an underground structure?

 

blingalicious!

 

Wow, those tires must be the stickiest of the icky!

 

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

Private garage in an underground structure?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yep

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Big Phat R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks to Justin at A&J Racing for getting them for me (from Japan). </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yokohama is already selling the A048 tire in the States. The 205/50-15 for the soft compound isn't on the Tire Rack website, but they're already on the Yokohama website, so you ought to be able to get them, either now or in the very near future.

Let us know how you like them, and how they compare with the RA-1. Did you get them shaved, or will you use them full tread?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yokohama is already selling the A048 tire in the States. The 205/50-15 for the soft compound isn't on the Tire Rack website, but they're already on the Yokohama website, so you ought to be able to get them, either now or in the very near future.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The 205/50-15 should be available from the Tire Rack at the end of next week, for $179/tire plus shipping, as noted here.

 

nice caR
nice shoes
nice garage

 

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

Yokohama is already selling the A048 tire in the States. The 205/50-15 for the soft compound isn't on the Tire Rack website, but they're already on the Yokohama website, so you ought to be able to get them, either now or in the very near future.

Let us know how you like them, and how they compare with the RA-1. Did you get them shaved, or will you use them full tread?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

A048Rs are not available in Canada in 15" size - that's why I had to get them gray market

You can get them in Porsche sizes though... 17"+ (unless you own a Lotus)

I talked to the Yokohama rep at our last track day about this and they were not inclined to order any in sizes that the sport compact crowd could use.

Kudos to TireRack - I didn't know about that.

Ordering from Japan direct ends up being the same price as ordering from TireRack in my case - just took longer. Your compound choices in 15" are soft or SUPA-SOFT. I wanted medium hard - but not available.

I'm going to use them full tread

 

Sick tires.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Big Phat R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I also got some new Cobalt Friction pads (Spec Bs) that I am interested in trying.</TD></TR></TABLE>Coming from what type of pad? I would suggest a set of VR's.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Willard &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Coming from what type of pad? I would suggest a set of VR's. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I was using a race pad from a company called Tecno Freno SpA

The dudes at Cobalt suggested their "road race" setup which was the Spec Cs for the front and GTS pads for the rear.

I wanted the Spec VRs.... oh well - next time

 

Looks like some fun tires.

 

Looks awesome!! Justin is the man He's hooked me up countless times.

The A&J S2K's are runnin' the 048's. I was going to get them when I ordered my CE28 15's but I opted for the Toyo T1R's. Hopefully I'll have them before our Vancity Meet

 

don't you just love your garage with brand new tires sitting there waiting to be mounted......

smells good too

good buy BTW

 

jonathon, you are going to love the a048

i've been using them for 3 years now... it's just so much better than the r-compounds available here

i've been using 195/55/15 in MH compound...

they are SO good in the rain, extremely consistent tire pressure and temperature, doesn't get oily at high temperatures, very predictable

they are also quieter than A032

one other bonus and negative... the sidewall is SOOOOOO much stiffer than A032... stiff to the point of being almost unstreetable... but awesome on the track

 

Thew R is looking good, and a huge for the stickiest tires.

 

those tires are soO sexXxy!!! those also come stock on the new elises

and there are quite a few finger nail marks on the tire

 

Nice

 

we sell them at my work ( parkplace limited), we are a authorized lotus dealer. anyway i can get these tires for a little bit over cost. so if anyone is intrested i can probably set something up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jumpmann23 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">we sell them at my work ( parkplace limited), we are a authorized lotus dealer. anyway i can get these tires for a little bit over cost. so if anyone is intrested i can probably set something up. </TD></TR></TABLE>

but can u get the non-lotus tire sizes?

 

 

soft compound eh?..
do they make them in hard?
get a better brake pad for them, and with the corner balance.. oh my god..


btw,- its not justin elin is it?